Sweden Holds onto Second Place in Group B, Quarterfinal Matchups Set

Sweden and Germany each had six points heading into their Monday night matchup, so second place is on the line for the winner of this matchup. Germany is coming off of a 3-2 win over Switzerland, while Sweden needed a rebound win after falling to Team USA last night. With an extra day of rest, a strong start was critical for Team Germany.

Starting goaltenders:

Germany: Nikita Quapp
Sweden: Calle Clang

Sweden was the heavy favorite coming into this matchup, but the Germans met them every step of the way through the opening half of the first. Bennet Rossmy opened the scoring with a dazzling play which Sweden's goaltender probably wants back:

Goal scored by Bennet Rossmy, assisted by Arkadiusz Dziambor and Markus Schweiger.

Sweden head coach Tomas Monten gave star G Jesper Wallstedt the game off, and early on it looked like he might regret it. But Monten's team is loaded with offensive weapons against a much less skilled German group. It wouldn't take them long to flip this game on its head, as they scored three quick goals in succession:

Goal scored by Oskar Olausson (COL), assisted by Emil Andrae (PHI) and Jonathan Lekkerimaki (VAN).

Second goal scored by Daniel Ljungman (DAL), assisted by Anton Olsson (NSH) and Fabian Lysell (BOS).

Goal scored by Oscar Magnusson (WSH), assisted by Emil Andrae (PHI) and Helge Grans (LAK).

Shots were 16-8 Sweden through the opening period, 3-1 Sweden into the second. The second period was much less active than the first, turning into a grind fest. Each team only mustered a couple of scoring chances, but Quapp and Clang were up to every test.

Sweden's skill was obvious, though. They pretty much did what they wanted with the puck along the perimeter, at times toying with the Germans. If not for Sweden's talented core of tall, lanky defenseman, this game could have a different complexion. Germany's forwards at times have looked better than Sweden's, but they can't seem to generate anything down low. All of their plays are being broken up by Swedish defensemen.

Sweden would take this one by a final score of 4-2, following goals by Daniel Ljungman (SWE) and Luca Munzenberger (GER). Germany finishes third in Group B, slated to play Finland in tomorrow's quarterfinal. Sweden, on the other hand, finishes second and will play Latvia tomorrow.

Players of the game:

Sweden: Oskar Magnusson
Germany Maksymilian Szuber

Full Quarterfinal schedule:

Finland vs. Germany 10:00 (18:00 CET, 19:00 EET)
Sweden vs. Latvia 13:30 (21:30 CET, 22:30 EET)
Canada vs. Switzerland 17:00 (7pm ET, 4pm PT, 1:00 CET)
USA vs. Czechia 20:30 (10:30pm ET, 7:30pm PT, 4:30 CET)

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