STOCKHOLM – There’s an saying: “It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog.” The 2013 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship proved just how true that is.

Switzerland’s amazing run to the silver medal was the most prominent example of the ever-increasing parity in international hockey. Even the underdog hockey nations are enjoying success.

Relying on great teamwork, the Swiss won nine straight games. Before losing 5-1 to Sweden in the final, they gave up just one point in a 3-2 shootout victory versus the Canadians.

You can reasonably argue that this result means there are now eight – not seven – international hockey powers: the Canadians, the Czechs, the Finns, the Russians, the Slovaks, the Swedes, the Americans... and the Swiss.

“Can you imagine if the Swiss won the World Championship?” said Canadian hockey legend Paul Henderson, who scored the winning goal in Game Eight of the 1972 Summit Series against the Soviet Union. “That’s a wake-up call for the whole world. I mean, it’s unbelievable. They don’t have great stars out there, but they’re an incredible team.”

This was Switzerland’s first appearance on the podium since winning bronze in 1953. Its only previous silver medal came in 1935.

It didn’t come completely out of the blue. The Swiss have been making steady progress with their development programs since returning to the top division of the IIHF World Championship in 1998.

Still, with all due respect to Detroit’s Damien Brunner, they still lack an elite NHL forward comparable to, say, Austria’s Thomas Vanek or Slovenia’s Anze Kopitar. And last year, the Sean Simpson-coached squad came eleventh, marking their worst finish in 15 years.

So Switzerland’s machine-like efficiency, with relentless checking, excellent defensive positioning, and an ability to outskate and outscore opponents in Stockholm did come as a surprise.

But it just proves that you have to be ready for anything nowadays. There is zero room for complacence or entitlement in modern international hockey.

Who would have believed that Slovenia – a country with about 140 registered senior players – could take a Canadian team with Steven Stamkos, Eric Staal and Claude Giroux to overtime before losing 4-3?

Did Canada have all its best players there? No. Did Slovenia have its very best player there in Anze Kopitar? No. Slovenia would love to have Canada’s problems when it comes to roster selection.

Will we look back on France’s shocking 2-1 victory over Russia as the turning point that set Russian coach Zinetula Bilyaletdinov’s ship permanently off course in the journey to gold in Sochi? Or will it prove to be the wake-up call the Russians needed to emerge victorious on home ice in February?

One thing is for sure: after falling to Les Bleus, Russia never again resembled the team that had won 10 straight games en route to gold in Helsinki last year.

Perhaps the most shocking result of all was the 8-3 American win over the Russians in the quarter-final. It wasn’t the mere fact that the Americans won. On any given day, any team can now beat another at the elite level. And the Americans had an NHL-dominated roster that included 2010 Olympians Paul Stastny and Erik Johnson – although in fairness, most of their players were not big names.

But for the Russians to allow eight goals was mind-boggling. It was the highest number of goals ever surrendered by Russia at an IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship, and equaled the Olympic high from an 8-5 loss to Canada at the 1960 Winter Games.

The United States – seeking its first medal since 2004 – blew superstars like Alexander Ovechkin, Ilya Kovalchuk, and Alexander Radulov right out of Hartwall Arena.

And then, naturally, those same Americans were blanked 3-0 in the semi-finals by... Switzerland. And had to settle for bronze.

What a strange and exciting new era.

That’s not to say we couldn’t be looking at another Canada-Russia or Sweden-Finland final next year.

But it’s also no stretch to believe the Swiss could make another run in the medal round when next year’s World Championship takes place in Belarus. Or maybe even in that other well-known tournament in Sochi, Russia in February.

LUCAS AYKROYD

ZURICH – The Swiss national team wrote history many times this month. Only Sweden was able to stop the Cinderella story in the gold medal game. The Swiss now hope to capitalize on their 2013 Worlds success and push the sport of hockey deeper into their country.

There couldn’t be a better sign about the Swiss ambitions than the end of the gold medal game. While the whole country was proud on the surprising silver-medal performance and the players could be proud of them, there was no trace of smile when captain Mathias Seger accepted the prize for the silver medal winners, nor when Roman Josi was given the award of the 2013 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship’s Most Valuable Player.

The players were so close to winning the first World Championship for Switzerland, leading 1-0 after a few minutes and trailing only 2-1 after two periods, that they wanted the gold medal nobody would have bet on even in their wildest dreams. After all, the Swiss had disappointing finishes the two years before, 11th in 2012 and 9th in 2011.

“We’re disappointed about the game. We lost it and we won nine games before. Not many people believed before the tournament that we would play in a World Championship final,” head coach Sean Simpson rightfully reminded.

“We didn’t want to go to Stockholm to just play another World Championship. We wanted to achieve something special – and we did. I’m very proud of the work our team has done and about the silver medal. Switzerland has to be proud of this team. This team is a role model with its willingness, character and energy. What we did for Swiss hockey is a sensation. To be so close to the world title is super. We’ll try it again.”

