The 1980 team’s try-out, selection process and 61 game preparation period prior to the 1980 Olympiad in Lake Placid, NY. Home-base for this era was Minnesota, where the team of pure amateurs trained and prepared to play against what was considered the greatest professional hockey team in the world, The 1980 Soviet Red Army team who was waiting in the wings at the 13th Winter Games in Lake Placid.