After the opening game in Břeclav, we caught up with goal scorers from both teams.
Sweden’s Lukas Wernblom was understandably delighted with his team’s 6-1 win.
"We played a really good game, the team was good. We just had to keep going after the first period and eventually the puck went our way," he said. On his goal, the MoDo forward added: "I got a nice rebound in the slot, and bad an empty net to aim at. We knew the USA were a good team, but we came out hard. Everyone on this team can score."
Finally, what about the competition here? "It’s a really good tournament, and fun to be here."
"We had a good start, but then got into some penalty trouble. You have to give it to Sweden, they played pretty well but we just didn’t have it. Take away the special team goals it was a 1-1 game. We’re trying to stay positive, play Switzerland tomorrow and bounce back with a win," said Philippe Lapointe, after Team USA’s opening game defeat. "We talked in the locker room that previous USA teams lost their opening game, but got it together after. We’re not out after just one game."
On the physicality of the match, the University of Michigan forward added: "We weren’t really surprised. Every team here will battle hard. We knew that Sweden are a big, strong, fast team."