In the first quarterfinal game of the 2025 World Junior Championship (WJC), Sweden looked to avoid becoming the second team to be upset by Latvia. While the Swedish team controlled play throughout most of the game, the resilient Latvian team would not give in. However, Sweden outlasted Latvia 3-2 to advance to the tournament’s semi-finals.
Game Recap
Sweden controlled the pace of play right from the jump of the first period, not allowing Latvia to get a shot on Melker Thelin (Utah Hockey Club) until the last five minutes of the period. In that time, the Swedes found the back of the net twice. The first goal came off the stick of Zeb Forsfjäll (Seattle Kraken) after a quick play through the neutral zone (and a missed interference call on Sweden), helping Forsfjall make a strong move wide on the Latvian defense. His shot went off the post far side behind Latvia netminder Linards Feldbergs.
Anton Wahlberg (Buffalo Sabres) added a goal less than two minutes after Forsfjall’s off a strong pass from Axel Sandin Pellikka (Detroit Red Wings) after an offensive zone faceoff win. Sweden’s puck movement kept the pressure on the Latvian defense and Feldbergs, with the shots being 19-2 after the first period of play and Sweden leading 2-0.
Sweden’s lethal power play got an early chance in the second period and made quick work of it, scoring less than 30 seconds in on their first opportunity on the man advantage. Strong puck movement around the offensive zone led to Victor Eklund (2025 draft-eligible) getting a chance in the slot that Feldbergs initially stopped. David Edstrom (Nashville Predators) cashed in on the rebound to extend the lead to 3-0 less than five minutes into the middle frame.
Latvia seemed to gain momentum from killing off a five-on-three in the middle of the period. This led to Eriks Mateiko (Washington Capitals) continuing his strong tournament, scoring off an offensive-zone faceoff win. He worked his way to the high slot for a quick shot that snuck in off Thelin’s pad to get Latvia on the board. Mateiko once again found the back of the net with just over a minute remaining in the second period, this time cashing in on a rebound off a shot from the point to bring Latvia within one at the end of 40 minutes of play. Sweden held a 32-11 shot lead while holding the 3-2 lead.
The Swedes dominated a scoreless third period, outshooting Latvia 18-2 in the final 20 minutes. Feldbergs kept his team in the game with excellent, timely saves, but the Latvians could not get anything going offensively, even in the last minute and a half with Feldbergs pulled for an extra attacker. Thelin made 11 saves on 13 shots in the victory, while Feldbergs was rock solid for Latvia, stopping 47 of 50 shots in the loss.
Sweden awaits the winner of the United States/Switzerland quarterfinal game and will face off against the winner in the WJC semifinal on Saturday (Jan. 4).
