ERIKSSON MAKES 27 SAVES FOR SHUTOUT AS SWEDEN BLANKS WEST

Press Release

DRUMMONDVILLE, Que. – Gustaf Franzén scored twice and Jesper Eriksson made 27 saves for the shutout as Sweden opened Group A play at the 2013 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge with a 4-0 win over West on Saturday afternoon.

The Swedes earned their fourth win all time over West – the Scandinavians previously posted victories in 1986 (8-0), 1988 (9-8) and 2010 (5-2). The teams also met in 1992, but the score is unknown.
Henrik Törnqvist and Anton Karlsson scored the other goals for Sweden, which converted three times on the power play and took control with a trio of second period goals, breaking open a 1-0 game.
Ty Edmonds (Winnipeg, Man./Virden, MJHL) went the distance in goal for West, finishing with 36 saves. The Canadian side was outshot 33-19 in the first two periods before holding an 8-7 advantage over the final 20 minutes.

The loss is the seventh in a row for West at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge – it lost the fifth-place game at the 2011 tournament before going 0-5 and falling to 10th spot at last year’s event in Windsor, Ont.
The Swedes will look for a 2-0 start when they take on Finland in an all-European match-up on Sunday morning in Drummondville (1:30 p.m. ET), while West meets the defending gold medallists from Russia in Sunday’s late game at Centre Marcel Dionne (7:30 p.m. ET).

 (Nathan can be reached at nathanfournier@mainehockeyjournal.com)