World Juniors: Sweden dumps Russia, advances to second straight final
Jan 3, 2013, 12:03 PM EDT
Tre Kronor is back again.
That was the story out of Ufa on Thursday, as Team Sweden advanced to its second consecutive World Junior Championship final by defeating Russia 3-2 in a shootout.
With the win, Sweden will now face the U.S. in the gold medal game for a chance to capture consecutive titles after going 31 years without winning it all.
Montreal prospect Sebastian Collberg scored the decisive shootout winner after the Russians overcame a two-goal deficit to send the game to extra time.
Elias Lindholm and Filip Forsberg — Washington’s first-round selection at the 2011 NHL Entry Draft — scored the goals for Sweden, while Andrei Mironov and Sabres first-rounder Mikhail Grigorenko replied for Russia.
The Russians staged an impressive comeback, but will look back on a dismal first period as their undoing.
They were out-shot 14-2 in the opening frame — it took Russia nearly 15 minutes to get its first shot on goal — and allowed Sweden to score twice in the first 10 minutes.
As mentioned earlier, Sweden will now face the U.S. in the gold medal game on Saturday, Jan. 5 (7:30 a.m. ET). Sweden is the defending champ while the U.S. last won gold in 2010.
Of note, this will mark the first time in World Junior Championships history these two nations have met in the final.
Related: Team USA gets payback, beats Canada 5-1; Will play for gold Saturday
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