Karelia Cup (Helsinki)
Sweden – Switzerland: 3-4 SO (1-1, 1-1, 1-1, 0-1)
BUTS: 12:32 Andrighetto (Malgin, Riat) 0-1; 19:27 Bengtsson (Södeström, Lang) 1-1; 26:38 Lang (Ehn, Folin) 2-1; 38:53 Simon (Herzog) 2-2; 41:17 Andrighetto (Kukan, Malgin, PP) 2-3; 45:15 Pettersson (Johnsson, Tömmernes) 3-3.
SUISSE: Senn (Charlin); Kukan, Aebischer; Marti, Loeffel, Berni, Baragano; Chanton, Fora; Andrighetto, Malgin, Riat; Herzog, Senteler, Simion; Moy, Rochette, Künzle; Biasca, Bader, Baechler.; Crows. Coach: Fischer.
After sixteen consecutive defeats against Sweden, Switzerland won today in Helsinki 4-3 SO. Success stories of Damien Riat and of Theo Rochette during the decisive session allowed the Swiss selection to win, the four Swedes failing in front Gilles Senn.
The Swedes entered the match better and put Switzerland under pressure from the start. Gilles Sennwho kept the goals today, however, distinguished himself with a few saves. As the match progressed, the Swiss took control of the game and took the lead in the 12th minute. Damien Riat recovered the disc behind the goal before Denis Malgin does not release his ZSC teammate Sven Andrighetto. The Swiss captain had no trouble placing the puck in the goal. Theo Rochette had the opportunity to increase the lead shortly after, but his shot fell short of the Swedish goalkeeper Jacob Johansson. 32 seconds before the end of the third period, Tre Kronor equalized with Oskar Steen.
In a second half marked by numerous duels, the Swedes gave the first exclamation point. Oskar Lang gave his colors the advantage for the first time after a cross pass from Christopher Ehn. Coach’s team Patrick Fischer however reacted shortly before the end and equalized the score: Iñaki Baragano sent the puck towards the goal, where Fabrice Herzog pushed him towards Dario Simionwho equalized.
The Swiss regained the advantage in the final period. Andrighetto took a pass from Dean Kukan in numerical superiority with a powerful slapshot from the blue line for 3 to 2 (42nd). Shortly after, Emil Pettersson took advantage of an error and pushed the disc behind the line. The Swiss were not content with this result and looked to make the decision, but missed several chances to score the winning goal before the end of regulation time.
The Swiss team had not beaten Sweden since April 7, 2016 and a 5-3 success in preparation for the world championship. The Andrighetto-Malgin-Riat triplet also stood out with two goals for Andrighetto and two assists for his Zurich friend Malgin.
(Source: SIHF)
