The "Miracle on Ice" refers to a medal-round game during the men's ice hockey tournament at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York, played between the hosting United States, and the defending gold medalists, the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union had won the gold medal in five of the six previous Winter Olympic Games, and were the favorites to win once more in Lake Placid. The team consisted primarily of professional players with significant experience in international play. By contrast, the United States' team--led by head coach Herb Brooks--consisted exclusively of amateur players, and was the youngest team in the tournament and in U.S. national team history.

In exhibitions that year, Soviet club teams went 5-3-1 against National Hockey League (NHL) teams, and a year earlier, the Soviet national team had routed the NHL All-Stars 6-0 to win the Challenge Cup. In 1979-80, virtually all the top North American players were Canadians, although the number of U.S.-born professional players had been on the rise throughout the 1970s. The 1980 U.S. Olympic team featured several young players who were regarded as highly promising, and some had signed contracts to play in the NHL immediately after the tournament. In September 1979, before the Olympics, the American team started exhibition play. They played a total of 61 games in five months against teams from Europe and America. Through these games, Herb Brooks instilled a European style of play in the American team, emphasizing wide open play with sufficient body contact. He believed it would be the only way for the Americans to compete with the Soviets. From the start of the exhibitions, he conducted the team through skating windsprints consisting of end line to blue line and back, then end line to red line and back, then end line to far blue line and back, and finally end line all the way down and back. Some of the players took to calling these Herbies. On September 17, 1979, the team played to a 3-3 tie in Norway. Brooks had them skate Herbies after the game, and after a while, the lights were turned off by custodians and the practice continued in the dark. Near the end of the exhibition season, although he had supported them throughout, Brooks threatened because of subpar play to cut Eruzione (the captain) and replace Craig as the starting goalie with Steve Janaszak. In the last exhibition game against the Soviets at Madison Square Garden on February 9, 1980, the Soviets crushed the Americans 10-3. Soviet head coach Viktor Tikhonov later said that this victory "turned out to be a very big problem" by causing the Soviets to underestimate the American team. The game was also costly for the Americans off-ice, as defenseman Jack O'Callahan pulled a ligament in his knee; however, Brooks kept O'Callahan on the roster which meant virtually playing with only 19 players throughout the tournament. O'Callahan would eventually return for the game against the Soviets playing limited minutes. Answer this question using a quote from the following article:

What else did you find interesting?
the Soviets crushed the Americans 10-3. Soviet head coach Viktor Tikhonov later said that this victory "turned out to be a very big problem"