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GANGNEUNG — The worst possible outcome for an Olympic team without NHL players landed like a spear to the gut in an embarrassing night for Canadian hockey Friday at the Gangneung Hockey Arena.

Never mind the comeback, a dismal effort early on doomed Team Canada in a stunner of an Olympic hockey semifinal. Not only did they fall 4-3 to a group of little-known Germans, they punctuated it with a tone-setting start marred by lacklustre play and some old-fashioned head hunting.

How colossal was the upset? It was just the second German victory in 30 international meetings with Canada and they did it despite being outshot 15-1 in the third period and 31-15 overall.

Photo by Leah Hennel / Postmedia Network

In no particular order, the Canadians were uninspired, undisciplined and unprepared to face a team they were favoured to handle with ease. Instead, they watched the Germans beat them to loose pucks and take advantage of some suspect goaltending while jumping out to a 3-0 lead, all before the makeshift bunch of Canadians showed any willingness to compete.