BLOOMINGTON, Minn. (KMSP) - A Bloomington, Minn. native and Academy of Holy Angels hockey player who portrayed Mike Ramsey in the movie “Miracle” about Team USA’s victory over the Russians before winning the 1980 Winter Olympics died in a car crash in Montana on Sunday.
The Star Tribune reported Joe Cure, 31, was a graduate student in neuroscience at Montana State University in Bozeman. Cure was driving Sunday morning at high elevations when his vehicle slid off Highway 287 and rolled several times, Madison County Sheriff’s Office said.
Cure was a member of the 2002 Academy of Holy Angels team that won the Class AA state hockey tournament. He went on to play junior hockey in Belton, Texas, and auditioned for “Miracle” with no acting experience.
A 2014 Let's Play Hockey profile on Cure said a friend had pointed out an ad in the Star Tribune looking for hockey players for the movie, and after four separate auditions, including on-ice tryouts.
Sheriff’s officials said there’s no evidence that alcohol or distracted driving were factors in the crash.
Cure's perhaps most memorable line came while his team was being admonished in the locker room by Herb Brooks, played by Kurt Russell.
Brooks: "This is unbelievable. You guys are playing like this is some throw away game up in Rochester. Who we playing Rammer?"
Ramsey: "Sweden."
Brooks: "Yeah. You're da-- right Sweden! In the Olympics!"
h/t the Star Tribune