Ice hockey-Team North America stun Sweden at World Cup

By Frank Pingue TORONTO, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Team North America caught Group B favourites Sweden off guard with an explosive start before securing a thrilling 4-3 overtime win at the World Cup of Hockey on Wednesday to keep alive their hopes of reaching the semi-finals. Sweden, who got the point they needed to secure a berth in the semis, began the eight-team tournament as a clear favourite to reach the finals but speedy Team North America wasted little time in showing they were not intimidated. Team North America, an explosive mix of U.S. and Canadian players 23 and younger, scored two goals in the opening 95 seconds of the game but Sweden did not panic and twice erased two-goal deficits to force overtime. Canadian Nathan MacKinnon roofed the winning goal with 49 seconds to play in overtime when he was in alone deep in the Swedish zone and used a series of dekes to avoid a pokecheck from Henrik Lundqvist before backhanding the puck into the net. "Johnny (Gaudreau) made a great pass to me and I just thought I'd put it away because I wouldn't have been able to backcheck, I would've been too tired," said MacKinnon. "I was just kind of juggling the puck and I saw him trying to pokecheck me so I knew I had to toe drag him. I was just thankful it got up." MacKinnon's goal came moments after Sweden's Daniel Sedin had a chance to end the game but was denied on a breakaway. Despite the win by Team North America (2-1), Russia (1-1) hold the tiebreaker over the youngsters and earn the other semi-final berth if they beat Finland (0-2) on Thursday to close out Group B play. Team North America, a talent-laden squad dismissed by many as gimmicky when the tournament format was announced, got off to a dream start when American Auston Matthews cashed in a rebound 30 seconds into the game. They doubled their lead when American Vincent Trocheck corralled a rebound that he sent into the back of the Swedish net moments after Gaudreau missed a penalty shot. The stunned Swedes finally took some of the wind out of Team North America's sails just before the midway mark of the first period when Filip Forsberg sent a puck underneath the right arm of American goalie John Gibson. But Team North America restored their two-goal lead five minutes later when Gaudreau, who took off all alone from the U.S. blueline, used a nifty deke to beat a sprawled Lundqvist. Nicklas Backstrom pulled Sweden back to within a goal later in the period when his shot ricocheted off the toe of a U.S. defenseman and into an open net with the goalie out of position. Sweden finally tied the game when Patrik Berglund tipped a Forsberg shot into the net about seven minutes into the third period to set up a wild finish. (Editing by Steve Keating.)