“Unraveling in Russia” doesn’t begin to explain the demoralizing defeat the U.S. men’s hockey team took at the hands of Finland on Saturday.
The 5-0 blowout gave the Finns the bronze medal and sent the heavily favored Americans home without a medal. Minnesota Wild star and captain of Team USA Zach Parise said he was embarrassed by the loss.
“Disappointed,” Parise said. “A little embarrassing with what was on the line for is the last two days and not play well.”
Parise, who led the way with eight shots on goal against Canada on Friday, didn’t attempt a single shot on goal today.
Finland seized control of the game with back-to-back goals by Teemu Selanne and Jussi Jokinen just 11 seconds apart in the early stages of the second period. The third period was another story, with the Finns capitalizing on a pair of power plays and scoring another even-strength goal to push the margin to five goals.
U.S. goaltender Jonathan Quick told Pro Hockey Talk that he isn’t buying into the notion that they struggled because they had to play two consecutive days.
“It shouldn’t be too hard,” he said. “We do that all year long. We’re professionals. We play back-to-backs all year long.”
Patrick Kane set an Olympic record by taking two penalty shots, both of which he couldn’t convert into goals.
Wild winger Mikael Granlund had two assists for the Finns.
The gold-medal game will be played between top-seed Sweden and No. 3 Canada, which defeated the U.S. in the semifinal round, on Sunday.
