By Greg Cameron
It was right around this time some thirty years ago, when America began to embrace a game played on a frozen sheet of ice and believing in miracles.
On that same February night, while a seemingly rag-tag group of collegiate hockey talents (including a quartet from right here in the Hub of Hockey) a five-year old boy in Flint, Mich., watched Jim Craig and cohorts take down the mighty Soviet Union hockey team 4-3 in Lake Placid. From then on, Thomas like many other children in 1980, was hooked on the game of hockey.
Thomas is now a hero to young kids here in New England, played in what will surely be a generationally memorable game of his own. As much as Marco Sturm’s game-winner in overtime did in fact slide past Philadelphia goaltender Michael Leighton, the afternoon belonged to the well-traveled Bruins netminder.
Thomas faced an afternoon-long barrage from the Flyers. The newly-minted Olympian turned back a stout 25 shots fired by his counterparts from the City of Brotherly Love.
However, the hearty faithful souls numbering nearly 40,000 at Boston’s beloved Fenway Park, were just a few minutes shy of rightfully pinning the loss on Thomas. The Flyers only goal was caused by a mental lapse from the Black and Gold’s normally steady man in net.
Thomas took a potshot at Philadelphia’s Scott Hartnell during the second period, leaving much of the net wide open for Danny Syvret.
“You could feel the energy when we tied it up with two minutes left,” Thomas said to reporters on Friday. And at that point, I was very grateful to tie the game, because the goal was basically because I lost my cool and wasn’t following the puck.”
However as Thomas alluded, the Bruins battled back in the final minutes to knot things up at one after a goal right in front of the net from 41-year-old Mark Recchi. The goal was the 553rd of the former Flyer and current Bruin’s distinguished career.
It wasn’t until 1:57 of overtime that the afternoon was complete on 4 Yawkey Way. At that very moment, one of the Bruin’s five-pack of Olympians, Germany’s Marco Sturm sent a shot past Leighton and simultaneously sent the Fenway faithful into a frenzy.
On a day where hockey’s heritage and glory took center stage in a bona fide hockey town, things were not quite over at the Athens of America’s ballpark. Three of the “Miracle on Ice” players who call Boston home, were on hand to see the 2010 Team USA roster be revealed.
A slew of “mite-sized” hockey players revealed that roster by showing the NBC cameras the NHLer’s name emblazoned on the backs of their navy blue jerseys. However, Team USA GM Brian Burke and company had Tim Thomas, the Bruins’ only American-Olympian do the honor of revealing his presence on the roster in front of a continuously boisterous home crowd.
If the Winter Classic is of any indication, magical things can occasionally happen out there on the ice. Gold has been mired in a 30-year drought for Team USA and the Bruins have been waiting eight more years than that for Lord Stanley’s Cup returning to Boston.
You never know what could happen.
Do you believe in miracles?
Feel free to send Greg an e-mail at gcameron@spfldcol.edu!
