Host Russia eliminated by Finland in hockey quarterfinals

SOCHI, Russia -- The home team is out of the Olympic men's hockey tournament.

Russia lost, 3-1, to Finland in the quarterfinals yesterday, putting an abrupt end to the gold-medal designs of Alex Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin, Ilya Kovalchuk and a talented roster that had been expected to return the Russians to their previous Olympic heights.

Teemu Selanne and Mikael Granlund each had a goal and an assist for the Finns, who took a first-period lead and never let it go while the Bolshoy Ice Dome crowd watched disconsolately.

Finland's strong play in front of goalie Tuukka Rask (37 saves) was too much for the Russians, who raised their sticks at center ice after the game to whistles and jeers. The result wasn't shocking, given Russia's inconsistencies and top-heavy roster, but many fans held out hope the Russians would figure it out before elimination.

Instead, they'll rank among the biggest disappointments in Sochi for failing even to make it to the medal rounds. Russian players haven't won Olympic gold in 22 years, and they haven't won any medals at all in the last three Olympics.

"Inside, I'm absolutely empty," Russia captain Pavel Datsyuk said through a translator.

Russia's fans in attendance had difficulty reconciling the failure.

"For seven years we have been waiting and preparing for the Olympics and most of all we waited for the ice hockey and today it was a catastrophe and shame for Russia," said Sergey Kazakov, a 58-year-old retiree.

Russia coach Zinetula Bilyaletdinov apologized to the fans after the game, but it's clear that it's going to take some time for these new wounds to heal.