Sweden downs Russia in Kelowna
Impressive display of talent from both teams in pre-tournament game
While it was assuredly a road game for both teams, it was apparent that Sweden was the crowd favourite when it took to the ice to face Russia in a 2019 IIHF World Junior Championship pre-tournament game in Kelowna.
After all, the Swedes have made the city of Kelowna their home away from home for the better part of the past week.
“It’s two good teams and we’ve played the Russian a lot but not with this kind of squad,” said Sweden head coach Tomas Monten following his team’s 4-2 victory. “It was a good game for us. You can practice as much as you like, but it’s in game situations you get to try yourself.
“For us, it was a real good first game and something to build on.”
The teams played with urgency early on, a pace not seen with much frequency at Prospera Place this season. With both teams busy this week auditioning players for a run at world junior hockey supremacy, the capacity crowd of 6,007 was treated to a heaping helping of speed, skill and determination.
“We need to play with a lot of energy, a lot of speed,” said Monten. “You know, make sure we have people drive the net, play on the inside if we want to score goals against the better teams.”
Russia opened the scoring at 11:46, on just its second shot of the game. Defenceman Alexander Romanov, a Montreal Canadiens draft pick, corralled a loose puck inside the blue line, waltzed around a defender, then fired a wrister high glove past goaltender Adam Ahman.
Sweden held the shots on goal advantage 10-6 after the first frame but trailed 1-0.
Erik Brannstrom evened the contest at the 7:19 mark of the second stanza. Brannstrom, selected 15th overall in 2017 by the Vegas Golden Knights, snared a loose puck in the neutral zone, gained the blue line and blew a slapper five-hole past Russian netminder Petr Kochetkov.
Sweden took the lead midway through the second. From behind the Russian goal, Lucas Elvenes, another Golden Knights draft pick, found Samuel Fagemo, who beat Kochetkov cleanly.
Vitali Kravtsov, a New York Rangers first-round pick, evened the score at 12:37, finishing off a nifty give-and-go with Grigori Denisenko, a Florida first-rounder.
Columbus Blue Jackets prospect Emil Bemstrom scored the game-winner 1:09 into the third period, but it was Philip Broberg who made the crafty play.
The 6-foot-3, 198-pound Broberg, expected to be a high first-round selection at the 2019 NHL draft in Vancouver, carried the puck deep behind the net and slid a quick pass out front to Bemstrom. Broberg’s rush pulled Kochetkov away from the post and Bemstrom made no mistake.
“Broberg, yes, he got a later call than the others,” said Monten. “We were hopeful that (Timothy) Liljegren could come to camp, but he couldn’t (ankle injury). We decided to bring another defenceman and (Broberg) was the first guy up.
“He’s really good. He’s never played on this kind of stage. I think he was really good tonight.”
At 3:07 of the third, Sweden added an insurance goal while shorthanded when Los Angeles Kings prospect Johan Sodergran tipped in a shot by David Gustafsson, a Winnipeg second-rounder.
Despite the score after 60 minutes, the teams played an overtime period, 3-on-3 in preparation for the WJC.
At 1:28, Canadiens draft pick Jacob Olofsson finished off a highlight-reel rush by Elvenes to send the teams packing.
Both teams have pre-tournament games remaining. Russia will face the USA in Kamloops on Thursday and Sweden will face Denmark in Chilliwack on Saturday.
“It’s awesome,” Monten said of his delegation’s stay in Kelowna. “I heard it’s really nice here in the summer, but I like it a lot in the winter as well.
“It’s been a great set up for us with the Rockets around. We’ll look forward to another couple of days here before we head over to Victoria.”
ICE CHIPS: Sweden outshot Russia 36-18. Kochetkov made 32 saves, while Ahman (10/11) and Samuel Ersson (6/7) shared the goaltending duties for Sweden . . . . The tilt in Kelowna is the first of 12 pre-tournament games scheduled for nine communities in the province . . . . The WJC begins on Boxing Day in Vancouver and Victoria with the finals scheduled for Rogers Arena on Jan. 5 . . . . On Dec. 26, 2005, Russia defeated Sweden 5-1 before 5,982 spectators at Prospera Place in a WJC preliminary-round game. Former Rockets defenceman Alex Edler appeared in the contest. Russia, led by tournament MVP Evgeni Malkin, lost only once during that tournament, 5-0 to Canada in the championship game. Rockets alum Blake Comeau was a member of Team Canada . . . . The officiating crew on Tuesday, applying IIHF rules, included referee Steve Papp from Kelowna, who was also part of the on-ice crew for the 2014 WJC gold-medal game in Malmo, Sweden.