from Joe Lapointe at Deadline Detroit,

One of the few places in Metro Detroit where you could see a live telecast of the 4-3 U.S. victory over the Soviet Union that Friday was the Blue Goose, along with homes in the East Side suburbs along the international border.

That was important because the ABC television network covered the game only on videotape and showed it, on a delayed basis, during prime time in the U.S....

If you wanted to see USA vs. USSR when it actually took place, you had to drive to Lake Placid and buy a ticket or find a TV near the Canadian border, preferably with a UHF antenna.

And that was exactly what they had at the Blue Goose. It could pick up Channel 42, on the CTV network, from Sarnia. That was 60 miles away as the Canada goose flies from St. Clair Shores, with no buildings in the lake to block the signal....

ABC Sports – then the powerhouse in American TV sports – owned rights to the Olympics in the U.S. and manipulated its “same-day, tape-delay” coverage so that major events that took place before 8 p.m. were held back for prime-time presentation when the audience and sponsorship revenues were largest....

But in some cities – including Detroit – local stations accidentally ruined the ersatz suspense during station breaks by offering “teases” with announcers saying something like “USA beats Russia in hockey! Miracle on Ice! Film at 11!” In Detroit, it happened on Channel 7 (WXYZ-TV) and the guilty news anchor was Bill Bonds.

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Below, watch a 12 minute highlight package of the game.