Brooks’ children and grandchildren were there to pull the cover off the life-size bronze statue of the legendary hockey coach whose team pulled off the famed “Miracle on Ice,” defeating the mighty Soviet Union in that very building nearly 46 years ago.

Emcee and organizer John Morgan, a Saranac Lake native, opened the ceremony by inviting the audience to recall any event similar in its magnitude and fervent in the nation’s memory, given how many years ago it took place.

“Who won the Super Bowl? Who won the World Series, the NBA playoffs, the Olympics?,” he said. “Think. We’re 46 years in. I bet you we’re 46 years in after this and they’re still talking about this miracle.”

Indeed, as he said, it was much more than just a hockey game, capturing the spirit and soul of the nation at a time when it was desperately needed.

Audience members smile and look on as a video of the clip of Coach Herb Brooks’ pre-game speech, played by Kurt Russell, from the 2004 film “Miracle” was played. (Enterprise photo — Chris Gaige)

The ceremony featured several speakers, including 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey defenseman Jack O’Callahan, as well as virtual tributes from renowned sports broadcaster Al Michaels, 1980 team captain Mike Eruzione, who scored the game-winning goal and movie and broadcast clips from the “Miracle” game against the USSR and the subsequent match against Finland to secure the gold medal.

O’Callahan said that after beating the Soviet Union, Brooks stepped away from the ice, letting the team have their moment. He said that while the movie depicts Brooks celebrating to himself in a corridor, he’s not sure if that’s exactly sure how it went down — but he was certain about one thing.

“I know he had a moment at some point where he was so happy and proud of us,” O’Callahan said. “I know he was, man. I know he was so proud of us and we were so proud of him and to be his guys.”

In the Olympic finale against Finland, O’Callahan reminded the audience that the team entered the third period down 2-1. He recalled the pressure of the moment, succinctly noting that if they hadn’t followed up their victory over the Soviet Union with a gold medal, “we probably wouldn’t be having this conversation today.”

O’Callahan said Brooks had spent the last eight months preparing the team for those next 20 minutes against Finland, and as such, didn’t have to say much in the locker room right then and there. They knew the assignment, the defenseman said.

Jack O’Callahan of the United States 1980 Olympic gold medal hockey team signs the back of a jersey of a happy young fan at the Olympic Center in Lake Placid Saturday evening. (Provided photo — Lou Reuter)

“He cut the cord, and he’s like, ‘they’ve got this,'” he said. “We paced around that locker room down 2 to 1, with everything on our shoulders and everything on the line, and we stood up. And when they opened that door, we charged out of that locker room and we won that damn gold medal, right here in Lake Placid.”

Sure enough, the Americans reeled off three goals in the third period and shut out Finland. The rest was history.

Since 1980, he’s come back to Lake Placid many times. He commended the village, town, state Olympic Regional Development Authority and supporters of the “Miracle on Ice” for working tirelessly to ensure its legacy lives on, in Lake Placid and beyond.

He referenced the Monument to a Miracle team statue, which is currently in the midst of its fundraising campaign and is slated to be unveiled in Lake Placid in February 2030, an ode to the Miracle’s 50th Anniversary. O’Callahan said the team looks forward to reuniting to celebrate that, but said it was fitting, and right, that Coach Brooks’ statue came first, as the man who built the team from the ground up.

While it was, of course, the players who took to the ice, O’Callahan said the “Miracle” was only possible because of the brains, heart and soul that Brooks poured into the team.

Dan Brooks, Herb Brooks’ son, speaks at the unveiling of the Herb Brooks statue at the Lake Placid Olympic Center’s Miracle Plaza on Saturday. (Enterprise photo — Chris Gaige)

“It was a special year with a special man, someone who I still think about on a regular basis,” he said. “I know we’re working on a statute for our team — but this is more important — to do this first.”

Brooks’ daughter, Kelly Brooks Paradise, said that as much as the statue made her look back and think about her father’s legacy, its continued importance — and indeed, the legacy’s lasting impact — will be through the kids it inspires as they walk through the Miracle Plaza in advance of a hockey game. She said this statue is “for the kids,” as much as it’s for anyone — just as Herb would have wanted.

“It wasn’t statues for him, it was never about him,” she said of her father’s personality. “It was always for the kids and for the love of the game. When (my brother) Danny was talking, all I could picture was all the kids walking through, and this gives them something to believe in and something to look forward to in their careers. I was here yesterday watching all these kids, wearing all the USA jerseys. For me, this is for the children.”

Eruzione, in his video remarks, said Brooks was the man with the plan.

“Clearly, Herb Brooks was the man that put it all together,” he said. “He had a system. He had a way that he wanted us to play, and we followed it right to a ‘T.’ As hard as he might have been to play for, as he used say, ‘there’s a method to my madness,’ and clearly there was. And without him, we’re not able to do and accomplish what we accomplished. A brilliant coach, a great man, somebody that you trusted, somebody that you respected. As hard as he was to play for, he knew what he was doing — and what a great honor for him to have a statue in Lake Placid.”

Stanley Rumbough speaks at the unveiling of the Herb Brooks statue at the Lake Placid Olympic Center’s Miracle Plaza on Saturday. (Enterprise photo — Chris Gaige)

Brooks’ son, Dan, said there aren’t too many days when he doesn’t, at least once, think about the “Miracle on Ice.” He’s often thought of hypothetical alternatives, namely, what if the 1980 Winter Olympics didn’t take place in Lake Placid? All else being the same, Brooks said he’s pretty sure the “Miracle” wouldn’t, and couldn’t have taken place.

“Why? Well, I think the answer is clear,” he said. “It’s because of this town. It’s because of Lake Placid. This place is special, it’s magical, it’s even enchanted. I felt it as a 12-year-old in 1980, I felt it in 2005 when the arena was named after my dad and I sure feel it now.”