USA Hockey Foundation

It’s been 35 years since one of the most momentous victories in USA Hockey history, and we recently celebrated that anniversary across the nation, with our own red, white and blue brand of exuberance. It’s a victory that will be forever cherished by this country and its hockey fans. 

But what about players and fans on the other side of the ice? Chicago-based director and former Yale University hockey player Gabe Polsky wanted to explore that question.

“That Russian hockey team really reflected the society at the time and it was such a great, big story, and so interesting and profound on a lot of levels, not just sports, not just on hockey, but on life,” said Polsky, who directed and released Red Army, a documentary focused on the Soviet style of hockey. “I thought this was a story that could reach not just hockey fans, not just sports fans, but beyond. It’s reaching people because it connects on a human level and it’s about so many other things than just hockey.”

Red Army goes well beyond the 1980 Olympic game. Still, USA Hockey recognized its role in Soviet hockey, gathering members of the 1980 squad along with other hockey dignitaries for an official Red Army premiere event at the Lagoon Theater in Minneapolis. 

For those who took home the gold, the film still resonated. John Harrington and Buzz Schneider sat down to share their thoughts. 

USA Hockey: What were your first impressions of Red Army?

John Harrington: I thought it was excellent. I’ve always had an extreme interest in how the Russians played. Growing up and watching them play in the Olympic games when I was younger, then watching them in the Summit Series, you saw this great talent. I think other guys on our Olympic team would agree that those are the guys you watched. Then, you would go out and try to emulate those sorts of things. You wanted to be those guys. 

Buzz Schneider: I thought the movie was very well done. I played in the 1970s against the Russian teams, so I got to play against them a dozen times before 1980. I knew how hard they worked, and whatever they won, they deserved. It was just fun to play against them and watch their side of the game. I really enjoyed it.

USA Hockey: Did you ever realize how much that 1980 loss affected the Soviet team?

Harrington: I think at that time we were much more interested in celebrating our win rather than caring about how they felt about going back to the Soviet Union. But you can see the pride that Slava (Fetisov) has in his performance and how much it hurt him. I was watching this touched by how affected he was by not being successful in the 1980 Games. I looked at it more from a competitive standpoint. Just seeing how much it meant to him and that team. They weren’t used to losing. They planned on winning. They couldn’t handle not winning. But you look at guys like Fetisov and their accomplishments and what he’s won. I don’t feel too bad that maybe he lost one game in the Olympics and I certainly feel good that it was to us. Still, in all seriousness, to see it just shows the tremendous amount of pride he had in not only his own performance, but also in his team’s performance because he knew that they were representing their country.

Schneider: I played against them plenty and to beat them once was enough. They still won everything there is to win and their hockey history is great. I admired them when I played. I enjoyed their style of play, I like to skate and shoot just like they did and they really took it to the next level. I remember when I first started playing against them and they were talking about how lousy their equipment was, I remember thinking ‘gosh I wouldn’t mind wearing lousy equipment if I could play that well.’ They were great players. 

USA Hockey: Did you see any similarities between your U.S. team and the Soviet team?

Harrington: When you put that jersey on you’re representing your country and I think everyone has that same sentimental feeling. We only get to do it here in the U.S. periodically, because we don’t have a standing national team. The Russians did it all the time. Still no matter what, when you put that jersey on, there’s no better team to represent. I think we all recognize that and we all felt that. We wanted to play not only for our country first and foremost, but for each other as well.

USA Hockey: Red Army takes a hard look at Soviet Head Coach Viktor Tikhonov. In Miracle we saw a portrayal of Herb Brooks’ intensity, too. Why do you think they both took that approach to coaching? 

Harrington: That was coaching in that day I think. Herb wasn’t easy to play for. Ask any of our guys if they liked Herb (when they played for him) and a lot of them will tell ya, ‘I don’t think so.’ But if you ask them, ‘do you respect him?’ They will all say, ‘yeah, I do, I respect him.’

Schneider: Herb was never to that extreme of Viktor, but I could see similarities. Both coaches were out there to win and to push their team to be the best.

USA Hockey: How unique is it to have USA Hockey help promote this event in an effort to continue promoting hockey?

Schneider: USA Hockey does a lot for this country and I think that it’s excellent that they participated in the promotion of this movie. It’s just super and I’m honored to have been a part of that team and to be here to see this tonight. 

Click here to see if Red Army is playing at a theater near you