Despite a very difficult start to the match, the Swedes came back from behind to beat Finland 3-2 on Monday in Moncton, and thus advance to the semi-finals of the World Junior Hockey Championship.
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Leo Carlsson and Victor Stjernborg completely changed the outcome of this encounter with nets in the last four minutes of the game.
Goalkeeper Carl Lindbom then put the finishing touches with a convincing glove save in the last minute as the Finns went 6-4. The masked man made a total of 33 saves.
However, the match had started badly for the Swedes, who managed only two shots on goal in the first period. The hope of Montreal Canadiens Oliver Kapanen thus allowed Finland to register first in the table. A first goal from Carlsson, however, allowed the Swedes to retire to the locker room with an equality after 20 minutes of play.
Niko Huuhtanen was the other Finnish scorer, while Jani Lampinen failed three times on 20 shots in front of his net.
Czechia easily
The Czech Republic had no mercy for the Swiss in Halifax, easily winning 9-1 to continue their journey.
Jiri Kulich, Gabriel Szturc and Marcel Marcel all scored braces in the win. The first added two assists and the third, one. David Jiricek, Eduard Sale and Petr Hauser also hit the mark.
Switzerland had allowed only 10 goals in four games of the preliminary round. She had notably conceded five nets against the Americans.
In short
In the first game of the relegation round, the Latvians made short work of Austria, winning 5-2.
Emils Veckaktins scored twice in the win, while Bogdans Hodass had three points (one goal, two assists).