WJHC: Sweden stomps Czechs in opener

THE CANADIAN PRESS
REGINA — Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson had a goal and three assists to help Sweden stomp the Czech Republic 10-1 in the opening Group B game of the world junior hockey championship Saturday.
Sweden, with 18 NHL draftees on its roster, did its damage with four goals in the first period and another four in the third.
Scoring in the first was Ottawa Senators pick Andre Petersson, Anton Rodin (Vancouver Canucks), Mattias Tedenby (New Jersey Devils) and Anton Lander (Edmonton Oilers).
Oliver Ekman Larsson (Phoenix Coyotes), Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson (Edmonton Oilers), Tim Erixon and Petersson with his second point of the period, all picked up assists.
The Czechs entered the game with a respectable 1-2 pre-competition record after a shootout win over the United States on Tuesday and a close 3-2 loss against Canada the next night.
The Czechs relied on solid goaltending in both games, with Jakub Sedlacek making 42 stops (plus three in the shootout) against the Americans and Pavel Francouz nearly stealing the game against Canada with 30 saves.
But Sedlacek struggled in this game and was replaced by Francouz at the end of the first.
Francouz pleased the 5,191 fans at the Brandt Centre with several sensational saves throughout the night but allowed another six goals. Striking in the second for Sweden was Paajarvi-Svensson, and Atlanta Thrasher draft pick Carl Klingberg, while Erixon and Petersson picked up their second assists of the night.
The Czech Republic finally managed to get on the board five minutes into the second when five-foot-eight winger Jan Kana beat Florida panther draft pick Jacob Markstrom after a nice feed from Tomas Knotek. Tomas Vincour of the Edmonton Oil Kings, a Dallas Stars draft pick, also assisted on the goal.
Sweden’s four third-period goals came from Erixon with a slapshot from the point, Lander with his second of the night, Ottawa Senators pick Jakob Silfverberg and Adam Larsson. Paajarvi-Svensson, Sweden’s player of the game, assisted on Larsson’s goal for his third of the night.

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