Well, that was fun while it lasted.
Timothy Lillegren’s run at the 2023 IIHF World Hockey Championships came to an end after Sweden lost 3-1 to Latvia, one of the biggest upset losses in the tournament’s recent history.
Sweden had not lost in regulation up to this point, going 5-1-1-0 to finish two points behind the United States in first place in Group A. Beforehand, he had a perfect track record. Latvia ended up winning in overtime and moved past the Czech Republic for third place in Group A.
So, by all accounts, Sweden – who had only lost to Latvia twice before – came in as strong favourites. Latvia, however, scored the first goal to put pressure on Sweden, a challenge Timothy Lillegren accepted. At 29:41, after some good Swedish pressure, he picked up a pass from Lukas Raymond, skated and beat goalkeeper Arturs Silovs up high to make the 1-1 goal. This score remained for 15 minutes of game time, with Miks Endrasis and Janis Jacques each scoring in the third period to give Latvia the victory.
Liljegren finished the tournament—the men’s first with Sweden—with two goals, four points, and 18:38 in intermediate ice time. His regular defensive partner, Leif Rasmus Sandin, suffered a knee injury against the United States in the round robin and sat out Thursday’s game.
The final four teams will consist of Canada vs. Latvia in the first semi-final at 7:20 AM ET, as well as the USA and Germany at 11:20 AM. The two winners will advance to the championship game on Sunday afternoon at 1:20 PM ET.