WATCH: US President Donald Trump Honors “Miracle on Ice” 1980 Olympics Hockey Team

Donald Trump honored the 1980 Olympics Ice Hockey team of the USA with Congressional Gold Medals while celebrating their win.

WATCH: US President Donald Trump Honors “Miracle on Ice” 1980 Olympics Hockey Team

Donald Trump hosted the members of the 1980 USA team that won the gold medal in Winter Olympics (Image via Imago/X/@RapidResponse47)

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On Friday, US President Donald Trump honored the “Miracle on Ice” Heroes, celebrating their huge win over the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) in an ice hockey game and their gold medal triumph during the 1980 Winter Olympics that took place in New York.

The USSR at that time were a powerful force in hockey and entered the tournament having 4 straight gold medals. Meanwhile, the American side was composed mostly of amateur players. Only 4 players in the team had minimum league experience.

A few weeks before the tournament, the USSR showcased their strength and crushed the Americans 10-3 in an exhibition game. After both teams finished undefeated in the group stage, they faced off against each other in the first game of the medal round at Lake Placid.

The Soviets started strong as expected. The Americans however, did put up a fight and headed into the third period trailing 3-2. In the third period, Mark Johnson levelled the scores for a third time in the game.

Moments later, US Captain Mike Eruzione fired the hosts in front and made it a 4-3 game with 10 minutes remaining. The Soviets kept attacking but were unable to force a 4th goal. This game was later referred as the “Miracle on Ice” game.

The US then went on to beat Finland 4-2 in the second game of the medal round and clinched gold medal at the Olympics.

On Friday, Donald Trump honored the members of this team at the White House. The 79-year-old would sign a bill that would award them the Congressional Gold Medals.

During this, Trump would even make a dig at Somalis. With 13 of the 20 members from the team being from Minnesota, the US President would ask, “Any Somalians on the team? I don’t think so!” leading to some laughter in the room.

The 1980 victory was the USA’s 2nd gold medal in ice hockey at the Winter Olympics. They would end up as the runners-up in 2002 and 2010, losing the latter through a golden goal from Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby in the final game.

21-year NHL veteran claims meeting with Donald Trump was a “true honor” for him

The members of the 1980 ice hockey team of the USA met with Donald Trump on Friday and celebrated their triumph. Among these, a 21-year NHL veteran claimed that it was a “true honor” meeting with the 45th and 47th US President.

Donald Trump
Donald Trump (Image via AP)

During this ceremony on Friday, Ryan Suter spoke with the US President. Suter was present at the White House on behalf of his father, Bob Suter, who passed away in 2014. He would thank Donald Trump for hosting them and celebrating their victory.

My name is Ryan Suter. I’m here representing my dad, Bob, who passed away. It’s a true honor for me to be a part of this and I thank these guys for allowing me to be a part of their team and thank you for having this and hosting us.

Ryan Suter told Donald Trump

The 40-year-old then spoke briefly about his own NHL career. He is currently a free agent, having played for the St. Louis Blues during the 2024-25 season.

2026 will mark the return of NHL players to the Olympics for the first time since 2014. This edition will be played in Milan, Italy and consist of 12 men’s teams and 10 women’s teams.

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