When people discuss the greatest upset of all time, the 1980 Olympic hockey game between the United States and the Soviet Union inevitably surfaces near the top of the list. In the "'Miracle on Ice," the United States ice hockey team, a motley crew of various collegiate players, upset the professional Soviet team in the medal round of the Lake Placid Games. The game captivated our nation and evoked in Americans a sincere spirit of patriotism.
One would not be entirely wrong in asserting that the Yeshiva University Ice Hockey Club faced the same daunting odds in its ongoing series against Brandeis University. In two previous matches, Yeshiva had surprisingly emerged victorious. How could Yeshiva, with a mere sixteen players who convene for practice only once a week, put forth a respectable effort against a hockey powerhouse like Brandeis, twice? The more important question that faced the club most recently was could they pull off the upset for a third time?
For Brandies, the third time proved to be the charm, as they won the final contest of the year by a score of 5-3. The Yeshiva Hockey club played hard, but this time they were no match for the Bostonian team.
Playing before a rowdy home crowd, Brandeis managed to jump out to a 2-0 lead. Yeshiva was able to cut the lead in half as Ronen Elefant netted a key goal. Despite the apparent shift in momentum, Brandeis was able to regain the two-goal advantage as they scored just minutes later. But, the Yeshiva team would not give up without a fight, as Eric Taub was able to drive home a goal that once again cut the lead to a single goal.
The seesaw battle continued, as Brandies pushed their lead to 4-2, and Yeshiva's J.A. Bruckner responded to make it 4-3. That was as close as Yeshiva would get, as Brandeis went on to win 5-3.
The game was marked by the ferocious hits and clear intensity that had characterized the two previous contests. Ari Kellman, coach of the Yeshiva team, remarked that "this was a hard-fought battle, and unfortunately we were not able to come back and win; but it's important to look at the big picture - we're still leading the series 2-1. I am very proud of the team for playing as hard as they did and for the way they handled themselves."
The Yeshiva team almost missed the opening face-off due to the proximity of the game's starting time to the end of shabbos. Said Kellman, "it made things difficult, but we cannot use that as an excuse."