Scoring Drought Ends; USA v. Finland in Quarters

Even though they scored a team high for goals in this Olympic Tournament, Team USA fell to Russia in the final game of the preliminary round of play 5-4 earlier today. The game actually meant nothing in terms of standings, but it didn't seem that way on the ice, as we saw one of the fastest and most physical games of the opening round.

Craig Conroy had yet another sweet assist, setting up Brian Rolston by sending a pass through the crease that Rolston snuck home. Erik Cole was finally rewarded for the attention he's been drawing from opposing teams, when he came around from behind the net and stuffed his first goal of the tournament past the Russian netminder.

The Americans will face Finland on Wednesday at 11:30a. The game will be live on USA as well as Universal HD. The Finns were 5-0 in Group A play, while the Americans finished 1-3-1, Despite their record, Team USA has not really been dominated outchancing and outshooting their opponents in nearly every game in the preliminary round, the exception being 26-25 to Sweden.

The game is an elimination game, and the loser goes home. The winner will face the winner of the Canada/Russia matchup. The other pairing are Slovakia and the Czech Republic, and Switzerland against Sweden. Potentially the best day of hockey that you will find all year long. Call in sick if you need to.