Sweden defeats Latvia in men’s hockey qualification round
Sweden advanced to the Olympic men’s hockey quarterfinals Tuesday with a dominant 5-1 victory over Latvia in Milano Cortina 2026 qualification playoffs. The seventh-seeded Swedes will face undefeated Team USA on Wednesday at 3:10 p.m. ET in a win-or-go-home matchup.
The Tre Kronor scored two goals in just 41 seconds midway through the first period, setting the tone for a commanding performance. Mika Zibanejad and Gabriel Landeskog each scored and tallied an assist, while Adrian Kempe, Filip Forsberg and William Nylander also found the back of the net for Sweden hockey.
Jacob Markstrom earned his second victory of the Games with 20 saves, while Latvia’s Elvis Merzlikins made 23 saves. Eduards Tralmaks scored Latvia’s only goal.
Quick Start Propels Sweden Forward
Sweden’s early offensive explosion proved decisive. Adrian Kempe’s goal at 10:55 of the first period came off a fortunate deflection when Teddy Blueger’s clearing attempt hit William Nylander’s skate and reached Joel Eriksson Ek, whose shot bounced to Kempe’s stick. Just 41 seconds later, Landeskog extended the lead to 2-0 after a Mika Zibanejad shot redirected through the slot.
Filip Forsberg scored his first Olympic goal in the second period when he redirected Erik Karlsson’s pass to make it 3-0. Latvia cut the deficit to 3-1 on Tralmaks’ rebound goal, but Sweden pulled away with Zibanejad and Nylander adding goals in the third period.
Tournament Context
Despite finishing 2-1 in round-robin play, Sweden faced the qualification playoff due to goal differential, trailing Finland and Slovakia in Group B tiebreaker standings. The victory sends the stacked Swedish squad directly into a quarterfinal collision with the second-seeded Americans, who remain undefeated in the tournament. Latvia concludes the 2026 Olympics with a 1-3 record after earlier victories over Germany but losses to the U.S. and Denmark.
