Quarterfinals in ice hockey – thanks to a mini victory in the semi-finals: Sweden locks down Canada

• In a close duel, Sweden defeated Canada 2–0 and advanced to the semi-finals. There, Scandinavians meet Russian selections at 2:10 p.m. Friday.
• Slovakia eliminate the United States and meet Finland at 5:10 a.m. on Friday for a place in the final.

Canada 0-2 Sweden

A single mistake was made in deciding a duel between Canada and Sweden, which was characterized by solid defensive work for a long time: Jeff O’Neill was unable to control the puck in his field in the 51st minute. Lukas Wallmark reacted with lightning speed and scored to give Sweden the lead – Canada’s Jack McBain had unfortunately driven the disc out of the way into the net. The North Americans were not then able to react, with Trey Kroner’s captain Anton Lander (58th) deciding with an empty netter. Overall, the Scandinavians made a slightly more active impression. For example, they had two big chances in the middle third through Pontus Holmberg and Lander – but both initially found their champions in the Canadian goalkeeper.

Slovakia is also a semifinalist in the men’s Olympic ice hockey tournament in Beijing. The Slovak defeated the young American team 3-2 after a penalty shootout on Wednesday morning. Peter Sehlrich, who missed the deciding penalty, became the much-acclaimed player. The United States were up 2–1 with 44 seconds in regulation before Marek Hrivic saved Slovakia in overtime. For the USA, which came with many college players, it was the first defeat in the fourth game of the tournament. Slovakia meet in the semifinals Finland beat Switzerland 5-1.