The United States and Sweden are meeting for the 12th time in IIHF Under-18 Men’s World Championship history with the U.S. leading the all-time series, 10-1-0-2-0 (W-OTW-OTL-L). Overall, the two countries have met six times in the preliminary round, with the U.S. taking four out of six contests.
The last time these two squads met was in last year’s tournament on April 19, 2015, when Clayton Keller (Swansea, Ill.) earned best player honors for the U.S. in a 6-4 victory. Keller tallied two goals and added two assists as the United States notched three markers in the third period to pull away from Sweden.
The last Sweden win came on April 13, 2010, a preliminary-round triumph at Bobruisk Arena in Belarus. Team USA and Sweden would meet later in that tournament, with the gold medal on the line, and the U.S. went home victorious. Team USA’s Luke Moffatt (Paradise Valley, Ariz.), Justin Faulk (South St. Paul, Minn.) and Rocco Grimaldi (Rossmoor, Calif.) scored in the 3-1 finale. The two countries squared off in the following two gold-medal games (2011, 2012), with the U.S. victorious in both contests.