Carl-Goran Öberg

This is Carl-Goran Öberg, or "Lill-Stöveln" as he was known to some. He was a member of Sweden's silver medal winning Olympic hockey team in 1964.

Öberg scored 1 goal and 4 points in 6 games during those games in Innsbruck, Austria. But he is best remembered for a dangerous incident in the game against Canada.

Frustrated that his stick had broken part way through his shift, Öberg threw the shattered stick into the Canadian bench as he skated to his own bench. The stick caught an unsuspecting Canadian coach Father David Bauer in the forehead, opening a bloody gash.

As you can imagine the Canadian players were furious with Öberg and also with the Swiss referee, who never called a penalty on the play. The players were ready to take justice into their own hands and defend their honor by pummelling Mr. Öberg, but somehow the bloody Bauer restrained his players and kept the peace. Öberg would be suspended for the next game for deliberately attempting to injure Father Bauer, and the referee also faced disciplinary action.

Father Bauer made an amazing jesture of peace the next day. He invited Öberg to be his guest at the Czechoslovakia-USSR game, earning Bauer international recognition for his act of sportsmanship and forgiveness. Bauer would be given a special gold medal for his handling of the whole situation.

For Öberg it was a black eye on an otherwise nice career. Keeping in mind that European stat records in the 1960s are a bit sketchy at best, Öberg was a sharpshooter, scoring 252 career goals and 426 career points in 324 games in the Swedish Elite League. He played most famously for Gävle and Djurgardens, and also skated for Tranas and Södertälje. He was a fantastic junior talent in Gävle, but it seems his on-ice temper may have held him back.

Internationally he represented Sweden at 6 World Championships scoring 25 goals in 43 games, winning 3 silver medals and 2 bronze medals. He also represented Sweden at the 1960 Olympics. Combined with 1964 he played in 13 Olympic matches, scoring 6 goals and 13 points.