Corrected entry: At the end of the movie when the flags are being raised, they raise the Swedish flag with the American and Russian flags. Sweden finished fourth in the Olympics, and Finland finished second, but the Finnish flag wasn't raised in the movie. Also the hockey team on the ice with the Russians and Americans wore yellow, but in the previous scene of the Americans beating Finland shows the Finns wearing a grey jersey with a purple/maroon siding.
Question: Was the Soviet Union hockey team as good as the movie makes it out to be?
Answer: Yes. Prior to the 1980 Olympics, the Soviet Union's men's hockey team had won 5 out of the last 6 Olympics (taking 3rd in 1960). They also won the next 2 Olympics (plus the 1992 Olympics as part of the Unified Team). The 1980 team also consisted of at least 6 returning gold medalists and several world champions and future gold medalists.
16-0 over Japan, 17-4 over the Netherlands, 8-1 over Poland, 4-2 vs Finland, and 6-4 vs Canada.
Question: What is the outcome of the game in Oslo, Norway?
Answer: The Americans beat the Soviets. Two days later, the team defeated Finland 4-2 to win the gold medal.
3-3.
Deliberate mistake: It wasn't Mike Eruzione shouting his own name that finally convinced coach Brooks to stop making the players do sprints. It was Mark Johnson, who smashed his stick against the glass in a fit of rage.
Suggested correction: This is not a documentary. This is a movie based on the events that happened. Therefore since it's not a documentary, they can make any changes to events they want.
I had the chance of skating with Ken Morrow and he confirmed that Johnson was the one who stopped the sprints. Morrow said the Brooks knew if he had gotten to Johnson, he got to all the players.
Question: Did the scene where Herb Brooks has his players do sprints after a 3-3 tie against Norway really happen?
Answer: Yes it did. They did the "Herbies" for over an hour according to player Ken Morrow. The lights being shut off was also true.
Why did Herb have his players do the sprints?
Because they were paying attention to the pretty girls in the stands and not to the game and their opponents.
Because all of the team was not focused on the game they were focused on the girls in the stands.
Because they didn't do a good game, the were all out of their heads.
He was trying to bring them together. He felt he still had 26 individuals, rather than one team. By making them suffer together, he gave them a common purpose - hating him.
Something tells me that wasn't the only time a hockey coach had his players stay after a game to do sprints.
Question: Wouldn't Kharlamov have been penalized for knocking the USA goalie Jim Craig down?
Answer: Not necessarily. Hockey was a much more physically bruising game in 1980, and this kind of aggression (intentional or not) was rarely cause for a penalty. And, since he wasn't penalized in real life, he is not penalized in the film, either.
That doesn't mean knocking goalies was legal. Players can only knock players besides the goalie down. Knocking a goalie down is a goaltender interference penalty. This kind of aggression was rarely a cause for a penalty because it rarely happened.
Correction: The Finns did not receive a medal. USA won gold, USSR won silver, and Sweden won bronze. The flag being raised was the Swedish flag, and the team on the ice was the Swedes.
But they say in the movie they beat Finland to win gold.
The US/Finland game wasn't a finals match where the loser got 2nd. It was a round-robin style event where the US and Sweden both faced the Soviet Union and Finland. The head-to-head results from the group matches carried forward. Sweden had tied with the US, but Finland lost to the Soviet Union. Sweden lost to the Soviet Union but tied with Finland. That gave Sweden 2 points (and the bronze), and Finland had 1 point. The Soviet Union ended up with 4 points and got silver.
Bishop73