Statue of legendary Olympic hockey coach Herb Brooks to be unveiled in Plattsburgh

Herb Brooks statue on display at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn.

The following is from the Niagara Gazette, January 18 edition. See it on their website here.

LAKE PLACID — The legend of the late hockey coach Herb Brooks continues to reverberate some four and a half decades after his young, upstart United States squad shocked the world by defeating the Soviet Union in the Lake Placid Olympic Winter Games.

Now, almost 46 years later, a life-size bronze statue will be unveiled of Brooks in the Lake Placid arena that bears his name to perpetuate the legacy of the coach and his team.

The unveiling will occur Jan. 31 in the Olympic Center, site of those memorable hockey games.

“The Herb Brooks family is incredibly honored to have our father’s legacy forever linked to the great community of Lake Placid,” Dan Brooks, Herb’s son, said in a press release. “The town and its people were integral to the Miracle on Ice. We could not imagine this accomplishment happening anywhere else.”

The theme of the evening will have attendees dress up with a tan sport coat, blue shirt and dark blue tie to memorialize the iconic coach.

The game, forever known as the Miracle on Ice, and its architect will be celebrated outside the Lake Placid Olympic Museum near the original scoreboard that shows the 4-3 final score, making the spot a shrine to hockey fans.

The creation of his statue was made possible by a noteworthy donation by Stanley Rumbough, a nine-time participant in the annual Miracle on Ice Fantasy Camp held in Lake Placid each spring.

“Herb Brooks was the straw that stirred the drink,” Rumbough said in a press release. “He famously said that he didn’t want the best players but the right players. Pure genius.”

Rumbough and Herb’s children, Kelly and Dan, will unveil the statue. The event will be live streamed with a lineup of speakers, including team member Jack O’Callahan.

“Lake Placid, Herb Brooks and the Miracle on Ice are forever intertwined,” said James McKenna, CEO of the Uihlein Foundation, whose Lake Placid organization is supporting the project. “Visitors treat the Olympic Center as a shrine, while players who skate on the very same ice surface remain in awe.

“A perfect storm occurred in 1980. Henry Uihlein was one of the founders of winter sports in North America over 100 years ago here in Lake Placid, and I know Henry would be very proud of this tribute to Herb.”