USA beats Sweden to win WJC bronze

In a battle of two disappointed semifinalists, Swedish coach Roger Rönnberg a bit surprisingly chose to start with Fredrik Petterson-Wentzel in the net. Petterson-Wentzel was called to action on many occasions in the first period, denying goal scoring opportunities of Palmieri, Etem and Faulk. "We saw energy in this goalkeeper  in the build up to the game and felt he is ready for the challenge," said coach Rönnberg. "He gave us a good chance to win."

The game lacked tempo and atmosphere and fans were longing for the opening goal. It came at 31:55 when Oscar Lindberg finally broke the deadlock with a rebound from close range. However, Team USA equalized  shortly after, when Chris Kreider found some space in the slot and fired a pass from the back boards straight between keeper´s pads.

USA´s comeback was completed early in the 3^rd period after Drew Shore´s deflected shot flew straight under the crossbar. Deflected shots and good work in front of the net paid dividends for USA. At 51:40, Nick Bjugstad changed the direction of another blue line shot to beat Petterson-Wentzel and give his team a two goal lead.

With five minutes to go, Jesper Fasth was able to score a close range rebound to make it 2-3 from the Swedish point of view, but a quick breakaway at 58:07 was put in by Chris Kreider from Palmieri´s pass and there was no way USA was going to throw away that lead.

"Can you see the medal? Can you see it? I can and I like it," joked Team USA forward Chris Brown. Coach Keith Allain was a bit more philosophical. "This is the first time USA won back to back medals at this tournament and the first time we won a medal at home soil. It shows the strenght of the USA Hockey youth program," said Allain.

On the other hand, Swedish players were understandably disappointed. "It is so disappointing. It was a last game in this category for most of the guys," explained Team Sweden defender Fredrik Styrman. "I felt a huge desire in the dressing room. We badly wanted this medal."

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