Latvia’s comparison sparks Swedes to score goals and set World Cup record

Sweden led Latvia 2:0 after the first period, but the Latvians again had a better start to the second period. The Latvians equalised within the first three minutes and it looked like it was going to be a very even battle. Fabian Zetterlund, however, started a flurry that destroyed Latvia.

Latvia surprised the Swedes early in the second period

The Swedes came into the game against Latvia as big favourites and showed it during the first period, building a 2:0 lead. Rasmus Dahlin and Jonas Brodin scored.

However, Latvia started strongly at the beginning of the second period and stopped the Swedes with two quick goals. First Kaspars Daugavins reduced the deficit and then Roberts Mamčics equalised a few seconds later. After the score was tied at 2:2, a small scuffle broke out, started by Dahlin for a dangerous tackle. He earned a penalty for the rest of the game and Latvia got a five-minute power play.

Sweden set a World Championship record with a flurry of goals

The Latvians didn’t take advantage of the long power play and Sweden was able to take a penalty. At 32:59 Fabian Zetterlund gave the Swedes the lead back when he increased it to 3:2. At 33:16 he scored another goal and at 33:25 Sweden was already leading 5:2 after a goal by Joel Eriksson.

Three quick goals scored within 26 seconds meant that Sweden secured a new World Championship record. No other national team has scored three goals in such a short space of time.

Sweden managed one more goal before the end of the third period. Marcus Petterson increased the score to 6:2 with five minutes left in the middle period. Latvia held out hope for a quarter-final berth after the quick equalizer, but unless they showed a big turnaround in the final period, their chances would be greatly reduced.

Source: IIHF, X