It was a snowy third day of the 2026 World Junior Championship on Sunday, Dec. 28, but the hockey games continued as Sweden and Switzerland faced off for the first game of the day. It was a very evenly matched battle all throughout the game, with both teams taking leads at different times.
However, it was Sweden who had the final say as they took the lead in the third period and added an empty net goal in the final minute to fulfill their second win of the tournament. In this article, we’ll look at takeaways for both sides, starting with Sweden’s scorers.
Sweden Has Multiple Players Step Up
It wasn’t just one player who stood out for Sweden as they fought back to take the win over Switzerland. First, it was Eric Nilson who scored to give his team their first lead of the game, and it was barely a minute into the opening period. It looked like things would keep going Sweden’s way, but Switzerland found a way to climb back in.
Sweden had to bounce back after Switzerland tied it and took the lead away, and that’s where Viggo Björck came in. He scored the goal to get his team back in the game and gave them the momentum to retake the lead. After Björck’s goal, it was Liam Danielsson who came up big with not one but two goals.
Danielsson scored the goal that put his team ahead, but a little bit later, he scored the empty-netter to ensure his team would go on to win the game. Sweden has a lot of scorers in their lineup, and it showed against Switzerland as they had three different players score and spread the points throughout the lineup.
Sweden/Switzerland Evenly Skilled
Although Sweden did take the win and it looked like they would early on, Switzerland proved they had what it took to keep up with Sweden. Just like the night prior, when Switzerland played USA and forced their way back into the game, they did the same against Sweden. They have a lot of talent and can score goals; they just need to find a way to do it consistently, like Sweden and USA.
Switzerland did end up in the penalty box quite a bit more, but they were able to kill off all of the penalties they took, and so did Sweden. Both teams were 100 percent on their penalty kill, but that also meant their power plays suffered and could’ve made a difference for their respective teams.
This was easily one of the most evenly matched games of the tournament so far, and although the score doesn’t reflect it because of the empty net goal, either team could’ve taken the win, and it’ll be interesting to see how both of these teams move forward.
Sweden/Switzerland Goaltending Evenly Matched
While the scoring and overall play were very even-matched, as stated before, what was even more impressive was the goaltending. Both teams had strong goaltenders in their nets, and they were ready for the big shots that came their way. Again, although Sweden may have been favored in this game, Switzerland’s goaltender, Elijah Neuenschwander, was ready for almost everything that came his way.
He stood tall in his net, but so did Sweden’s Love Härenstam, who was equally ready for the shots that came his way. Both goaltenders made the big saves their team needed to stay in the game, and again, although Sweden came out with the win, it was really anyone’s game, and Switzerland could’ve had it as well.
Related: Guide to the 2026 World Junior Championship
Switzerland has shown they have two very strong goaltenders in Neuenschwander and also Christian Kirsch, who was in net against USA the night prior. It’s hard to say which goaltender they’ll go with in the next game, as they’ll have a day off to decide. Sweden will likely go with Herman Liv to give Härenstam a break, so he’s not playing two days in a row.
It’ll be interesting to see how both of these teams respond, if Sweden can take down Germany in their next game and make it three straight wins. Switzerland needs to get in the win column if they want to stay out of the relegation round, as well, with their next opponent also being Germany.
