For the second straight year, Sweden has won the bronze medal at the IIHF World Championship. Of course, playing on home ice in Stockholm, the Swedes assembled a team that they thought could have won gold but, following a disappointing 6-2 semifinal to the USA on Saturday, they bounced back to beat tournament co-host Denmark by the same score to finish third.
“Success? Success?” Mika Zibanejad pondered. “I don’t know. We came here for gold, we wanted to play in the game tonight. We won’t, but I think we did a good job today. There was still a game to be played and it’s still a medal. Some countries would be happy with a bronze, so I think with time passing by, it’ll be something that we remember anyway.
“Obviously, it’s not what we came here for,” said Detroit Red Wings right winger Lucas Raymond, one of several players who now has back-to-back bronzes. “We didn’t win yesterday but had an opportunity to win a medal today and we got it done.”
“It’s definitely better than nothing,” said Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Samuel Ersson. “It’s disappointing because the team and all the Swedish fans had hopes of gold but it showed strong mental resilience to come back from a disappointing game yesterday and play a good game here and win the bronze at least.”
Ersson split goaltending duties with Jacob Markström. After entering yesterday’s game in relief with the team already down 4-0, Ersson got the start in the bronze-medal game.
“After yesterday’s game, everybody was obviously disappointed but the sun came up again today and so you’ve just gotta refocus and get back to it,” said Ersson. “I was with the Swedish team last year when we won the bronze as well and I know it’s tough, but it’s worth it to do the things necessary to get this bronze medal. It’s worth it in the end.”
Zibanejad, Nylander, Markström, Andersson Disappointed After Swedish Semifinal Loss To USA
They assembled a strong roster to try to win gold on home ice, and
the path to victory seemed to grow a little wider when <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/international/latest-news/disappointed-sidney-crosby-we-couldn-t-get-it-done-here-tonight">Canada got
knocked out in the quarterfinals</a>, but following a <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/international/latest-news/clayton-keller-jackson-lacombe-cutter-gauthier-react-to-usa-semifinal-win-over-sweden">disappointing 6-2
loss to the USA in the semifinals</a>, the best the Swedes can now do is
bronze.
In somewhat of a mirror image of the semifinal, this time it was Sweden leading 4-0 in the third period before Denmark scored a pair to close the gap, before the Swedes finally pulled away.
“I think we got a little loose in our game,” said Raymond, who scored the 4-0 goal and finished second on the Swedish team with 11 points in the tournament. “They started to push and got some energy but I felt pretty comfortable and I think we cruised through the third period pretty well.”
Although it wasn’t the color the Swedish fans wanted either, at the end they gave the Swedish players a standing ovation as they received their medals.
“It’s fun to see and really means a lot to us,” said Raymond. “Obviously, playing here on home ice has been special and we wanted to give back a gold medal but, yeah, they (the fans) have been unreal all tournament.”
“The support has been great all tournament and getting the chance to play in front of the home crowd with family and friends has been amazing,” said Zibanejad. “At least we got to finish off on a decently high note and share that moment with them.”
Clayton Keller, Jackson LaCombe, Cutter Gauthier React To USA Semifinal Win Over Sweden
On the lucky 13th try, <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/international/latest-news/can-this-roster-break-usas-world-championship-semifinal-curse">the semifinal curse is dead.</a> For the first time since the IIHF adopted a playoff format for the
World Championship in 1992, the USA is in the final, following a 6-2
win over Sweden in Stockholm.
Although the team was maybe built for more, the Swedes captured the bronze and tomorrow they all go their separate ways.
“I thought we had a great bond,” said Zibanejad. “A great group of guys, good people around and that’s what makes this even tougher – when you don’t win. But I’ve really enjoyed getting to know all the guys I didn’t know before and getting to see old friends. It’s always an honor to play for your country.”
As for what comes next, he added, “I’ll just enjoy tonight with the group, the guys that we have on this team, one last time.”
“Maybe we’ll have a little good-bye dinner with the guys and then we’ll see,” Raymond added.
“I don’t know,” said Ersson. “Just a nice dinner, a couple of nice cold beverages and then just enjoy it.”
Photo © Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images: Goaltender Samuel Ersson with Swedish teammate Elias Lindholm at the 4 Nations Face-Off.
Victor Hedman: “I’m proud of the way we bounced back after yesterday”
With a roster that included 19 NHLers, this Swedish team was built to win the 2024 IIHF World Championship. After eight straight wins, the Swedes suffered a bitter disappointment in the semifinals, losing 7-3 to the host Czechs on Saturday. However, the team rebounded to beat Canada 2-1 on Sunday to claim the bronze medal.