Rob McClanahan

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Olympic medal record
Men's Ice Hockey
Gold	1980 Lake Placid	Team

Rob McClanahan is a former American ice hockey player, born in St. Paul, Minnesota on January 9, 1958. He was a winger for the U.S. Olympic team in the 1980 Winter Olympics, which were held in Lake Placid, New York. The team played in what came to be known as the "Miracle on Ice" game, beating all odds and defeating the undefeated Soviet National team 4-3.

[edit] 1980 Winter Olympics

Early in the tournament, during a game against Sweden McClanahan sustained a bruise on the upper thigh, which left the U.S. team short another player, as fellow teammate Jack O'Callahan had been injured during the exhibition game against the Soviet Union only three days prior to the Olympics. A famed argument between McClanahan and Team USA's coach Herb Brooks helped motivate McClanahan to play through his injury and inspire his team to a come-from-behind draw against Sweden that was vital to the team's gold medal success later in the tournament. McClanahan was played by Nathan West in the 2004 Disney movie Miracle, which starred actor Kurt Russell as coach Herb Brooks and which told the story of the 1980 U.S. Olympic gold medal win.

[edit] Domestic career

McClanahan was selected forty-ninth overall in the 1978 National Hockey League draft by the Buffalo Sabres but did not begin playing with the Sabres until 1980, shortly after the 1980 Winter Olympics. His NHL career was short-lived, playing on three separate teams (Buffalo, Hartford and the New York Rangers). He bounced between the NHL and the American Hockey League and played part of the 1983/1984 season in the Central Hockey League with the Tulsa Oilers before finishing his NHL career with the New York Rangers in 1984.