The United State men’s hockey team won’t be returning home from the 2014 Winter Olympics with anything better than a bronze medal, and that’s not sitting well with at least one member of Team USA.
U.S. defenseman Ryan Suter was emotional when speaking to reporters following the Americans’ 1-0 loss to Canada in a semifinal game in Sochi on Friday. The disappointment of having to settle for the bronze medal game was clear for Suter, who was critical of his team in the moments following the disappointing defeat.
Suter told Arpon Basu of LNH.com that the Americans were “terrible” in the losing effort. The Minnesota Wild defenseman was also critical of the American offense that couldn’t find the back of the net despite entering the game as the tournament leader in goals.
“It’s tough to win when you don’t play in the offensive zone,” he added.
Suter’s harsh assessment of his team might be emotion more than anything. Team USA certainly didn’t play its best game Friday, but the loss was more a product of being inferior to Canada above all else. The Canadians are a better team, and they made the most of their incredible high-end talent. It may take some time for that to set in for Suter and the rest of the Americans who will have to try and bounce back Saturday for the bronze medal game against Finland.
Photo via Twitter/@NHL
