Sweden is ready for the JVM final at home.
The junior crowns won the semi-final against the Czech Republic clearly – after a goal explosion in the third period.
Sweden advanced to the semi-finals of the JVM at home, but it was a long way off. The quarter-final against Switzerland was a big drama, and it took extra time to separate the teams. Once there, Axel Sandin-Pelikka stepped forward with his first goal of the tournament, and a decisive one.
Drama initially
In the semi-finals, Sweden was pitted against the Czech Republic, which had a big impact when they knocked out Canada itself in the quarter-finals. Sandin-Pelikka, who decided against Switzerland, would have a key role against the Czech Republic as well. In the second period, the star defender established Sweden’s turnaround with a shot from blue that found its way into the goal for 2-1.
However, Sweden’s joy was short-lived, when Tomas Cibulka got through a shot in the power play to make it 2-2. Before the match, much of the talk had been about getting a hole in the Czech Republic’s tall goalkeeper Michael Hrabal, who had been brilliant throughout the tournament. However, he was responsible for two serious bids for Sweden’s first two goals in the match, but in the third period he was recognizable, with several important saves initially.
Definite victory
But when Sweden got the chance to play a power play just over five minutes into the decisive period, Jonathan Lekkerimäki stepped forward with a rock-hard shot that gave Sweden a 3-2 lead. And with eight minutes left in the match came the next explosion of joy in Scandinavium. Instead of equalizing pressure, Noah Östlund was freed, and free against the goalkeeper he made no mistake.
Sweden continued to push the gas and just a minute later Jonathan Lekkerimäki scored his second goal of the day as he carefully stayed in front of the goal. 5-2. The final will already be played tomorrow, Friday, starting at 19.30, against either Finland or the USA.
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