Posted on 02/19/2014 9:35:36 AM PST by chessplayer
SOCHI, Russia -- The Russians dutifully shook the Finns' hands and then skated to the center of a rink built to showcase their return to hockey dominance. When they raised their sticks in a mournful salute, they got more whistles than cheers from their devastated fans.
Alex Ovechkin, Pavel Datsyuk and their teammates had nursed dreams about this week for several years.
They were all dashed in 60 frustrating minutes.
Russia crashed out of the Olympics in the quarterfinals Wednesday with a 3-1 loss to Finland, extending a historic hockey nation's gold-medal drought past 22 years and putting an enormous damper on the final days of the Sochi Games.
"Inside, I'm absolutely empty,'' Datsyuk said through a translator.
A quarterfinal exit is excruciating for the proud Russian team, which pressed relentlessly and fruitlessly in the scoreless third period. After the final buzzer, several Russian players stood on the ice with their hands on their knees, while Malkin dropped to one knee.
Dozens of fans lingered in their seats long after the team left the ice, disconsolately folding their flags and staring at the ice. A few Finnish fans near center ice even went up to a group of Russian fans for a hug.
(Excerpt) Read more at sports.espn.go.com ...
My bet is that they were cute, of the opposite sex and possibly in need of a little lovin' to console them.
Off to the Gulag the Russian players go.
WOW
Watched the Russia - USA game last week
Russia was clearly a formidable foe.
I was looking forward to the rematch in the finals
You know the NHL owners are flying their private jets into Sochi as we speak to evacuate their Russian players. hee hee
They never again looked as good as they did against the US. They really struggled against Slovakia, who had stunk up this tournament and was playing their third-string goalie, and versus a beer league team from Norway.
Finland is a legit contender for the gold. No surprise here.
Watched the Russia - USA game last week
Russia was clearly a formidable foe.
That loose net call (against the U.S.) by the ref may have played on the Russian teams minds. They just weren’t firing on all cylinders after that game. There was a huge amount of pressure on them to win it all on their home turf. Plus they were tired while Finland was well rested. All the hype from the start has been on Russia, Canada, and the U.S.
Citizenship?
USA.
How long were you out of the country?
Approximately 24 hours.
Where did you travel?
Sochi, Russia.
Do you have anything to declare?
Yes, a scoring forward and alternate captain of the Detroit Red Wings.
Finland is a legit contender for the gold. No surprise here.
And Sweden is sneaking up on people. They won it all in 2006. Should be a great final four.
If Canada gets by Latvia.
17 of their 25 team members play in the NHL, so it would be more correct to say that NHL hockey is big in Russia.
Dos vidanya, Rossiya.
Mr. Putin would like a word with all of you out back....
Several commentators have said that THIS medal was the one the Russians wanted. Vladimir Pozner (former Kremlin spokesman during the Cold War whose English is well nigh unto perfect) said, “If the Russians lose this one, all the other golds won’t matter.”
Several commentators have said that THIS medal was the one the Russians wanted. Vladimir Pozner (former Kremlin spokesman during the Cold War whose English is well nigh unto perfect) said, “If the Russians lose this one, all the other golds won’t matter.”
Waaay too much pressure put on that team, especially after losing the first game against the U.S. the way they did. Doesn’t matter how professional they were, that kind of pressure had to affect them to some degree. Hockey isn’t a national obsession in the U.S. like it is in Russia.
“And finally, you can’t discount the pressure this team was under. A Norway player after Tuesday’s game told us the Russians looked tight and appeared as though the last place they wanted to be was on the ice that night. Once they lost that game to Team USA last Saturday, a thriller of an affair, it’s as if the weight of the host nation became unbearable for the Russian team to burden.”
Gotta love those Boston Bruins!
Someday the Russkies will learn not to mess with the Finns.
(But it is not this day . . . )
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