Today was the final day of group play at the 2012 IIHF World Championships in Sweden and Finland. Today, the co-host Swedes played Latvia. Swedish defenseman Niklas Kronwall put on what could have been the hit of the tournament on forward Kaspars Saulietis. We have seen Kronwall of the Detroit Red Wings lay the wood on the ice when he’s wearing the red and white in the NHL. This time he took his hit parade internationally with a clean check so rattling that Saulietis had to go back to the locker room. With the tournament being played on the larger international ice surface, it only means more room for opponents to keep their head up while Kronwall will gather steam to play the body.
The video of Kronwall hit on Saulietis can be viewed here.
Sweden won the game 4-0 in a game in that saw a combined five points from his Detroit teammates Henrik Zetterberg and Johan Franzen. Zetterberg had one goal and two assists while Franzen added a goal and an assist. Just like the United States in the other group, Sweden finished second after round robin play and will take on Czech Republic in the quarterfinal Thursday night in Stockholm. The Americans will take on the other co-host Finland in Helsinki Thursday evening.
