PHOTO: Bildbyrån
Sweden won the quarter-final against Switzerland.
But the game had more to be desired, say the experts.
– The performance is less good, says Håkan Loob to SVT.
The Junior WC continues in Gothenburg. On Tuesday, it was time for the quarter-finals, after Sweden won all the matches except the last group stage match against Finland. Despite a loss on penalties against the neighbors in the east, the group victory was the Junior crowns.
Big drama
It was then that they faced Switzerland in the quarter-finals, and the meeting was dramatic, to say the least. Sweden scored directly through Otto Stenberg, and took a 2–0 lead in the first period. But Switzerland came back and equalized in the third period.
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It was the Swiss Nick Meile who put the equalizer on the Swedish goalkeeper Hugo Hävelidwho before the quarter-finals did not concede a single goal.
The match went to overtime, but then stepped Axel Sandin Pellikka advanced and decided for Sweden in the powerplay.
Loob’s criticism
The junior crowns are thus ready for the semi-finals. But despite the victory and promotion, the team receives some criticism.
– This is a result of sheer nervousness. A two-meter pass, the ice is completely freshly washed. These players must soak up these passes seven days a week, every day of the year, whenever they sleep. But the puck is being played. I don’t mean to single out individuals here, but this is a collective loss of confidence. The puck is like soap, a slippery soap. It just flows away. There is no player who really dares and can hold onto the puck, says the expert Jonas Andersson in SVT’s broadcast.
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Also Håkan Loob comes with criticism.
– The end result is nice, good Sweden. But the performance is much less good. You end up in some form of your own trap. You stop playing and you lose touch. In the attack zone, there was one who chased and two forwards who stood and watched, much like “what’s going on?”, says the former hockey player to SVT.
The semifinals of the junior crowns will be played on Thursday against the Czech Republic. In the second semi-final, Finland and the USA meet.
READ MORE: Big JVM success: Over 100,000 spectators have seen the tournament on site
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