Latvia upsets Sweden at ice hockey world championships
Sweden suffered an unexpected loss to Latvia in the world ice hockey championships in Switzerland on Monday, falling 2-3 in a penalty shootout.
The Swedes started confidently but their fans had to wait for the opening goal until the sixteenth minute, when Linus Omark swept in a rebound to collect his sixth goal and the lead in the event's scorers contest.
But Latvia's rear guard Krisjanis Redlihs leveled midway into the second on powerplay, while forward Lauris Darzins put the Latvians in front 45 seconds before the second break.
The Swedes however leveled just 0:44 into the third thanks to a slap shot by blueliner Magnus Johansson.
After a goalless overtime Latvia proved a little bit more accurate in a penalty shootout with their striker Aleksandrs Nizivijs sending the winning shot into the net.
Sweden’s disappointing result gave Tre Kronor only one point for the night, bringing their tournament total to four and placing them in second place in Group C.
“If we’re going to go far in this tournament, everyone needs to bring it up a notch,” Johansson told the Aftonbladet newspaper following the match.
In the other Group C match the United States experienced few problems against Austria recording a 6-1 win, that puts them top of their table.
Meanwhile, last year's bronze medalists Finland battled back from a goal down against Denmark in their Group D showdown at Zurich-Kloten arena for a 5-1 win, the Finns' eighth win over the Danes in as many meetings.
Earlier the Czech Republic outscored Norway 5-2 to record their 12th win over the Scandinavians in their 14th world championships' meeting.
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The Swedes started confidently but their fans had to wait for the opening goal until the sixteenth minute, when Linus Omark swept in a rebound to collect his sixth goal and the lead in the event's scorers contest.
But Latvia's rear guard Krisjanis Redlihs leveled midway into the second on powerplay, while forward Lauris Darzins put the Latvians in front 45 seconds before the second break.
The Swedes however leveled just 0:44 into the third thanks to a slap shot by blueliner Magnus Johansson.
After a goalless overtime Latvia proved a little bit more accurate in a penalty shootout with their striker Aleksandrs Nizivijs sending the winning shot into the net.
Sweden’s disappointing result gave Tre Kronor only one point for the night, bringing their tournament total to four and placing them in second place in Group C.
“If we’re going to go far in this tournament, everyone needs to bring it up a notch,” Johansson told the Aftonbladet newspaper following the match.
In the other Group C match the United States experienced few problems against Austria recording a 6-1 win, that puts them top of their table.
Meanwhile, last year's bronze medalists Finland battled back from a goal down against Denmark in their Group D showdown at Zurich-Kloten arena for a 5-1 win, the Finns' eighth win over the Danes in as many meetings.
Earlier the Czech Republic outscored Norway 5-2 to record their 12th win over the Scandinavians in their 14th world championships' meeting.
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