The facts are as historic as they are impressive:

• Switzerland won its first World Championship medal since 1953.
• Switzerland won its first World Championship silver medal (and its second overall) since 1935.
• Nine wins and a streak of nine victories at the World Championship are a new record for the Swiss team. The closest record so far has been 7-1-2 in 1939.
• Roman Josi became the first Swiss to win an individual award at a top-level World Championship, as Best Defenceman.
• Roman Josi also became the first Swiss to be named Most Valuable Player of an IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship.
• The Swiss national team scored more goals than ever in the era of modern hockey, 35 (3.5 per game). The last time Switzerland has scored more often was 57 goals in 1950.
• Switzerland conceded just 16 goals (1.6 per game). The last time the Swiss had a lower goals against average was in 1938 with seven goals in as many games.
• The Swiss finally managed to win against big hockey nations not only in the preliminary round but also when it mattered most (except for the gold medal game). They had a 2-1 record in the final round this year. Before Stockholm 2013 the all-time record in knock-out games had been 1-13 with the only win coming in the 1992 quarter-finals, 3-1 against Germany.

These days the newspapers were full with hockey. On Whit Monday, when no papers appear in Switzerland, one of them put on the printing machines for an extra edition on the day after the gold medal game and on that day thousands of fans waited for their heroes at the Zurich Airport. Thousands of Facebook profile photos were changed to the Swiss flag. And in the red-and-white euphoria Swiss Post started producing a stamp dedicated to the national team, an honour last done for Roger Federer when he won Wimbledon six years ago.

“Switzerland can be proud of this team. They battled until the end. They didn’t say winning silver is nice. They wanted more and they believed in themselves,” said Marc Furrer, President of the Swiss Ice Hockey Federation. “That shows the character of this team. They’re a role model for all athletes and Swiss.”

As improbable it was for the Swiss to win silver in Stockholm, it will no doubt be an equal challenge for them to repeat the same success at the Olympics next winter or at the 2014 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship in Belarus. The World Championship campaign was a warning signal for its Group C opponents in Sochi: the Czech Republic, Sweden – both played twice against the Swiss in the Worlds – and Latvia.

But the Swiss players have shown their capability and coach Simpson has proven that he can find the right mix and strategy, no matter whether his team is the underdog or favourite. The success itself is no coincidence even if it peaked at unpredicted heights. The quantity and quality of star players has risen also thanks to efforts by the federation and clubs in the last 20 years in development and coaching.

While Swiss players were seldom given a chance in the NHL ten or 15 years ago – usually they appeared in few NHL games after some time on farm teams – the Swiss National League A is now seen as strong enough for players to transfer directly from Switzerland to the NHL, as shown by players like Josi, Raphael Diaz, Damien Brunner, Jonas Hiller or Mark Streit. More players may follow. Goalkeeper Reto Berra will join the Calgary Flames next season while forward Simon Moser was reportedly invited by the Nashville Predators, Josi’s team.

“I spoke with people from other countries at the World Championship,” Furrer said. “They were not surprised. They saw how we worked in Switzerland, especially in youth hockey, and said the success is a logic consequence. They were still surprised we came that far, but it seemed explainable.”

Can hockey become even bigger in the country of roughly eight million people? And can Switzerland become a regular medal contender in the future?

While Simpson said he hopes the national team will now be perceived as cool and successful, Furrer hopes that the hockey community will grow in Switzerland.

“I hope that many young people will join hockey and see that it’s a great sport that needs good team spirit. I hope we will be on the cutting edge in the competition with other sports, not only for spectators but also for those who play sports,” Furrer said.

Switzerland has 26,166 registered players. While this is a good number, it’s still far behind Sweden (69,921) with slightly more, and Finland (56,626) with slightly less inhabitants.

Furrer also hopes for more money when talks start for new sponsorship deals. The hockey wave the national team started in Stockholm surely won’t hurt the federation and clubs when presenting hockey as a platform for advertising companies. And he hopes for improvement when it comes to rinks.

“Now as people see we’re a hockey country, I also hope that we will have it easier when it comes to building rinks and in these exhausting discussions with communities who don’t want to spend the money.”

There are ideas for new state-of-the-art hockey venues in Zurich and Geneva but the projects are still in political consultation. The hope is that such a new arena could also host a World Championship after Switzerland has hosted in 2009 and 1998 the last times.

“We announced to the other nations that we would be interested in hosting the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship in 2019 or at the most in 2020, but we have to see where we would host it,” Furrer said. “We have now time to consider and work on an application before we officially enter a bid.”

“A World Championship creates lot of goodwill and interest, especially with a team like this. Imagine we would play like this in Switzerland!”

MARTIN MERK


Switzerland coach Sean Simpson walks through a red-and-white sea of fans, Swiss flags and cameras after the national team’s arrival in Zurich. Photo: Thomas Oswald / hockeyfans.ch

STOCKHOLM – Apparently there were a handful Swedes who had full confidence in their team before Sunday’s final. One of them was Carl XVI Gustaf. The real king of Sweden.

“I was pretty calm,” His Majesty told the players when the newly-crowned world champions paid a visit at the Royal Palace in central Stockholm just 12 hours after they had beat Switzerland 5-1 in the final.

As the team presented the royal family with an autographed sweater, the players probably already heard the Poodles play their official tournament song - “En för alla för en”, or “one for all for one” - in the background because meanwhile, thousands and thousands of people gathered in Kungsträdgården, a recreational park that can be seen from the castle.

Kungsträdgården, “King’s garden” has in recent years become the new place for such events. Back in 2006, when Sweden won both the Olympic gold and the World Championship, the Olympic team had their parade end at Medborgarplatsen, a square on the south side of town, and the World Champions in Kungsträdgården.

