Sweden, after having beaten the USA 6-3, came into this game with all the confidence in the world after winning Group A. They continued the phenomenal play into this game, crushing Latvia with the same score of 6-3.
Sweden’s Quick Start and Dominating First Period
Sweden kicked off the game red-hot when Anton Frondell scored the first goal 10 seconds into the game. It took Latvia a full two minutes to even gain possession of the puck. Latvia then went to the power play, but Lucas Pettersson had the best chance with a breakaway on the penalty kill that was stopped by Nils Maurins.
Kristers Ansons scored on Latvia’s second power play of the afternoon, but Sweden bounced right back three minutes later with a goal from Jack Berglund. Pettersson kept control of the puck around the net, and Berglund spun free of a net battle and was in the right place to tap in a goal. By the end of the first period, the shots were 17-4 in Sweden’s favor. Once Sweden settled in, they didn’t stop the pressure, and it continued for the rest of the game.
Sweden’s Penalty Kill Shut It Down
Latvia has the third-best power play in the tournament, behind Canada and Sweden. After this game, which was their last, they went 7-for-17 with a 41 percent power play percentage. Latvia only has 12 goals in the whole tournament, so that means only five 5-on-5 goals have gone in the back of the net for them.
Related: Sweden Beats Latvia 6-3 to Move on to Semi-Finals in 2026 World Juniors
The Swedish penalty kill shut down Latvia’s main source of scoring, outside of that one goal by Ansons. Latvia went 1-for-5. At one point, Latvia had a 5-on-3 opportunity, but Sweden stood tall, didn’t allow any good chances, and killed both penalties off. The penalty kill was a big reason the Swedes won this hockey game, because Latvia cannot score when it’s 5-on-5.
Another Offensive Burst
Sweden, after scoring six goals against the U.S., came into this game and scored another six. After this contest, Sweden now leads the tournament in goals with 27, two ahead of Canada, who have 25. Sweden is also fourth in shooting percentage, at 14 percent. It helps that their goalie, Love Harenstam, is one of the best goalies in the World Junior Championship as well, so it’s just as hard for the other team to score as it is to stop their offensive attack.
Frondell continued his stellar WJC campaign and had two goals, and Berglund, Sacha Boumediene, Felix Carell, and Sahlin Wallenius all had one goal. Bouemediene and Carell’s goals both came within one minute of each other, making it 4-1, and sucked most of the life out of Latvia. Bouemediene’s goal was right after a power play when Sweden was still persistent and kept the puck in the zone; he then converted on the one-timer.
Sweden is so dangerous on the power play, and the fact that they can score like this off of it should scare the three teams remaining in the tournament.
Sweden will go on to face Finland in the semifinals, as Finland beat the U.S. in an overtime thriller, 4-3. Harenstam and the offense will have to be on their best game again, because if they can win the goaltending and offensive battle, without having too much of a sound game from their six defenders, they’ll be able to beat Finland and advance to the gold-medal game, as most of their game is played up next to the boards.
