Anton Frondell scored twice in Sweden’s 6-3 victory over Latvia. Defenseman Leo Sahlin Wallenius had a goal and two assists to help the Swedes remain perfect in five games.
Frondell is now tied for the tournament lead with five goals with Slovakia’s Tomas Chrenko and the U.S.’s Will Zellers.
“We came out hard and got an early goal there as well, but we knew it would be a tough one,” said Swedish captain Jack Berglund following the game. “They’re good defensively, and they’re good on the PP as well. We saw that early on. I think we handled it well and showed a lot of patience. Good to get the win. Two to go.”
“We are like an underdog, so we’re going after someone. We just have two golds, but it’s time for number three,” Swedish head coach Magnus Havelid said after the game. “You don’t worry about who you play in the semi-final. You must just focus on your game, relax a little bit in a good way, and take the opportunity you have in about 60 minutes.”
Berglund, Sascha Boumedienne, and Felix Carell also scored for Sweden.
Sweden is in search of its third gold medal at the World Junior Championship after winning in 1981 and 2012. The Swedes finished fourth last year. Sweden is the only team in the tournament to have won all of their games in regulation.
Kristers Ansons, Karlis Flugins, and Olivers Murnieks scored for Latvia.
Latvia has made the quarter-final in four of the past five World Juniors.
