Sweden 4 Czech Republic 2

December 31, 2007

Oscar Moller scored once and added an assist in leading Sweden to a 4-2 win over the Czech Republic at the World Junior Championships on Monday.

Sweden skated into the U20 semi-finals today after earning a 4-2 win against host Czech Republic in a crucial match-up for medal round seeding.

The win propelled Sweden into first place in the A Group, giving the team a bye for the quarterfinals. The Czechs had a chance to take first place in the group with a win today, but will still play in the medal round as the third-place team against second-place Russia from the B Group.

For Sweden, it is the second consecutive year the team is in the U20 semi-final. However, it is the first time that the Swedes have earned a quarterfinal round bye since the IIHF adopted the format in 2003.

The second period was the clear key for the Swedes, who built their lead to 3-0, and then killed off five consecutive Czech power-plays. The inability to convert on virtually 10 minutes with the extra man clearly haunted the Czechs. 

Oscar Moller gave Sweden the early lead, netting a goal just 4:11 into the game. It looked like the Czechs had tied the game at one late in the period, but after a video review, the goal was disallowed because the puck was kicked in the net.

The Swedes built their lead with a five-on-three goal 3:37 into the period as Patrik Berglund netted his third goal of the championship. Sweden clearly had the momentum after the Berglund goal and capitalized just 1:15 later with the 3-0 tally coming from Thomas Larsson.

It took until the first 44 seconds of the third period for the Czechs to finally convert on the power play as Antonin Boruta put an end to the extra-man frustration. But the Czech goal did little to stop the Sweden momentum as Robin Figren took over the tournament scoring lead with a goal less than a minute later to restore the three-goal lead. Figren now has four goals and two assists at this year’s championship.

The Czechs did their best to fight their way back into the game, making it a 4-2 affair at the midway mark of the third, but ultimately, the Swede lead was just too large for the Czechs to overcome.

Sweden awaits the winner of the Russia-Czech Republic quarterfinal, while USA, the Group A winners will face the winner of the Canada-Finland game.