Sweden beats Canada in shootout to win gold at world hockey championship
COLOGNE, Germany — Canada felt the sting of its loss to Sweden at the world championship a little more than usual thanks to the tournament format.
Nicklas Backstrom and Oliver Ekman-Larsson scored in a shootout as Sweden beat Canada 2-1 on Sunday to capture gold, spoiling the Canadians’ attempt to win the title for a third straight year.
“We don’t feel like we lost a hockey game tonight, we feel like we lost a shootout,” said Canadian coach Jon Cooper. “I told our guys ‘hang your head high.’ We knew the rules going in, it was part of the format, and they bested us.
“I thought both goaltenders were exceptional but in the end it came down to a skill competition. They were better than us and in the end, they deserved to be world champs.”