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— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) January 2, 2021
Between his legs and to the back of the net. What a beauty goal for Elmer Soderblom. @Trekronorse now up 2-0 over @leijonat #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/axpuTJyFdj
— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) January 2, 2021
Eemil Viro picks up the assist! #WorldJuniors #LGRW https://t.co/Tbgsq7ROz0
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) January 2, 2021
My final thoughts on the game. Sweden was playing with fire for the entire third period. Finland was the stronger team in all three zones throughout the game. The final goal with less than 30 seconds left was the result of that dominance. There is a lot to be excited about for Detroit fans, but Team Sweden is heading home after their first round robin loss in 15 years and a quick exit in the quarter finals. These kids carry so much on their shoulders, it’s heartbreaking to see how much pain they go through in these exists. Soderblom was Sweden’s player of the game, but you can see that he didn’t feel like celebrating that.
Hats off to Finland. A complete team effort and an off the chart compete level. The better team won, in my opinion.
*this was a brutal start, but at about 13 minutes Sweden took over possession and made it count. Raymond had a beautiful snipe with assists by Johansson and Niederbach. Elmer the barbarian strikes again between the legs, net front, with an assist by Raymond. Fantastic finish to the period.
First period Tight checking. Only 2 shots on goal in first 5:30 (both Fin) Sweden still looks shaky. No shots on net at 8 minutes in Finally 1 shot at 8:30. Soderblom physicality noticeable. Not much else going on for Sweden. Raymond with a nice wraparound attempt at 10:00 after Niederbach won the faceoff. Niederbach failed to get his stick on the ice and could have had a tap in. Fins bowl Swedish goalie over. Not good. Staying in after break. Raymond trying to get things going, Fins doing a nice job keeping shots to the perimeter. Sweden has taken over in possession at around the 13 minute mark.
Raymond scores a BEAUTY AT 14:30! Niederbach won a puck battle and got the puck to Johansson. Wings trio for that goal. Really nice snipe by Raymond.
Raymond draws a penalty at 15:20. Niederbach made a terrible back pass that almost set up a Finnish short handed goal. Soderblom scores! Beautiful net front between the legs tally(same as before) assisted by Raymond. Great deceptive pass by LR. Sweden flying now, draw another penalty at 17:18.
Second period thoughts -
Finland was all over the Swedes. The fins first goal saw a beautiful assist from DRW prospect Eemil Viro. He skated to the net on a 2 on 1 and dished cross crease for the finish. Viro’s puck handling is far better than when I first saw him. He’s skating with the puck, making excellent defensive and offensive decisions. If not for an offside call, Finland would have this game tied up. Chances were going back and forth throughout the second, but Finland seemed to be the stronger team on possession.
Day One of camp provided some photos and pre camp interviews. You can also see my notes on Sweden VS USA at the WJC. Still waiting for the live stream for Today’s camp to be uploaded, but here are some individual interviews. Enjoy it!