Sweden's Småkronorna advanced to the U18 ice hockey world championship final after a dramatic 4–3 semifinal win over Czechia in overtime. Örebro talents Alexander Command and Kevin Törnblom played key roles in the comeback. The final against host nation Slovakien is set for Saturday at 19:00 in Trencin.
Sweden overturned a 1–3 deficit against Czechia in the U18 world championship ice hockey semifinal in Trencin, Slovakien. Czechia took the lead in the first period via Matej Tomanek on powerplay, 2–1. Jakub Vanecek extended it to 3–1 in the second during five-on-three.
Alexander Command pulled Sweden to 3–2 with a long-range shot the Czech goalie should have stopped. The goal survived an offside challenge, resulting in a Czech penalty. Wiggo Sörensson tied it at 3–3 in the third with a rush from the right wing.
Bosse Meijer scored the 4–3 winner with 42 seconds left in overtime during three-on-three play. He capitalized on a Czech player losing his stick. “It was an important goal. I saw that the goalie was down when I got the puck. Then he had stood up when I tried to shoot it on his weak side and I saw it just go in,” Meijer told the international federation.
Örebro Hockey's Alexander Command contributed a goal and assist, while goaltender Kevin Törnblom shone. SVT commentator Chris Härenstam called it a thriller: “Oh what a thriller. Now I think Sweden wins gold." The final against host Slovakien is Saturday at 19:00 in the same arena.
