Loss against Finland in the group stage meant a "tougher" road to the World Championship final for Sweden, in the form of Germany in a quarterfinal. Despite this, few had anything other than a blue-yellow victory in their sights.
But it was anything but a walk on roses for Sweden.
Germany stood up surprisingly well and equalized not just once, but twice. The last one came as late as in the third period, with just over 14 minutes left to play.
Goal scorer? Jonathan Heins, normally in the Allsvenskan table bottom-dweller Lerum.
A stressed-out Sweden did what they could to get a new leading goal, but the clock was ticking. In the end, World Championship debutant Gabriel Kohonen could score the redeeming 3-2 goal with just under seven minutes left to play, and the Swedish favorite team could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
I hadn't scored yet, so I felt, now it's pretty good, says Kohonen to SVT.
The final score was 5-2, after additional goals from Malte Lundmark and Robin Nilsberth.
Now it's just for me and the team to step it up. If we play like this, it won't be enough, but I know very well that when we're on top, there isn't a country that can beat us, continues Kohonen.
Thus, Sweden is clear for the semifinal, which is played on Saturday at 16.00. Who they will face is not yet clear.
