SOCHI, Russia -- Team USA captain Zach Parise was using words such as "embarrassing" and "disappointing" in the mixed zone while on the television monitors dotting the interview area at Bolshoy Ice Dome, at the same time the euphoric Finns were accepting their bronze medals after rolling over an undisciplined and surprisingly fragile American team.

It made for a nice juxtaposition, if a sobering one, for a U.S. team that came into the second week of play at these Olympics as the team virtually everyone -- players, media, coaches -- agreed was playing better than any other team.

But within the space of 24 hours, the Americans were shut out 1-0 by archrival Canada in the semifinal and humbled by an injury-wracked Finnish team, 5-0.

"Disappointing," Parise said. "A little embarrassing, with what was on the line the last two days and for us to not play well really in either of the games. That's something that will frustrate all of us for quite a long time."

Like many of his teammates, Parise seemed at a loss to put his finger on just where things went so wrong.

"It's very disappointing the way the game shook out. With a medal on the line, you get blown out 5-0. That's unacceptable at this point, at this stage of the tournament," said Parise, who finished the tournament with just one goal. "We're going home empty-handed with some pretty high expectations and high hopes coming into here a couple weeks ago. To leave on this note is pretty ugly."

The U.S. dominated in the preliminaries but couldn't get it going during the medal rounds. The Americans finished a disappointing fourth. Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

The stark reality of the situation is that Team USA peaked exactly one week earlier. On the first Saturday of the Olympic tournament, the U.S. beat Russia in a shootout that made T.J. Oshie a household name and had people bandying about the term "classic." Great game.

In the end, that 3-2 win that featured an eight-round shootout meant nothing, a Sochi footnote. Or, worse for the Americans, a taunting reminder of what they were capable of yet were so far from when the games really mattered.

"We didn't show up. We let our country down, that's it," said U.S. and Montreal Canadiens forward Max Pacioretty.

In its final two games of this tournament, games played less than 24 hours apart, the U.S. could not find a way to convert all of the promise felt a week ago, all of the optimism felt as the U.S. headed to its second straight Olympic semifinal, into something tangible -- like an Olympic medal.

"It feels like you played this tournament for nothing," said U.S. and Colorado Avalanche center Paul Stastny. "You win that quarterfinal game; you get excited because you know you're going to play for a medal; and you come away with nothing. Not much to say, just disappointing, sour, I guess. A medal's a medal and it's going to be with you forever and we couldn't come up with one and that's the part that's most frustrating."

After being stifled and suffocated by Canada in a 1-0 loss, the score of which flattered the Americans, one wondered how they would respond to the crushing disappointment. And their bronze-medal showing at least started as a vigorous, compelling game of hockey before the Finns poured three goals past the U.S. in the third period.

For the first 40 minutes, this wasn't a matter of the U.S. going through the motions. There was Ryan Kesler blocking a shot with his chest in the first period in a mad scramble to prevent the Finns from opening the scoring. Jonathan Quick was once again terrific, stopping a handful of difficult chances while the Americans seemed to regain their offensive footing.

The Americans controlled the puck for long stretches of play. They generated traffic in front, were creative and forced Finnish netminder Tuukka Rask, who had missed the Finns' semifinal loss to Sweden because of illness, to be sharp. Midway through the first period, it seemed as though the U.S. had enjoyed as much puck possession time as it had in the entire semifinal loss to Canada.

But the Finns, one of the pleasant surprises of this tournament, continued to play impressive hockey in spite of injuries and scored twice in 11 seconds early in the second period, the first on a backhand by incomparable Teemu Selanne in his Olympic swan song, to create a meteor-sized crater from which the Americans could not emerge.

Want a snapshot of this tournament for an American team that came within a goal of winning a gold medal four years ago in Vancouver and that came out of the preliminary round in Sochi the consensus best team in the tournament? How about two?

In the first period, Patrick Kane was elected to take a penalty shot after Finnish defenseman Kimmo Timonen shot a broken stick at Kane's linemate Kesler. The two-time Stanley Cup champ, who scored the Cup-winning goal in 2010 and who has evolved into one of the most dangerous players in the game, saw the puck roll off the end of his stick as he tried to make a move. Then in the second, after the Finns had stunned the U.S. with their two quick goals, Kane burst into the clear and had his stick slashed in half by a Finnish defender. Another penalty shot was awarded. On this one, Kane shot, only to have the puck strike the post just below the crossbar, the puck bouncing right back to Kane as though to mock him.

Through six games, Kane failed to score a goal. He was also in the penalty box (or just about to come out) when the Finns began to turn the game into a rout with their third goal of the game early in the third. It was one of the most disappointing games of his career, Kane acknowledged.

"No excuses," the Chicago Blackhawks star said. "I wasn't good enough to help the team win a medal. Obviously, I was expected to do a lot more. When you come over here and put up zero goals and four assists in six games, it's not the numbers you want to see. Definitely disappointing."