🇸🇪 Sweden 6-3 Latvia 🇱🇻
World Junior Championship Quarterfinal
Grand Casino Arena, Saint Paul 🇺🇸
Friday, 02 January 2026

It was business as usual. Undefeated Sweden employed a balanced attack to down Latvia 6-3 in the first quarter-final of the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship on Friday.

Sniper Anton Frondell led the way with two goals, tying him for the tournament lead (five) with Slovakia’s Tomáš Chrenko and the U.S.’s Will Zellers. Blueliner Leo Sahlin Wallenius stepped up with a goal and two assists. Captain Jack Berglund, Sascha Boumedienne and Felix Carell also scored for Sweden.

Sweden is looking for just its third Gold medal of all time (1981, 2012) after finishing fourth last year. The Juniorkronorna settled for their record-setting 12th World Junior Silver medal in 2024 in Gothenburg with a 6-2 Gold medal loss to the Americans.

Kristers Ansons, Kārlis Flugins and Olivers Mūrnieks replied for Latvia. Bruno Osmanis assisted on both Latvian power play goals.

This was Latvia’s fourth quarter-final appearance in five World Juniors, the lone exception being 2023 (ninth place). The Latvians have finished seventh twice (2022, 2025), their highest-ever placement.

Sweden outshot Latvia 38-16. Swedish coach Magnus Hävelid gave the nod to starter Love Härenstam in net, while Latvian coach Artis Ābols went with Nils Mauriņš.

This tournament has seen a trend of teams of scoring on their first shot of a period. Accordingly, it took just 10 seconds for Frondell to draw first blood. Sweden got the puck deep off the opening faceoff and Latvia was unable to clear it past Sahlin Wallenius at the point. Frondell got a stick on the defender’s shot in front and it eluded Mauriņš.

The Latvian goalie foiled Linus Eriksson a few minutes later when he stickhandled in alone on net. It was Härenstam’s turn to say no when Mūrnieks split the Swedish defence with a dipsy-doodle display of his own midway through the first.

Latvia kept on plugging and tied it up on the power play at 13:07. Confident puck movement paid off with Ansons firing home a snap shot from the left faceoff circle.

Sweden regained the lead at 16:15. Lucas Pettersson cannily circled the Latvian zone with the puck before centering it from the goal line to Berglund, who made no mistake on the doorstep. The Swedish captain did a good job of battling for body position with blueliner Mārtiņš Vītols.

At 14:05 of the second period, the Swedes went up 3-1 on Boumedienne’s centre point blast on the power play. With Berglund again wreaking havoc in front, Mauriņš was distracted and the puck slammed into a wide-open net.

Mauriņš got some vindication seconds later when he stopped Victor Eklund on a breakaway. But the industrious Swedish assistant captain followed up on the rebound, keeping the puck in the zone and ultimately feeding Carell in front for a slapper that made it 4-1 at 15:40.

The Latvians had a huge chance with a 5-on-3 man advantage at the end of the middle frame, but never came close to cashing in.

In the third period, Frondell stretched the Swedish lead to 5-1 at 1:58 on a wrister off the rush. It was yet again Sweden’s first shot of the period.

Flugins cut the deficit to 5-2 with a nice snipe less than two minutes later. But Sahlin Wallenius made it 6-2 Sweden with a long shot through traffic at 15:54.

Ābols called his timeout before a Latvian power play in the dying stages. It took just 12 seconds for Mūrnieks to capitalize at 18:10. However, that was as close as Latvia would get.

This was a rematch of last year’s quarter-final, in which Sweden prevailed 3-2, outshooting Latvia 50-13. Although the Baltic underdogs trailed by three goals early in the second period, they rallied to make it 3-2, and goalie Linards Feldbergs kept their hopes alive to the final buzzer.

The Swedes have won five straight games in regulation time, the only team at these World Juniors to do so. This was also Sweden’s 20th consecutive World Junior quarter-final win. The last time the Swedes lost was 8-2 to the Americans in Grand Forks, North Dakota in 2005.

BOXSCORE
1st Period
00:10 – 🇸🇪 GOAL – Frondell (Sahlin Wallenius)
03:12 – 🇸🇪 PEN – Nilson, high sticking
12:43 – 🇸🇪 PEN – Boumedienne, cross checking
13:07 – 🇱🇻 PP GOAL – Ansons (Osmanis, Šmits)
16:15 – 🇸🇪 GOAL – Berglund (Pettersson, Genborg)
19:34 – 🇱🇻 PEN – Polis, holding

2nd Period
31:39 – 🇱🇻 PEN – Sārts, tripping
34:05 – 🇸🇪 GOAL – Boumedienne (Freij, Stenberg)
35:40 – 🇸🇪 GOAL – Carell (Eklund, Sahlin Wallenius)
37:30 – 🇸🇪 PEN – Pettersson, high sticking
38:22 – 🇸🇪 PEN – Eklund, hooking

3rd Period
40:42 – 🇸🇪 PEN – Eriksson, slashing
40:42 – 🇱🇻 PEN – Šmits, roughing
41:58 – 🇸🇪 GOAL – Frondell (Bjorck, Freij)
43:50 – 🇱🇻 GOAL – Flugins (Klaucāns, Vītols)
55:54 – 🇸🇪 GOAL – Sahlin Wallenius (Eriksson, Eklund)
57:58 – 🇸🇪 PEN – Freij, delay of game
58:10 – 🇱🇻 PP GOAL – Mūrnieks (Sieradzkis, Osmanis)

GOALTENDERS
W: 🇸🇪 Härenstam (13-16)
L: 🇱🇻 Mauriņš (32-38)

SHOTS ON GOAL
🇸🇪 17+10+11 = 38
🇱🇻 4+8+4 = 16

ROSTERS
🇸🇪 Goaltenders: Love Härenstam, Herman Liv. Defence: Sascha Boumedienne, Felix Carell, Alfons Freij, William Håkansson, Victor Johansson, Leo Sahlin Wallenius (A), Felix Öhrqvist. Forwards: Jack Berglund (C), Viggo Björck, Liam Danielsson, Victor Eklund (A), Linus Eriksson, Anton Frondell, Eddie Genborg, Milton Gästrin, Casper Juustovaara, Loke Krantz, Eric Nilson, Lucas Pettersson, Ivar Stenberg.
🇱🇻 Goaltenders: Nils Mauriņš, Mikus Vecvanags. Defence: Oskars Briedis (C), Rolands Naglis, Krists Retenais, Krišjānis Sārts, Alberts Šmits (A), Darels Uļjanskis, Mārtiņš Vītols. Forwards: Kristers Ansons, Rūdolfs Bērzkalns, Dmitrijs Diļevka, Kārlis Flugins, Martins Klaucāns, Antons Macijevskis, Olivers Mūrnieks, Roberts Naudiņš, Bruno Osmanis (A), Roberts Polis, Daniels Serkins, Markuss Sieradzkis, Kristiāns Utnāns.

Article Credit: 2026 World Junior Championship
Photo Credit: 2026 World Junior Championship – IIHF – HHOF – IOC