Stockholm Division
Preliminary Round Game:
Sweden : Czech Republic
4 : 1
Sweden defeated the Czech Republic 4-1 in their preliminary round game. It wasn't a very offensive game when they played as there was only 37 shots combined from the two teams, but this quarter final game could be much different because both teams will want to have the lead and they will need to score to have a lead.
The Swedes started off the 2012 World Championships with a 3-1 win over Norway, followed by a 4-1 win over the Czech Republic. Sweden ran into some trouble with Denmark in their 3rd game allowing 4 goals but they still managed to squeeze out a 6-4 victory. Sweden continued to win as they defeated Germany 5-2 in their fourth preliminary game. Sweden faced the other favorite in this group; Russia and they did not play well as the Russians defeated them 7-3. The Swedes were very disappointed with the loss and they are determined to not let themselves play a game like that ever again. Sweden finished off the preliminaries with back-to-back 4-0 wins over Denmark and Lativa. Sweden finished 2nd in the group with 18 points.
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The Czech Republic kicked the tournament off with a 2-0 win over the Danes. They were in tough in the next game as they played Sweden and they lost that game 4-1. They rallied back from that defeat and were able to defeat the Norwegians 4-3 in a shootout. The Czech Republic then went on to defeat the Latvians 3-0 and then beat the Italians 6-0. The Czech Republic played a very strong game against the Russians despite a 2-0 loss. They played great defensively but they were just not able to get a puck past goaltender; Semyon Varlamov. The Czechs finished off the preliminaries on a high note as they defeated the lowly Germans 8-1. The Czechs record was good enough for 3rd place as they finished with 14 points.
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This game should have a good flow to it and both teams will look to capitalize early in the game. Both, Sweden and the Czech Republic are capable of playing a great shutdown game so if either team can get an early lead and play shutdown for the rest of the game, they would be more than happy to do so. The Swedes have a lethal group up front who will try to score on every mistake the Czech team makes in their own end and the neutral zone. The counterattack could play a huge role in this game as both teams has speed in the forward lineup with allows them to breakout on odd-man rushes. Jakub Stepanek will be in between the pipes for the Czechs as the Swedes will counter with Viktor Fasth. Both goaltenders have had good tournaments so far with Stepanek having the slightly better numbers. This game will be even in every aspect and it should be a thrilling game to watch.
Who to Watch:
Loui Eriksson - He is one of the best snipers in this tournament, he is capable of scoring some incredible goals and he will be asked upon by the Swedes to lead the attack up front
Tomas Plekanec - The speedy centerman for the Czech Republic plays in all situations and is very good for the counterattack, he will be looking to set up goal scorer; Ales Hemsky
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