Sweden overcame a 2-1 deficit to defeat Switzerland 4-2 in their second preliminary-round game at the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship. Lucas Pettersson scored twice in the third period to secure the victory, while Viggo Bjorck tied the game early in the frame. The evenly matched contest highlighted strong goaltending on both sides.
The game, played on December 28, 2025, at Grand Casino Arena in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, began with Sweden taking an early lead. Eric Nilson scored just 53 seconds into the first period on a snap shot assisted by Leo Sahlin Wallenius, giving the Swedes a 1-0 advantage after fine forechecking. However, Switzerland equalized at 14:27 when Beni Waidacher slipped a shot past Love Härenstam through traffic in the Swedish zone.
The second period saw Switzerland seize momentum. Lars Steiner's wrist shot from the right face-off circle at 18:22 put the Swiss ahead 2-1, confirmed by video review after initially appearing to hit the crossbar. Sweden struggled offensively, failing to gain traction in the attacking zone and appearing disorganized defensively, as noted by SVT expert Håkan Loob.
Sweden responded decisively in the third. Viggo Bjorck tied it 2-2 at 0:57 on a power-play snap shot from the high slot, earning praise from analysts Niklas Wikegård and Jonas Andersson, who called for him to join the first power-play unit. Lucas Pettersson then gave Sweden the lead at 6:28 with a deflection off Neuenschwander's arm, followed by an empty-net goal at 19:13 to seal the 4-2 win.
Härenstam made 28 saves for Sweden (2-0-0-0), while Elijah Neuenschwander stopped 26 shots for Switzerland (0-0-0-2), which had lost 2-1 to the United States the previous day. Both teams were perfect on the penalty kill, though power plays underperformed. Sweden captain Jack Berglund reflected, “It's been a bit up and down... but a win is a win.” Switzerland's Steiner added, “We showed that we can play with the big nations.” Sweden faces Germany next, while Switzerland aims to avoid relegation against the same opponent.
