Finland knocks Russia out of Olympic hockey
Published 9:57 am Wednesday, February 19, 2014
SOCHI, Russia — Finland eliminated Russia from the Olympic men’s hockey tournament with a 3-1 victory Wednesday, putting a stunning end to the Russians’ enormous expectations at home.
Teemu Selanne scored an early goal and Tuukka Rask made 37 saves as Finland crushed the Russians’ dreams of winning hockey gold in front of their own fans. Russian teams have won eight gold medals in hockey, but none in the last 22 years.
Selanne and Mikael Granlund each had a goal and an assist for the steady Finns, who overcame an early deficit and silenced the Bolshoy Ice Dome with two goals in the first period.
Despite its roster of high-priced offensive stars, Russia couldn’t score in the final 52 minutes after Ilya Kovalchuk’s early power-play goal.
Finland will face top-seeded Sweden in the semifinals on Friday.
Russia has failed to win a medal in three straight Olympics since 2002, and even home-ice advantage couldn’t end the embarrassing drought.
A quarterfinal exit is excruciating for the proud Russian team, which pressed relentlessly and fruitlessly in the third period after falling behind by two goals.