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In a game where the winner went to the semi-finals, Team Sweden scored four goals in the first period and three in the second period, beating Team Switzerland with relative ease, 7-2. Jonathan Dahlen scored twice, both assisted by Jens Looke.
Penalties: 4:4, plus Erixon (SWE) 10 min OT. PP goals: 0:1. SH goals: 0:0.
Referees: Jonák, Lokšík – Tvrdoň, Stanzel. Attendance: 285.
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It was as big as games come in the group stage of a tournament. Tied in points after two games each, the winner between Sweden and Switzerland would finish second in the group and go to the semi-finals, while the loser would finish third in the group and play for fifth overall. But the pre-game hype was not realised, as Sweden won easily, 7-2.
They got going right away, as Jens Looke sprung Jonathan Dahlen in alone on Swiss starting goalie Joren Van Pottelberghe and beat him just inside the post to the glove side just 1:04 in. The Swiss tied it at 4:20 when Robin Frick led a rush into the attacking zone and his shot was deflected in by Fabio Hollenstein. But the good feeling from the goal was short-lived, as the Swedes scored three goals in a 2:58 span to put a stranglehold on it. Jonathan Davidsson, Oliver Erixon and then Dahlen with his second of the game on another set-up by Looke made it 4-1 before the game was 13 minutes old.
The Swedes tightened their grip on the game in the second period, out-scoring the Swiss 3-1. When Anton Kalte scored on a rebound in the 24th minute to make it 5-1, Swiss coach Manuele Celio had seen enough and lifted Van Pottelberghe in favour of Tim Guggisberg, who came in for his first action of the tournament. Damien Riat cut the deficit back to three with a power-play goal, but Joel Ek Eriksson restored the four-goal advantage two minutes later and Lucas Carlsson rounded out the scoring when he fired a shot top corner in the 35th minute.
With the outcome no longer in doubt, it was clear in the third period that both teams just wanted the game to end without anybody getting injured. The Swedes stopped pressing, except for a couple of times when Looke tried to find Dahlen for the hat-trick goal. But mostly they concentrated on defence and rode out the clock to a 7-2 win and a semi-final date with the Czechs on Friday in Breclav.
Reactions
Jim Brithen (Team Sweden): "The best thing about this game was the way we bounced back in the first period after the way we played yesterday. We stuck to the game plan, which was very important. Then in the second, we continued what we did in the first and in the third we just wanted to get the game to the end. The players will now have a chance to rest for the rest of the day and tomorrow we´ll start preparing for Friday. I´ve heard the Czechs have played very well so far, so that´s good for us. The better opponents we can play against, the better we will develop."
Manuele Celio (Team Switzerland): "I think Sweden is a better team than us, and against those teams we have to play strong defensively, keep the score down and wait for them to make mistakes, but we didn´t do that. Those 2-1 and 3-1 goals we gave them. They´re a good team, they don´t need our help. We have to learn from that for the next game, and as we prepare for the World Championships."