2010 Ivan Hlinka Tournament: Sweden Hammers the Host Czech’s to Capture Bronze

Posted by Dan in Other Stuff

Sweden came into Saturday’s bronze medal match at Alcaplast Arena in Breclav, Cze., boasting some of the best young talent at the 2010 Memorial of Ivan Hlinka. Joachim Nermark led all scorers with 8 points (3G,5A), while Oscar Klefbom was the highest scoring defenseman with 6 points (1G,5A) of his own. Pontus Åberg and Victor Arvidsson each had 4 goals and 5 points, while Mika Zibanejad was having another great showing on the international stage with 2 goals and 5 points as well. All that aside, before Friday’s 6-2 blowout loss at the hands of team Canada, the Czech Republic was one of the strongest defensive clubs in the tournament. They also had some offensive weapons in Dmitrij Jaškin, who had 2 goals and 6 points, and Michal Švihálek who had 3 goals and an assist through 4 tourney games. The host Czech squad wanted nothing more than to capture a medal at the U-18 Junior World Cup, while Sweden never let’s up regardless of where they finish. So if nothing else, this bronze medal game looked as though it be as entertaining as the gold medal matchup, if not more. Which was indeed the case, as team Sweden showed just how potent their offense can be.

Joachim Nermark continued to show why he is quickly emerging as a top prospect for the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, as he opened the scoring just 2:22 into the first, sliding home a pass from Jeremy Rotevall-Boyce. Just over two minutes later, Jesper Danielsson extended the lead to 2-0, and a minute after that Pontus Åberg took a feed from Nermark to give Sweden their 3rd goal of the game. It was Åberg’s tournament leading 5th goal, while Nermark’s assist gave him the lead in points at 10 (4G,6A). Czech netminder Patrik Bartošák was under siege the entire period, as the Swede’s pressed hard in the opening 20 minutes.

It was more of the same in the second, as Victor Arvidsson added his 5th of the tourney just 47 seconds in, on a feed from Åberg. Dmitrij Jaškin finally got the Czech’s on the board at the 3:37 mark, with his 3rd goal and 7th point at the 2010 Ivan Hlinka, with an assist from Lukáš Sedlák. Defenseman Albin Blomqvist then restored Sweden’s four goal lead 6:55 into the frame, with helpers going to Linus Fröberg and Joakim Ryan. Swedish netminder Stefan Stéen wasn’t overly busy, but good when he needed to be, in securing a 5-1 lead heading into the third and final frame.

Once again, it would be Sweden who would strike first to open up the third and once again it was Joachim Nermark doing the damage, as they took a 6-1 stranglehold on the host Czech Republic. Oscar Klefbom and Max Görtz garnered assists on Nermark’s 2nd of the game, and 5th of the tournament. It was fitting that the leading scorer of the 2010 U-18 Junior World Cup would cap off the scoring and give the Swede’s their 3rd consecutive bronze medal, and 5th medal in the last 7-years at the tourney. Nermark finished with 11 points on 5 goals and 6 assists.

When asked about the game, and his performance at the 2010 Ivan Hlinka, Joachim Nermark replied, “It felt good, and I think it was nice that we won the bronze. Of course coming into the tournament we really wanted to win gold, but today we wanted to prove that we were a great team, and it was good motivation for us. I think the whole team played great all week, and all my success was just a result of that.”

For Sweden, it was a well-deserved bronze medal at the 2010 Memorial of Ivan Hlinka. The über-talented Swede’s finished with an overall record of 3-2, losing a heartbreaking shootout to the US in the semis, and their first game to Canada. They finished with the most goals in the tournament at 27, and showed why they are one of the most skilled hockey nations in the World. The host Czech’s finish a disappointing 4th, and though looked good at times, they couldn’t put it together when they needed it the most. The Czech Republic have now failed to medal at five consecutive tourney’s named after one of the countries greatest players.

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