The stage has been ready every year, but for seven long years, it’s stayed empty, sadly overlooking the two lines of Japanese cherry trees that surround the park. Except for that one night in January in 2012, when the under-20 team celebrated their World Junior Championship out in the cold.

But on Monday, the sun was out, the cherry trees had bloomed and were already mostly green, with a shadow of pink still remaining there. Above the stage there was a big sign that said, “WORLD CHAMPIONS”, in Swedish.

Not many experts had believed in the team before the tournament, and they did stumble in the early rounds. They lost to Switzerland, and they lost to Canada, and they squeaked by both the Czech Republic and Belarus, winning both games 2-1. In fact, Sweden scored only 17 goals in their seven preliminary round games, fewest of the four teams that advanced to the playoff stage.

But they did score four in their last preliminary round game, which was also the first with Daniel and Henrik Sedin on the team.

Sweden scored 14 goals - and one in the shootout in the game against Canada - in its four games with the Sedins. Henrik and Daniel were the architects for ten of them, including eight of the team’s ten goals in the three playoff games.

“We watched a game on TV back home [in Vancouver], and what we saw was a hard working team in which everybody worked for each other. That’s the kind of team we love to play for,” Daniel Sedin told Aftonbladet before the final.

There they were, wearing the yellow sweaters, lifting the cup, just to hear the crowd roar. So many of them finally getting their due, their day in the sun. There were the Sedins, while Olympic champions from 2006, still somewhat unappreciated in their home land, because they’ve had the big three - Sundin, Forsberg, Lidström - in front of them.

There was Staffan Kronwall, the brother of Niklas, who was the team captain, and led his boys to a wild song and dance number on stage, and there was Joel Lundqvist, the hard-working brother of Henrik, and the only one of the 2013 team who had been on the Kungsträdgården stage in 2006.

And there was Pär Mårts, the head coach of Team Sweden, who finally got the gold medal that has eluded him in his years behind the national team benches. And with it he got a car from Skoda, the long-time official main sponsor of the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship.

Two years ago he took his team to the World Championship final - but lost to Finland - and before that, he led the U20 national team to two silver medals and one bronze.

This time, Mårts was a winner.

“There’s no better place to get that gold medal than at home,” he said.

“We’ve felt a great unity in the group since day one, when we got to together in April. The spark was ignited, and the fire has burned since then. We’ve always believed in each other,” he added.

Mårts also noted that adding the Sedins to the team didn’t disrupt anything, as “the boys have been brought up in the Swedish system”.

In the end, it was the Swedish system that came through, and came out on top. Good defence, excellent goaltending from Jhonas Enroth, a team that pulled together. And a couple of twins from Örnsköldsvik, the heartland of hockey.

The World Championship final gathered an estimated three-million people TV audience. So did the Eurovision Song Contest from Malmö, Sweden, on Saturday. While the two audiences aren’t mutually exclusive, it’s safe to say the entire country came together on Monday, when Robin Stjernberg walked onto the stage with the championship team, and performed Sweden’s entry to the ESC: “You.”

The crowd was dancing, and the players were hopping, as Stjernberg hit all the high notes:

“Isn’t it crazy, yeah, isn’t it crazy? It’s all because of you-uu, all because of you-uuuooh.”

The home-ice ghost was nowhere to be seen.

RISTO PAKARINEN

STOCKHOLM – Switzerland scored first, but hosts Sweden dominated the last 55 minutes to become the first home team to win gold since 1986. It is the nation's ninth World Championship gold medal.

Videos: Highlights, Post-Game Interviews

For the Swiss, it was their first loss of the tournament after nine straight wins and only their second silver medal ever after finishing runner-up in 1935, their highest finish at any IIHF international hockey event.

"We’re disappointed about the game," said Switzerland coach Sean Simpson. "We lost it, and we won nine games before. Not many people believed before the tournament that we would play in a World Championship final. I’m very proud of the work our team has done and about the silver medal. Switzerland has to be proud of this team. This team is a role model with its willingness, character and energy. What we did for Swiss hockey is a sensation. To be so close to the world title is super. We’ll try it again."

"We were able to match their intensity at the start," said Swiss defenceman Philippe Furrer. "We had a lot of chances but couldn't score, and they did."

Henrik Sedin led the offence with two goals and an assist. Goalie Jhonas Enroth was excellent, stopping 26 of 27 shots. He was named IIHF Directorate Award winner as Best Goalie.

"It was a tight game," Henrik Sedin said. "It could have gone either way, I felt. It was lucky we got our first two goals pretty quickly after their first one. After we scored our third, it felt pretty calm on the bench."

"We had a really good start," said goalie Martin Gerber. "We were confident, but then out of the blue they tied it up and then we had some penalties. We got lost for a while and had a hard time getting back on track."

"It's an unbelievable feeling. You can't put it into words," said Henrik Tallinder. "As soon as we got our legs and got that first goal, I thought we controlled the game pretty well."

"To win the last game of the season and World Championship gold is amazing," said Joel Lundqvist. "Switzerland was awesome the whole tournament. We didn't start the way we wanted, but when we got the Sedins, they played great."

The Swiss came out with determination and an effective forecheck and had the puck in Sweden’s end for most of the first five minutes, until they scored. It was the ninth time in ten games that they got the early lead.

Indeed, Switzerland had trailed for only 14:25 of play (5:39 vs Canada, 8:46 vs Slovenia) the entire tournament.

