Jordan Eberle attempts to intercept the puck in a qualification round game vs Sweden Monday, May 9, 2011. Fellow Oilers forward Magnus Paajarvi is in the background. (Photo by Jukka Rautio / HHOF-IIHF Images).

Related Items: Canada vs Sweden Game Sheet Video Highlights Photo Gallery Visit the IIHF World Championships website IIHF Stats & Schedule Rosters: Canada | Sweden

In the final game of the Qualification Round, two mighty hockey nations went head-to-head in a battle for the top spot in Group F. 

CANADA VS SWEDEN

With Jonathan Bernier in net and Oilers forward Jordan Eberle up front, Canada got off to a great start.

1:08 into the game, James Neal split the Swedish defence and scored on Erik Ersberg to give his club an early 1-0 lead.

Teammate Brent Burns took an interference minor two minutes later, and only 31 seconds after that Sweden countered.

Although Bernier turned away a top-of-the-slot slapshot by Carl Gunnarsson, David Petrasek caught the rebound and fired it into the net to tie the game at one. The other Oiler in the game, Magnus Paajarvi, got the secondary assist.

Sweden followed up the goal by taking two penalties. Canada couldn't score a power-play goal of their own, but only two seconds after Loui Eriksson completed his tripping minor, John Tavares prodded the puck past Ersberg to renew Canada's lead. Ersberg complained about the goal, claiming he froze the puck with his glove, but the referees said it was good. 

The 2-1 score stuck until the midway point of the game. At that point, Tavares took a hooking minor and Mattias Tedenby capitalized, notching an equalizer at 10:38 of the second period.

The action was aggressive as the game continued, resulting in four more penalties -- including a slashing minor to Eberle -- before the period was out.

In the final frame, a slashing minor to Neal was followed by a tripping minor to Niklas Persson. Only 27 seconds into the infraction, Canada got its power-play goal. With Rick Nash successfully screening Ersberg, Neal teed up at the top of the face-off circle and directed the puck into the mesh.

Two late penalties prevented the Swedes from posting any significant offensive attack, and Canada emerged with a 3-2 win and top spot in Group F.  
 

UP NEXT:

Magnus Paajarvi will join his Swedish teammates in a battle for a quarterfinal win over Germany Wednesday, May 11, 2011. (Photo by Jukka Rautio / HHOF-IIHF Images)

After nearly 10 days of preliminary and qualifying play, the 2011 World Championship quarterfinals get underway on Wednesday, May 11. 

First up, the Czech Republic (finished first in Group E) and USA (fourth in Group F) meet in a do-or-die quarterfinal game Wednesday at 8:15am MT. Then Sweden (second in Group F) and Germany (third in Group E) drop the puck at 12:15pm MT.

The quarterfinals conclude Thursday, May 12 with two games. First, Finland (second in Group E) and Norway (third in Group F) face-off at 8:15am MT. Finally, Canada (first in Group F) and Russia (fourth in Group E) take to the ice at 12:15pm MT.

All four quarterfinal games will be broadcast on TSN. 

As always, follow the official Oilers Twitter account for updates on Oilers efforts in Slovakia, and visit edmontonoilers.com for a game recap of each Team Canada and Team Sweden game. 


ROUND ROBIN SCHEDULE & RESULTS
(all times mountain)

Friday, April 29:

Canada 4 - Belarus 1
Gamesheet | Recap | Photos | Highlights

Saturday, April 30:

Norway 5 - Sweden 4 (SO)
Gamesheet | Recap | Photos

Sunday, May 1:

Canada 9 - France 1
Gamesheet | Recap | Photos

Monday, May 2:

Sweden 3 - Austria 0
Gamesheet | Recap | Photos

Tuesday, May 3:

Canada 4 - Switzerland 3 (OT)
Gamesheet | Recap | Photos | Highlights

Wednesday, May 4:

Sweden 6 - USA 2
Gamesheet | Recap | Photos

QUALIFICATION ROUND SCHEDULE & RESULTS
(all times mountain)

Friday, May 6:

Canada 4 - USA 3 (SO) 
Gamesheet | Recap | Photos | Highlights

Sweden 4 - France 0
Gamesheet | Recap | Photos

Saturday, May 7:

Canada 3 - Norway 2
Gamesheet | Recap | Photos

Sunday, May 8:

Sweden 2 - Switzerland 0
Gamesheet | Recap | Photos

Monday, May 9:

Canada 3 - Sweden 2
Gamesheet | Recap | Photos | Highlights

QUARTERFINAL SCHEDULE & RESULTS
(all times mountain)

Wednesday, May 11:

Czech Republic vs USA - 8:15am MT 
Gamesheet | Recap | Photos

Sweden vs Germany - 12:15pm MT 
Gamesheet | Recap | Photos

Thursday, May 12:

Finland vs Norway - 8:15am MT 
Gamesheet | Recap | Photos

Canada vs Russia - 12:15pm MT 
Gamesheet | Recap | Photos | Highlights