Sweden came into the match with a brilliant record against Switzerland under their belt: 21 straight matches without a loss during regular time.
In addition, confidence was at its peak after the tournament victory in Tampere a month ago when Sweden won all three matches in the Finland Hockey Games.
Skellefteå center Pär Lindholm was back in Tre Kronor after two seasons. This after Linus Johansson withdrew due to injury concerns. Lindholm showed himself immediately. First by being sent off when Switzerland scored 1–0. A few minutes later he scored the Swedish equalizer.
"It's incredibly fun to wear the Tre Kronor shirt," Lindholm tells SVT.
Switzerland later in the first period increased the lead to 2–1. The second period was scoreless, despite Sweden playing a power play for five minutes after Andrea Glauser was sent off for a knee tackle.
At the beginning of the last period, the Swedish equalizer came – through André Petersson, played by Pär Lindholm.
Extra time ended goalless and the match had to be decided on penalties. Rickard Hugg and Felix Nilsson each scored a penalty.
In the second match of the Swiss Ice Hockey Games, the Czech Republic won over Finland 3–1. On Saturday, Sweden will face Finland and then finish against the Czech Republic on Sunday.