Roman Josi got things started at 4:45 when he eluded a lax check from Loui Eriksson at the blue line and cut in on goal, backhanding the puck along the ice past Enroth for the early 1-0 lead.

Sweden tied the game at 8:42 on the team’s first shot on goal. Erik Gustafsson found a rebound in front of a crowded crease and snapped a shot past Martin Gerber, who had lost sight of the puck. The game was on.

"I wasn't sure where to go exactly," said Gustafsson, "but the goal felt a little bit like a turning point. They caught us on our heels in the first ten minutes, but after we scored we were in the driver's seat."

The Swedes then went ahead at 11:38 on the power play, the most potent part of their game. Henrik Sedin batted the puck out of midair in the crease to give the home side a 2-1 lead.

The second period started out strategically as the Swedes went into their tight-checking system while the Swiss refused to be baited into gambling to create scoring chances.

But a power play for Switzerland midway through the period, its first of the game, resulted in renewed energy. Enroth made a great save off a one-timer in the slot by Ryan Gardner, but the Swiss kept pressing for the tying goal to no avail.

The Swiss had another excellent opportunity to tie the game early in the third courtesy of a Johan Fransson penalty, but their shooting was off and Enroth unflappable under pressure.

Soon enough, the Swedes broke the game open. Simon Hjalmarsson scored off a giveaway by Julien Vauclair at his blue line. Gabriel Landeskog took the puck to the net and Hjalmarsson jammed it in before Mathias Seger could check him.

Eriksson put the game away when a point shot went in off his skate. Video review decided there was no distinct kicking motion, so the goal stood.

Coach Sean Simpson pulled Gerber with three and a half minutes remaining, and a Sweden penalty gave the Swiss a two-man advantage. Henrik Sedin, however, scored into the empty net to seal the victory.

"To be honest," said Landeskog, "I don’t think I even know right now what we’ve accomplished. We’re standing here talking about it, but we don’t know what we’re going through right now. Maybe in a few years down the road, or after our careers, we’ll be able to sit back and think about this. I didn’t think I’d be standing here at 20 years old with this gold medal around my neck."

ANDREW PODNIEKS

STOCKHOLM – Switzerland’s Roman Josi won three honours at the 2013 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship. The Nashville Predators defenceman was Most Valuable Player, Best Defenceman and selected for the All-Star Team.

Josi became the first Swiss player ever to earn MVP honours and an award at an IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship. He led all defencemen in scoring with four goals and five assists in ten games. He’s joined on the defence of the All-Star Team by fellow countryman Julien Vauclair.

Jhonas Enroth was selected Best Goalkeeper by the tournament directorate and also made the All-Star Team. He was among the most used goalkeepers with 418:29 minutes. He led the goalie stats in save percentage (95.63%) and goals against average (1.15).

Finland’s Petri Kontiola was named Best Forward and is joined on the All-Star Team by Team USA’s Paul Stastny and Sweden’s Henrik Sedin. Kontiola was the World Championship’s scoring leader. In ten games he scored eight goals and as many assists.

Individual Awards as selected by the Tournament Directorate
Best Goalkeeper: Jhonas Enroth, Sweden
Best Defenceman: Roman Josi, Switzerland
Best Forward: Petri Kontiola, Finland

All-Star Team selected by the media
GK: Jhonas Enroth, Sweden
DE: Roman Josi, Switzerland
DE: Julien Vauclair, Switzerland
FW: Petri Kontiola, Finland
FW: Paul Stastny, USA
FW: Henrik Sedin, Sweden
MVP: Roman Josi, Switzerland

STOCKHOLM – After making the gold medal game, Sweden moved from fourth to first place in the 2013 IIHF Men’s World Ranking. The Swedes are followed by Finland, Russia, the Czech Republic and Canada.

Click here for the 2013 IIHF Men’s World Ranking
Click here for the 2013 IIHF Women’s World Ranking

Sweden made the biggest move among the top-20 nations by climbing up three places. Finland remains in second place while last year’s leader Russia fell to third place after being eliminated in the quarter-finals by Team USA. The Czechs, also eliminated in the quarter-finals, dropped to fourth place.

Canada remains in fifth place followed by the United States, who improved by one, and Switzerland, which went up two positions in the new World Ranking at the expense of Slovakia (from 6th to 8th) and Norway (from 8th to 9th).

The positions of Germany (10th), Latvia (11th) and Denmark (12th) remain untouched, while France (now 13th) and Belarus have (now 14th) swapped places.

The only team other than Sweden that went up three places was Korea. The host nation of the 2018 Olympic Winter Games went from 28th to 25th place after establishing itself in the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship Division I Group A, which the country will host next spring in Seoul. Korea finished a record-high 21st place overall in this year’s World Championship program.

With the new World Ranking, the tentative groups for the 2014 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship in Minsk, Belarus, have become known.

The seeding for the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, is already known since February and is based on the 2012 IIHF World Rankings.

Tentative Groups 2014 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship

Group A: Sweden (1), Czech Republic (4), Canada (5), Slovakia (8), Norway (9), Denmark (12), France (13), Italy (18, promoted).

Group B: Finland (2), Russia (3), USA (6), Switzerland (7), Germany (10), Latvia (11), Belarus (14), Kazakhstan (16, promoted).

