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Back in 1980, one of the biggest shocks in Olympic history took place at New York's Lake Placid.

The USA's Ice Hockey team filled with amateurs and college players came up against the mighty Soviet Union in that year's Winter Olympic round-robin medal stage.

It was a daunting task against a Soviet team which had won six of the last seven Ice Hockey gold medals at the Winter Olympics.

Amid the chilly backdrop of the Cold War, some the unheralded American team prevailed in what would become known as the Miracle on Ice and where the 'USA! USA! USA!' chant began.

Tonight we were joined by Jim Craig, the US goaltender on that famous night, and he told us that the Cold War narrative was very fresh in his mind heading into the final.

"I was fortunate to play in the World Championships in Moscow in 1979 so I really got to see communism first hand and the fear of communism. That gave me a leg up on some of the guys who hadn't been over in Moscow," Craig explained.

"It was something that we learned more and more about as we got older in different chapters of our lives on how important the victory was, not as a sporting event but as a victory in the Cold War."   

In the lead up to the 1980 Winter Olympics, the Soviet Union had hammered USA 10 - 3 at an exhibition game at Madison Square gardens.

And after two periods of the Miracle on Ice game, the Soviets lead 3 - 2 before the USA dramatically turned things around to unexpectedly triumph 4 - 3.

"I remember walking on the ice and seeing the fans in the stands being so nervous and then key moments in the game like Mark Johnson scoring with less than a second left and the ability to have my team-mates play so well in front of me to allow me to be able to do my job," said Craig who had a 91 per cent shots-to-save ratio throughout that winter's Games. 

Yet after beating the Soviet Union, the USA had to return back to earth and beat Finland in the final, which they duly did.