Down without a fight

TURIN, Italy – Team USA ran out of time, excuses and former Soviet breakaway republics.

That’s how a disappointing Olympic tournament and an era for USA Hockey came to a close Wednesday night with a 4-3 loss to Finland in the quarterfinals.

The oldest team at the Winter Games could not continue because the Azerbaijans and Uzbekistans of the hockey world did not qualify for the Olympics.

The fact Team USA’s only tournament points were earned against Latvia and Kazakhstan, however, didn’t bother forward Mike Modano as much as the idea that players’ families had to make their travel arrangements to Turin.

“That’s something that should be taken care of (by USA Hockey) so we don’t have to worry about it,” said Modano, who was benched in the third period. “We can focus on hockey and get ourselves ready to play and not have to think about those things.”

So travel itineraries made weeks ago, not aging stars and spotty goaltending were the culprits in a 1-4-1 tournament record? Oh, but Modano, 35, wasn’t finished. He said “new blood” was needed at the top of USA Hockey administration.

Eight years after Team USA players destroyed property in their Nagano dorm rooms, Modano trashes the program he has represented for more than a decade … on the 26th anniversary of the Miracle on Ice in Lake Placid, N.Y.

“I think sometimes players in the emotions of the game don’t realize what needs to happen and does happen behind the scenes to make these tournaments happen,” said Team USA general manager Don Waddell, who fought back tears while discussing the team’s struggles.

The “new blood” needs to come on the roster. Bottom line is the nucleus of USA Hockey got old and the next generation of players isn’t quite ready.

The U.S. team wasn’t a serious medal threat here. The gold-medal favorite Canadians – shut out in three of their final four games including Wednesday’s 2-0 quarterfinal loss to Russia – are the ones deserving grief for their on-ice performance. Alexander Ovechkin converted a power play at 1:30 of the third period, and Alexei Kovalev added another power-play goal with 23 seconds remaining to lift Russia to a 2-0 victory over the Canadians. It was a stunning loss for Canada, the defending Olympic champion and favorite to repeat.

“Everybody in my country is jumping and drinking lots of vodka,” Ovechkin said.

The win sets up a semifinal showdown Friday with Finland. The Czech Republic faces Sweden in the other semifinal.

The matchups mark the first all-European semifinals since the NHL began sending its players to the Olympics in 1998.

Sweden crushed Switzerland 6-2, led by Henrik Sedin, Fredrik Modin, Henrik Zetterberg and Samuel Pahlsson.

Slovakia, 5-0 in the preliminaries, slipped against its neighbors. Slovakia and the Czech Republic were one country until they split up in 1993.

The Americans need a lesson in handling defeat with a bit more dignity. Chad Hedrick and Shani Davis verbally spar in a news conference. Johnny Weir includes a tardy bus as a reason for why he didn’t skate better in the men’s long program.

Modano probably would counter that at least Weir’s bus was arranged by the U.S. Olympic Committee.

“You would think USA Hockey would be more of a well-oiled operation,” said Modano, who also was unhappy with coach Peter Laviolette. “It’s frustrating. We’ve put a lot into it, we’ve come a long way, and you want things to run smoothly behind the scenes.”

Credit several of Modano’s teammates, asked directly to respond to the comments, for not agreeing. Fellow forward Bill Guerin cut to the heart of the issue.

“We have had a good group over the last decade and we would love to keep it together,” Guerin said. “But time and other things are an issue.”

Modano: two goals in six games. Keith Tkachuk, 33: no goals, no assists, minus-5 rating. Doug Weight, 35: no goals, three assists. Team captain and defenseman Chris Chelios, 44, played well in the final game, but he like the rest of the aforementioned players won’t be back.

We’re talking the core group of a 2002 Olympic silver-medal team, a 1996 World Cup of Hockey champion.

Help should be forthcoming by the next Olympics. The Americans won the 2004 World Junior Championships. Young standouts such as Phil Kessel and Jack Johnson could be ready for Vancouver in 2010.