Czech Republic miss out on Sweden upset in opener

Czech Republic fell desperately short of kicking off their home Ice Hockey World Championship with a victory over top-ranked Sweden on Friday, losing 6-5 following a shootout.

Sweden were 3-1 up by the end of the second period - Joel Lundqvist, Staffan Kronwall and Victor Rask all finding the net.

However, with the 2013 champions looking in control of the tie, the Czechs mounted a fightback with the support of a partisan crowd of 17,383.

The hosts led 5-4 with a minute left on the clock, but conceded a late Mattias Sjogren equaliser to send the match to overtime.

Neither side managed to force a result in the additional period, but Oliver Ekman-Larsson was on hand to break Czech hearts with the shootout winner.

"They got a couple of easy goals in the third that we have to prevent, but we were able to get it back and win the game," said Sweden's Filip Forsberg. "That was a plus for us."

The result leaves Sweden second in Group A behind Canada, who opened their tournament with a 6-1 demolition of Latvia.

Defending champions Russia, meanwhile, were in complete control as they brushed Norway aside in a 6-2 victory.

Head coach Oleg Znarok spoke in the build-up of his confidence that Russia could retain the title, and their 4-0 advantage at the end of the opening period served as a warning signal to any pretenders to the throne.

That win positions Russia at the top of Group B, along with United States, who were equally convincing in their 5-1 triumph over Finland.