Swiss notch third victory in hockey championships
Swiss ice hockey fans rejoiced on Monday as the national team won its third game in a row against a top-ranked opponent at the world championships in Sweden.
This time the victim was the Czech Republic, which fell 5-2 to Switzerland who were hot off their victory against Canada in extra time through penalty shots the night before.
The Czechs were better rested having not played on Sunday and the Swiss appeared to struggle in the initial going.
But Switzerland's Andres Ambühl opened the scoring late in the first period.
Heading into the third period it was all tied up at 2-2.
But any doubts were erased when Switzerland scored three goals in the final period to collect the third victory.
The side opened the tournament last Friday with a 3-2 win against Sweden.
“It was a tough opening schedule for us, and coming away with three wins against these top nations is more than we could expect,” Swiss coach Sean Simpson is quoted as saying by the International Ice Hockey Federation.
“We used it as a challenge,” said Simpson, a Canadian expat who has also played in the Swiss league.
“I thought if we get one win in these three games we would have a good start.”
Switzerland is now in a strong position to head to the quarterfinals against a weaker opponent based on the points it has already accumulated.
With eights points, the Swiss sit atop Group S, one of two groups involving teams from 16 countries at the world championship held in Stockholm and Helsinki.
The team’s next game is on Wednesday against Slovenia, a team so far winless after two games, with further games in the preliminary round against Denmark (May 11th), Norway (May 12th) and Belarus (May 14th).
Comments
See Also
This time the victim was the Czech Republic, which fell 5-2 to Switzerland who were hot off their victory against Canada in extra time through penalty shots the night before.
The Czechs were better rested having not played on Sunday and the Swiss appeared to struggle in the initial going.
But Switzerland's Andres Ambühl opened the scoring late in the first period.
Heading into the third period it was all tied up at 2-2.
But any doubts were erased when Switzerland scored three goals in the final period to collect the third victory.
The side opened the tournament last Friday with a 3-2 win against Sweden.
“It was a tough opening schedule for us, and coming away with three wins against these top nations is more than we could expect,” Swiss coach Sean Simpson is quoted as saying by the International Ice Hockey Federation.
“We used it as a challenge,” said Simpson, a Canadian expat who has also played in the Swiss league.
“I thought if we get one win in these three games we would have a good start.”
Switzerland is now in a strong position to head to the quarterfinals against a weaker opponent based on the points it has already accumulated.
With eights points, the Swiss sit atop Group S, one of two groups involving teams from 16 countries at the world championship held in Stockholm and Helsinki.
The team’s next game is on Wednesday against Slovenia, a team so far winless after two games, with further games in the preliminary round against Denmark (May 11th), Norway (May 12th) and Belarus (May 14th).
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.