Canada falls to Sweden

NEWS RELEASE

HOCKEY CANADA

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Canada 2 - Sweden 3 SWEDEN SQUEAKS BY CANADA IN EXHIBITION PLAY

STOCKHOLM -- Canada dropped a 3-2 decision to Sweden in pre-World Junior Championship exhibition action on Friday in Stockholm.

Canada finished its two exhibition games at 1-1, having defeated Finland 5-2 on Wednesday.

Sweden outshot Canada 32-31 in the game and stormed back from a 2-0 deficit to win.

Fredrik Pettersson’s goal at 6:01 of the third period broke a 2-2 tie and gave Sweden its first lead of the game. With Sweden on a power play and Canada about to go down two-men short on a delayed penalty call, Pettersson’s shot from the circle beat Leland Irving (Swan Hills, AB/Everett, WHL). Alexander Ribbenstrand and Jonas Junland got the helpers.

Sweden, which trailed 2-1 heading into the third, tied the score at 1:28. Niklas Hjalmarsson set up Patrik Berglund, whose slap shot from the top of the circle beat Irving.

Karl Alzner (Burnaby, BC/Calgary, WHL) got the Canadians started with his second goal in two exhibition games. Alzner, at 1:25 of the first period, fired a wrist shot from the point, with the puck getting past Sweden goaltender Joel Gistedt. Tom Pyatt (Thunder Bay, ON/Saginaw, OHL) earned a helper on the goal.

At 15:30, Canada made it 2-0 when Brad Marchand (Hammonds Plains, NS/Val d’Or, QMJHL) and Luc Bourdon (Shippagan, NB/Moncton, QMJHL) set up Sam Gagner’s (Oakville, ON/London, OHL) goal. Canada took the 2-0 lead into the intermission.

Sweden cut the deficit in half at 12:33 of the second, when Jonas Anhelov’s shot got past Irving.

Canada and Sweden will meet again on Boxing Day for the start of the 2007 World Junior Championship. The game is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. ET, and can be seen live on TSN and RDS, Hockey Canada’s official broadcasters. ************************************************************