Sweden wins Scandinavian derby

After the first Scandinavian clash between Denmark and Norway, won by the latter 3-0, today was Sweden's turn to play against the Danes. It was expected to be an one-way game, with the Swedes dominating every aspect of play: that proved to be true only in part.

The first goal came, in fact, from Denmark: a powerplay gave indeed the advantage to the outsiders with a score by Nikolaj Ehlers. A two-minute penalty to Sweden for having too many players on ice proved itself fruitless, though. A quick succession of goals by Rosen, Backlund, Nygren and against Backlund showed anyways how Sweden was the dominant team during the whole second period, with Linus Omark assisting in three out of four goals.

Backlund jumps high. Photo: Michal Eger

Another penalty to Sweden, again caused by too many men on the ice, opened the final period. Gustav Nyquist signed a solo effort which brought Tre Kronor to a 5-1 lead, with Denmark earning a consolation gamepoint (by Jesper B. Jensen) six seconds before the final whistle. Even with that, Denmark proved to have something interesting to show: their clash against a deeply frustrated Swiss team next Tuesday will demonstrate us their real consistency.

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