🇸🇪 Sweden 5-2 Slovakia 🇸🇰
World Junior Championship Preliminary Round
Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre, Victoria 🇨🇦
Thursday, December 27, 2018

The Swedes stayed perfect with their second straight victory, defeating Slovakia 5-2 on Friday afternoon in Victoria. Sweden’s record-setting round-robin win streak now stands at 46 games, dating back to the 2007 World Juniors.

Emil Bemström led the way with a pair of goals, and Lucas Elvenes and Isac Lundeström had a goal and an assist apiece for Sweden, which executed efficiently, with just a couple of glitches. Captain Erik Brännström also scored his third power play goal of the tournament.

Adam Liška and Milos Fafrák replied for Slovakia, which has lost two consecutive games.

Swedish starting goalie Samuel Ersson won again, while Slovakia’s Juraj Sklenár made his World Junior debut between the pipes. Shots favoured Sweden 26-22.

After the teams traded unfruitful first-period power plays, Elvenes opened the scoring at 11:42 on the rush. He blitzed into the right faceoff circle and zipped one over the Slovak goalie’s glove from the hash marks. It was the first goal of the tournament for the 19-year-old World Junior rookie, who has eight assists but no goals with the SHL’s Rögle BK this season.

Just 2:01 later, Liška tied it up for Slovakia on the power play. The KHL forward from Slovan Bratislava had time to cruise deep into the left faceoff circle and thread the needle over Ersson’s shoulder on the short side.

Sweden retook the lead at 16:12 when Bemström lifted a rebound over Sklenár in a goalmouth scramble.

Employing patient power play pressure, the Swedes took a two-goal lead at 6:40 of the second period. They worked it around the Slovak zone and Elvenes hesitated before sliding it cross-ice to Bemström, who whipped into the empty side. Bemström, 19, is currently the leading goal-scorer for the SHL’s Djurgården (12 goals).

At 5:09 of the third period, Brännström hammered one past Sklenár with the man advantage to make it 4-1.

The Slovaks got some unexpected life when Sweden scored an own goal at 8:57. Under a little forechecking pressure in the corner to Ersson’s right, forward Filip Svenningsson tried to fire the puck across the front of the net, and it found a gap between the goalie’s right skate and the post. The goal was credited unassisted to Slovak forward Milos Fafrák.

Lundeström averted any danger to Sweden’s hopes by grabbing a loose puck in the slot and wiring it home with 7:23 left.

On Saturday, it’s a battle between the 2018 silver and bronze medalists respectively as Sweden takes on the United States. Slovakia has another tough test versus Finland that day.

BOXSCORE
1st Period
07:48 – 🇸🇰 PEN – Hrehorcak, delay of game
08:31 – 🇸🇪 PEN – Zetterlund, high sticking
11:42 – 🇸🇪 GOAL – Elvenes
13:08 – 🇸🇪 PEN – Bäck, tripping
13:43 – 🇸🇰 PP GOAL – Liška (Hrehorcak, Fehérváry)
16:12 – 🇸🇪 GOAL – Bemström (Hugg, Lundkvist)

2nd Period
24:55 – 🇸🇰 PEN – Růžička, holding
26:40 – 🇸🇪 PP GOAL – Bemström (Elvenes, Sandin)
29:24 – 🇸🇪 PEN – Zetterlund, tripping
31:43 – 🇸🇪 PEN – Hållander, hooking

3rd Period
44:41 – 🇸🇰 PEN – Golian, high sticking double minor
45:09 – 🇸🇪 PP GOAL – Brännström (Lundeström, Boqvist)
48:57 – 🇸🇰 GOAL – Fafrák
52:37 – 🇸🇪 GOAL – Lundeström
53:32 – 🇸🇪 PEN – team, too many players
57:44 – 🇸🇪 PEN – Södergran, interference

GOALTENDERS
W: 🇸🇪 Ersson (20-22)
L: 🇸🇰 Sklenár (21-26)

SHOTS ON GOAL
🇸🇪 11+6+9 = 26
🇸🇰 6+8+8 = 22

ROSTERS
🇸🇪 Goaltenders: Samuel Ersson, Adam Åhman. Defence: Adam Boqvist, Philip Broberg, Erik Brännström (C), Adam Ginning, Nils Lundkvist, Rasmus Sandin, Filip Westerlund. Forwards: Emil Bemström, Oskar Bäck, Lucas Elvenes, Samuel Fagemo, David Gustafsson, Pontus Holmberg, Rickard Hugg (A), Filip Hållander, Isac Lundeström (A), Jacob Olofson, Filip Svenningsson, Johan Södergran, Fabian Zetterlund.
🇸🇰 Goaltenders: Samuel Hlavaj, Juraj Sklenár. Defence: Daniel Demo, Marcel Dlugoš, Martin Fehérváry (C), Andrej Golian, Michal Ivan, Marek Korenčik, Adam Žiak. Forwards: Jozef Baláž, Miloš Fafrák, Patric Hrehorcak, Miloš Kelemen, Andrej Kollár, Filip Krivošík (A), Andrej Kukuča, Adam Liška (A), Martin Pospíšil, Pavol Regenda, Miloš Roman, Adam Růžička.

Article Credit: 2019 World Junior Championship
Photo Credit: 2019 World Junior Championship – IIHF – HHOF – IOC