Switzerland prevailed in a penalty shootout to stun Canada 3-2 and set up the final against the Czech Republic at the ice hockey world championship on Saturday.
Sven Andrighetto scored the decisive shootout goal after the game finished 2-2 in regulation with no team scoring in the 10-minute overtime.
The 28-time champion Canada had to settle for the bronze medal game against Sweden.
Kevin Fiala scored, added an assist and scored one of the two Swiss goals in the shootout. Nino Niederreiter also scored for Switzerland. Goaltender Leonardo Genoni stopped 42 shots.
B次元官网网址淚t couldnB次元官网网址檛 feel better,B次元官网网址 Fiala said. B次元官网网址淭o be honest, itB次元官网网址檚 special for us to be in the final and it doesnB次元官网网址檛 matter who we play. IB次元官网网址檓 very proud of the team. Our goalie, Leo, was unbelievable.B次元官网网址
Earlier, Brandon Tanev scored with a backhand with 5:53 remining in the middle period to reduce SwitzerlandB次元官网网址檚 lead to 2-1. Captain John Tavares tied the game for Canada with 2:07 left in the final period on a power play when Connor Bedard fed him in the right circle to force overtime.
B次元官网网址淭hatB次元官网网址檚 as close as it gets,B次元官网网址 Tavares said. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 still hard to believe really. A lot of credit to the guys for sticking with it, battling back.B次元官网网址
Tavares said it was still not over for Canada: B次元官网网址淲e donB次元官网网址檛 wanna go home empty handed.B次元官网网址
CanadaB次元官网网址檚 first shot on the Swiss goal only came after more than 11 minutes.
Fiala put the Swiss ahead with a slap shot from the point with 4:54 to go in the opening period on a power play for his seventh in Prague.
Niederreiter doubled the lead 2:10 later with another power play goal when defenseman Owen Power deflected his shot from the blue line into his own goal.
Switzerland outshot Canada 17-8 in the first.
Canada beat Switzerland 3-2 in the preliminary round last Sunday in Prague with all goals scored on power plays.
Switzerland also defeated Canada in the semifinals of the 2018 worlds, where the Swiss finished runner-up for their last medal.
Earlier, the Czech Republic produced a three-goal second period as it downed Sweden 7-3 and advanced to the final for the first time since 2010.
Forward Dominik Kubalik and Lukas Sedlak scored two goals apiece and added an assist each, while forward Martin Necas had a four-point game with a goal and three assists.
David Kampf and Ondrej Kase had a goal and an assist each for the Czechs and goaltender Lukas Dostal stopped 37 shots in front of the roaring home fans at Prague Arena.
B次元官网网址淚 play my best game when I enjoy myself at a game and here IB次元官网网址檓 enjoying it for 110%,B次元官网网址 Necas said. B次元官网网址淚t was always my dream to play a semifinal and final in front of the Czech fans. But itB次元官网网址檚 not a job done, not yet. We have the most important match ahead of us tomorrow and we need to be ready.B次元官网网址
Necas became the first player with four points in a semifinal since CanadaB次元官网网址檚 Luc Robitaille in 1994.
Marcus Johansson, Marcus Pettersson and Joel Eriksson scored for the Swedes, whose eight-game winning run in the tournament came to an end.
B次元官网网址淲e felt like we had some opportunities but itB次元官网网址檚 tough when you give up so many goals,B次元官网网址 Pettersson said.
The Czechs jumped 5-2 ahead in the second period after the teams were tied at 2-2.
Kase gave the Czechs a 3-2 advantage from close range 6:05 in the period, and that was the first time the Swedes trailed in the tournament.
Necas doubled the advantage with a one-timed slap shot from the slot after Kampf won a faceoff 16 seconds later. Kubalik then made it 5-2 with a one-timer from the right circle that went between the pads of goaltender Filip Gustavsson.
The goalie was pulled after letting in five goals from 17 shots and replaced by Samuel Ersson.
Joel Eriksson reduced the Czech lead to 5-3 on a power play with his seventh goal of the tournament.
Sweden piled on the pressure in the third period but Sedlak stretched the lead to 7-3 with two breakaway goals, both going between the pads of Ersson.
B次元官网网址淭hey were mentally stronger than we were today,B次元官网网址 Sweden captain Erik Karlsson said. B次元官网网址淭hey scored on pretty much all of the opportunities they got,B次元官网网址 the star defenseman said.
Johansson picked up the puck near the boards on the right before scoring the opening goal 3:39 into the game.
Kubalik tied it at 7:48 on a rebound after a slap shot by Necas from the blue line.
The Swedes needed just 20 seconds to go 2-1 up through Pettersson, whose attempt from the left was deflected into the net by Czech defenseman Jakub Krejcik.
The Czechs answered again.
Necas set up the second by feeding Kampf from behind the goal to tie the game again at 2 all from the slot midway through the first.
READ ALSO:
Karel Janicek, The Associated Press