PHOTO: Bildbyrån
He is one of Swedish hockey’s biggest goalie profiles.
Now Pekka Lindmark reveals what happened during a red wine evening.
When he received an unexpected phone call that changed his career forever.
Not many can combine talent and wonderful personality as well Peter “Pekka” Lindmark managed to do. He really hated training but still managed to become one of Swedish hockey’s truly great goalie icons.
Pekka icon
He would win the hearts of many Swedes for his heroic efforts in the Tre Kronor goal. But also for his many clever quotes and crazy antics on the side of the ice.
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The hockey career began in Kiruna and then went directly to the Swedish national team via Timrå. He himself remembers that Saturday night in September in the early 80s that changed his career forever.
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Lindmark’s wine
Lindmark had time off with Timrå and thought to treat himself to a bottle of wine with his wife Rita. Then suddenly the phone rang and that would be the start of the whole Tre Kronor success.
– Haha yes, I remember that evening well. It was “Biffen” (Jan-Erik Nilsson) who called. He told me to get in the car and go to Örnsköldsvik where Tre Kronor would play an international match against Finland on Sunday. Göran Högosta had had to travel home. I was a bit confused as to why I would go there to sit in reserve. You could just as well take someone from MoDo to it. Then “Biffen” told me that “Fisken” (Bengt Ohlson) decided that I would play, Pekka tells in an interview with HockeySverige.
– Then the heart beat a volt in the body. I have probably never before or since been as nervous as during the drive that evening up to Ö-vik.
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Tre Kronor won that training match against the Finns 2-1 and Pekka Lindmark convinced so much in his debut that he gained renewed confidence between the posts. Even though he didn’t even play in the Elitserien, it took him all the way to the hockey WC in Gothenburg in 1981.
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Best in the whole WC
Lindmark played great for Tre Kronor, who went all the way to a WC silver medal.
– It was very big because it was my first WC. There were also many who wondered how “Fisken” could take me to a WC on home ground even though I only played in division 1, says the goalkeeper profile to the hockey site.
– The idea was that me and Christer Abris would share the goalkeeping job, but he hurt his finger so I became the first goalie and it went quite well.
Pekka Lindmark was named the WC’s very best goalkeeper and was awarded the Golden Puck. It was also the start of a fantastic time as a national team goalkeeper for the icon who made a total of 174 international appearances for Tre Kronor and took home two World Cup golds and three World Cup silvers.
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