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ICE HOCKEY

Sweden picks up Lundqvist for World Championships

Olympic gold medallist Henrik Lundqvist has agreed to join the Swedish national team for the remainder of the World Ice Hockey Championships.

Sweden picks up Lundqvist for World Championships

The star National Hockey League goaltender had to get clearance from the New York Rangers before he could play in the 2008 Worlds.

Swedish team manager Mats Näslund said on Tuesday night that 26-year-old Lundqvist is on his way to the Worlds but his status for Wednesday’s game against Switzerland is uncertain.

“The Rangers have cleared him and Lundqvist will arrive in Quebec City (Wednesday),” Näslund said.

He joins Swedish goalies Mikael Tellqvist and Stefan Liv but it is expected that Lundqvist will get the starting role.

Sweden beat Belarus 6-5 in their opener and then trounced France 9-0 on Monday.

This will mark Lundqvist’s fourth World Championships. He led Sweden to Olympic gold in 2006 in Turin, Italy.

The Rangers were eliminated from the NHL post-season on the weekend after losing their quarter-final series four games to one to Pittsburgh.

Lundqvist will add some star power to Sweden’s lineup, which is already missing many of its top players. Mats Näslund, Henrik Sedin, Daniel Sedin and Peter Forsberg are either injured or decided to skip the event.

Lundqvist, of Åre, was named top netminder at the 2004 World Championship and has been nominated for the Vezina Trophy which is awarded each year to the NHL’s top goalie.

Canadian Martin Brodeur (who is not at the Worlds) and Russian Evgeni Nabokov (who is joining Team Russia later in the week) are also in the running for this year’s Vezina Trophy.

ICE HOCKEY

Sweden beat Swiss to win ice hockey world title in shoot-out drama

Sweden retained their world championship title with a dramatic penalty shoot-out victory over plucky Switzerland in Copenhagen on Sunday.

Sweden beat Swiss to win ice hockey world title in shoot-out drama
Swiss players react after the defeat to Sweden. Photo: AFP

Filip Forsberg of the NHL's Nashville Predators scored the winning penalty as Sweden came back from 1-0 down in the shoot-out to win 2-1 following a 2-2 draw after overtime.

Surprise finalists Switzerland had been aiming for their first ever world title, while Sweden claimed an 11th crown.

Sweden had been the only unbeaten team through the group stage while Switzerland scraped into the quarter-finals with the weakest record.

But they stunned Group B winners Finland and then Canada to take their place in a third world championship final.

Five years ago they had lost to Sweden, who beat them 5-3 in the group stages too.

Switzerland twice took the lead, in each of the first two periods, but were pegged back by the favourites before the end of each stanza.

Minnesota Wild's Nino Niederreiter had given them a 16th minute lead but Gustav Nyquist of the Detroit Red Wings equalised a minute later.

On 23 minutes Timo Meier of the San Jose Sharks put the underdogs in front again, but that was wiped out by New York Ranger Mika Zibanejad on 34 minutes.

With no scores in either the third period or overtime, the final was decided by a shoot-out where Switzerland once again took the lead.

But Oliver Ekman-Larsson cancelled out Sven Andrighetto's successful strike, allowing Forsberg to become the hero.

Christopher Kreider of the Rangers scored twice as the United States thumped Canada 4-1 to take the bronze medal.

 After Kreider opened the scoring, Marc-Edouard Vlasic of the Sharks equalised.

But goals from Nashville's Nicholas Bonino and Anders Lee of the New York Islanders put the US in charge before Kreider rounded out the win.