Olympic men’s ice hockey tournament

Group A: Russia (1), Slovakia (6), USA (7), Slovenia (18)
Group B: Finland (2), Canada (5), Norway (8), Austria (15)
Group C: Czech Republic (3), Sweden (4), Switzerland (9), Latvia (11)

Olympic women’s ice hockey tournament

Group A: Canada (1), USA (2), Finland (3), Switzerland (4)
Group B: Sweden (5), Russia (6), Germany (8), Japan (11)

MARTIN MERK

STOCKHOLM – History will be written today when either Sweden will end the home-ice curse or Switzerland will become World Champion for the first time.

The Swiss national team is, of course, aiming for the second goal. The Swiss have had a historic and unexpected run with nine straight victories. And they have no plans to stop upsetting big hockey nations.

They reached the semi-finals for the first time since 1998. By defeating the United States 3-0, they have at least equalled their best-ever placement to date, silver in 1935.

“We skated hard and stuck to the system and showed desire to win the game and to do something for Swiss hockey and for Switzerland itself,” head coach Sean Simpson said.

“We have seen many good games at this tournament, but in the semi-finals it was very special. It shows the willingness and character of this team. You can go through the whole line-up and behind every name is a great performance in this tournament.”

Ueli Maurer, the President of the Swiss Confederation, travelled to Stockholm to witness history and congratulated coach Sean Simpson after the game. Never before has a Swiss team in any major team sport performed with such an impressive record.

“What happened today is of historic dimensions for Switzerland,” Maurer told him after the press conference.

Maurer stayed away from the locker room before the final, but wants to congratulate the players personally afterwards – preferably for the gold medals.

“We prepared well, we have a good team and we had a good start. We got the best out of our team,” Simpson said after the semi-final.

“I think the people in Switzerland are very proud of us, and I hope we can make them even prouder.”

Simpson didn’t have an easy time before the start of the 2013 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship though.

He took over a team in April 2010 that had been coached by Ralph Krueger for 13 years and was coming off a good outing at the Vancouver Olympics. Expectations were high since Simpson had led the ZSC Lions Zurich to the European club championship one year earlier.

This year the expectations in the Swiss media were rather modest, as the national team had missed the quarter-finals – usually regarded as the dividing line between a good and a bad result in Swiss hockey circles – two years in a row. It was speculated that Simpson couldn’t afford to place outside the top eight nations again.

Now he doesn’t have to worry about his job.

Here, much like with Zurich in 2009, he has eventually found the right mix between up-and-coming players and national team legends, between defence and offence. When he made his final cuts before the World Championship not everybody agreed with him, but the critics have been silenced with each win in Stockholm.

The British-born Canadian coach, who considers himself almost Swiss after having played and coached there since the ‘80s, is a perfectionist. It was his mentor Andy Murray who transferred him from Salzburg to Zurich during the 1984-85 season as a backup for legendary Czech player Milan Novy. Simpson didn’t play a single game in his first stint in Switzerland, and Murray gave him his car to scout other teams. It was his first inspiration for his later coaching career, and he would return to Switzerland four years later.

Simpson’s great skill is analyzing opponents and finding the right recipes for each game. They haven’t always worked, but 2013 appears to be the year for the Swiss.

“The difference between having success at this tournament or not is very small. We didn’t find the way to win some games last year and this time we found them,” Simpson said.

“It’s a two-week deal. If everybody believes things can happen, they can happen.”

His methods can be unique at times. For instance, how often have you seen rotating goalkeepers from the first game in the preliminary round until the last game in the knockout stage? Simpson put Martin Gerber into the net in the quarter-finals against the Czechs and stuck with his pattern. He let Reto Berra play in the semi-finals against the U.S., and will bring back Gerber in the gold medal game. So far it has worked very well. Both netminders have been impressive.

The Swiss national team has ticked, ticked, and ticked as perfectly as a Tissot watch. The Russian fans at the arena probably booked their tickets to watch another team here in Stockholm. But the way the Swiss have dominated – in addition to the jersey colour – might have reminded them of the “Red Machine” that nobody has been able to stop yet. That even applies to Switzerland’s foe in the finals. Host Sweden lost its opener to the Swiss, 3-2.

“To get to this part of the tournament is something very special for the country. Our guys deserve to play in the final. We’re going to give everything,” Simpson said.

It’s hard for him to find the right words to describe the reasons behind the sudden success, and he wants to keep his ace up his sleeve. But, obviously, if it works, it works, and players are buying into the coach’s system and words.

“The players really fought and they believe in each other,” Simpson said. “It’s a team sport. If a group is really a team, a lot is possible. We’ve showed it every game. That’s why hockey is so special. You can only win as a group that plays together.”

Another reason is that Swiss ice hockey has simply improved a lot in the last 30 years. The national competition has become more competitive and clubs more professional. There has been more emphasis placed on development and coaching. It’s hard to imagine that roughly 40 years ago Switzerland battled in the C Pool against the likes of Australia, Bulgaria, and DPR Korea.

However, over the years, there have been signs that Switzerland would one day play for a medal again after the surprising fourth-place finishes in 1992 and 1998. The main difference this year was that the Swiss didn’t only rely on strong goaltending and counter-attacks, as in the upsets in the ‘90s. They were also able to dominate opponents with big names on the ice.

“A generation ago Switzerland really invested in the youth program and in good coaches,” Simpson said. “The players that started in that program have now been coming through in the last few years. It has to start somewhere and it has to start in the youth and it needs commitment. We have a pretty good league and now our national team plays well here.”

