The U.S. celebrates after captain Nick Bonino's first-period goal in a 4-3 overtime win over Sweden to claim first place in Group A at the 2023 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship in Tampere, Finland.
photo: © International Ice Hockey Federation / Andrea Cardin
In a penalty-laden special teams battle, Dylan Samberg scored at 1:37 of overtime to lift the U.S. to a 4-3 win over Sweden to capture first place and the top seed in Group A for Thursday's quarter-finals.
Samberg accepted Carter Mazur's centering pass from below the goal line and roofed it to keep the Americans unbeaten with 20 points.
Looking ahead to the next round, U.S. captain Nick Bonino said: "Any time you get to a medal round at a World Championship, you deserve to be there. It doesn’t matter what team we face. If it’s Latvia, we’re going to their home rink and playing them. If it’s Slovakia, they took Canada to a shootout. They’re a team that can beat anybody. So we’ll be ready, we’ll focus on ourselves and see what happens."
The U.S. led 3-1 late in the third period, but the Swedes scored twice in less than three minutes to send it to extra time.
This was the first loss for coach Sam Hallam's Swedes, who finished the group stage with 18 points, including a 2-1 overtime win over host Finland.
Leo Carlsson scored twice in regulation for Sweden. The 18-year-old earlier became Sweden's youngest player ever to score at the Worlds in a 5-0 romp over Austria. Defenceman Henrik Tommernes had two assists and leads the tournament with 10 total.
"The USA is different from what we’re used to, even though some of our guys play in the NHL as well," Carlsson said. "There was a fast pace out there."
The Americans, amazingly haven’t won a World Championship tournament since 1933. Heading into the quarter-finals under bench boss David Quinn, they're hoping to change that.
"We feel good about our game," said the U.S.'s Conor Garland. "We're focused and we're excited. We know what what's at stake and we've given ourselves a good opportunity to accomplish our goal."
Sweden aspires to win its first gold medal since going back-to-back in 2017 and 2018.
The U.S. outshot Sweden 43-26 as goalie Casey DeSmith won his duel with Swedish veteran Lars Johansson. The Americans racked up 33 PIM to Sweden's 14 and both sides will want better discipline in the playoffs.
"I think it got a little bit choppy there with all the penalties, but that’s the way it is sometimes," said Sweden's Patrick Nemeth. "We had to find a way to push through and we pushed through at the end of the third, but couldn’t quite push through in overtime."
The Swedes got a huge opportunity with the first power play, although it came at a cost. Michael Eyssimont took a run in the Tre Kronor zone at defenceman Rasmus Sandin, who crumpled to the ice. Sandin was helped off to the dressing room and did not return.
Eyssimont was assessed a major and game misconduct for kneeing. It became a two-man Swedish advantage when Samberg was called for delay of game for flipping the puck over the glass.
Carlsson drew first blood on a one-timer from the right faceoff circle at 9:10, converting a great no-look pass from Henrik Tommernes, who leads this tournament with 10 assists.
Mid-period, the Americans enjoyed a 5-on-3 of their own for 1:47, but Johansson stood his ground as Cutter Gauthier – who leads the Worlds in shots by a mile – unleashed multiple lasers.
The U.S. finally tied it up at 16:49 on another man advantage. Bonino capitalized on a stealthy back pass from Gauthier on the side boards, beating Johansson on the short side.
"Great play on the wall from Gauthier and I just tried to shoot," said Bonino. "I might not have been aiming there, but it doesn’t matter. I’m happy that it went in."
In the last minute of the first period, Carl Grundstrom crashed into DeSmith on a shorthanded breakaway and was dinged for goalie interference. However, the U.S. was unable to exploit the two-man advantage that carried over to the middle frame.
The Americans outshot Sweden 14-9 in the second period. The teams traded good chances, with T.J. Tynan and Lucas Raymond both coming close.
At 13:24, Garland put the U.S. up 2-1 with the man advantage on a rebound after Johansson stopped Carter Mazur's between-the-legs attempt. This was Garland's second goal in Tampere. The nifty assistant captain was a tournament all-star in 2021 in Riga when the U.S. won its last medal (bronze).
With under three minutes left in the period, two Swedes were shaken up in the U.S. zone on the same sequence. Andre Petersson hobbled off after a collision with Patrick Brown, but only Lane Hutson got a penalty after getting his stick up on Carlsson.
However, the Swedes couldn't cash in. And when Hutson came out of the box, he stole the puck from Timothy Liljegren at the U.S. blue line and sped off to zing home the 3-1 marker unassisted at 19:30.
"Good goal, obviously coming out of the box with speed and a quick release," said Garland. "He's been a great player player for us since Day One."
At 2:29 of the third period, Matt Coronato thought he'd given the U.S. a three-goal lead off a rebound, but Hallam challenged the play as offside and video review confirmed it.
The Swedes battled back to make it exciting. With 14:51 remaining, Carlsson made cut the deficit to 3-2 on a wrister that tipped in off Alex Tuch's stick. At 17:29, Liljegren went to the net and put his own rebound past DeSmith for the equalizer off a Tommernes shot.
"The second goal was a bit lucky, but it felt good out there today," Carlsson said.
Garland clipped Raymond with a high stick just before the end of regulation and the Swedes held on to the puck with a delayed penalty coming up, hoping to maximize their 4-on-3 overtime power play. But the play was video-reviewed and no penalty was assessed, as Garland was deemed to have followed through legally with his stick.
