Tommy, Kelly, Marc, Olivia, and Joe Paradise (Kelly is Brooks’ daughter, Marc her husband, the rest their children). (Provided photo — Naj Wikoff)

The new Netflix documentary, “Miracle: The Boys of 80” illustrates how well-deserving it was to re-name Lake Placid’s 1980 aArena after the U.S. hockey team coach Herb Brooks, now honored with the unveiling of his statue on Saturday evening, Jan. 31.

More than anyone, Brooks turned the 1980 rink into hallowed ground for hockey and winter sports fans across the nation and beyond.

The documentary, which includes imagery that many of the athletes and Brooks’ children had never seen, shares his back story and how he assembled a team out of college hockey stars, many previously fierce competitors; taught them how to re-think the game; and, inspired by Soviet training techniques, built their stamina so they stayed strong all three periods of a game, even when playing games back-to-back to back. Yes, the young athletes won the game because of their skills, but also by not letting past defeats lessen the morale or fighting spirit — a resiliency that Brooks honed through 61 games leading up to the Olympics and punishing training.

Saturday’s statue unveiling was the brainchild of sports merchandising marketeer Gary Low and former bobsledder, now sports newscaster and promoter, John Morgan.

Shortly after Brooks’ tragic 2003 death in a traffic accident, Brooks’ son Dan, daughter Kelly Brooks Paradise and their cousin Bill Weller established a foundation in his honor that would raise funds to help train young hockey players and instill in them the lessons Brooks had learned as an athlete and highly successful coach. In January 2017, the first of three bronze statues of Brooks created by Nick Christianson of Brodin Studios was installed at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota (since replaced by a larger version). A second was installed at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center in St. Cloud, Minnesota. Low and Morgan hoped that the original statue could be brought to Lake Placid, but the family decided to relocate it to Schwan Super Rink in Blaine, Minnesota. Undeterred, and with the blessings of the Brooks family, they decided to commission a fourth life-sized statue, giving themselves 18 months to raise the funds so it could be installed in Lake Placid prior to the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy, 45 years after the 1980 Games in Lake Placid.

Herb Brooks’ children, Dan Brooks and Kelly Brooks Paradise. (Provided photo — Naj Wikoff)

“Eighteen months ago, Gary Low, who sells Herb Brooks memorabilia for the foundation, called me and said we should put one of the statues in the Lake Placid Herb Brooks Arena,” Morgan said. “I agreed, and we pursued finding funding to make it a reality. Stanley Rumbough made a significant contribution, the Uihlein Foundation helped out, as did others such as Michelob Ultra and 1800 Tequila that sponsored the cocktail party.”

Low, who was in Lake Placid in 1980, got involved eight years ago in organizing merchandise in support of the 1980 team, and six years ago, doing the same for the Herb Brooks Foundation, which included assisting with their golf tournament. He learned that there were two of three statues on display and that a third was not. Low proposed it be displayed in Lake Placid, but no decision was made until 18 months ago, when he learned the family had decided on a location in Minnesota for the third statue.

“So, John and I came up with the idea of having the Brodin Studios build a fourth statue and having it installed here,” said Low. “The family agreed, and John and I reached out to Stanley and others, which resulted in this event happening today. This event is special for me because I was there with my uncle, who had front row seats.”

Former state Sen. Betty Little, now a member of the state Olympic Regional Development Authority board of directors, has played a key role over the years in securing state funding to support venue upgrades and attended the unveiling.

“Tonight, we are recognizing someone who coached this miraculous team that came from nowhere in the minds of many to win,” Little said. “It was fabulous. We all appreciated his skills and their win. People recognize that the town has benefited economically, as many visitors come to Lake Placid to see where the game took place. It’s a good time to recognize Coach Brooks with a statue and encourage people to stay involved.”

John Morgan and Gary Low (Provided photo — Naj Wikoff)

Jim McKenna said the community had been looking for a way to honor Herb Brooks, and they decided 20 years ago to name the 1980 Olympic arena after him on the 25th anniversary of the 1980 Winter Olympics.

“Keeping Herb Brooks and the Olympic Center tied together made sense, and I’m glad that we did it,” McKenna said. “I think it’s a real good honor.”

“Lake Placid has been put on the map by our sports, our Olympic Games, and Herb Brooks is indelibly part of it,” Lake Placid Mayor Art Devlin said.

“Herb Brooks was the ring leader,” Jeff Potter, co-chair of the Miracle on Ice Statue committee, said. “Without his knowledge that he brought to the team, and the training he provided, we wouldn’t be here.”

“We practiced hard all the time,” 1980 defenseman Jack O’Callahan said. “The bar was always raised. That’s how it was for us all year. The reason he was doing that, as much as it was maddening, difficult, and challenging, you know what happened, we had to play a 20-minute last period against Finland, a third period against the Russians — they were the ones that faded. We did not.”

Lake Placid Mayor Art Devlin and Jeff Potter (Provided photo — Naj Wikoff)

O’Callahan went on to say that the last period against the Finns was the toughest one of all, a period they entered down two to one, as they knew it was either win and get the gold, or, because of how the game points were scored, lose and walk away with no medal at all. Brooks’ coaching and training made the difference.

“The Miracle on Ice is the gift that keeps on giving,” Morgan said. “But who is responsible?”

Morgan traced the history of sports competitions in Lake Placid to Henry Uihlein, who in 1920 brought the first international sports competition to Lake Placid and established the first winter sports club in the United States, the Snowbirds, as well as Charlie Jewtraw, who won the first gold medal awarded at the first Olympic Winter Games in 1924 in Chamonix, France, and Godfrey Dewey, who successfully bid for the 1932 Games. He mentioned then Gov. Franklin Roosevelt, who funded the games and the workforce that built the venues, and up through the 1980 bid and organizing committee, and the members of the 1980 hockey team. Morgan then shared Herb Brooks’ inspirational speech given to his team in Locker Room 5 before they went on the ice, concluding with, “This is your time. Now, go out there and take it.” Brooks’ statement was followed by team captain Mike Eruzione, concluding his remarks by saying, “Without him, we couldn’t have accomplished what we accomplished.”

“There haven’t been many days in the 46 years since 1980 that I haven’t thought about the Miracle on Ice,” Brooks’ son Dan said. “I don’t think the Miracle could have happened at any other time or place. Why? The answer is clear, it’s because of this town, it’s because of Lake Placid. This place is special, it’s magical, even enchanted. I felt it as a 12-year-old in 1980, in 2005 when they dedicated the arena to my dad, and I sure feel it now.”

(Naj Wikoff lives in Keene Valley and has been writing his column for the Lake Placid News since 2005.)

Jim McKenna, Sen Betty Little and Charlie Frenette (Provided photo — Naj Wikoff)

1980 defenseman Jack O’Callahan and Sandy Caligiore (Provided photo — Naj Wikoff)

Joe Martens and Roby Politi (Provided photo — Naj Wikoff)