Denis Malgin scored the game-winner on a solo effort in the second period. He also collected an assist in the game. Linus Karlsson scored for Sweden.
"They got that first goal, but from there I think we played very solid. Sure, we gave them some chances. It's a game of mistakes. We'll be looking to correct some things. But on the whole, it was solid and everybody was engaged," Damien Riat added.
"Of course we had something else in mind when we came here. We wanted more," Sweden's Jacob de la Rose said, disappointed.
Coming into the game, Sweden had an impressive eight-game winning streak against Switzerland, dating back to the 2013 gold medal game, which they won 5-1.
Except for the Swedish bench, it was difficult to find anyone wearing yellow inside the SwissLife Arena today. There was just a massive sea of red, and it was jumpy.
The energy in the stands was matched by the energy on the ice. Switzerland came roaring out of the gate. Sven Andrighetto fired, Hellberg saved, Andrighetto fired again. Then came Meier. And so on.
And then, out of the blue, Emil Heineman came flying down the right wing and sent a cross-ice pass to Linus Karlsson, who was wide open in front of the net. He looked up and sent the puck through Genoni’s wickets to give Sweden a 1-0 lead in the game at 6:21.
It marked the first time Switzerland was trailing in the tournament.
If that wasn’t bad enough for the Swiss, in the next shift, Dean Kukan received a five-minute major and a game misconduct for cross-checking Ivar Stenberg in the face. The Swedish power play was mostly inefficient, but with 20 seconds remaining on the one-man advantage, the puck was in the Swiss net.
However, the hosts were saved by a video review that showed a distinct kicking motion had propelled the puck in.
The Swiss survived the penalty and could start working their way back into the game. And it was the team captain, Roman Josi, who showed the way.
"It was the semifinal, and there was a lot on the line. Our games against Sweden are always tough. I think we started pretty well, but then obviously the five-minute penalty was tough to kill but our PK did a great job and the goalie saved us when we needed him," Swiss defender Dominik Egli said.
With 6:37 remaining, Denis Malgin grabbed a rebound and skated around the Swiss net. He sent the puck to Josi at the point, and he fired a seeing-eye wrist shot that beat Hellberg on the blocker side to tie the game.
Even with the long Swedish power play, the shots favored Switzerland 13-7 in the first period.
In the second, Switzerland stepped on the gas. They outshot Sweden 12-3 and carried most of the play.
"We just took over the game and were in their zone, pressuring and playing with a lot of confidence and when we had our big chances we used them," Egli added.
With 7:02 remaining, the sea of red roared again when Denis Malgin caught the Swedes by surprise, split the defense, and beat Hellberg on the glove side to give the home team the lead in the game.
Things turned a little messy. Oliver Ekman-Larsson had to leave the game after Nino Niederreiter checked him into the boards. No penalty was called for the hit.
Soon thereafter, Oskar Sundqvist was helped off the ice after a center ice collision with Timo Meier who received a cross-checking minor. It was offset by Albert Johansson’s roughing minor.
"It was good that there were emotions, otherwise it wouldn't be fun to play," Egli said.
"I don't think anybody is out here trying to hurt each other. It was just a very intense game. We're all competitors. Freaky incidents are happening in the game of hockey. I would just say it was a high-stakes game, and both teams played very hard," Nico Hischier added.
With less than five minutes remaining in the period, Switzerland got their first power-play opportunity, and they capitalized on it.
Niko Hischier set the table. He skated around a Swedish defender and flipped a gorgeous backhand saucer pass to Calvin Thürkauf, who slammed it in for 3-1 at 16:31.
The third period was scoreless. Switzerland didn’t take any chances, they simply shut things down, secured the win and can now get ready for the semifinal against Norway.
"We try to take it game by game. Now this game was the most important game, and that's why the games are so intense. You can see we're battling hard, and that's what we want to bring every night," Hischier said.
Sweden's tournament came to an end.
"I feel pretty empty now," Joel Persson said.
