Miracle (2004 Film)
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50 free Miracle (2004 Film) trivia questions with answers — trivia quiz, new questions added Oct 2026.
Miracle is the 2004 film about a group of American college players who went to the 1980 Winter Olympics and beat the best hockey team in the world. Its hero is Herb Brooks, the demanding coach who picked them, pushed them past exhaustion and turned old rivals into teammates. The story is true, which is a large part of why the film has lasted. This quiz covers both halves of the legend. There are questions on the film itself: the cast, the famous scenes, where it was shot and how the makers staged the games. And there are questions on the real events behind it: the players, the Soviet stars across the ice, the broadcast that made the game famous and what became of everyone afterwards. It is written for fans who have watched the film more than once, for hockey followers who know the real history, and for coaches or teachers who show it to a group and want a ready set of questions. Every answer comes with a short explanation, so you can play it straight through or print it for a watch party.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Which actor, once a minor-league baseball infielder, plays head coach Herb Brooks in the film Miracle?
Kurt Russell
Kurt Russell drew the film's warmest reviews for the role. He was an all-star infielder in the Northwest League before a shoulder injury in 1973 ended his playing days.
Q 02Which country did the United States beat to clinch gold two days after the Miracle on Ice?
Finland
Finland led 2–1 after two periods before three American goals in the third settled it. Beating the Soviets was only a medal-round game, so the gold still had to be won.
Q 03Which broadcaster re-recorded his 1980 commentary for Miracle but kept the original audio of his closing call?
Al Michaels
Al Michaels felt he could not recreate the moment, so the last 30 seconds of the Soviet game use the 1980 tape. He got the Olympic job as the only man on his network's crew who had called the sport before.
Q 04Which Hollywood star did the son of Herb Brooks later say was the first name in mind to lead Miracle?
Tom Hanks
Tom Hanks was the first name floated for the coach, Dan Brooks recalled years later. The director says he always wanted his eventual lead, an actor with an athletic background and a fiery love of sport.
Q 05Which New York village hosted the 1980 Winter Olympics, the setting for the climax of Miracle?
Lake Placid
Lake Placid had already staged the Winter Games in 1932 and reused some of those venues in 1980. Its Olympic rink was renamed in honour of Herb Brooks in 2005.
Q 06Which US captain scored the winner against the Soviets, then quit hockey straight after the 1980 Olympics?
Mike Eruzione
Mike Eruzione turned down professional offers, saying he had already reached the pinnacle. He was one of five players on the 1980 team whom no NHL club had drafted.
Q 07How did Herb Brooks die a few months before Miracle, the film about his 1980 team, reached cinemas?
A car accident
A car accident on a Minnesota interstate killed him in August 2003, six days after his 66th birthday. He had advised the filmmakers on his drills and plays, and the picture is dedicated to his memory.
Q 08Which member of the 1980 US Olympic team is played in Miracle by his own son, Billy?
Buzz Schneider
Buzz Schneider had already played at the 1976 Olympics. He scored five goals in the 1980 tournament, including the first American goal against the Soviets.
Q 09Which magazine ran its Miracle on Ice cover photo with no headline or caption at all in March 1980?
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated let the picture of the celebrating players speak alone, because the whole country knew the story. In 1999 it named the upset the greatest moment of the 20th century in its field.
Q 10Which studio released the 2004 Olympic hockey film Miracle?
Disney
Disney saw audiences polled by CinemaScore grade the film an A. It opened second at the US box office and went on to gross about $64 million against a $28 million budget.
Q 11After a 3–3 exhibition tie with which country does Herb Brooks order endless punishment sprints in Miracle?
Norway
Norway held the Americans to a draw in Oslo, and Brooks sent them straight back onto the ice. In the film he keeps the drill going even after the rink manager cuts the power.
Q 12At which famous arena do the Soviets rout the United States 10–3 just before the Olympics in Miracle?
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden staged the final warm-up game three days before the Olympic tournament began. The rematch that became the Miracle on Ice came just 13 days later.
Q 13Which goaltender stopped 36 of 39 Soviet shots for the United States in the Miracle on Ice?
Jim Craig
Q 21Which former Montreal Canadiens goaltender gave colour commentary on the Miracle on Ice broadcast?
Ken Dryden
Ken Dryden had retired the year before with six Stanley Cups. On air he worried that the Americans were leaning too hard on their goalie, moments before the winning goal went in.
