The road to the major tournaments is certainly long – but the start shows that national team captain Sam Hallam & Co have some work to do.
After the premiere loss to the Czech Republic, 2–5, another defeat followed in the Karjala Tournament.
The meeting with Switzerland in Helsinki ended with a penalty shootout loss, 3–4.
Tre Kronor turned a deficit into a lead of 2–1 but then fell behind 2–3. Emil Pettersson equalized after 5.15 minutes of the third period, a goal that was followed by a scoreless overtime and the match was ultimately decided on penalties.
There, Tre Kronor were pale.
Four straight misses meant that Sweden has started the season with two straight losses.
The Karjala Tournament concludes on Sunday with a match against Finland.
9-15 December: Swiss Hockey Games, Switzerland.
3-9 February: Beijer Hockey Games, Stockholm.
10-20 February: NHL 4 nations, Montreal and Boston (only NHL players).
14-25 April: Finnkampen, Finland and Sweden.
28 April-4 May: Czech Hockey Games, Czech Republic.
9-25 May: World Championship, Stockholm and Herning, Denmark. Sweden will play all their matches in Stockholm, where the semifinals and medal matches will also be decided.