And now comes the rematch against Sweden, with the whole country experiencing hockey fever in front of their TV sets.

“Everybody is so happy. We‘ve reached something that no Swiss team has reached before and now we want to see what we can do in the final,” Simpson said. “We will give everything. It won’t be easy against Sweden in Stockholm in a full house. But what a dream it is to play here!”

The preparation will be business as usual, Simpson said. For him it means analyzing videos, getting his team ready for a new opponent. Historically, Sweden hasn’t been an easy foe. It was Sweden that destroyed Swiss medal dreams in the semi-finals of 1992 and 1998. And here in Stockholm, only the Swedes and the Czechs have managed to get more shots on goal than Switzerland in their head-to-head games.

“We’ve studied the videos, we know the players and we will enjoy playing against them,” Simpson said.

But he also knows that Sweden has brought its game to a new level, especially thanks to Daniel and Henrik Sedin.

“Their team has grown over the tournament and they have the Sedin twins here now. They have the two best twins in the world now. They have skill and leadership,” Simpson said.

“But our team has grown too and our team has also won against top players in this tournament,” Simpson said. “It’s a thrill for our country to be in the final in Stockholm against Sweden. We’re playing for the World Championship title.”

“Switzerland’s playing for the World Championship title, imagine!”

MARTIN MERK

STOCKHOLM – Somewhere Andy Roach is smiling. Team USA earned its first bronze medal since 2004 with a 3-2 shootout win over Finland at the 2013 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship. John Gibson once again played well beyond his years in the medal winning game.

Video: Highlights, Post-Game Interviews

The USA last won bronze at the 2004 World Championship against Slovakia. In that game, the Americans won on a shootout. It is the 17th World Championship medal for the United States in its participating history in this tournament. It is their sixth bronze.

"It feels great. This is my fourth time playing for Team USA, and I hadn’t gotten a medal [until now]," said T.J. Oshie. "Obviously we wanted it to be gold, but that’s not going to take any excitement away from winning this."

First period goals by Craig Smith, Paul Stastny and a game winning shootout goal by Alex Galchenyuk ensured the Americans would not leave Stockholm empty-handed.

The game started very different for the Americans today than last night’s semi-final match-up. They came out strong and took the play to Finland. Finnish goalie Antti Raanta was tested very early as the Americans used their opportunities to draw first blood.

Craig Smith scored when David Moss jumped to knock the puck down to the ice and Stastny picked up the loose puck and passed it to Smith for a backhand goal 58 seconds into the game. For Smith, it was his fourth goal of the tournament, all scored against the Finns.

"It’s tough. They wanted it, we wanted it," said Ossi Väänänen. "We had a bad start, and there’s no excuse for that. We tried to be ready. It’s a challenge, though, for a game like this. But the USA was ready for the first period."

The Americans playing with a sense of urgency made it hard for the Finns to unleash Petri Kontiola, Juhamatti Aaltonen and Janne Pesonen. The trio had combined for 14 goals and 34 points in the tournament coming into this game.

Stastny widened the lead at 15:58 with a one-timer in the slot off a little shovel pass from Smith. For Stastny it was his team leading seventh of the World Championship, this one coming on the power play. Jacob Trouba picked up an assist.

The Finns picked up the pace in the second period getting some quality chances on net. At 8:07 a point shot from Janne Jalasvaara was saved with Jarno Koskiranta on the doorstep. At 6:50 they continued to focus the action in the USA zone, around the net. With about two minutes remaining in the period, Kontiola send a shot through traffic that Gibson stopped.

Finland would work its way back when Lauri Korpikoski scored. The puck was heading out of the American zone when Väänänen met it at the blueline and sent a shot/pass that Korpikoski redirected to a wide open net. The goal came at 8:56. Kontiola picked up the secondary assist.

This awoke the Finnish fans in attendance as momentum shifted decidedly to Finland. Then at 9:38 Aaltonen finally got his best chance on the day. He broke through the defence and bore in on Gibson who somehow saved the puck and squeezed it between his pads.

Despite back-to-back games in less than 24 hours, the Americans looked fresh with a skated with an extra stride in their step to start but as the game wore on, especially the third period, they looked tired and the Finns elevated their attack.

Finland came all the way back when Mikael Granlund made a nifty deke move through an American defender to put the puck in front where Korpikoski scored his second of the period and the game.

Finland sustained the action in their opponents’ zone and forced overtime.

Teams traded chances through the overtime with the USA’s best chances coming early and Finland’s coming later. The 21-year-old Granlund was active throughout the third period and overtime making things happen and creating chances. A turnover by Team USA led to an opportunity just before the buzzer sounded for Kontiola.

"I think we took the game over in the second and third," said Väänänen. "We played much better and scored two goals to even it up. After OT was scoreless, then we had the shootout. It’s like flipping a coin at that point."

In the shootout, Janne Pesonen scored for Finland, which was matched on the last American shot by Galchenyuk. A big save by Gibson on Korpikoski brought it sudden death. A miss by Granlund set the stage for Galchenyuk who potted his second, this one securing the bronze for Team USA.

Despite being one game from the final, the tournament should still be considered a positive one for Team USA. They exceeded expectations with the run they’ve had; trounced a major rival and saw enough individual efforts from players including Smith, Stastny and Gibson to build on for the future. Matt Carle summed it up best:

"We're a young team and we have a few guys who don't have any pro experience coming into this. We got better as the tournament went along and got into a good position in our group. This is a good consolation."

