USA WITHSTANDS SWEDISH CHARGE, WINS POOL B AFTER 6-2 VICTORY

The USA clinched first place in Pool B and avoided Canada in the semi-final after a 6-2 win over Sweden on Wednesday night, but it was tougher than many expected.

While the Swedes were considered far from pushovers – their 14-0 win over Russia on Tuesday night showed off their offensive firepower – their performance left many believing their semi-final against Canada on Friday will be more than just another game on the road to the gold medal game for the tournament hosts.

The Americans, who had outscored the opposition 22-0 in their opening two wins, continued to click offensively when Brianna Decker opened the scoring just 3:18 after the opening face-off.

But the Swedes showed why they were undefeated as well entering the game, as Klara Myrén’s centering pass banked off the skate of Annie Svedin and past American goaltender Alyssa Grogan to pull the Europeans even on the powerplay, the first goal allowed in the tournament by Grogan and the USA.

The remainder of the opening period was a stalemate, with neither team able to find the back of the net. The Swedes fired seven shots at Grogan in the first 20 minutes, the same number faced by American goaltenders in the previous 120 minutes.

Sweden surprised the USA early in the second period on a two-man advantage, taking an unlikely lead when Cecilia Östberg gathered a bounce off the end boards and beat Grogan, who got her glove on the puck but after it had crossed the line, missing a remarkable save by just inches.

Decker got the Americans even two minutes later with her team shorthanded, outracing the Swedish defense to the puck and sliding it around Swedish goaltender Hanna Emanuelsson, who was named her team’s Player of the Game after a 35-save performance.

Amanda Kessel gave the USA their first two-goal lead of the game late in the second period, and two goals from Kendall Coyne – the American Player of the Game – and one from captain Sarah Erickson in the third period provided the final margin of victory.

Grogan made 12 saves in the victory as the USA outshot Sweden 41-14 overall.