Sweden won gold when Paris hockey debuted at the Paralympic program in Lillehammar in 1994 and won medals in all championships up to and including the games in Salt Lake City in 2002.
But after that, the development has gone in the wrong direction.
It was with difficulty that Sweden made it to Pyeongchang four years ago where they were not even close to reaching the semifinals – and on Wednesday it was extremely close that the door was closed for the Paralympics in Beijing this winter.
Victory against Japan in the final B-WC match in Östersund was a must to take a top three place and thus secure a place in the qualifiers for the Paralympics. But it was not an easy journey.
After a goalless first period, it was the away team that took the lead after Yudai Ishikawa pushed the puck into the open goal in powerplay behind the overplayed goalkeeper Ulf Nilsson.
Sweden was thus in a pressured situation before the third period but managed to come back. With just over seven minutes left to play, it was the Swedes’ turn to play in powerplay, and it was used immediately. Peter Nilsson fired a shot that was blocked, but the return was taken care of by Niklas Ingvarsson who found a gap behind the Japanese goalkeeper Mitsuru Nagase and equalized to 1-1.
The match went to penalties – and there Ulf Nilsson stepped forward as a hero. The goalkeeper was immutable between the posts and stopped all Japanese attempts. The only goal scorer of the penalty was Rasmus Lundgren who in the second round beautifully whipped the puck into the net with a right shot.
The victory means that Sweden as the last team will qualify for the Paralympics, together with China and Germany who finished first and second respectively in the B-WC and the sixth, seventh and eighth in the A-WC. Once there, Sweden must end up among the top two to get to Beijing.
The Paralympics take place between March 4 and 13, 2022.
Read more:
Sweden with the knife to the throat – must win against Japan for a chance at the Paralympics
–
