Sweden: Siltanews – News Desk
The final day of pre-tournament World Junior Championship action kicked off in Belleville, Ontario, with Sweden skating out to an 11-1 victory over Germany.
The Swedes will now shift their focus to Dec. 26, where they’ll open the main event with a 12:00 PM ET start against Slovakia at TD Place in Ottawa. Germany will be in the first game at the main rink in Group A, taking on the United States at 2:30 PM ET.
It didn’t take long for the Swedes to open the scoring. Just 12 seconds in, Montreal Canadiens prospect Rasmus Bergqvist’s point shot somehow beat Nico Pertuch down low to score his second goal in two pre-tourney games. Midway through the first, Victor Eklund’s low shot snuck below Pertuch’s right pad and in, giving Sweden the 2-0 advantage early.
A four-goal second period helped Sweden take a commanding lead. Felix Nilsson found Herman Traff in front of the net early in the second period to make it 3-0 before Nilsson set up Victor Eklund a few minutes later. Tom Willander and David Edstrom would each score in the second to make it 6-0, with Carlos Handel ending Marcus Gidlof’s shutout near the end of the second. The Swedes were in full control in the third period, with Felix Unger Sorum scoring a pair of goals, while Willheim Hallquisth and Otto Stenberg added goals to help complete the game.
Even though he took a penalty in the first (that Germany couldn’t capitalize on), I thought Eriksson was Sweden’s hardest-working forward. He moved so well, battled hard, and back checked as well as anyone. That’s his thing – Eriksson can produce, but he’s known more for being a reliable 200-foot player who is difficult to beat in battles all along the ice.
Eklund scored the 2-0 goal on a bit of a fluky shot, but I noticed how often he got himself into a scoring position. It seemed like the Germans had a hard time detecting him any time the Swedes had sustained pressure because he kept on moving until he got to where he was comfortable to set up base. That allowed him to score a second goal in the second period, beating a German defender to rush in front of the net to receive a pass from Nilsson. Overall, an excellent game for a guy expected to go in the top five this season.
And more of debates in the competition is getting translated into great touches and effort in the game.