In a dramatic finish, Switzerland scored four goals in the third period, beating Sweden 4-3 after trailing by two goals through the first two periods.
Switzerland takes the bronze medal in the women’s Olympic hockey tournament; it’s the team’s first medal in Olympic hockey.
Sweden was leading the Swiss team 2-0 after two periods, with goals by Michelle Lowenhielm and Erica Uden Johansson, her first of the Olympic tournament.
But the Swiss closed the gap just over a minute into the third period with a goal from Sara Benz.
Switzerland added two more in the third, with goals from Phoebe Stanz and Jessica Lutz, flipping the script on Sweden and taking the lead for the first time in the game.
With one minute left to go in the game, Sweden pulled its goalie, six attackers on the ice. Switzerland’s Alina Muller scored on the empty net, putting the game out of Sweden’s reach.
But the Swedes didn’t back down. Pernilla Winberg scored with seconds left in the game, closing the score to a one-goal lead.
After a frenetic last minute of play, Switzerland won the game 4-3.
Leading up to the bronze medal game
Both teams missed out on the gold medal game, Sweden losing their semifinal game against the U.S. 6-1; Switzerland fell 3-1 to Canada.
The semifinal losses were by no means upsets. The U.S. outshot Sweden 70-9 on Monday. Canada outshot the Swiss 48-22.
Thursday’s game was expected to be close.
Coming into the bronze medal matchup, Sweden had a record of three wins and two losses. The Swiss lost four (three of those against very strong Canadian and U.S. squads) and won one game, where they knocked out hometeam Russia 2-0 in the quarter-finals.
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