Three crowns or Stars & Stripes
Sweden vs USA, Saturday, 1420 CEST
There used to be a time when the host teams simply couldn’t win the Ice Hockey World Championship. The “home-ice curse” was alive and well for almost 30 years, until 2013, when it was busted by, that’s right, Sweden, in, yup, the Avicii Arena.
Few people would be shocked to see Tre Kronor line up for gold medals again. The hosts have been impressive in the tournament so far, losing only once on their way to the semifinal.
Coach Sam Hallam has a welcome problem as Sweden has an embarrassment of riches on offence. When your third line has players such as Mika Zibanejad, Leo Carlsson, and Marcus Johansson, you have a deep team. Unsurprisingly, scoring hasn’t been a problem for Sweden. Then again, defence seems to be working, too. The team has posted a respectable 33-10 goal difference in eight games.
Goaltender Jacob Markstrom has a 1.63 GAA in the five games he’s played in the tournament.
And now Sweden has added the 2017 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship MVP William Nylander. He didn’t seem to have too much trouble sliding into the lineup, even though he left the ice pointless in the quarterfinal against Czechia.
“Some of us have played together a little in the past and I think the chemistry’s still there,” he told Swedish public broadcaster SVT.
However, Team USA has scored even more goals than Sweden – 39 in the tournament – and is just now hitting its stride.
“The big ice surface is a bit of a challenge, there’s more room for guys to make plays especially on the power play, but we’re starting to figure it out,” defender Alex Vlasic said after the quarterfinal game against Finland.
In that quarterfinal, the Americans showed that they, too, can be patient and opportunistic. Team USA has won only – “only” – five bronze medals since 2000, and to find their last gold (in the top division), well, you’ll have to scroll down all the way to 1933. Of course, USA won Olympic gold in 1960 and 1980 when the tournament doubled as a world championship.
The 1933 tournament in Prague, Czechoslovakia, isn’t just the last standalone gold they won. It’s the only one.
“Whenever you represent your country, you try to play for the gold medal. Every game will be intense and physical. We’ll put our best foot forward whoever we play,” Team USA forward Conor Garland said after the game against Finland.
Now they know. It’ll be USA vs Sweden.
“The last couple of games have proved that we keep up with anybody. We have the belief in the locker room. I don’t think we’ve hit our full potential yet,” Vlasic said.
They’ll be faced with a talented Swedish team, and the yellow wall of home fans all dressed up in their favorite team’s jerseys, but if the Americans hit their full potential, of course they can win.
We’ve seen much bigger upsets. Even in this tournament.
