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.
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