Sweden turned the game against Canada in the third period and took bronze from Prague

Sweden and Canada played for the bronze medals on Sunday afternoon at the O2 Arena in Prague. An evenly matched game was finally decided by the final passage of the third period, in which the Swedes turned the score around. The Swedes took home the bronze medal from this year’s championship. Canada leaves Prague with nothing.

The start of the game brought a more tepid pace, it certainly didn’t look like a bronze medal game. The first half of the opening act offered virtually no major chances, minimal shots and very few interruptions. Both teams seemed to lack motivation.

Gradually the pace of the game increased a bit and chances did come. The Swedes were able to take advantage of the first big one. Carl Grundstrom got the puck in an ideal position between the circles and opened the scoring at 12:05 with a precise shot under the top bar.

Canada didn’t even get into the game during the power play, where the team from overseas didn’t get a shot on goal, let alone any dangerous opportunities. Sweden went into the locker room after 20 minutes with the score 1:0.

2. period

Just like yesterday, Canada turned on the engines in the second period. We didn’t have to wait too long for the equalizer. After just two minutes, Canada’s top scorer Dylan Cozens scored from between the circles. But the goal didn’t really kick Canada into gear.

As far as shots on goal were concerned, the contest continued fairly evenly. Midway through the game, Canadian forward Pierre-Luc Dubois was sent to the penalty box for holding. But the Swedes did not successfully deal with this numerical superiority.

And since nothing else happened on the ice until the siren, the score remained tied 1:1 after forty minutes. The duel for bronze continued to lack the pace that would have lifted the spectators from their seats and supported the somewhat lackluster atmosphere in the O2 arena.

3. third

At the beginning of the third period, the Swedes had a bit more of the game and created several interesting scoring opportunities. But Canada took the lead at 44:18. The Maple Leafs struck from a quick counterattack when Pierre-Luc Dubois scored on a four-on-three power play.

The Swedes played a power play before the midway point of the third period, but were unable to tie the game. Moments after the return of the Canadian forward, Tre Kronor were happy. On the blue line, defenseman Erik Karlsson stepped up and beat Binnington with a shot between the legs. With ten minutes to go, it was 2:2.

From then on, the Swedes were the better team on the ice. With six minutes to go, goalie Binnington made a fatal mistake when he played the puck right to Grundstrom’s stick. The Swedish forward fired a quick and accurate shot that gave the Norse a 3:2 lead.

The Canadians had no choice but to play all their cards on the sixth man in the net. However, even with a lot of pressure, they could not even the score. Marcus Johansson sealed the win for Sweden with a goal into an open cage with five seconds left. Sweden won the bronze medal.

Source: Ice Hockey World Championship 2024