Ajaxtalk

JC schreef:Wimpey - Neefkens 1-0 :xyxthumbs:

Peter schreef:Leuke wedstrijd is het nu, hoor. Ik vind beide partijen aan elkaar gewaagd.

JC schreef:Zeker. Maar toch; als ik geld had gehad, zou ik dat op de Finnen inzetten.

JC schreef:Och ja..

joey schreef:Zijn vorige tweede vaderland heeft daarentegen top gepresteerd. :worshippy:

joey schreef:Maar is het al eens eerder voorgekomen dat Finland geen goud won, Wimpey? Voor mijn gevoel springen ze altijd wel iets bij elkaar. ;)

Dr. Living Stoned schreef:Ik heb even gekeken voor je, maar helaas...

Swedish Supremacy: Tre Kronor beats Czechs for historic 2006 gold

The impossible dream has come true.

With a dazzling attack and air-tight defense, Sweden defeated the Czech Republic 4-0 Sunday night at a packed Riga Arena and became the first nation in history to capture Olympic and IIHF World Championship gold in the same year. A quick two-goal outburst in the opening period was enough to seal the fate of the Czechs.

The victory ended an eight-year gold drought at the IIHF World Championships for the Swedes. Only one member of the 1998 team that triumphed in Zurich, Switzerland also took part in Sunday's climactic match: forward Jorgen Jonsson (of current Swedish champion Farjestads BK Karlstad), who is the all-time leader in national team games.

Overall, it was Sweden's fourth World Championship title in the last 16 years. Tre Kronor also retained its number one overall spot in the IIHF World Rankings, which it achieved in the Olympics in February.

Henrik Zetterberg, Mikael Samuelsson, Kenny Jonsson, Jorgen Jonsson, Ronnie Sundin, and tournament MVP Niklas Kronwall were the six Swedish players who achieved the unique distinction of playing and winning gold both in Turin and Riga. Alternate goalie Stefan Liv played in Turin but not in Riga.

Swedish Head Coach Bengt-Ake Gustafsson has now assured his hockey immortality as well by guiding his team to something that the Russian "Big Red Machine," the mighty Canadians, and the clever Czechs could never accomplish in the past.

Not everyone was convinced the blue-and-yellow team could go all the way after tying Switzerland in the Preliminary Round and losing to Slovakia in the Qualifying Round. But the doubters were silenced this night.

The Czechs, who were defending champions, failed in their bid to win back-to-back titles for the first time since 2001, but the silver represented their second consecutive IIHF World Championship medal.

Jesper Mattsson and Niklas Kronwall led the Swedish attack with a goal and an assist apiece, and Fredrik Emvall and Jorgen Jonsson also scored. Andreas Karlsson and Michael Nylander each added a pair of helpers.

Swedish goalie Johan Holmqvist registered 15 saves for his second shutout of the tournament. Milan Hnilicka, in his ninth straight start, had 22 stops for the Czechs.

After the Swedes weathered an early Czech power play, they went to work with the man advantage when Petr Hubacek hauled down Michael Nylander deep in the Czech end at 5:35. Mikael Samuelsson nearly gave Sweden the first goal with a one-timer toward a half-open net from the faceoff circle, but Hnilicka got it with his blocker.

Just before the eight-minute mark, Swedish fans erupted into celebration when Andreas Karlsson fired a shot from the slot through Hnilicka's five-hole, but the referee's whistle had blown just an instant earlier.

The Swedes jumped into a 1-0 lead at 14:36 largely thanks to Niklas Kronwall, whose spectacular stickhandling pinch from the right point with the puck was broken up, but Jesper Mattsson was there to flip in the rebound.

Just 37 seconds later, it was 2-0 Tre Kronor when Mattsson circled to the blueline in the Czech zone and fired a slapper that Fredrik Emvall tipped past Hnilicka on the stick side.

Early in the second period, the teams found themselves playing 4-on-4, and Kronwall took full advantage of the skating room, taking a lovely feed from Mikael Samuelsson at the Czech blueline and cutting in from the right side to beat Hnilicka with a high backhand and make it 3-0 at 4:04.

Sweden easily weathered an interference minor taken by Per Hallberg, and then shortly after the midway point, the Czech goalie had to stop Mattsson on a 2-on-1 rush with Nylander.

The Swedish power play clicked into high gear on a two-man advantage with Patrik Stefan and Tomas Plekanec in the box. Nylander cunningly slipped behind the net and then quickly put the puck out front to Jorgen Jonsson, who banged it past Hnilicka's skate at 17:01 to put Sweden up 4-0.

In the early moments of the third period, Nicklas Backstrom narrowly missed giving Sweden a five-goal lead when his wraparound attempt on Hnilicka hit the out-of-position goalie's left post.

After the Czechs failed to capitalize with Michael Nylander going off for high-sticking at 3:17, the Swedes cracked down defensively. They broke up plays in the neutral zone and forced the Czechs along the boards when their opponents actually approached Holmqvist's net.

With just over eight minutes left, Holmqvist made one of his few difficult saves, picking off a high Petr Hubacek wrister directly from the slot. Furious, tenacious checking and crisp puck control by his teammates did the rest, as the Czech Republic could never get anything going. The Swedish fans rose and clapped in rhythm, singing as horns resounded through the arena.

When the final buzzer sounded, the ecstatic Swedish players mobbed each other in celebration in their end of the rink, throwing away their equipment and knocking the net off its moorings.

IIHF President René Fasel presented the World Championship trophy to Swedish captain Kenny Jonsson, who kissed it and held it aloft in undeniable joy.

The Swedes, standing along their blueline during the tournament awards, took turns raising the glistening mug. They had even more to celebrate as Johan Holmqvist was named Best Goalie and Niklas Kronwall Best Defenseman. Team Canada General Manager Ken Holland came out to accept Sidney Crosby's Best Forward award.

More huge cheers from the Swedish-heavy crowd ensued when Niklas Kronwall skated forward to accept his tournament MVP trophy.

Fasel then hung the silver and gold medals around the necks of the Czechs and Swedes respectively, with the assistance of IIHF Council Members. The Swedes skated a victory lap with the World Championship trophy before posing for a group photo, faces aglow with smiles.

Afterwards in the dressing room, Kronwall was seen celebrating with the legendary Borje Salming, bringing together two generations of superb Swedish blueliners.

Sweden will defend its title at the 2007 IIHF World Championship in Russia, starting next April.