Sweden's Fabian Zetterlund missed his second straight game due to illness and Alexander Nylander took his place again on the third line.
Samberg accepted Carter Mazur's centering pass from below the goal line and roofed it to keep the Americans unbeaten with 20 points.
Looking ahead to the next round, U.S. captain Nick Bonino said: "Any time you get to a medal round at a World Championship, you deserve to be there. It doesn’t matter what team we face. If it’s Latvia, we’re going to their home rink and playing them. If it’s Slovakia, they took Canada to a shootout. They’re a team that can beat anybody. So we’ll be ready, we’ll focus on ourselves and see what happens."
The U.S. led 3-1 late in the third period, but the Swedes scored twice in less than three minutes to send it to extra time.
This was the first loss for coach Sam Hallam's Swedes, who finished the group stage with 18 points, including a 2-1 overtime win over host Finland.
Leo Carlsson scored twice in regulation for Sweden. The 18-year-old earlier became Sweden's youngest player ever to score at the Worlds in a 5-0 romp over Austria. Defenceman Henrik Tommernes had two assists and leads the tournament with 10 total.
"The USA is different from what we’re used to, even though some of our guys play in the NHL as well," Carlsson said. "There was a fast pace out there."
The Americans, amazingly haven’t won a World Championship tournament since 1933. Heading into the quarter-finals under bench boss David Quinn, they're hoping to change that.
"We feel good about our game," said the U.S.'s Conor Garland. "We're focused and we're excited. We know what what's at stake and we've given ourselves a good opportunity to accomplish our goal."
Sweden aspires to win its first gold medal since going back-to-back in 2017 and 2018.
The U.S. outshot Sweden 43-26 as goalie Casey DeSmith won his duel with Swedish veteran Lars Johansson. The Americans racked up 33 PIM to Sweden's 14 and both sides will want better discipline in the playoffs.
"I think it got a little bit choppy there with all the penalties, but that’s the way it is sometimes," said Sweden's Patrick Nemeth. "We had to find a way to push through and we pushed through at the end of the third, but couldn’t quite push through in overtime."
The Swedes got a huge opportunity with the first power play, although it came at a cost. Michael Eyssimont took a run in the Tre Kronor zone at defenceman Rasmus Sandin, who crumpled to the ice. Sandin was helped off to the dressing room and did not return.
Eyssimont was assessed a major and game misconduct for kneeing. It became a two-man Swedish advantage when Samberg was called for delay of game for flipping the puck over the glass.
Carlsson drew first blood on a one-timer from the right faceoff circle at 9:10, converting a great no-look pass from Henrik Tommernes, who leads this tournament with 10 assists.
Mid-period, the Americans enjoyed a 5-on-3 of their own for 1:47, but Johansson stood his ground as Cutter Gauthier – who leads the Worlds in shots by a mile – unleashed multiple lasers.
The U.S. finally tied it up at 16:49 on another man advantage. Bonino capitalized on a stealthy back pass from Gauthier on the side boards, beating Johansson on the short side.
"Great play on the wall from Gauthier and I just tried to shoot," said Bonino. "I might not have been aiming there, but it doesn’t matter. I’m happy that it went in."
In the last minute of the first period, Carl Grundstrom crashed into DeSmith on a shorthanded breakaway and was dinged for goalie interference. However, the U.S. was unable to exploit the two-man advantage that carried over to the middle frame.
The Americans outshot Sweden 14-9 in the second period. The teams traded good chances, with T.J. Tynan and Lucas Raymond both coming close.
At 13:24, Garland put the U.S. up 2-1 with the man advantage on a rebound after Johansson stopped Carter Mazur's between-the-legs attempt. This was Garland's second goal in Tampere. The nifty assistant captain was a tournament all-star in 2021 in Riga when the U.S. won its last medal (bronze).
With under three minutes left in the period, two Swedes were shaken up in the U.S. zone on the same sequence. Andre Petersson hobbled off after a collision with Patrick Brown, but only Lane Hutson got a penalty after getting his stick up on Carlsson.
However, the Swedes couldn't cash in. And when Hutson came out of the box, he stole the puck from Timothy Liljegren at the U.S. blue line and sped off to zing home the 3-1 marker unassisted at 19:30.
"Good goal, obviously coming out of the box with speed and a quick release," said Garland. "He's been a great player player for us since Day One."
At 2:29 of the third period, Matt Coronato thought he'd given the U.S. a three-goal lead off a rebound, but Hallam challenged the play as offside and video review confirmed it.
The Swedes battled back to make it exciting. With 14:51 remaining, Carlsson made cut the deficit to 3-2 on a wrister that tipped in off Alex Tuch's stick. At 17:29, Liljegren went to the net and put his own rebound past DeSmith for the equalizer off a Tommernes shot.
"The second goal was a bit lucky, but it felt good out there today," Carlsson said.
Garland clipped Raymond with a high stick just before the end of regulation and the Swedes held on to the puck with a delayed penalty coming up, hoping to maximize their 4-on-3 overtime power play. But the play was video-reviewed and no penalty was assessed, as Garland was deemed to have followed through legally with his stick.
Sweden's Fabian Zetterlund missed his second straight game due to illness and Alexander Nylander took his place again on the third line.