Crowds gathered in downtown St. Paul on Saturday to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Miracle on Ice.

On Feb. 22, 1980, the U.S. men's Olympic hockey team beat the heavily-favored Soviet team in Lake Placid, N.Y. The Americans went on to win the gold medal.

Saturday's free, family-friendly event in St. Paul celebrated that anniversary with youth hockey games and a parade.

Greatest Day celebration in St. Paul Fullscreen Slide Previous Slide 19 of 19 Limited-release "Miracle on Ice" beer was brewed for the Greatest Day celebration on Saturday, Feb. 22. 2020 at CHS Field in St. Paul. Christopher Juhn for MPR News 1 of 19 A group leads the Greatest Day parade on Saturday in downtown St. Paul. The event marked the 40th anniversary of the Miracle on Ice victory by the U.S. men's hockey team at the 1980 Winter Olympics. Christopher Juhn for MPR News 2 of 19 John Mayasich, an Eveleth, Minn., native and a member for the 1960 Olympic gold-medal-winning U.S. men's hockey team, waves U.S. flags during the Greatest Day parade on Saturday. Christopher Juhn for MPR News Next Slide

Tom Whaley of the St. Paul Saints baseball team is part of the organizing committee for what was called the Greatest Day Celebration.

"The idea is about connecting our kids with that day 40 years ago when we all were Americans and everyone was, you know, in a state of disbelief and euphoria for the fact that a bunch of college kids — many of them from Minnesota and a few of them from St. Paul -- had taken down the mighty Soviet hockey team," he said.

Saturday's parade started at the Herb Brooks statue near Rice Park and traveled to CHS Field, where two youth teams competed in a re-enactment while wearing U.S. and USSR jerseys.