Mike Eruzione served as the enthusiastic captain that led the 1980 United States Olympic hockey team to its gold medal victory. He scored the winning goal against the Russians in the second-to-last game—the goal and game that stunned the world.

A native of Massachusetts, Eruzione was well-known as a local sports talent, playing on all-scholastic teams in baseball, football and hockey. At Boston University, he captained the hockey team his senior year and finished as the second-leading scorer in B.U. history. During the four years that Mike Eruzione played at B.U., his team won Eastern Collegiate Championships. He was cited as best defensive forward in the East all four years and later was inducted into the B.U. Athletic Hall of Fame.

He was a member of the United States National Team in 1976. After graduation, he played for two years with the Toledo Gold Diggers of the International Hockey League, maintaining his amateur status. There, he was voted the McKenzie Award Winner. The award is presented annually to the most outstanding American-born hockey player in the...