JOHN SANFUL

STOCKHOLM – Sweden has a chance to become the first team since 1986 to win the World Championship on home ice. Standing in the way is an incredible story of the Swiss national team whose narrative includes a nine-game unbeaten streak at the 2013 World Championship and this being the most important game in the nation’s hockey history.

SWITZERLAND

Key factors

Balanced attack: Switzerland has six players with three or more goals scored and eleven players with five or more points. Switzerland gets scoring from a number of areas and that has been one of the keys to their success. Sweden will have to key in on very many possible offensive contributors for the Swiss.

Defence: Switzerland opponents have averaged 25 shots per game. In their game against Team USA in the semi-finals, Switzerland’s defensive coverage was perhaps the best it has been in this tournament. They choked off opportunities by the Americans and blocked shots, making it tough for any significant scoring chances down low. Testament to the commitment to defence is that only 11 goals have been surrendered in nine games.

Power play: Switzerland has the most efficient power play in the tournament and the lead in power play goals scored with ten. Again, there is balance here as the ten goals have come from nine different scorers. They have been good in using the man advantage to establish leads over the nine games.

Players to watch

Roman Josi: Defenceman Josi is tied for the team lead in scoring. He’s showed offensive instincts from the blueline that makes the Swiss line-up even more dangerous. Production from Josi at the point has come at important times in the tournament. In his fourth World Championship, this is his very best. Josi is coming into his own as a player in the NHL and the effort here further makes the case.

Nino Niederreiter: A difficult season in North America ends with a gold medal game appearance. Niederreiter was not extended an invitation by the New York Islanders to attend training camp and the Chur native must have been disappointed. His five goals and eight points, including stepping it up in the big games here, will work to his favour in the fall.

Martin Gerber/Reto Berra: Gerber and Berra stand out as 1 and 1A. Both have combined for the eye-popping goals against statistic in the tournament. Gerber’s five wins and 1.38 goals against average is second in the tournament to Berra’s four wins and 1.00.

SWEDEN

Key factors

Fan support: Games at the Globe Arena where Sweden has played throughout the tournament offers tremendous fan support. With the gold medal on the line, expect the crowd to be more boisterous than usual.

The Sedins System: So it comes down to this: Roll out the Sedins line and let them work. So far, the dynamic duo has teamed with Loui Eriksson to form a potent line combination that was missing for the first half of the tournament. It’s not a stretch to say that without the Sedins working their magic Sweden wouldn’t be here.

Opportunity Knocks: Sweden has picked up its power play. With four man advantage goals in the last two games, they are finally clicking. As Henrik Tallinder noted after their last game against Finland: “We have the Sedin twins on the power play and they put a lot of respect in the other opponents. They are playing with so much skill and so much poise, it is fun to see. Now we have a power play that is really dangerous. We did not have that before the twins showed up.”

Players to watch

Loui Eriksson: Consider this a tale of two tournaments for Eriksson. Before the Sedins arrived he totaled a goal and three points in his first six games. After being added to a line with the Sedins, Eriksson has three goals and six points in three games. They have brought out the best in Eriksson who now seems confident.

Jhonas Enroth: Talk to any Team Sweden player and they will tell you that Enroth is the engine that drives the car. His preparedness, focus and determination have been important as Sweden’s last line of defence. Along with the Swiss goaltending duo, Enroth is making a case for best goalie of the tournament. Enroth’s goals against is 1.17 along with two shutouts and five wins.

Fredrik Pettersson: The Gothenburg product is having a noteworthy tournament after a nondescript World Championship debut in 2010. He has three goals but two of them are game winners. Petterson’s game winning shootout goal was his most significant to date as it eliminated a tournament favourite in Canada.

JOHN SANFUL

STOCKHOLM – Peter Forsberg, Mats Sundin, Paul Henderson, Teppo Numminen, and Danielle Goyette became the latest five legendary players inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame at an unforgettable gala ceremony in Stockholm  on Sunday.

Click here for the full induction ceremony video (90 minutes).

Jan-Åke Edvinsson, the General Secretary of the IIHF from 1986 to 2006, was inducted in the builders’ category. There are now 189 inductees from 22 countries in the IIHF Hall of Fame.

In addition, TSN broadcaster Gord Miller received the Paul Loicq Award for outstanding contributions to international hockey. The Soviet Union team that won the 1954 IIHF World Championship was given the Milestone Award, acknowledging its ground-breaking role at the dawn of the modern era of international hockey.

IIHF President René Fasel, who doubles as the Chairman of the IIHF Historical Committee, described it as “a truly amazing class of inductees”.

Forsberg is one of only three players – along with Russia’s Vyacheslav Fetisov and Igor Larionov – to have captured “double Triple Gold Club” honours (winning the Olympics, World Championship and Stanley Cup twice).

Best-known in his NHL days as a member of the Colorado Avalanche, this fixture in the Swedish roster holds the single-tournament World Junior scoring record with a whopping 31 points (1993). Named Best Forward at the 1998 World Championship, the powerful playmaking forward scored the winning shootout goal at the 1994 Olympics and assisted on Nicklas Lidström’s winner at the 2006 Olympics.

Forsberg was inducted by Swedish heptathlon star Carolina Klüft, who said she was inspired by watching his end-to-end goal in Sweden’s 6-5 comeback win against Finland in the 2003 quarter-finals.

