For the first time since 1981, Team Sweden has won the Gold medal at the World Junior Hockey Championship.
On Thursday night at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Mika Zibanejad, a prospect of the Ottawa Senators, scored the game winning goal at 10:09 of overtime to give Sweden the 1-0 victory. In what could be considered a dominant performance by Team Sweden, they outshot Russia 58-17. Swedish goaltender Johan Gustafsson recorded the shutout, while Russian goaltender Andrei Makarov, who plays his junior hockey with the Saskatoon Blades in the Western Hockey League, made 57 saves.
But if you look at the game a little further, Sweden might have played a very stingy game defensively, but they didn’t really generate a lot of key and significant scoring chances throughout the contest. I felt Makarov wasn’t tested with any real dangerous Swedish scoring opportunities. Out of the 57 saves Makarov made, none of them you would say, “Oh my God! I can’t believe he stopped that!”
That said, the Oilers should be pleased with Oscar Klefbom. He led Team Sweden with a +8 and was third on the team with 23 shots.
Tags: 2012 world junior hockey championships, andrei makarov, johan gustafsson, mika zibanejad, oscar klefbom
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