photo: © INTERNATIONAL ICE HOCKEY FEDERATION / MATT ZAMBONIN
Sweden’s first line — Lucas Raymond, Viggo Bjorck, and Ivar Stenberg — combined for seven points as Tre Kronor rolled over Denmark 6-2.
“It’s always nice to score goals, I just want to help the team, I don’t think about records,” said Bjorck who, at 18 years and 66 days, became the youngest Swedish player to score a Worlds goal.
Sweden came to the game feeling optimistic even though they lost their opening game against Canada. After all, the young Tre Kronor and their 13 Worlds first-timers had put up a fight against Sidney Crosby’s Canada.
And now they’d face Denmark, who had only beaten Sweden once in IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship history, five years ago.
That history did not repeat itself today.
Sweden’s first two goals were a perfect combination of the forwards’ youthful enthusiasm and defenders’ veteran directness.
First, Lucas Raymond carried the puck into Denmark’s zone and dropped it to Viggo Bjorck who then dropped it to the 35-year-old Mattias Ekholm, who fired a slap shot that beat Sogaard high on the stick side at 9:45 to give Tre Kronor the lead in the game.
“Scoring goals is apparently becoming a habit of mine,” Ekholm joked in the intermission interview. “It was another proof of [Bjorck’s] hockey sense.”
“We came out decent, the first period was pretty even though they got two goals. We took too many penalties today,” said Denmark’s Frederik Storm.
In the second goal, Ivar Stenberg forechecked hard behind the Danish net and got the puck to Raymond, who flipped it to the front of the net, where another veteran defender, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, 34, one-timed it in with 2:02 remaining in the period.
“We made some bad line changes that led to scoring chances. We have to be better at those details and help each other out there,” Storm added.
Raymond collected his third point of the game early in the second period, on the power play, with a one-timer from the left faceoff circle. Jacob de la Rose and Joel Persson were credited with assists.
Just 2:17 later, the puck was in the Danish net again after Jakob Silfverberg beat Sogaard with a wrister from the right faceoff dot, high on the short side, to give Sweden a 4-0 lead before the game was even halfway through.
Arvid Soderblom’s shutout attempt came to an abrupt stop at 11:58 when Joachim Blichfeld showed off his one-timer from the point on the power play to bring Denmark within three.
Tre Kronor’s power play struck again two minutes after the Danish goal.
Stenberg lured the Danish defense closer and sent a saucer pass right to the tape of Bjorck, who beat Sogaard high on the stick side for his first goal in the tournament — and with the Swedish national team — at 13:45 to make it 5-1.
Mikkel Aagaard made it 5-2 on Denmark’s third power play of the period, which was riddled with penalties, with a nice wrister from the slot that found its way through Soderblom’s five-hole at 11:48.
Linus Karlsson sealed the final score with 4:55 remaining in the period when his cross-ice pass hit a Danish defender’s skate in the crease and bounced in to make it 6-2 for Sweden.
“It’s always nice to score goals, I just want to help the team, I don’t think about records,” said Bjorck who, at 18 years and 66 days, became the youngest Swedish player to score a Worlds goal.
Sweden came to the game feeling optimistic even though they lost their opening game against Canada. After all, the young Tre Kronor and their 13 Worlds first-timers had put up a fight against Sidney Crosby’s Canada.
And now they’d face Denmark, who had only beaten Sweden once in IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship history, five years ago.
That history did not repeat itself today.
Sweden’s first two goals were a perfect combination of the forwards’ youthful enthusiasm and defenders’ veteran directness.
First, Lucas Raymond carried the puck into Denmark’s zone and dropped it to Viggo Bjorck who then dropped it to the 35-year-old Mattias Ekholm, who fired a slap shot that beat Sogaard high on the stick side at 9:45 to give Tre Kronor the lead in the game.
“Scoring goals is apparently becoming a habit of mine,” Ekholm joked in the intermission interview. “It was another proof of [Bjorck’s] hockey sense.”
“We came out decent, the first period was pretty even though they got two goals. We took too many penalties today,” said Denmark’s Frederik Storm.
In the second goal, Ivar Stenberg forechecked hard behind the Danish net and got the puck to Raymond, who flipped it to the front of the net, where another veteran defender, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, 34, one-timed it in with 2:02 remaining in the period.
“We made some bad line changes that led to scoring chances. We have to be better at those details and help each other out there,” Storm added.
Raymond collected his third point of the game early in the second period, on the power play, with a one-timer from the left faceoff circle. Jacob de la Rose and Joel Persson were credited with assists.
Just 2:17 later, the puck was in the Danish net again after Jakob Silfverberg beat Sogaard with a wrister from the right faceoff dot, high on the short side, to give Sweden a 4-0 lead before the game was even halfway through.
Arvid Soderblom’s shutout attempt came to an abrupt stop at 11:58 when Joachim Blichfeld showed off his one-timer from the point on the power play to bring Denmark within three.
Stenberg lured the Danish defense closer and sent a saucer pass right to the tape of Bjorck, who beat Sogaard high on the stick side for his first goal in the tournament — and with the Swedish national team — at 13:45 to make it 5-1.
Mikkel Aagaard made it 5-2 on Denmark’s third power play of the period, which was riddled with penalties, with a nice wrister from the slot that found its way through Soderblom’s five-hole at 11:48.
Linus Karlsson sealed the final score with 4:55 remaining in the period when his cross-ice pass hit a Danish defender’s skate in the crease and bounced in to make it 6-2 for Sweden.