World Championship Recap - 22.05.25

Rasmus Andersson and Mikael Backlund each had assists to push Sweden through to the semi-final round, while Canada were stunned by Denmark on a busy Thursday at the IIHF World Championship.

Canada 1, Denmark 2

Canada's run came to an end at the hands of Denmark, who scored two late goals to clinch a stunning semi-final berth.

The Canadians dominated the first period, outshooting the Danes 18-4 - and 30-11 through 40 minutes - but could not solve netminder Frederik Dichow.

Former Calgary Hitmen defender Travis Sanheim finally broke the ice 5:17 into the third, one-timing a pass from Sidney Crosby past Dichow from the bottom of the left circle.

But the Danes just didn't quit, tying the contest through Nikolaj Ehlers with 2:17 to play.

The hosts then sent the Danish crowd into an absolute frenzy with 49 seconds on the clock, Nick Olesen beating Jordan Binnington for his fifth goal of the tournament.

Denmark outshot Canada 22-10 in the third period.

MacKenzie Weegar played 15:00 and finished with two shots on goal.

Sweden 5, Czechia 2

Sweden started early, jumping ahead 3-0 in the first period en route to a victory over the Czechs in Stockholm.

Andersson earned an assist on the opening goal, when Leo Carlsson deftly deflected his point shot 12:40 into the first period.

Lucas Raymond added a pair of markers before the period was through, then Carlsson restored the Swedes' three-goal advantage with just under six minutes left in the second period after former Flame Roman Cervenka got Czechia on the board.

Former Red Deer Rebels forward Michael Spacek cut the deficit to 4-2 for the Czechs 8:33 into the third period, before Forsberg rounded out the scoring on a empty-netter with 4:54 left on the clock.

Andersson finished the game with 17:31 of ice-time, while Backlund had an assist and a shot on goal over 14:49 of work.

For the Czechs, Dan Vladar came on in relief of starting netminder Karel Vejmelka to start period two, turning away 18 of the 19 shots he faced.

Adam Klapka played 2:22.

The semi-final round is set for Saturday morning in Stockholm, with the gold and bronze medal games on tap for Sunday.

Backlund, Andersson and Sweden will take on the United States at 6:20 a.m. MT, while the other semi-final features Group B winner Switzerland and Denmark.