photo: Tim Austen/IIHF
Sweden scored two goals in the third period to break a 2-2 deadlock en route to a 4-3 victory over the United States tonight. The win sends Sweden to tomorrow's gold-medal game against Canada. Last year, Canada beat Sweden, 5-4, in the semi-finals en route to gold. The Americans will now face Slovakia for bronze in the early game tomorrow.
The win is sweet retribution for Sweden, which lost to the Americans, 6-3, during the prelininary round.
"Our coach said to us after the last time we played them--we're not losing again," said Filip Ekberg. "I think we learned a little bit more about how they played, and everybody on this team wanted to beat USA in their home rink. We're happy for the win tonight, but we came here for the gold. That's still what we're going for. If we play our best 60 minutes, we have a good chance of winning a gold medal tomorrow."
Ekberg had a goal and assist tonight and continues to lead the tournament in goals (10) and points (18). Viggo Bjorck had a goal and two assists for the victors.
"Really disappointing, but couldn't be more proud of our team and how they played," said U.S. coach Greg Moore. "We outshot them almost two to one. We gave ourselves the best possible chance to win the game. Their goalie made a lot of big saves, and they took advantage of a couple of mistakes on our end. It's heart-breaking. Our guys deserved a better outcome. They really controlled the game for the most part. But that's why the tournament is so hard to win. It's not a best-of-seven. It's a one-off game, and sometimes things don't go your way. Best of luck to Sweden tomorrow."
Ekberg and Bjorck combined beautifully for the go-ahead goal, Bjorck dishing off to Ekberg and going to the net to get the return pass, converting at 7:27. Five minutes later, Bjorck set up Eric Nilson for a tap-in goal off the rush moments after the Swedes killed two quick penalties, including a 3-on-5 for 51 seconds.
The Americans got one back off a crazy bounce on a shoot-in. Cullen Potter had an open net with Harenstam behind the goal ready to play the puck, which bounced oddly right in front. That made it 4-3, but the Americans could get no closer.
The first period flew by, with one stretch of play without a whistle going some eight minutes. The Americans had the better of puck possession, but the Swedes had perhaps the two best chances, one early, one late.
The early one was a near miss by Viktor Klingsell, who got open with speed in the slot, deked Patrick Quinlan, but ran out of room, trying unsuccessfully to put the puck in from behind the red line. Late in the period, Ekberg had a great chance in front, but Quinlan made a sensational blocker save to keep the game goalless.
The second period was a wild and crazy 20-minute ride that saw each team score a nice, legit goal and each a goal that required help from an odd bounce off the boards.
The Americans had a great chance early on to open the scoring when Mikey Berchild’s shot was stopped by Harenstam, but the rebound came out so quickly that L.J. Mooney was not able to react in time on the open side. Harenstam then made an awesome right-pad save off a Will Horcoff shot, but the home side finally hit the twine at 5:14 when Garrett Lindberg’s point shot went all the way.
The Swedes came back with a vengeance. First, Bjorck and Ekberg hooked up for a nice score, again, the former finding the latter in front for Ekberg’s tournament-leading 10th goal. Less than two minutes later, the Swedes took their first lead off a super lucky bounce. Charlie Trethewey backhanded th puck around the boards behind his own goal, but it hit a protrusion in the boards and came right into the crease. Quinlan was facing the other way and didn’t see what had happened. Ivar Stenberg swatted it into the open cage at 10:13.
The U.S. then had a chance of their own to tie it when Jack Murtagh stole the puck at his blue line dashed down the rink, only to be stoned by Harenstam. No matter. A sharp dump-in by the Americans went wide past Harenstam’s glove and out the other side where it bounced right at the net. Drew Schock was right there to whack it in before the goalie knew what had happened.
The win is sweet retribution for Sweden, which lost to the Americans, 6-3, during the prelininary round.
"Our coach said to us after the last time we played them--we're not losing again," said Filip Ekberg. "I think we learned a little bit more about how they played, and everybody on this team wanted to beat USA in their home rink. We're happy for the win tonight, but we came here for the gold. That's still what we're going for. If we play our best 60 minutes, we have a good chance of winning a gold medal tomorrow."
Ekberg had a goal and assist tonight and continues to lead the tournament in goals (10) and points (18). Viggo Bjorck had a goal and two assists for the victors.
"Really disappointing, but couldn't be more proud of our team and how they played," said U.S. coach Greg Moore. "We outshot them almost two to one. We gave ourselves the best possible chance to win the game. Their goalie made a lot of big saves, and they took advantage of a couple of mistakes on our end. It's heart-breaking. Our guys deserved a better outcome. They really controlled the game for the most part. But that's why the tournament is so hard to win. It's not a best-of-seven. It's a one-off game, and sometimes things don't go your way. Best of luck to Sweden tomorrow."
Ekberg and Bjorck combined beautifully for the go-ahead goal, Bjorck dishing off to Ekberg and going to the net to get the return pass, converting at 7:27. Five minutes later, Bjorck set up Eric Nilson for a tap-in goal off the rush moments after the Swedes killed two quick penalties, including a 3-on-5 for 51 seconds.
The Americans got one back off a crazy bounce on a shoot-in. Cullen Potter had an open net with Harenstam behind the goal ready to play the puck, which bounced oddly right in front. That made it 4-3, but the Americans could get no closer.
The first period flew by, with one stretch of play without a whistle going some eight minutes. The Americans had the better of puck possession, but the Swedes had perhaps the two best chances, one early, one late.
The early one was a near miss by Viktor Klingsell, who got open with speed in the slot, deked Patrick Quinlan, but ran out of room, trying unsuccessfully to put the puck in from behind the red line. Late in the period, Ekberg had a great chance in front, but Quinlan made a sensational blocker save to keep the game goalless.
The second period was a wild and crazy 20-minute ride that saw each team score a nice, legit goal and each a goal that required help from an odd bounce off the boards.
The Americans had a great chance early on to open the scoring when Mikey Berchild’s shot was stopped by Harenstam, but the rebound came out so quickly that L.J. Mooney was not able to react in time on the open side. Harenstam then made an awesome right-pad save off a Will Horcoff shot, but the home side finally hit the twine at 5:14 when Garrett Lindberg’s point shot went all the way.
The Swedes came back with a vengeance. First, Bjorck and Ekberg hooked up for a nice score, again, the former finding the latter in front for Ekberg’s tournament-leading 10th goal. Less than two minutes later, the Swedes took their first lead off a super lucky bounce. Charlie Trethewey backhanded th puck around the boards behind his own goal, but it hit a protrusion in the boards and came right into the crease. Quinlan was facing the other way and didn’t see what had happened. Ivar Stenberg swatted it into the open cage at 10:13.
The U.S. then had a chance of their own to tie it when Jack Murtagh stole the puck at his blue line dashed down the rink, only to be stoned by Harenstam. No matter. A sharp dump-in by the Americans went wide past Harenstam’s glove and out the other side where it bounced right at the net. Drew Schock was right there to whack it in before the goalie knew what had happened.