Ru sia's national nightmare has been realized; the men's hockey team has been eliminated at the Olympics prior to the medal round.Facing enormous pre sure to not just medal but win gold at Mike Moustakas Jersey these Olympics, Ru sia faced longtime rival Finland in the quarterfinals on Wednesday at Bolshoy Ice Dome and came up short, losing 3-1 to their neighbors to the northwest. It brings a collosally disappointing end to the host nation's medal hopes.Perhaps Alex Ovechkin summed it up best for Ru sia.Alex Ovechkin: "It sucks. What else can I say?" Crey Masisak (@cmasisak22) Ru sia opened the scoring in the first period on the power play when Ilya Kovalchuk one-timed a pa s from that flew by Finnish goalie and popped the water bottle. He and the crowd went nuts, Kovalchuk jumping into the air as if he were competing in the Summer Games in track and field.That forced Finland to open it up a little and that's when Finland's skill shone through, not Ru sia's. The Finns tied the game a minute and a half later when Juhamatti Aaltonen undre sed Ru sian defenseman and then managed to beat Ru sian goalie short Brandon Woodruff Jersey side to take the game into the first intermi sion 1-1.In the second period it was the and Mikael Granlund show. Just 2:22 into the period, Granlund turned Eric Thames Jersey on his jets and flew by defenseman in the neutral zone to spring Finland on the rush. He held the puck long enough to draw the defense before he pa sed it over to Selanne who put it between Varlamov's pads for the 2-1 lead. Sochi 2014 Selanne would return the favor in the final five minutes of the period when Finland got a chance on the power play. Selanne's shot was saved by Varlamov but Granlund was there for the rebound to make it 3-1 and set about the panic all acro s the country.A couple of minutes later Varlamov was replaced in the game by Sergei Bobrovsky but that didn't help Ru sia get Ben Gamel Jersey any offense going against Finland's trap and excellent goaltending. Or at least generate any goals.It was partially the Finnish defense and system, partially Rask in net. The goaltender stopped 37 of Ru sia's 38 shots in the game and looked like the goalie Bruins fans have come to know and love. Many are going to look at this as an upset Hernan Perez Jersey in in some ways it absolutely is. Ru sia is the host at these Games and was labeled a pre-Olympic co-favorite to win gold. In the truest sense of the word, an entire nation is certainly upset. But Finland is consistently excellent in international tournaments while Ru sia hasn't been. Finland has had Ru sia's numbers in recent years.In addition to no medal this year, this marks the third straight Olympics in which Ru sia will not medal in hockey. In a country that cares about hockey the way Ru sia does, that's not going to be considered acceptable.