The Russian ice hockey team suffered an ignominious defeat by Finland on Wednesday, knocking them out of what had been considered one of the most important events for the hosts at the
Sochi Games.
The Russians lost 3-1 in a quarter-final upset that was greeted with amazement and depression among Russian fans. Ice hockey is by far the most popular sport in Russia of those represented at the Winter Olympics and is also one of the favoured sports of the President, Vladimir Putin, who plays with friends on a regular basis.
Ilya Kovalchuk opened the scoring early on but the atmosphere turned to despair as Finland scored three goals before the end of the second period. In a tightly contested third period the Russians were unable to find a way past the disciplined Finnish defence.
At the end of the game the
Russian team skated off the ice to jeers as the Finns celebrated jubilantly. They will play Sweden in a semi-final, from which even the loser gets a shot at a medal in the bronze play-off.
Russia have struggled in the tournament since losing an epic encounter with the US during the group stage. The match finished 2-2 after the Russians were controversially denied a winning goal in the closing stages and the Americans then won in a penalty shootout.
Conspiracy theories abounded, given that one of the referees was a US national, and a programme on Russian state television claimed that the game had been rigged by US television interests.
After that defeat the Russians ground out a 0-0 draw with unfancied Slovakia, which they won on penalties, before beating Norway.
Finland are no minnows, and took the bronze medal at the Vancouver Olympics but the Russian team, filled with talent from the NHL and Russia's KHL, was still expected to win on home ice. [
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