I am old enough to remember seeing that game on TV. In those days, the media embargoed the result so that we could all actually be surprised. That would never happen today.
Reliving that moment when Al Michaels makes the call "He shoots, he scores" when Mike Eruzione scored the go ahead goal at the half-way mark still sends chills down my spine. THAT moment is even more chilling than the now famous "Do you believe in miracles, YES!" which made Al Michaels into a sports superstar.
Although the "us versus them" and "commie bastards versus USA" themes were undercurrents in the movie, it was mostly about Herb Brooks and the kids who made up that remarkable team--Schneider, McLanahan, Craig, Eruzione, Johnson, O'Callahan, Silk, Ramsey, and all the others. The movie shows how Herb Brooks trained his team to skate with the Soviets and how that conditioning paid off.
I can't help but think, though, that there was one significant footnote to that game--Vadislav Tretiak. The legendary Soviet goal-tender was probably the greatest to ever play the game. Apparently he still insists that had he stayed in the game, his team would have won. Whether that is true or not is a matter for sheer speculation. However, taking him out of the game after the first period is comparable--in my mind--to taking Jordan or Montana out of a game after a bad half.
