Victor Stjernborg has played a lot of junnuma matches against Finland.
Sweden starts Monday night’s amazing World Cup quarter-final in a slightly better position than Finland. Juniorkronor won three of his four matches in the first series. Tukka came from Canada in the last game.
Finland’s balance at this stage is two wins and the same amount of losses.
– We have a lot of speed. We still have the potential to grow as a team and improve when we get to the playoff stage, Swedish captain Victor Stjernborg states the positive aspects of his team.
There are also things that can be improved.
– We have to be a little more straightforward and go for the goal more. We still have to speed up the game and be careful with the puck on the blue lines.
The Växjö Lakers player knows the opponent of the evening well.
– Finland always has skill in the team. We’ve played against them a lot over the years. The game will be really fun.
In November’s tournament in the Czech Republic, Finland beat Sweden.
A special game
Goalkeeper Carl Lindbom stopped almost 40 shots against Canada and will probably continue in goal against Finland as well. ZumaWire / MVPHOTOS
The skipper of the western neighbor admits that the World Cup game against Finland is exciting.
– There is always a big competition against Finland. It’s a special game. I have played against them a lot since the U16 national team.
The game starts already at 12 o’clock.
– It can be some kind of factor around the game, hopefully not too much. Our preliminary game started at 14:30, so maybe we are already used to early games.
According to the Swedish media, the backbone of the team in the tournament has been the goalkeeper Carl Lindbom.
Special situations
Magnus Hävelid has not been completely satisfied with Sweden’s special situation play. ZumaWire / MVPHOTOS
Both teams go to the death game with a big defeat behind them. On New Year’s Eve, the United States defeated Finland by as much as 6–2. Canada, the host of the tournament, beat Sweden 5–1.
– Special situations will play an important role. I hope for consistency from the team. Hopefully we have already learned the narrow rink style of play, says Sweden’s head coach Magnus Hävelid.
The head coach knows what kind of team he will face.
– This is a special game for us. I like this juxtaposition, it has a long history. The teams know each other well, the coaches know each other and each other’s playing styles well. It will definitely be a good game, says Hävelid.
The game starts at 18:00 and TV5 will show the match. The winner advances to the World Cup semi-finals.