2015–16 Riksserien season

The 2015–16 Riksserien season was the ninth season of the Swedish Women's Hockey League. The season began in September 2015 and ended in March 2016. It was the last season the league was known under the Riksserien name, changing to Svenska damhockeyligan (SDHL) the following year.[1][2]

2015–16 Riksserien season
League Riksserien
SportIce hockey
Duration
  • Scheduled for:
  • September 2015 – February 2016
  • (Regular season)
  • February – March 2016
  • (Playoffs)
Regular season
First placeLuleå HF/MSSK
Top scorerMichelle Karvinen (Luleå HF/MSSK)
Playoffs
Riksserien Finals
ChampionsLuleå HF/MSSK
  Runners-upLinköping HC

League business

The fee for carrying international players on team rosters was set at 3500kr per player for the season.[3]

In November 2015, two members of the far-right Sweden Democrats party proposed a motion in the Riksdag calling on the government to discuss financial support for women's hockey in Sweden.[4]

Significant events

Pre-season

For the 2015-16 season, the league expanded from eight to ten teams, with both HV71 and Djurgårdens IF joining the league.[5] After facing financial difficulties, Munksund-Skuthamns SK merged with Luleå HF to form Luleå HF/MSSK.[6]

In North America, the National Women's Hockey League was formed as the first professional women's hockey league to pay all of its players a salary. Many Swedish players chose to remain in Sweden and in Riksserien, however.[7]

Regular season

The regular season began on the 9th of September 2015.[8]

A Sundsvall-Modo match in late November 2015 was marked with controversy after three Sundsvall players were forced to leave the game after suffering concussions, including Canadian forward Danielle Stone. Sundsvall head coach Lars Johansson stated that he had "never experienced anything like this."[9]

25 games into the season, Djurgården forward Andrea Dalen scored two goals to lift her season total to 34, breaking Josefine Jakobsen's record for most goals scored in a single riksserien. She would finish the year with 47 goals, a record that still stands.[10]

In January 2016, defender Nathalie Lidman made her Riksserien debut for Luleå at the age of 14, one of the youngest players in league history to make her debut.[11]

After Luleå star Emma Nordin injured herself while on international duty just before the playoffs, the organised a fundraising efforts to be able to afford the transfer fee to fill her spot on the roster. The club was able to raise over 50,000kr, with Swedish men's international Dick Axelsson among the notable contributors.[12]

Playoffs

Before the start of the finals series, Linköping HC was forced to fundraise as the club's women's side lacked the budget to pay for flights to Luleå and accommodation. The club was able to collect over 20,000kr via fundraising.[13]

Luleå HF/MSSK won the championship playoffs in their first season as a club, defeating Linköping HC 2 games to 1. The final games of the finals set a Riksserien record for attendance, with 4179 spectators present at the Coop Norrbotten Arena in Luleå.[14]

Post-season

After losing in the finals, Linköping HC discovered that their plane tickets back from Luleå had gone missing, with head coach Peter Frantz deeming it "sabotage". After a short investigation it turned out that the club had simply forgotten to book the tickets. Frantz ended up paying for new tickets out of his own pocket at the women's team didn't have enough money left in its budget.[15]

In April 2016, Emma Eliasson was named Riksserien Defender of the Year and was named Swedish Hockey Girl of the Year.[16] After receiving the award, she called on the Swedish Ice Hockey Federation to change the name of the award to something less outdated.[17]

Standings

Each team played 36 regular season games, with three points being awarded for winning in regulation time, two points for winning in overtime or shootout, one point for losing in overtime or shootout, and zero points for losing in regulation time. At the end of the regular season, the team that finishes with the most points is crowned the league champion.

Regular season
Pos Team Pld W OTW OTL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Luleå HF/MSSK 36 27 2 2 5 161 60 +101 87 Qualification to Quarter-finals
2 Linköping HC 36 25 5 2 4 154 60 +94 87
3 AIK 36 21 3 3 9 95 61 +34 72
4 Djurgårdens IF 36 21 2 2 11 130 75 +55 69
5 Leksands IF 36 18 3 4 11 115 80 +35 64
6 HV71 36 13 6 1 16 90 109 −19 52
7 Brynäs IF 36 13 3 3 17 69 107 −38 48
8 Modo Hockey 36 10 1 5 20 63 88 −25 37
9 IF Sundsvall Hockey 36 4 1 1 30 48 185 −137 15 Qualification to Relegation playoffs
10 SDE Hockey 36 1 1 4 30 51 151 −100 9
Source: SDHL.se
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored

See also

References
  1. "Osannolikt – men helt rimligt också". Aftonbladet.
  2. Radio, Sveriges. "Riksserien i hockey för damer blir SDHL - P4 Västernorrland". sverigesradio.se.
  3. Foster, Meredith (June 7, 2017). "Swedish Ice Hockey Association abruptly cuts subsidies for foreign players in SDHL". The Ice Garden.
  4. "Extra stöd till svensk damhockey Motion 2015/16:2024 av Jeff Ahl och Angelika Bengtsson (båda SD) - Riksdagen". www.riksdagen.se.
  5. "Djurgården fixade festen – till Riksserien efter 25 raka segrar - Hockeysverige". Djurgården fixade festen – till Riksserien efter 25 raka segrar - Hockeysverige.
  6. "Luleå hockey och Munksund-Skuthamn SK går nu samman - P4 Norrbotten". Sveriges Radio. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  7. https://hockeysverige.se/2015/04/02/de-valjer-riksserien-framfor-nwhl
  8. "Allt inför starten av Riksserien: "Luleå och Linköping möts i finalen" - Hockeysverige". Allt inför starten av Riksserien: "Luleå och Linköping möts i finalen" - Hockeysverige.
  9. "Skandalscener i Riksserie-derbyt". Aftonbladet.
  10. "Andrea Dalen bästa målskytt genom tiderna". Aftonbladet.
  11. "14-åring får chansen i Riksserien". Aftonbladet.
  12. "Luleåfansen samlar in pengar till ersättare". Aftonbladet.
  13. "SM-final – en ren förlustaffär för LHC". Aftonbladet.
  14. "Historiskt guld – inför rekordpublik". Aftonbladet.
  15. "Sanningen: LHC glömde att boka". Aftonbladet.
  16. "Historiskt guld – inför rekordpublik". Aftonbladet. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  17. "Emma Eliasson: "Ett ruskigt tråkigt namn" | Hockey". Expressen. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
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