Sweden beats Switzerland, Finland blanks Latvia at World Junior tournament

Lucas Pettersson scored two third-period goals Dec. 28 as Sweden beat Switzerland 4-2 in a Pool A game at the World Junior Hockey Championships at Grand Casino Arena.

Sweden and the U.S. are both 2-0 in Pool A; the American team was idle Sunday and plays Slovakia at 5 p.m. Monday. Sweden and the U.S. meet Wednesday.

Petterson’s first goal broke a 2-2 tie at 6:28 of the third period, and his second came on an empty net with 47 seconds remaining.

Eric Nilson and Viggo Bjorck also scored for the Swedes, and Switzerland (0-2) got goals from Beni Waidacher and Lars Steiner.

The Swiss were beaten by Team USA 2-1 on Saturday.

Sweden faces Germany (1-0) at noon Monday at Grand Casino Arena before the Team USA game.

In Pool B at Mariucci Arena on Sunday, Emil Henning had two goals as Finland shut out Latvia 8-0.

In Monday’s games at Mariucci, Finland (2-0) faces Czechia (1-1) at 2:30 p.m. and Canada (1-0) meets Denmark (0-2) at 7:30 p.m.

Each pool has five teams, and each team plays four preliminary round games, with the top four in each pool advancing to the quarterfinals.

The quarterfinals are Jan. 2, with the semifinals Jan. 4 and championships Jan. 5.