Denmark 2, Switzerland 1
New York (The Draft Analyst) — Soeren Nielsen and Mathias From scored in the third period to help Denmark oust Switzerland 2-1 on Sunday at the 2016 World Junior Championships from Helsinki, Finland.
The loss was the second straight for the Swiss, who likely need to win each of their remaining games against Canada and the United States to avoid the relegation round in consecutive years.
Nielsen, whose had a goal waved off during a second-period power play from a crease violation, converted a 2-on-1 at the 1:17 mark of the third with a wrist shot over Swiss goalie Joren van Pottelberghe’s glove. From, who made a nice backhand pass to Nielsen on Denmark’s first goal, scored the eventual game winner when he won a battle in the crease with Swiss defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler and swatted a loose puck past van Pottelberghe at 6:20 of the final period..
Goalie Thomas Lille made several key stops after Switzerland grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first period on a goal by Noah Rod. Rod opened the scoring at 11:39 of the opening frame when he tipped home a wrist shot from defenseman Edson Harlacher. But Lille stopped several scoring chances from Florida Panthers’ draftee Denis Malgin and Dario Meyer‘s second-period breakaway to keep the Danes within a goal after 40 minutes.
Lille made 22 saves to pick up the win, while van Pottelberghe stopped 20 shots in defeat.