Sweden leveled the score in the end of the period. The teams were playing four on four and it was Anton Stralman, who took full advantage of extra space on the pitch, 2-2.

The second period started just like the first as Niklas Persson put the Swedes in front once again.

But the Russians didn’t let the Yellow-and-Blues off the hook. Dmitry Kalinin’s kick left Holmqvist with no chances. He had to leave the pitch in the middle of the period due to injury.

And his substitute Jonas Gustavsson managed to keep a clean sheet till the end of the period, which ended 3 apiece.

The teams exchanged goals in a frantic 22-second period in the middle of the third. Kristian Huselius escaped from Ilya Kovalchuk and made it 4-3 for the Swedes. But his team was still celebrating when Sergey Mozyakin put his name on the score board, 4-4.

But it was just the beginning of the drama. Vitaly Proshkin’s double blow put Russian in front for the second time in the match. His first shot hit Johan Andersson and knocked the Swedish player down. But his second saw the red light shine behind Gustavsson’s goal, 5-4.

The desperate Swedes, who have already suffered one defeat at the hands of Latvia, replaced the keeper with a field player. And the risk paid off. Huselius upset Russian keeper Ilya Bryzgalov once again and sent the game into overtime.

But it was all that Tre Kroner could achieve. Russia grabbed the win in overtime. Ilya Kalinin scored the golden goal on a rebound, 6-5.

Vyacheslav Bykov’s men keep a 100 per cent record at the world Championships. They top Group E with 8 points. But the questions raised after the match against the Swiss remain. Russia looks strong in the attack but their game in defense is far from convincing.

Belarus 3-2 Norway

Belarus also needed overtime to break underdogs Norway in their Group.

The Scandinavians went ahead twice, and Belarus could equalize only in the third period. And they needed 4 minutes and 35 second to score in overtime, with Colorado Avalanche defender Ruslan Salei the hero.