Sweden Beats Czech Republic to Take Group A Lead

A tight battle saw Sweden take over first place in Group B after beating the Czech Republic 3-1 on Thursday afternoon in Buffalo.

The Swedes took just under six minutes to beat Jakub Skarek for the first goal of the contest. Glenn Gustafsson got the play started with a long-range pass down the middle to Axel Jonsson. Jonsson then made a nice dish out to Marcus Davidsson, who connected on the pass to make it 1-0.

With only 56 seconds remaining in the first, the Czechs found themselves down by two in a game they were struggling to generate any chances in. Vancouver Canucks prospect Elias Pettersson, who has been ripping up the Swedish Hockey League this season, showed why he's considered one of the best players in the tournament when he sent a beautiful wrist shot past Skarek and in to make it 2-0 to end the first frame.

The Czechs came out flying in the second, but they only found a way to beat Filip Gustavsson once. Almost a full 20 minutes after Sweden's last goal, Martin Necas fed 2018 draft prospect Filip Zadina in front of the net, with Zadina attempting to murder the puck in his release. It was good enough to give his team some momentum heading into the third, a make-or-break period to see who would take the lead in Group B.

Unfortunately for the Czechs, their momentum wouldn't transfer over into the third. After killing off a 5-on-3, Alex Nylander made the Czechs pay for not scoring with their advantage by sniping a wrist shot over Skarek to make it 3-1. It was a big goal for Sweden, who managed to hold off the Czechs for the remainder of the third to take the victory.

The win put Sweden in sole possession of first place in Group B, with Russia, Switzerland and Czechia now sitting at 1-1 records. Sweden will wait a day before playing Switzerland on Saturday, while the Czechs will look to make some leeway in the tournament when they challenge Belarus earlier in the day.

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