Sweden and Switzerland combined for eight power-play goals in the game and Sweden held on for a wild 7-5 win this afternoon at TD Place in Ottawa. Sweden built a 6-1 lead only to see the Swiss score all four of their gols in the third on the power play to make the score close.

The win moves Sweden to the top of Group B standings with a 3-0-0 record and ensuring them a place in the quarter-finals. The Swiss lost for the third time in relegation in as many games and are now in a precarious position.

"We didn't have the best start, but we worked our way into the game," said Swede Zeb Forsfjall. "We took too many penalties, and they scored a lot of goals on the PP. We tried to be ready from the start and take the puck to the net. It's a bit of an adjustment on the small ice compared to at home, but we need to get it deep a little more quickly."
 

"We didn't have a good 40 minutes, but we knew we had to keep going and I think we had a really good last period," said Swiss captain Alain Graf. "They took more good shots than we did, but we need to play hard in front and put more pucks in."

Both teams have a day off before playing critical games on New Year’s Eve. The Swedes clash with the Czechs in what might well be a fight for first place. The Swiss take on Kazakhstan in a game that will have huge implications for either qualifying for the quarter-finals or being forced to play the pressure-packed relegation game.

"Of course, we want to win that last game," Forsfjall added. "It's like the final in our group and we want first place."

"Goalscoring is our biggest problem now," Graf admitted. "The last period we showed that we can score goals. We have one game left, and we have to go all in, shoot, and get more goals. We had two games and two periods where we scored only one goal each, and then we scored four in the third today, so it's good for our confidence and for the power play that we can score."

Tom Willander had two goals and an assist for the winners while Leon Muggli had three assists for the Swiss. Axel Sandin Pellikka had a goal and assist and now co-leads the tournament in both goals (4) and points (7).

The Swedes jumped into an early 1-0 lead thanks to a power play slapshot form the point by Willander. His long blast at 6:52 went cleanly over the shoulder of Elijah Neuenschwander.

Switzerland tied it less than six minutes later, on a lucky play. Kimo Gruber was trying to get the puck to the front of the Swedish goal, but his pass banked off the skate of Theo Lindstein and under the pad of Melker Thelin at 12:18.

Just 63 seconds later, however, the Swedes restored their lead on a perfect dump in. Isac Hedqvist got the puck in front to Zeb Forsfjall, who snapped a shot past Neuenschwander before he realized what had happened. 

A late power play gave the Swedes further chance to extend their lead, which they did when Otto Stenberg drilled a shot from the off wing under the glove of the Swiss goalie.

The Swedes poured it on in the second, scoring three more goals, two with the extra skater. David Granberg made it 4-1 at 4:52 when his shot off the rush snuck through Christian Kirsch, who started the period, on the short side. It was Sweden's fourth goal on only seven shots. Four minutes later, it was a 5-1 game when Willander replicated his goal from the first. On the power play again, his long shot went high over the shoulder.

And then, with 11.8 seconds remaining, Viktor Eklund pushed a puck over the goal line from the blue ice after Kirsch made the initial save but wound up on his back.

The Swiss got a power-play marker of their own early in the third courtesy of Gruber's second of the night. He got the puck after a faceoff win and snapped a shot under the blocker of Thelin at 4:21 to make it a 6-2 game.

Sandin Pellikka repsonded five minutes later for the Swedes, snapping home another shot on a power play at 9:44, his fourth of the tournament. Not to be outdone, the Swiss counted another three goals with the extra player. Leo Braillard wristed a high shot over Thelin's glove at 11:17 and three minutes later another long and high shot, this from Leon Muggli tipped in front by Andro Kaderli, found the back of the net. Braillard got the final one with 12.2 seconds remaining.