KARLSSON AND LINDBLOM SCORE TWO EACH TO HELP SWEDES TO SEMIFINAL SPOT

DRUMMONDVILLE, Que. – Anton Karlsson and Oskar Lindblom led the offence with two goals each as Sweden beat Pacific 6-3 on Monday afternoon at the 2013 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, becoming the first team to clinch a berth in the semifinals.

The Swedes are into the final four for the third time in as many tries since returning to the tournament in 2010 after a 13-year absence. They won the bronze medal in 2010 and settled for fourth place last year. They did not take part in the 2011 tournament.

Henrik Törnqvist and Gustav Franzén scored the other goals for Sweden, which has won three games in as many days, outscoring its opposition 17-6 over that span.

Lindblom added an assist for a three-point performance, while Törnqvist finished with a goal and a helper. Emil Johansson, Adam Ollas Mattsson and William Nylander Altelius each had two assists in the win.

Brycen Martin (Calgary, Alta./Swift Current, WHL), Ryan Gagnon (Quesnel, B.C./Victoria, WHL) and Jake Virtanen (Abbotsford, B.C./Calgary, WHL) had the goals for Pacific, which couldn’t build on the momentum of its wild 8-7 overtime win over Russia to kick off the tournament on Saturday.

After Karlsson had pushed the Swedish lead to 2-0 midway through the second period, Martin, on the power play, and Gagnon scored 62 seconds apart to pull Pacific even and excite the pro-Canadian crowd at the Centre Marcel-Dionne.

But Franzén scored in the final minute of the middle frame and Karlsson and Lindblom scored power play goals in a span of 30 seconds in the latter stages of the third to put the game out of reach for the Canadians.

The Swedes will finish out a four-games-in-four-days stretch Tuesday when they take on Russia in the matinee in Victoriaville (1:30 p.m. ET), while Pacific will meet Finland in the New Year’s Day night-cap at the Colisée (7:30 p.m. ET).