photo courtesy of disney "Miracle," based on a true story, traces a group of college kids as they compete against the Soviet Union hockey team in the 1980 Olympic Games.

You know how it goes: a non-professional hockey team with a roster full of misfits and underdogs is pieced together. The coach, a determined elder, sets out to turn this ragtag gang into the best damn hockey team this side of the Great White North.

Along the way, a few bumps and minor in-house skirmishes are sustained, but the puck-heads remain focused, destined to make headlines from Bangor to Bakersfield.

So where is Emilio Estevez anyway?

No, "Miracle" is not the fourth installment of "The Mighty Ducks" dynasty; it's an altogether different Disney-hockey beast.

Se–or Estevez must have been busy stalking his ex, Paula Abdul, when Disney called about the head-coaching role.

Luckily, a sweaty Kurt Russell had just finished trying to make another Kate Hudson with Goldie Hawn when the bed phone rang.

And boy, is Disney glad Russell picked up after those two rings.

Russell does a fantastic job as Herb Brooks, head coach for the dark horse 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team. He sublimely captures the drive and determination of a man so hell-bent on beating those damn vodka-swilling, No. 1-ranked Russians that he refuses to back down from one single coaching decision. Ever.

Russell's portrayal of Brooks' stubbornness will pull the audience into what his players and assistant coaches could have only perceived as unabashed madness, but what viewers, who know the outcome, will recognize as sheer willpower.

Disney seemed to have the on-screen telling of this true story meticulously planned: The actors who make up the team's characters are mostly unknowns and some real-life former college hockey players. Likewise, the real-life team back in 1980 was made up of unknown college hockey players from either Boston or Minnesota.

Moreover, the actors, who do a fine job with the accents, improve their acting game as their characters improve their hockey game in the movie. For instance, an early bar scene reveals maybe the best acting crop is not on display. As the story progresses, however, they become less of a team of awkward actors and more of a team USA, which is a good thing.

Yes, it lacks gritty realism, the patriotic timing is questionable, "The Mighty Ducks" rehashing lingers, but when Russell's bulldog-faced coach character finally cracks a smile in the closing moments, you realize that this is a true tale of unwavering bare-bone passion and courage.

Even if the ending is clear, the charged Zamboni ride of "Miracle" still proves suspenseful.

Although Russell will most likely not receive an Oscar nod next year, if Denzel Washington can nab the statue for his work in the painfully average "Training Day," he should at least have a fighting chance with this one.