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I’ve never subscribed to astrology or numerology or anything like that because I’ve always chalked it up to human nature and trying to make sense out of a big mess of information.
We sort of decided over time that “7” was lucky and “13” was unlucky and all sorts of other nonsense that really doesn’t matter.
But when I found out that the much-anticipated Olympic gold medal clash between the USA and Canada took place on February 22nd, I nearly fell out of my chair.
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Jim Craig celebrates Team USA’s victory over the USSR on February 22, 1980. (Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)
It’s almost too perfect.
While it’s not a date that stands out to many people, it does for hockey fans. Specifically, American hockey fans.
It’s the anniversary of “Miracle on Ice”.
We all know the story, and as the years go by, it begins to sound more and more like some kind of great American legend.
You had the Soviet Union, a man on the international stage that dominated the Olympics for nearly two decades.
At the time, the Olympics were for amateurs, and that classification only loosely applied to the Soviet Union. Names like Boris Mikhailov, Sergei Makarov and Vladislav Tretiak would be NHL superstars if they played in a different era.
But then again, they were “amateurs”.
As for the Americans, they put together a Herb Brooks-led team of true amateurs from the collegiate ranks. They put aside grudges from their NCAA days and overcame off-ice hardships in their personal lives — like netminder Jim Craig, who was dealing with the loss of his mother — to become a cohesive, highly talented team.
Of course, the game took place at the height of the Cold War. So on top of the standard David and Goliath matchup, you got a healthy dose of geopolitics thrown into the mix.
It set the stage for the medal round at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York.
On February 22nd the Americans and Soviets hit the ice and well… I think we all know the rest.
That win immortalized names like Eruzione, Craig, Johnson and Schneider.
American hockey player Mike Eruzione of Team USA shakes hands with the Russian team during an exhibition game against the Soviet Union on February 9, 1980 at Madison Square Garden in New York. (Bruce Bennett Studios via Getty Images Studios/Getty Images)
The U.S. didn’t win gold that day because of the round-robin format the Games used at the time, but that meant if they beat Finland in their next match, they were golden in every sense of the word.
KAILLIE ARMBRUSTER HUMPHRIES, JASMINE JONES SECURE BRONZE IN TWO-WOMAN BOBSCALE FOR TEAM USA
They did, but unfortunately it was the USA’s last men’s Olympic gold. One of two, along with a win at the 1960 Games in Squaw Valley, California.
They have come close, namely in 2010, when Sidney Crosby stole gold from the neck of the Americans with an OT winner.
One Olympic cycle later, however, NHL players were out of the Olympics, and that kind of cooled the US-Canada rivalry.
Thanks in large part to the 4 Nations Face-Off, the rivalry between the USA and Canada is as hot as ever.
And it feels like 1980 again. The Americans are the underdogs, despite almost indisputably having the most talented American roster ever.
On the American side, you have Auston Matthews, Jack Eichel, Quinn and Jack Hughes, Charlie McAvoy, Matthew and Brady Tkachuk and more, all backed up by three-time Vezina Trophy winner Connor Hellebuyck.
Brock Nelson celebrates a goal with Matthew Tkachuk and Jack Hughes in the 5-1 win over Latvia on February 12, 2026 at the Milan Cortina Games. (RvS.Media/Robert Hradil)
But then you have the Canadians who have the best player on the planet, Connor McDavid, as well as superstars like Nathan MacKinnon, Macklin Celebrini, Brad Marchand, Mitch Marner, Cale Makar and more. And then there’s netminder Jordan Binnington, who miraculously seems to be rising to play his best hockey on the international stage.
Oh, and if he’s healthy, they’ll also have a Sidney Crosby in their lineup, one of the greatest players to ever do it.
Just like in 1980 (although not quite to the extent of 1980, where there were nuclear warheads pointing in every direction), there is a bit of geopolitical animosity between the two nations that makes the game matter that much more.
It’s going to be wild.
February 22 is already the date of the greatest achievement in American hockey history. Hell, I’ll claim American sports history in full.
So what about Team USA?
Let’s add to the legend from February 22nd.
