Bob Suter, of 1980 Miracle On Ice Olympic Hockey Team, Dies at 57

Bob Suter, a defenseman on the 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey team that defeated the heavily favored Soviet Union team and went on to win the Gold Medal at those games, died of a heart attack on September 9th, 2014 at age 57. Suter died at an ice arena he owned in Middleton, Wisconsin, a suburb of his home town of Madison.

Suter never made it to the NHL, but he stayed in hockey. Actually, he immersed himself in hockey. Besides owning that ice arena, Suter coached and mentored countless young hockey players; some, like Phil Kessel of the Toronto Maple Leafs, made it to the big time. He also owned a sporting goods store that specialized in hockey equipment. Bob is also the father of Minnesota Wild defenseman and Olympian Ryan Suter. Here’s a video of Bob and Ryan earlier this year just before the Olympics:

Bob Suter played college hockey at the University of Wisconsin, helping the school win the 1977 NCAA Hockey Championship. But he will always be linked to that that unforgettable moment on February 22nd, 1980, in Lake Placid, New York at the 1980 Winter Olympics when the unheralded college players from the U.S. defeated the Soviet Union’s Olympic team, the best hockey team in the world. Two days later, the Americans beat Finland to win the Gold Medal. The U.S. men have not won the gold since.

Suter is the first player from the team to pass away. Coach Herb Brooks died in 2003. Here’s the last few minutes of the U.S.–Soviet game, the Miracle on Ice.