At the start, head coach Roger Bader’s team lost 2-1 to France after extra time. The “Tre Kronor” (Swedish three crowns, note) deservedly celebrated for the second time after the close 1-0 win against Germany. The red-white-red continue on Tuesday against Denmark (15.20 CET), who started the World Cup with two wins, one of them after extra time against France.
Bader changed his team in several positions, Bernhard Starkbaum was allowed to play in goal instead of David Kickert. In addition, the veterans Manuel Ganahl and Steven Strong were given a break. It was a special game for Henrik Neubauer, who was born in Sweden and plays in the second division of the Zeller Eisbären. Bader’s motto was to stress and annoy the Swedes.
That didn’t really work in the first few minutes, the Swedes, who competed with eight NHL players, put pressure on directly. First, Starkbaum parried against 18-year-old Carlsson, who was the number one international player in the upcoming NHL draft. A minute later, Lindholm unsustainably deflected a Berggren pass into the Kreuzeck. The Swedes played precisely and quickly over long stretches, but the Bader squad was able to keep up better over time.
The first good chance for the ÖEHV selection was missed by NHL professional Marco Rossi (10th), shortly afterwards Benjamin Nissner had the equalizer on the racket in the power play (11th). Starkbaum initially kept Red-White-Red in the game with good saves, but with a bit of luck the Swedes increased in the second period. The puck hit Sörensen’s ice skate and dropped in a high arc into the short cross corner. After that, Ali Wukovits (34th) failed after a quick counterattack and Nissner (38th) from a good position. Nemeth from the Arizona Coyotes did better, scoring for the first time in the Sweden jersey with a long-range shot.
David Reinbacher, observed by some NHL scouts, caused a moment of shock. The 18-year-old received a hard check against two opponents and drove into the dressing room. In the final third, the Swedes controlled the action in a fair duel before Carlsson increased the score with a solid long-range shot after a nice attack and Everberg.
