We wanted the gold, but of course we’ll take the bronze. It’s better than nothing, said Sweden’s Burakovsky after the win over Canada

Sweden defeated Canada 4:2 in the 3rd place match and won the bronze medal. Neither team seemed to enter the match with any extra motivation. In the end, however, it was a solid battle for third place. How did Sweden’s forward André Burakovsky comment on winning the bronze?

Carl Grundström opened the scoring at the beginning of the 13th minute. At that time, he didn’t know that he was going to be the hero of the afternoon. The score remained the same until the end of the first period, so the Swedes took a one-goal lead into the locker room.

Dylan Cozens tied the game with his ninth goal of the tournament, and at least until the final game, he dominates the scorers at the Czech championship. Pierre-Luc Dubois completed the turnaround after the start of the third period, sending the Canadian national team into the lead.

However, the Swedes did not give up and turned the game around thanks to two goals in four minutes. Grundström sealed the win with an empty net goal, which was an unexpected hero for the Swedish team. He scored only 3 goals in the whole tournament.

We’re taking the bronze, said Sweden’s Burakovsky

“We did our job. In the end we found a way to win the game. When you step on the ice knowing you’re playing against Canada, you never want to lose,” said Marcus Johansson after the game. The Minnesota forward scored a tournament-high 12 points.

“We came here to win gold. We didn’t do that, but of course we’ll take the bronze. It’s better than nothing. It was a tough game, we were tired and it was a long tournament. We had a team talk yesterday and we said we wanted at least the bronze,” Burakovsky admitted.

Canada goalie Jordan Binnington was of the same opinion. “We wanted to finish the tournament with a win, but unfortunately we didn’t get it. It ‘s frustrating. We played as a team the whole championship and it didn’t lead to anything.” Binnington just confirmed that Canada wanted to win at least a medal when it had already lost its chance to win the overall title.

Binnington was also questioned about Sweden’s first goal, which was preceded by his poor play. “It was a bouncing puck and unfortunately I didn’t play it right,” the Canadian goalie shook his head. The St. Louis Blues goalie had an 88 percent save percentage throughout the tournament, which is not a staggeringly high number.

Source: IIHF, IIHF World Championship 2024