“I loved playing in the big tournaments,” said Forsberg, who recalled the leadership Sundin showed in Turin and especially on the ‘06 winner. He quipped: “Thank God I didn’t go in front of the net or Lidström would have killed me with that shot!”

Sundin enjoyed a great career as the longtime captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs, but his accomplishments on the international stage were even greater. This classy Swedish center won three World Championships and one Olympic gold (2006), cracking international all-star teams on five different occasions. Last year, he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, the second Swede so honoured after Borje Salming. Swedish prime minister Fredrik Reinfeldt inducted him here.

Retired since 2009, Sundin reminisced fondly about his parents driving him and his two brothers around to Stockholm rinks. He described how Sweden’s 1987 World Championship victory, with Tomas Sandstrom’s famous goal against the Soviets, provided him with inspiration. “To play hockey, you need passion, determination, strong will, and maybe a little bit of madness,” he said.

“Henderson has scored for Canada!” Those words by legendary broadcaster Foster Hewitt heralded Paul Henderson’s signature accomplishment in international hockey – scoring the winning goal for Canada in Game Eight of the epoch-making 1972 Summit Series against the Soviet Union. Incredibly, this savvy Ontario-born forward tallied the winners in Games Six and Seven as well. He played close to 1,100 games in a 19-year pro career, and also returned internationally in the WHA’s 1974 Summit Series with the Soviets.

Henderson was introduced by Russian Ice Hockey Federation president Vladislav Tretiak, the most decorated player in international hockey history and Henderson’s foe in ‘72. “Thank you for letting me score that last goal,” Henderson joked with Tretiak. “I’ve been riding that goal for 40 years, and it’s been a nice ride.”

“The Russians were a lot better than we ever thought they were,” Henderson told IIHF.com afterwards. “I think that really started international hockey on a major league scale. We knew there were other nations out there. But [at this World Championship], look, Canada’s not even in the top four. It’s sad, but that’s just how good hockey is getting around the world today.”

The international hockey family was happy to hear that Henderson’s health is improving after he received a cancer diagnosis back in 2009. He thanked his wife of 50 years, Eleanor, for making their home an “oasis away from hockey”.

Numminen ranks among Finland’s all-time greatest defenceman. Four was a magic number for the Tampere native, as he played in four Olympics, four Worlds, and four Canada Cups. His highlights included capturing Olympic silver in 1988 and 2006. At the time of his retirement, he had played more NHL games than any other European (1,372) with four different clubs.

He was praised by former Tappara Tampere and Suomi teammate Timo Jutila, who called Numminen “a smart player, the best defenceman ever created in Finland”.

With consummate skill and perseverance, Goyette forged her reputation as a longtime scoring star on Canada’s national women’s team. A three-time Olympian and nine-time World Championship participant, she won gold in every case except for the 1998 Olympics and 2005 Worlds. The native of St. Nazaire, Quebec.

“She was a better player at 41 than at 26,” noted former Swedish women’s national team coach Peter Elander. “Fortunately for me, she stopped playing in 2007, and my therapist was very happy.”

As well as lauding her past teammates and coaches, Goyette spoke highly of her fellow IIHF Hall of Fame inductees. “When I was growing up, I didn’t have any female hockey players as role models,” she said. “You guys were my heroes. Peter Forsberg, I played with your curve for many years – I guess it worked. I will cherish this moment for a lifetime.”

Miller, the Paul Loicq Award winner, has traveled to broadcast the World Juniors for TSN each year since 1995. He’s now considered the “top broadcaster in the National Hockey League”, according to Hockey Canada President & CEO and IIHF Vice President Bob Nicholson.

Miller fondly pointed out how the milestones in his life with his wife, Sarah, have centered on the World Juniors, from their early dating to the birth of their daughter. “Hockey enlightens, teaches, entertains, and exhilarates us,” said Miller.

Legendary Russian forward Boris Mikhailov gave a speech on behalf of the 1954 Soviet World Championship-winning team, which inspired him to play hockey as a 10-year-old boy growing up in Moscow. Two members of that team, Viktor Shuvalov and Alexander Komarov are still alive, but they’re in their 90s and no longer able to travel long distances.

With tongue-in-cheek humour, Mikhailov addressed a few special words to Paul Henderson: “I remember our battles in 1972 as if it was yesterday. It’s almost incredible that 40 years have passed – and we still look so good!”

Jan-Åke Edvinsson, a native of Trolle Ljungby, Sweden, was hailed for his objectivity - during 21 years of dedicated service to the IIHF - by former IIHF Vice President Murray Costello. “There never was a time, not even once, that Jan-Åke made a decision that [showed favoritism] toward Sweden,” said Costello. “The finances of the IIHF have remained healthy and strong, and we can thank Jan-Åke for this.”

The IIHF had grown to 64 member nations participating in 29 international tournaments by the time Edvinsson retired. He is already a member of the German and Slovenian Hockey Halls of Fame.

IOC President Jacques Rogge concluded the ceremony with a memorable address. Rogge, a former rugby player, said: “I’m not a member of the hockey family, but I have a special affection for your sport.” After recounting his favourite hockey moments from past Olympics, he expressed his hope that a deal will soon be finalized to send NHL players to the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia.

The jerseys worn by the inductees during the ceremony are being auctioned off for charities of their choice until Monday night. Click here for more information.

To view complete biographies, click here.

LUCAS AYKROYD