Yesterday, Sweden defeated host Russia 3-2 in a shootout to advance to a gold medal showdown against the United States. The defending WJC U20 champion dominated the first half, outscoring Russia 2-zip. But it was far from over.

According to TSN, they counted no shots for Russia in the first 26 minutes. Who knows if that was true. They trailed 2-0. Sweden dominated up to that point. They scored both their goals 3:03 apart in the first period.

First, Elias Lindholm got to a Victor Rask shot attempt and tucked a backhand under Russian netminder Andrei Vasilevski for a 1-0 lead at 6:35. Emil Molin also netted an assist. Then Swedish captain Filip Forsberg zipped through the Russian D and beat Vasilevski with a wrist shot increasing to 2-zip. Teammates Rasmus Bengtsson and Robert Hagg set it up. The puck looked to change direction, throwing Vasilevski off.

For 26 minutes, they had been outplayed severely. However, Vasilevski gave them an opportunity to comeback. Edmonton ’12 first overall pick Nail Yakupov got it started by passing across to open defenseman Andrei Mironov for his first of the tournament at 7:32 of the second. Mironov fired a shot that deflected off Swedish forward Victor Arvidsson past goalie Niklas Lundstrom. Kirill Kapustin drew the secondary assist.

Back in it, the Russians took control by peppering Lundstrom. For a team that wasn’t ready at the start, they made life uneasy for the Swedes. With the home crowd energized, Russia used their superior speed and skill to rush Lundstrom’s net. Sweden was playing without four defensemen. Russia started to expose that flaw in the second half. Lundstrom was called on to make some big saves. He was up to the challenge, preserving his team’s 2-1 lead into the frantic third.

The game became wide open with each side flying. There were plenty of exciting end to end action that had Ufa Arena on the edge of their seats along with the Russian cheerleaders. This was classic pond hockey with both goalies taking turns making stops. The style favored Russia. It was only a matter of time before they got the equalizer.

That came off a tremendous rush from quarterfinal hero Nikita Kucherov. He drove to the net and got off a backhand that caromed off Lundstrom right to Sabres’ prospect Mikhail Grigorenko, who flipped a backhand in for the tying marker with still 12:04 left in regulation. He was quickly mobbed by Kucherov and excited teammates, including Yaroslav Kosov who drew the other helper on a fantastic play. The crowd erupted. Just an awesome scene.

It’s amazing that nobody won it in regulation. The end to end rushes were wild stuff to watch. Even if you weren’t there, you felt like you were just by the energy in the building. Each goalie came up big with Lundstrom busier. He must’ve made two or three game saving stops. Kucherov, Grigorenko, Yakupov and Vladimir Tkachyov were dangerous every shift. One late Russian chance grazed the crossbar. They were that close to completing a stirring turnaround.

The two sides played a 10-minute four on four. But neither could break either goalie. Both Vasilevski (38 saves) and Lundstrom (27 saves) were outstanding. With everything on the line, it went to a shootout. A place Russia had been, previously edging Switzerland to reach this point.

Only one shooter scored. After Lundstrom stopped Yakupov at the end of the second round, in came Sebastian Collberg on Vasilevski. He waited and waited before deking to the backhand. Neither TSN commentator realized the puck was in. Collberg had put it into the top of the net where it stayed. A perfect shot. All the pressure was on Kucherov. He’d been the hero for his country against the Swiss, scoring the tying marker and shootout winner. He moved in on Lundstrom and went to the backhand but the calm Swedish goalie made the clinching save- touching off a celebration.

Prior to last year, Sweden hadn’t taken gold in the WJC since ’81. Tomorrow against Team USA, they get a shot at history. A chance to repeat. It should be a great game. Start time is 8 AM (EST) or 7 PM Russian time. It’ll be shown like every other USA and Canadian game on NHL Network. Steve Mears and E.J. Hradek will have the call. If you live in Canada, you get TSN’s Gord Miller and Ray Ferraro.

If you truly love hockey, then get up early and have breakfast. Watch this game. It’ll be great. Hell. Most of Canada will be up at 3:30 AM for the bronze medal game against Russia. That’s dedication. A great tournament comes to an end tomorrow. The best our sport has to offer.