World Championship in Prague opened with Switzerland’s win over Norway

The Prague Group Aprogramme at the 87th Ice Hockey World Championship kicked off with a clash between Switzerland and Norway. The national team of the Helvetic Cross country confirmed its role as the favourite on Friday afternoon, and its 5:2 victory was decided mainly in the three-goal second period.

From the opening face-off, the Swiss had a clear advantage and the passive Norwegian goalkeeper Jonas Arntzen had to intervene against a number of shooting attempts. He didn’t score even during a shorthanded penalty after Kåsastul’s foul in the seventh minute.

The Norse continued to rely on consistent defense and possible quick counterattacks. Their defensive tactics paid off in terms of keeping the goals scored column at zero until the twelfth minute. Sven Andrighetto scored the first goal of this year’s World Championship shortly after crossing into the offensive zone and after a back pass from Niederreiter, who swept the cobwebs in the top left corner of the net from the right circle.

Five minutes before the break, however, an unexpected equalizer came with the game tied at 1:1. After some confusion in the Swiss defense, the puck came from the back of the net to Markus Vikingstad, who promptly shot past Leonardo Genoni. In the rest of the period, both teams tried to make a difference, but without success.

The score changed for the third time in the 25th minute. Defenseman Romain Loeffel gave Switzerland the lead back, sending the puck into the net from the blue line, thanks to a rebound off the bar. Four minutes later, it was 3-1 as Sven Senteler’s shot on the ice between the legs beat the advancing goalkeeper.

After half of regulation time, Patrick Fischer’s men did not use the power play, but in the 34th minute they were already up 4:1. Tristan Scherwey punished the Norwegian’s mistake. No more goals were scored in the middle period.

Coach Tobias Johansson’s team faced the opponent’s superiority after the second intermission and were unable to get the more frequent shots they needed. Not even a power play after Hischier’s exclusion in the 47th minute heralded a turnaround.

On the other hand, Switzerland took advantage of the numerical advantage eight minutes before the final siren. Nino Niederreiter made it 5:1 with a backhand finish. The Norwegians then played one more unused power play, but their rival paid for Kurashev’s indiscipline in the end.

The latter was sent off again shortly after returning from the penalty box and helped to at least cosmetically adjust the result of the game. The final score of 5:2 was decided in the penultimate minute after a nice combination by 18-year-old Michael Brandsegg-Nygård.

The closest opponents of the victorious Swiss are now the Austrians, who they will face on Sunday evening. The Norwegians will challenge the Czech Republic on Saturday in Prague.

Source: IIHF, CT Sport Plus