Sweden surpasses host country Finland in penalties for its fourth straight victory in the ice hockey World Cup
TAMPERRE, Finland – Sweden won in a penalty shootout to beat Finland 3-2 on Wednesday for their fourth straight victory in the ice hockey World Cup.
Emil Bemström, a forward for the Columbus Blue Jackets who had six goals and 11 points in the NHL this season, was the only player to score in the penalty shootout to lift Sweden to the top of Group B in Tampere with 11 points. Finland is one point behind in second place.
After Seattle Kraken defender Adam Larsson gave the Swedes a 1-0 lead in the opening period, Mikko Lehtonen and Sami Vatanen, a pair of former NHL veterans, brought the Finns to a 2-1 advantage one after the other.
Joel Kellman, a former San Jose Sharks center, scored 6:38 into the final period for Sweden to force overtime.
In Group A in Helsinki, Denis Malgin scored a short goal and added an assist to lead Switzerland to a 5-3 victory over Slovakia. The Swiss top the group with 12 points after four wins in four matches.
Canada, with a list loaded with current NHL players not playing in the off-season, has nine points in second with one game in hand.
Earlier, Hugo Gallet scored 1:04 in overtime to give France a 2-1 comeback victory over Italy, the team’s second victory in the tournament.
In another Group B match, Norway beat Austria 5-3 for their second victory.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.