Magnus Paajarvi skirts a German defender in a World Championship quarterfinal game Wednesday, May 11, 2011 in Bratislava, Slovakia. (Photo by Jukka Rautio / HHOF-IIHF Images).

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The do-or-die games got underway Wednesday with two quarterfinal match-ups in Bratislava, Slovakia. First, the Czech Republic beat U.S.A. 4-0, booting the Americans from medal contention.

Then a few hours later, Sweden took on Germany in Wednesday's other quarterfinal showdown. 

SWEDEN VS GERMANY

Sweden got off to a surprisingly quick start. Only 27 seconds after opening face-off, Patrik Berglund pounced on a rebound and fired it out to Martin Thornberg. The forward deflected a shot off a German defender and past goalie Dennis Endras to give the Tre Kronor a 1-0 lead.

But the lead didn't last long: less than two minutes later, Alexander Barta received a saucer pass from Frank Mauer and picked Viktor Fasth's top corner to tie the game at one.

Sweden was back on top later in the period, thanks to a go-ahead goal from Berglund.

Despite out-shooting the Swedes 18-14, Germany started the second period down 2-1. By the nine-minute mark of the middle frame, the team was down 4-1 following goals by Niklas Persson and Loui Eriksson.

Late in the period, Michael Wolf narrowed the gap for Germany, setting the score 4-2 heading into the final frame.

A penalty to both teams failed to produce power-play goals, and at 8:54 of the third, Sweden got its fifth even-strength goal of the game, a successful sharp-angle shot by Thornberg. A trio of German infractions gave the Swedes two stretches of five-on-three, but a power-play goals continued to elude the club.

Despite their excellent penalty killing, Germany couldn't find a way to close the goal gap. Thus, Sweden secured a 5-2 win and berth in Friday's semifinals. 
 

UP NEXT:

Can Jordan Eberle help Team Canada progress to the semifinals with a win over Russia Thursday? (Photo courtesy of Getty Images)

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.

Both quarterfinal games will be broadcast on TSN.

On Friday, Sweden will face the Czech Republic in the first semifinal game at 8:15am MT. The winners of Finland/Norway and Canada/Russia will take to the ice for the second semifinal game at 12:15pm MT.

Again, both semifinals 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 4 - USA 0 
Gamesheet | Recap | Photos

Sweden 5 - Germany 2 
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