(ABC 6 News) — It is still referred to as one of the greatest underdog stories in the history of American sports — The Miracle on Ice.

In 1980, the U.S. pulled off a win against the Soviet Union in the winter Olympics, when no one expected it.

On Saturday, coaches and players from the Austin Bruins took center stage in expressing what that victory against the Soviets has meant to them over the years.

“I started playing hockey after that. They started taking me to the ponds and when I was 4 I signed up for my first league,” said Steve Howard, head coach of the Austin Bruins.

“That game alone I think made the game grow a lot,” said Bruins captain, Jackson Rilei.

Howard said he was only 2-years-old when the actual game in 1980 was played, but remembers watching re-runs with his family.

“I was pretty inspired after watching the game, obviously it was a re run, but they were going outside and I kept picking up a broken stick and was kind of interrupting the game that they were playing,” Howard said, adding that America’s triumph that day changed the game of hockey forever.

“Anytime you get some more publicity or you tell a story about the sport you love, or the sport that you’re playing for a living. It’s good for the game,” said Howard.

Howard even uses parts of the movie in his own coaching style.

“I’ll say we’re doing Herbies all the time and we’ve have some kids come and skate one time and everybody is like what is a ‘herbie,’ I don’t want to find out. It’s a little bit of a skate that he does during the movie,” Howard said.

Rilei said the movie not only inspired him growing up, but everyone who watches it.

“It definitely one of my favorite movies, and I think everybody who watches it kind of gets touched by it,” said Rilei.

Coaches and players emphasized that the U.S’s victory still motivates them and played a big role in their desire to want to coach and play the sport.