Boston Bruins winger Loui Eriksson tallied his first two points of the 2014 Winter Olympic men’s hockey tournament Wednesday to help top-seeded Sweden beat upstart Slovenia 5-0 in the quarterfinal round.
The Slovenians entered having won two of their last three games — its first two wins ever in Olympic competition — and kept up with the more talented Swedes through the first two periods.
Sweden held just a 1-0 lead after 40 minutes before exploding for four goals in the final frame, with the last two coming off the stick of New York Rangers winger Carl Hagelin. Eriksson scored the second goal of the period and assisted on the first.
Hagelin’s Rangers teammate, Henrik Lundqvist, was perfect in net again for Sweden, making 19 saves in his second shutout of the tournament.
“I can’t blame the players,” Slovenia coach Matjaz Kopitar said, via ESPN.com, “because their tanks were really empty.”
Sweden will play rival Finland in the semifinals Friday.
Photo via Twitter/@NHLBruins
