STOCKHOLM :Team USA hammered co-hosts Sweden 6-2 on Saturday to advance to Sunday's final of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Championship, giving the Americans a chance at their first gold medal at the tournament for more than 90 years.
Olympic gold medallists in 1960 and 1980, the Americans have not won gold at the world championship since 1933, but their drubbing of co-hosts Sweden sets them up for a decider against either Switzerland or surprise package Denmark, who face off in the second semi-final later on Saturday.
The Americans stunned the fervent home support by taking the lead at the 6:52 mark of the first period, defenceman Brady Skjei picking up the puck on the blue line to the left of the goal and firing a perfectly-placed shot into the top-right corner, and the Americans never looked back.
The crowd were silenced again with 2:47 left in the first as Cutter Gauthier swivelled in front of goal and sent a shot zipping between the legs of Sweden goaltender Jacob Markstrom.
The Swedes had no answer for the speed and aggression of their opponents, managing only three shots on target in the first 20 minutes as their deep roster struggled to find time and space, even when the Americans were short-handed.
The Americans put two more goals on the board in the second when Conor Garland and Mikey Eyssimont netted and the end of the second period was greeted by a chorus of boos and whistles from the gold-and-blue clad Swedish fans among the 12,530 in attendance.
William Nylander finally gave them something to cheer by slamming home the puck 6:32 into the third period, and Elias Lindholm smashed a low drive into the net less than a minute later to make it 4-2 with just under 13 minutes left to play.
That was
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