TEMPARE, Finland — Dylan Samberg (Winnipeg Jets / Hermantown, Minn.) ended a penalty-filled game that needed overtime as the U.S. remained undefeated at the IIHF Men's World Championships with a 4-3 victory over Sweden on Tuesday, May 23.
The goal by the former Minnesota Duluth defenseman at 1:37 of overtime helped give the U.S. the top seed in Group A and keeps the Americans in the hunt for their first Men's World title since 1933. The U.S. faces Czechia in the quarterfinals on Thursday.
The U.S. racked up 33 penalty minutes to Sweden's 14.
"Any time you get to a medal round at a World Championship, you deserve to be there," U.S. captain Nick Bonino said. "It doesn’t matter what team we face. If it’s Latvia, we’re going to their home rink and playing them. If it’s Slovakia, they took Canada to a shootout. They’re a team that can beat anybody. So we’ll be ready, we’ll focus on ourselves and see what happens."
The U.S. had a 3-1 lead in the third period but Sweden scored twice in less than three minutes to force overtime. Sweden also entered the game undefeated. The Swedes last won the tournament in 2017 and 2018.
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U.S. goaltender Casey DeSmith finished with 23 saves while Sweden's Lars Johannson had 39.
Leo Carlsson, 18, who scored twice for Sweden, opened the scoring at 9:10 of the first period. Bonino, Garland, and Lane Hutson also had goals for the U.S.
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