Switzerland gave Sweden everything they got handle and more before falling 1-0 Friday in Sochi. After scoring a goal with just 7.9 seconds to go to beat Latvia on Wednesday, as time wore on, the thought that late-magic could prevail again had to be going through the minds of all the participants, fans in the crowd and those watching or listening. But it was not meant to me, as this time it was the favored Swedes on a goal by five-time Olympian, Daniel Alfredsson with 7:21 remaining that gave Tre Kroner a 1-0 win and 2-0 record, clinching Group C. A win over Latvia on Saturday would automatically give Sweden a spot in the final-eight.
The goaltending matchup was slightly surprising, only because it was Reto Berra - and not Jonas Hiller, who shut out Latvia, facing off against Henrik Lundqvist. Berra was good, especially in the second (17 saves) and third periods in making 30 saves overall, but one slight bobble and leaving a rebound that he was unable to control proved to be the difference. Lundqvist posted a 26-save shutout Friday, making several excellent stops to originally keep the game scoreless and then preserve the victory.
A seemingly innocuous play proved to be damaging, with the adage of put the puck on net, good things will happen proving true. Erik Karlsson took a hard slap shot from the right side that Berra caught between his arm and his pad but couldn’t control. The puck landed in the middle of his crease, where Alfredsson, who was open in the slot due to a poor and lazy backcheck by Roman Wick after Raphael Diaz pushed Alexander Steen off to the right side, knocked it into the open net for the only goal of the game. The marker ended a 112-minute unscored upon stretch for the Swiss, who face a quasi-must win contest against the Czech Republic on Saturday for a possible auto-berth into the quarters, but likely more so for seeding in the qualifying round.
Switzerland put heavy pressure on Lundqvist in the first, where they outshot the Swedes 13-5, but were unable to solve the Rangers netminder. Even though Sweden gained control in the last two stanzas, outshooting the Swiss 26-13, Lundqvist still had to come up big at times to keep the Swiss off the board. As the game recap from the AP and Yahoo states: "Lundqvist made a tough save on Wick four minutes into the game. A sliding pad stop on Denis Hollenstein seven minutes in. A clutch snag of a Kevin Romy deflection on the penalty kill to start the third. An emphatic poke check on Andrew Ambuhl. Two saves on Martin Pluss, point blank and as he sliced through the Swedish defense for a shot." Later on, when the score was 1-0, he came up big again, stoning the Swiss to preserve the win.
The Swiss face the Czech Republic on Saturday to determine second place in the Group. Coach Sean Simpson went with Berra, saving Hiller for the match against the Czechs, viewing that contest as more of a must win contest. As such, look for Hiller to be between the pipes in what should be another low-scoring contest based on the style of play to date by the Swiss, though the Czechs have shown they can score. Relying on Hiller and one goal may not be enough Saturday evening in Sochi, so Nino Niederreiter and Damien Brunner have to step up and score for the Swiss to have a good chance.