As a coach, "Bulan" Berglund led Luleå to the club's first Swedish Championship gold medal in 29 years last year. As a player, he played over 750 games for the Norrbotten club and was part of the team that won the club's first gold medal in 1996.
But after Wednesday's loss, 1-2 away to Skellefteå, the 57-year-old is stepping down after nine seasons as head coach. Rumor has it that German club Cologne will be the next stop.
"It's been an incredible journey. I've been a player and leader for 33 years at the club. I'll continue to be a supporter, even though I won't be in the stands," Berglund tells TV4.
"Now we've lost to a better team; there's nothing to say about it. But of course it's bitter."
Unexpected flurry of goals
Skellefteå was better from the start, peppering goalkeeper Matteus Ward with shots and taking the lead after just under nine minutes of play.
Emil Djuse scored no goals in the regular season but has now scored three in the SM playoffs. The 32-year-old headed in to make it 1-0 from a pass by Oliver Okuljar after 8:48.
"Yeah, it's crazy. I don't know, I've had chances before too. But now you manage to get a puck on them here and there, and then they slip in," Djuse told TV4 after the first period.
Just before the break, Luleå's Pontus Andreasson was sent off for a costly foul, as it turned out, when a Skellefteå player fell to the ground.
"I'm not even close to him, so I don't know where the referee finds that penalty. It's absolutely amazing how he can see that, it's absolutely crazy," said an irritated Andreasson during the break.
On the ensuing power play, Okuljar scored 2–0.
Luleå's Brian O'Neill created excitement in the match when he cut the deficit to 2–1 on the power play just over halfway through the game.
That was as close as you could get.
Lundberg makes history
The result stood and Skellefteå, who won the Swedish Championship gold in both 2023 and 2024 but missed the final last year, is once again competing for the trophy. In the final, Rögle or Växjö await.
This was also the last game in Luleå for veteran forward Linus Omark. He said so himself last year, after winning the Swedish Championship. Nevertheless, he returned to the club last winter, but has said this will be his last time.
Also worth noting: Skellefteå's Martin Lundberg became the all-time leader in playoff appearances with Wednesday's match. Lundberg, with five Swedish Championship titles to his name, now has 175 appearances – one more than Frölunda icon Joel Lundqvist.
