Sweden prevailed in the bronze medal game defeating the United States 6-3. It’s their 12th medal in tournament history and their first since 2022 when they lost to Canada in the gold medal game 4-1.
“It feels great,” said Swedish defenceman Sascha Boumedienne. “Yesterday we didn’t really do what we wanted, but it feels good to leave here with a last-game win. I’ve got one or two friends on this (American) team. It’s big winning against any team, but the Americans, it’s a bit more special.”
It was the United States that took the first lead of the game, however. Carter Murphy’s blast from the point rebounded directly into the path of Matthew Lansing making it 1-0 just over a minute into the contest. Shortly after, a roughing penalty on Matt Grimes changed the momentum of the first period.
Sweden didn’t score on the power play but the ice started to tilt in their favour. Melvin Novotny tied the game tipping Eric Nilson’s shot past Ryan Cameron. Not long after, Jakob Ihs Wozniak, a projected first-round pick, beat Cameron for a second time giving Sweden a 2-1 lead.
Lansing scored again for the US, with a great solo effort, but it was Nilson who put a bigger stamp on the game. Nilson, son of former Florida Panther and Calgary Flames forward Marcus, scored a pair of goals putting an end to the United States’ dream of bronze. The first was a sneak shot from the outside beating Cameron five-hole, which put an end to his afternoon. Then, to start the third period, a nice feed inside from Arvid Drott was sniped home bar down from Nilson reestablishing the Swedes’ two-goal lead.
“He might be one of the most underrated guys on our team and I feel like he’s got everything going for him,” said Boumedienne on his teammate Nilson.
Novotny added his second before Nilson scored his hat trick goal on an empty net. Jesse Orlowsky scored one more for the US with seven seconds left which ultimately had no bearing on the game with Sweden winning 6-3.
Sweden likely felt they should’ve been playing for gold today with the roster they brought but a lacklustre effort against Czechia yesterday prevented that. However, they showed up today and got the job done against a hard-working US team.
Credit to the United States too. The roster they brought definitely wasn’t their strongest, especially in comparison to the other final four teams. That didn’t stop them from pushing those three nations to their limits. Matthew Lansing was a standout performer with his speed and ability to create offence from nothing. Ben Kevan was another that stood out with his consistent display throughout.
Canada and Czechia is the final game tonight at 6:00 p.m MT when they battle for Hlinka Gretzky Cup glory.

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