Miracle On Ice Celebration Comes To Coventry Village

CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, OH — It has been 40 years since Al Michaels shouted into his broadcast microphone, "Do you believe in miracles?" In the intervening decades, the U.S.'s Olympic victory over a dominant USSR team has become the stuff of legend (and cinema) and the moment will be celebrated in Cleveland Heights' Coventry Village neighborhood on Saturday.

Starting at 7 p.m., Panini's Bar and Grill is partnering with Labatt Beer to sponsor a Super Chexx Bubble Hockey Tournament. The winner will receive a 1980s U.S. "Miracle" jersey. The second place winner will receive a copy of The Miracle in Lake Placid; The Greatest Hockey Story Ever Told, courtesy of Mac's Backs Books.

NHL video games will be played at Panini's all night. Attenson's Antiques will have a surprise or two for the gamers, according to a Coventry Village spokesperson.

Tim Swan, general manager of Panini's in Coventry Village, has turned his bar and restaurant into a haven for hockey lovers. With a NHL Center Ice TV package, the eatery highlights hockey throughout the week.

"I don’t think I can sum up my love affair with hockey," Swan said. "It’s just something we grew up with. We watched it, we played it, we talked about it, we played video games of it. There’s nothing more exhilarating than a good hockey game. And the greatest hockey game of all time is the 1980 Olympics in the semi-finals USA versus Russia. The come from behind win. It’s everything you want in a game."

More information on the event can be found on Facebook.