Saturday, February 22, 2014

U.S. Finishes Out of Medals in Loss to Finland


Unbelievable. Terrible. Disappointing. Mortifying.

Four years after settling for silver in Vancouver, the U.S Men's Olympic Hockey Team didn't even bring home the bronze, falling to Finland by a 5-0 score in the third-place game today in Sochi, Russia. The Americans have now failed to medal in two of the last three Olympics, and three of the last five since NHL players became eligible to participate in 1998.

Patrick Kane came up short on two penalty shots against Tuuku Rask, hitting the post on the second one, and didn't register a single goal in the tournament. It was the second straight day the U.S. couldn't score, following a 1-0 semifinal defeat yesterday against Canada, which plays Sweden for gold tomorrow before the XXII Winter Olympic games close.

Finland led, 2-0, after two periods on Saturday, and added three power-play goals in the third stanza to put it away in embarrassing fashion. Teemu Selanne, 43, scored twice for the Finns in his international finale, including the game-winner. Jonathan Quick (Massachusetts) made 24 saves for the U.S. in suffering his second straight defeat, and wasn't happy afterwards about his team's effort, including his own.

Herb Brooks is spinning in his grave.

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