Home
Publications
borrowed this from hockey's futures, calling this one an upset against a very talented Swedish club, including the coveted MPS. Bet it was one hell of a game.
Swedes can’t outmuscle the Canadians at their own game
Canada capitalizes on Swedes mistakes, wins 4-2
You know what type of hockey you’re going to get when Team Canada is on the ice. They’re aggressive in all zones, hard on the puck, and they’ll take advantage of the opposition if they catch them out of sync. And that was exactly the formula as the Canadians rolled to a 4-2 over the Swedes.
For the majority of the first period, play was rather even as Sweden looked to match Canada’s heavy-handed approach. However, that approach worked against the Tre Kronor as Team Canada used to two back-to-back goals within 36 seconds of each other to the set tone.
“We wanted to mix the physical [game] with the speed,” Swedish head coach Stephan Lundh. “I think the guys were a little too hard at the beginning.”
"The first period we started really bad I think," Swedish defenseman Tim Erixon said. "We didn't play our game, they got momentum and scored a couple goals there. The last two periods I think we played a lot better. The first period was not good. We didn't control the puck, skate a lot, keep the puck."
Instead, Erixon said, they found themselves playing a Canadian-style game. The first goal came at 17:13 of the first when Hamilton fired off a shot from the top of the right circle. Swedish netminder Robin Lehner made the initial save, but the rebound bounced out to Byron Froese who buried it to put Canada up 1-0.
Team Canada came right back attacking Sweden at center ice. John McFarland grabbed a puck off a turnover and raced down the right side. Sweden’s defense would overcommit coverage, which left Joey Hishon open sitting on the back door step. As McFarland approached the goal line, he threaded a pass and Hishon slammed it home to put the Team Canada up 2-0.
“I told them we had to be a little more careful with the puck,” Lundh added. “There was a couple of minutes where our defense was just throwing the puck around the boards and the Canadians were right there. I told them to go up the middle and make that first strong move. When we did that, we got more pressure.”
Sweden would get back into the game in the second period on the man advantage. The Swedes cut the lead in half when Erixon blasted a shot from the top of slot. The rebound bounced back up and in front of Gabriel Landeskog, who swatted it out the air and into the goal.
“I had a couple good shots,” Erixon said. “ They [Canadians] do a good job of blacking the shooting lanes, so I was hoping to get some lucky bounces.”
But Canada came right back and pushed their to 3-1 when Hishon took a rebound and stuffed it past Lehner for his second of the night.
The Swedes wouldn’t go quietly as they used their second power play of the middle stanza to get back within a goal. Thirty-six seconds after McFarland was whistled for an elbowing penalty, Erixon fired another booming shot from the high slot. The puck made its way through traffic to make it 3-2.
“We did our best until the last minutes,” Lundh said. “It was pretty close down to the last face-off and we had a shot.”
Play went back and forth during the final frame until Brett Connolly added an insurance empty-netter at 19:44.
Swedes can’t outmuscle the Canadians at their own game
Canada capitalizes on Swedes mistakes, wins 4-2
You know what type of hockey you’re going to get when Team Canada is on the ice. They’re aggressive in all zones, hard on the puck, and they’ll take advantage of the opposition if they catch them out of sync. And that was exactly the formula as the Canadians rolled to a 4-2 over the Swedes.
For the majority of the first period, play was rather even as Sweden looked to match Canada’s heavy-handed approach. However, that approach worked against the Tre Kronor as Team Canada used to two back-to-back goals within 36 seconds of each other to the set tone.
“We wanted to mix the physical [game] with the speed,” Swedish head coach Stephan Lundh. “I think the guys were a little too hard at the beginning.”
"The first period we started really bad I think," Swedish defenseman Tim Erixon said. "We didn't play our game, they got momentum and scored a couple goals there. The last two periods I think we played a lot better. The first period was not good. We didn't control the puck, skate a lot, keep the puck."
Instead, Erixon said, they found themselves playing a Canadian-style game. The first goal came at 17:13 of the first when Hamilton fired off a shot from the top of the right circle. Swedish netminder Robin Lehner made the initial save, but the rebound bounced out to Byron Froese who buried it to put Canada up 1-0.
Team Canada came right back attacking Sweden at center ice. John McFarland grabbed a puck off a turnover and raced down the right side. Sweden’s defense would overcommit coverage, which left Joey Hishon open sitting on the back door step. As McFarland approached the goal line, he threaded a pass and Hishon slammed it home to put the Team Canada up 2-0.
“I told them we had to be a little more careful with the puck,” Lundh added. “There was a couple of minutes where our defense was just throwing the puck around the boards and the Canadians were right there. I told them to go up the middle and make that first strong move. When we did that, we got more pressure.”
Sweden would get back into the game in the second period on the man advantage. The Swedes cut the lead in half when Erixon blasted a shot from the top of slot. The rebound bounced back up and in front of Gabriel Landeskog, who swatted it out the air and into the goal.
“I had a couple good shots,” Erixon said. “ They [Canadians] do a good job of blacking the shooting lanes, so I was hoping to get some lucky bounces.”
But Canada came right back and pushed their to 3-1 when Hishon took a rebound and stuffed it past Lehner for his second of the night.
The Swedes wouldn’t go quietly as they used their second power play of the middle stanza to get back within a goal. Thirty-six seconds after McFarland was whistled for an elbowing penalty, Erixon fired another booming shot from the high slot. The puck made its way through traffic to make it 3-2.
“We did our best until the last minutes,” Lundh said. “It was pretty close down to the last face-off and we had a shot.”
Play went back and forth during the final frame until Brett Connolly added an insurance empty-netter at 19:44.