Q 22Which forward is the last player Herb Brooks cuts from the Olympic roster in the film Miracle?
Ralph Cox
Ralph Cox was let go because of the lingering effects of an ankle injury. Brooks knew the feeling, having been the last man dropped from the 1960 gold medal squad himself.
Q 23Herb Brooks was the last man cut from the US hockey team that won gold at which 1960 Winter Olympics venue?
Squaw Valley
Jim Craig celebrated with an American flag draped over his shoulders, and the flag itself later went on show in a museum. He joined the NHL shortly after the Olympics and won his first game there.
Q 14Which actor, soon to play a detective on CSI: NY, portrays the starting US goaltender in Miracle?
Eddie Cahill
Eddie Cahill had never played in goal, so a former NHL netminder doubled for him in most of the game action. The part let him portray his own boyhood hero.
Q 15Against which country do the Americans rescue a 2–2 tie in their opening Olympic game in Miracle?
Sweden
Sweden led until 27 seconds from the end, when the Americans scored with their goalie pulled for an extra skater. The point mattered later, because that result carried over into the medal round.
Q 16Which US player scores the last-minute goal that salvages a tie in the opening Olympic game in Miracle?
Bill Baker
Bill Baker fired the equaliser with 27 seconds left on the clock. In the film, Brooks lights into his team at the first intermission and throws a table.
Q 17Which Soviet star, rated the best in the world at his position, was benched after one period of the Miracle on Ice?
Vladislav Tretiak
Vladislav Tretiak had let in two goals, the second with one second left in the period, and never returned. The switch stunned players on both benches.
Q 18Which backup goaltender took over the Soviet net for the last two periods of the Miracle on Ice?
Vladimir Myshkin
Vladimir Myshkin kept a clean sheet in the second period, when he faced only two shots. He was beaten twice in the third, the last time by a shot that came through a screen.
Q 19Which Soviet coach called pulling his star goaltender in the Miracle on Ice the biggest mistake of his career?
Viktor Tikhonov
Viktor Tikhonov made the change straight after a goal in the final second of the first period. He blamed his top players to their faces afterwards, then coached the gold medallists at the next three Winter Olympics.
Q 20Which US forward, son of a famed Wisconsin coach, scored twice against the Soviets in the Miracle on Ice?
Mark Johnson
Mark Johnson tied the game twice, the first time with a single second left in the opening period. He later coached Wisconsin's women to a long run of national titles.
Squaw Valley's Games began a week after he was dropped, and he watched the gold medal win at home with his father. He told the coach afterwards that the decision must have been right, because the team had won.
Q 24Which director of Miracle went on to make the fight drama Warrior and the thriller The Accountant?
Gavin O'Connor
Gavin O'Connor cast real players as the team, reasoning that it was easier to teach athletes to act than actors to skate. The cast still spent six weeks in camp relearning the game in older equipment.
Q 25Which former NHL goaltender doubled for the actor playing the US goalie in most game action in Miracle?
Bill Ranford
Bill Ranford stood in because the actor had never played the position before. The star still shot several key sequences from inside the crease himself.
Q 26In which Canadian province were the arenas of Miracle filmed, standing in for rinks across the United States?
British Columbia
British Columbia supplied every rink, with Vancouver's Pacific Coliseum staging the film's pre-Olympic exhibition loss to the Soviets. The Olympic game scenes were shot at the PNE Agrodome.
Q 27Which annual ceremony, decided by an online fan vote that year, named Miracle its Best Sports Movie in 2004?
ESPY Awards
The ESPY Awards, run by the cable network ESPN, gave the film their movie prize. The American Film Institute also nominated it for its list of the 100 most inspiring films.
Q 28Which actor, later FBI agent Stan Beeman in The Americans, plays the US assistant coach in Miracle?
Noah Emmerich
Noah Emmerich plays the deputy who had once been a teammate of Brooks on the national side. Film fans may also know him from The Truman Show and Super 8.
Q 29Which actress, Oscar-nominated for Pieces of April, plays Patti, the wife of Herb Brooks, in Miracle?
Patricia Clarkson
Patricia Clarkson took the role straight after her acclaimed 2003 run of independent films. She has also won two Emmys for guest appearances on Six Feet Under.
Q 30Which US player's knee injury against the Soviets before the Olympics nearly rules him out in Miracle?
Jack O'Callahan
Jack O'Callahan was kept on the roster anyway. In the film he returns against the Soviets and throws the heavy check that leads to the first American goal.