Sweden shut out defending champion Czech Republic 4-0 on Sunday to win the World Championship and complete a unique double three months after capturing Olympic gold.
It was the eighth world title for Sweden, which had eight Olympic champions on its roster. In the Winter Olympics, Sweden beat Nordic rival Finland in the final.
No team had managed the elusive double in international hockey. There have been six previous occasions when the Olympic tournament and world championship were played as separate tournaments in the same year.
"It's fun to be part of hockey history," Sweden coach Bengt-Ake Gustafsson said. "It's been great working with these guys and my staff.
"I think we played more or less a perfect game today. After taking a 2-0 lead we had a good control of the game," Gustafsson added.
Sweden was missing one of its top goalscorers, Mika Hannula (four goals), who was suspended one game after cross-checking Sidney Crosby into the boards in the semifinals against Canada.
But Sweden's "Tre Kronor" did fine without him.
Jesper Mattsson, Fredrik Emvall, Niklas Kronwall and veteran Jorgen Jonsson, playing in his 11th worlds, gave Sweden a 4-0 lead after the first two periods.
After a cautious start from both teams, Mattsson opened the scoring at 14:36 in the first period, knocking in a rebound over goalie Milan Hnilicka and into the net.
"Niklas Kronwall came down the right wing and he tried to shoot the puck and I think it hit the defenseman's leg and the rebound out of that came right to my stick and I don't know where the puck went, it went up in the air and it's unbelievable," Mattsson said.
"World Championships is really big back home in Sweden. I think the last time we won was 1998 so it's really big. I can't really understand it yet. Probably a couple of weeks before I do."
Emvall made it 2-0 just 37 seconds later, deflecting a shot past Hnilicka.
Kronwall gave Sweden a 3-0 lead 4:07 into the second period, skating unchallenged into the Czech end and beating Hnilicka with a backhander.
"We just felt like there was nothing to hold back," Kronwall said. "It was the last game of the season and the world championship final. You're not tired at all, you just try to put that away and go out there and work hard.
"I think we got a lucky bounce there on the first goal, and after that we just kept working. We got the second one again. When we got the third goal, it felt pretty safe after that," Kronwall added.
Kronwall, one of four players from the Detroit Red Wings on Sweden's roster, was selected as the most valuable player in the tournament.
"It's flattering, but it's a team effort," Kronwall said. "In my opinion, [Sweden defenseman] Kenny Jonsson should have that award, but it is what it is and I'm happy to be where I'm at right now.
"We're going to celebrate this tonight here in Riga. Tomorrow we're chartering a plane to go back to Stockholm to celebrate with the people."
With the Czechs shorthanded, Sweden scored again at 17:01 with a one-timer by Jorgen Jonsson, Kenny Jonsson's brother.
Goalie Johan Holmqvist earned his second shutout in seven games, making 15 saves. Sweden outshot the Czechs 26-15.
Earlier, defenseman Petteri Nummelin set up three goals to lead Finland over Canada 5-0 in the bronze-medal game.
"It's been a good hockey year for Finland," coach Erkka Westerlund said. "We made history today. It was the first time a country medals in the Olympics, under-20 and under-18 world championships, and the world championship."
Tomi Kallio, Olli Jokinen, Riku Hahl, Antti Miettinen and Jussi Jokinen scored for the Finns, who earned their first medal since winning a silver in 2001.
"It's always a disappointment, but it's a way better way to finish the season with a win than a loss," Nieminen said. ``You can ask the Canadian guys, and they probably don't feel that good right now.
Canada, which lost last year's final to the Czech Republic after winning back-to-back titles in 2003 and 2004, failed to medal for the first time in four years.
Canada lost 5-4 to the Swedes in the semifinals, while the Czechs beat Finland 3-1.
Nummelin's three assists gave him a total of 14 points, tops among defensemen in the tournament and tied for second overall with Canada's Patrice Bergeron.
For Nummelin, it was the sixth world championship medal dating back to 1995 when Finland won its only final against Sweden in Stockholm.
Crosby, who was held without points, was the leading scorer with 16 points (8 goals and 8 assists).
"We played hard," said Crosby, one of the NHL's top rookies this season with the Pittsburgh Penguins. ``Especially right off the start, we had the right energy. We just tried to stay patient and keep going but it seemed like as it went on we became more drained and it was hard to keep that level of intensity and we got a couple of bad breaks. It was hard just to keep that same level of emotion.''
Finland goalie Fredrik Norrena had 37 saves for his third shutout. Alex Auld, getting the start for Canada after relieving Marc Denis in the semifinals, made 28 saves.
It was a rough third-place game with both teams visibly grouchy after losing their semifinals.
The teams combined for 66 penalty minutes in the early game at Riga Arena (32 to Finland, 34 to Canada). Tuomo Ruutu, the most penalized player, finished with 49 minutes in total penalty minutes.
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