Sweden opened the World Juniors with a 3–2 win over Slovakia, leaning on a strong power play to hold off a determined Slovak push.
Sweden beat Slovakia in the opening game of the World Juniors. The Slovaks pushed hard throughout, but Sweden weathered the pressure and came away with a 3–2 win, helped by a sharp power-play performance.
Sweden faced a tougher-than-expected opening period, with Slovakia showing its quality. At times, Sweden looked nervous, but one player made a clear effort to leave his mark early. Red Wings prospect Eddie Genborg announced himself at this year’s World Juniors by playing the physical game that made him effective in the SHL during the fall.
After the first period, Genborg wasn’t satisfied, though he did acknowledge there were positive signs to build on.
“I still think we’ve had very long attacking possessions, but we need to get the puck through from the blue line and get it through to the net. Then I think we can score a few easy goals,” said Eddie Genborg after the first period.
Genborg played alongside Viggo Björck and Ivar Stenberg, forming a line with high expectations heading into the tournament.
“We’ve had some time to play together, and I think we’re just getting better and better. We just need to try to keep it going as best we can,” said Genborg.
Slovakia started the second period strongly, helped in large part by a power play. Sweden struggled to break through Slovakia’s tight play in the neutral zone. Instead, it was Slovakia that created the best scoring chances, including a shot from Tomas Chrenko seven minutes into the period. At the other end, Alan Lendak also looked solid in the Slovak net.
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Despite a determined effort from Slovakia, it was Sweden that opened the scoring. On the power play, Alfons Freij delivered a perfect pass to Anton Frondell, who scored Sweden’s first goal of the tournament. The breakthrough was important for Sweden, which had been frustrated by the opposition up to that point.
Sweden added another goal on the power play. The puck moved well between Alfons Freij, Ivar Stenberg, and Anton Frondell before Victor Eklund was able to jam it home from the blue paint. Slovakia responded with a five-on-three goal from Tomas Pobezal in the final seconds of the period, cutting the deficit to 2–1 heading into the second intermission.
“It’s a good game between two good teams. The pace is high out there and it’s fun hockey, but unfortunately they scored, and we’ll have to respond in the third period,” said Sweden’s Anton Frondell after the second period. He continued: “Five-on-three is always difficult to defend. The puck was close to going out, but they managed to hammer in a goal.”
In the third period, draft-eligible Viggo Björck appeared to score for Sweden, but the goal was waved off due to goaltender interference. Instead, it was Slovakia that found the net, as Tobias Tomik capitalized on a Swedish turnover and finished from close range.
Slovakia had the better of play after the tying goal, but Sweden struck next. On a counterattack, Eddie Genborg set up Ivar Stenberg, who beat Alan Lendak in the Slovak net. Slovakia pushed for an equalizer late, but Sweden held on to secure a 3–2 win.
Despite the result, Slovakia delivered a strong performance, one that bodes well for the remainder of the tournament.
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