– We really did everything to win that gold, but unfortunately it wasn’t enough, says Sweden’s team captain Liam Öhgren with tears in his eyes to SVT.
The first five minutes set Sweden at full speed. Led by the first chain and center Noah Östlund, the blue and yellow created several chances against the American goal cage. A power play gave Sweden even more momentum, but the puck wouldn’t go in.
The USA grew more and more into the match. And in a pending ejection with 3:04 left to play, it was 1-0 through Gabe Perreault who angled in Will Smith’s shot pass from close range. The period ended 1-0.
Early in the second period, Stenberg equalized, who after 2:13 headed in a shot from Axel Sandin Pellika between the legs of American goalkeeper Trey Augustine. Immediately after, Sweden created chances to take the lead as well, but the shots missed the USA’s goal cage.
The USA was not harmless and countered effectively against Sweden. It paid off after 9:24 when Howard received a long pass via the edge, broke in from the left and dropped a backhand between the legs of Hugo Hävelid to make it 2-1.
The Americans gained momentum from their goal and lifted the game. It made it 3-1 after 14:19 when Howard scored his second straight goal of the game. Howard came in from the short edge and managed to corral the puck via Hävelid.
Sweden was in a tough position, but just before the end of the second period, blue and yellow came to life. In numerical superiority, Jonathan Lekkerimäki made it 3-2 with a shot from the left drawing circle. The puck was in the crosshairs for the forward’s seventh goal of the tournament.
2024-01-05 22:00:30
#USA #snubbed #Sweden #JVM #gold #NHL.comen
