Mark Wells, member of U.S. Olympic “Miracle on Ice” hockey team, dies at 66 – KIRO 7 News Seattle

USA Hockey and Bowling Green State University, Wells’ college alma mater, also announced his death.

“It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of Mark R. Wells. He was so much more than an Olympic hero or “The Commish,” reads a post on Wells’ official Facebook page. “He was a friend to everyone he met. Just a great man. Please allow his family and loved ones the privacy they deserve during this time of great sadness.”

Wells played in all seven games for coach Herb Brooks’ U.S. hockey team at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, scoring two goals and one assist, NBC Sports reported.

According to NHL.com, he scored his goals in a 5-1 win over Norway and a 7-2 win over Romania in the preliminary round.

According to a university press release, Wells played hockey at Bowling Green from 1975 to 1979 and received a scholarship after his freshman season.

Wells suffered a hairline fracture in his ankle four months before the Olympics and was the last player named to the squad, NBC Sports reported, citing Wayne Coffey’s book “The Boys of Winter: The Untold Story of a Coach, a Dream, and the “2005 1980 U.S. Olympic ice hockey team.”

“I don’t care if you don’t score,” Brooks told Wells, according to the book. “I need you to be my defensive center man. I need you to shut people up.”

Wells told The New York Times in an interview in 2002 that he had to persuade Brooks to add him to the squad after his injury.

“I remember spitting at his feet and saying, ‘No, Herb, this is my dream,'” Wells said. “I worked my butt off for years. Let me have a chance.”

Wells was selected 176th overall by the Montreal Canadiens in the 1977 NHL Entry Draft.

After the Olympics, he played nine games for Nova Scotia, Montreal’s American Hockey League affiliate, but was traded to the Detroit Red Wings, according to NHL.com. After refusing to join the Red Wings, he was released and signed with the New York Rangers.

He never reached the NHL, but played nine games for the Rangers’ AHL affiliate in New Haven, where he scored 14 goals and added 29 assists, NHL.com reported.

Wells was inducted into the Bowling Green State University Athletic Hall of Fame in 1992.

In 2014, the St. Clair Shores City Council voted to rename a rink at the Civic Arena after him, the Macomb Daily reported.

According to Olympics.com, Wells took early retirement because of severe back problems related to a rare spinal cord disease. According to the Macomb Daily, he sold his Olympic gold medal more than a decade ago to cover medical costs.

Mike Eruzione, captain of the 1980 Olympic team, tweeted that it was a “sad day.”

“Number 15 Mark Wells passed away yesterday. Great teammate, obviously a great hockey player, and we’ll miss him.”