WC QF: May 5 GDT - SWEDEN vs. LATVIA (4-1)

[QUARTERFINAL]
Official Tournament website: http://www.iihf.com
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Sweden vs. Latvia
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My prediction: 4-0 Sweden

Alfredsson with 2 goals, Daniel Tjärnqvist 1, Andreas Salmonsson 1, Lundqvist with the shutout.
Go Sweden :yo: ;)

7-1 sverige!!!

axelsson (2), alfredsson (2), m.tjarnqvist, d.tjarnqvist, hoglund - zoltoks

Lets see now. Quarter final against small underdeveloped eastern european team with soviet-trained players with both north american and top european experience coached by Curre Lindström, who has brought gold both to Sweden and Finland.

4-3.

To Latvia.. :banghead:

Lets see now. Quarter final against small underdeveloped eastern european team with soviet-trained players with both north american and top european experience coached by Curre Lindström, who has brought gold both to Sweden and Finland.

4-3.

To Latvia.. :banghead:

I second that! No seriously I think Sweden wins it 3-0. All three goals by Jörgen Jönsson..

I second that! No seriously I think Sweden wins it 3-0. All three goals by Jörgen Jönsson..

5-3 Sweden

*jumps on the Latvia bandwagon*

WOO HOO GOOO LATVIA

6-0 Sweden, Hopefully Sjöström and Tjärnqvist will produce some goals, they deserve it.

Alfredsson 2, M Tjärnqvist, Hedström, Hållberg, Hävelid

Don't wanna do any prognosing.. just

SARAUJ LATVIJA

Good luck Latvia but realisticly do they stand a chance? No. But that's why they play the games, boy would I ever love to see an upset in this one. But I will go with Sweden, 4-0

2:0 sweden

1-0 Sweden by Höglund

3-0 Sweden after the first period. This one is already over... :( although I should be :)
;)

I feel bad for Latvia, they have gotten a few cheap penalties and weak goaltending from Irbe. 3-0 is too much, it should be 1-0.

It's gonna be 4:3 - OT goal by Zholtoks :yo:

I feel bad for Latvia, they have gotten a few cheap penalties and weak goaltending from Irbe.

What do you mean with that - Irbe has been very solid so far - just one of those goals could heve been saved with a miraculous save..

I think he basically means that if Latvia is going to win against Sweden Irbe can't be solid, decent, good but excellent in net, which IMO he hasn't been.

He has made a couple of nice saves in the second, especially on the one-timer by PJ Axelsson.

except the penalty killing, sweden is a disappointment so far. not much offense and i'm missing some spirit. the shorthander by alfie was a nice one, both other goals with 2-men-advantage.

i hope they'll play a bit better in the 3rd, but i'll doubt it.

Well, although, Swedes haven't been that good, I really hope that they win the champs (will be tough - Czech Republic in the semis)

Well, although, Swedes haven't been that good, I really hope that they win the champs (will be tough - Czech Republic in the semis)

as the german sweden-fan, i'd be quite happy with a medal for sweden. and i'm pretty sure that most swedish fans agree here. the czech seem to be strong, slovakia has good chances and finland/canada do not seem to be much worse than the mentioned.
sweden in the semi-finals is what makes me have a good feeling.

This swedish team lacks of offensive talent but it is a really good hard-working team with solid defense and goaltending, and as many know, good defensive play can take teams to a long playoff run these days.

I think Sjöström and Tjärnqvist puts a face to the swedish team, been a long time since I saw two players work that hard. Very impressive. They lack scoring but it usually comes with hard work.

The defense is superb. Big, strong NHL-defensemen that can move players in front of their own goalie, and the pairing of Tärnström and Hävelid have been excellent. Looked somewhat risky on the paper as the two are among the worst in +/- in the NHL, but they proved they are good players on bad teams. Bäckman also a surprise and Tjärnqvist steady as usual.

We're going for the gold. :yo:

4-1 Sweden
End of game.

Admirable third period by the Latvian players. Not a very entertaining game though. Sweden did what they had to two and nothing more. It's always this when Sweden plays a team outside the "Big 8". The win is what counts.

Good today in Sweden:
- Henrik Lundqvist (although perhaps he could/should have saved the latvian shot)
- Daniel Alfredsson (has been out of place in a couple of games, but was good today)
- Daniel Tjärnqvist (very good tonight, as were the rest of the d's too)
- PJ Axelsson (his work payed off, wonderful shift when Sweden was short handed)

This is the hardest working swedish team ever, and I am proud of them.

This swedish team lacks of offensive talent but it is a really good hard-working team with solid defense and goaltending, and as many know, good defensive play can take teams to a long playoff run these days.


the german commentator said there's hope for sundin for the next game. if that's true, there could be more offense from the swedish team. anyone heard something about it?


I think Sjöström and Tjärnqvist puts a face to the swedish team, been a long time since I saw two players work that hard. Very impressive. They lack scoring but it usually comes with hard work.


i totally agree. especially tjarnqvist impressed me a lot. this guy has a NHL future for sure. sjostrom as well, but more as a scorer.


The defense is superb. Big, strong NHL-defensemen that can move players in front of their own goalie, and the pairing of Tärnström and Hävelid have been excellent. Looked somewhat risky on the paper as the two are among the worst in +/- in the NHL, but they proved they are good players on bad teams. Bäckman also a surprise and Tjärnqvist steady as usual.


am i the only one that had faith in backman? he solid as a rock with a fine shot.


We're going for the gold. :yo:

hehe, that's a word! and i know who to blame if they fail and i'll be sad. ;)

- PJ Axelsson (his work payed off, wonderful shift when Sweden was short handed)

he should just stay out of the penalty box in the next two games. :)

Congratulations Sweden - a well deserved victory - the result probably should've been 3:2, but it's ok. Congratulations for team LATVIA for great chempionships - Thank you Kurre!!!

LATVIJA UZVARA

What do you mean with that - Irbe has been very solid so far - just one of those goals could heve been saved with a miraculous save..

I think he should have saved at least one of the 4 swedish goals. As Predatore said, Latvia needs him to be at his absolute best if they are going to beat any of the top teams.

I think this was a pretty good match anyway. The Latvians are always fun to watch, even though I think they were more defensive than needed today. The fusion of the technical latvian players and Kurres strategy is a very good one, though. I hope Latvia can get some new talent soon so that they can continue to challenge the top teams.

Sweden got away with a sluggish performance. If they had played like this against Canada, Slovakia or Finland, they would be packing their bags to go home. However, I do think the Swedish team will look totally differant in the Semis and has a legit chance to win the gold. I hope i'm wrong though.. Go Finland!!! :banana: