Naisten Liiga (ice hockey)

Naisten Liiga ('Women's League'), also called the Naisten SM-liiga (NSML) and Jääkiekon naisten SM-liiga ('Ice Hockey Women’s Finnish Championship League'), is the elite league for women's ice hockey in Finland. Until 2017, it was called the Naisten SM-sarja ('Women’s Finnish Championship Series').[1][2] The league has 12 total teams between two divisions and is organized by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association.

Naisten Liiga

Current season, competition or edition: 2020–21 Naisten Liiga season
Formerly	Naisten SM-sarja 1982–2017
Sport	Ice hockey
Founded	1982
Inaugural season	as Naisten SM-sarja, 1982–83 as Naisten Liiga, 2017–18
Administrator	Finnish Ice Hockey Association
No. of teams	10 in Preliminaries 6 in Regular season, 6 in Lower division series
Country	Finland
Most recent champion(s)	Kiekko-Espoo (2019)
Most titles	Kiekko-Espoo (14)
TV partner(s)	Ruutu Fanseat
Relegation to	Naisten Mestis
Domestic cup(s)	Aurora Borealis Cup
International cup(s)	European Women's Champions Cup
Official website	leijonat.fi

Kiekko-Espoo (previously “Espoo Blues” and “Espoo United”) has dominated Naisten Liiga in the 21st century, winning 14 Finnish Championships from 1999 to 2019.[3] Tampereen Ilves Naiset is the second most successful club, with 10 championship titles, and are the only organization to have iced a team in every season since the league’s inception.

The majority of teams in Naisten Liiga share their names with men's Liiga teams (HIFK, HPK, Ilves, KalPa, Kärpät, Lukko, TPS, and Sport) but the women's teams have historically received few resources and limited promotion from the affiliated men's clubs.[4] In recent years progress has been made in building better relationships between the men’s and women’s teams; most men’s clubs now provide some support to their women’s counterparts by advertising games together or helping secure sponsorships.[5][6]

Teams

2020–21 season

HIFK

HPK

Ilves

KalPa

K-Espoo

Kärpät

Lukko

RoKi

Sport

Kuortane

TPS

JYP

Location of teams in the Naisten Liiga
   : Upper division; : Lower division

Team	Location	Home venue	Head coach	Captain
Stadin Gimmat or HIFK Naiset	Helsinki	Helsingin jäähalli	Saara Niemi	Karoliina Rantamäki
HPK Kiekkonaiset	Hämeenlinna	Metritriski Areena	Mari Saarinen	Riikka Noronen
Ilves Naiset	Tampere	Tesoman jäähalli	Linda Leppänen	Anna Kilponen
KalPa Naiset	Kuopio	Olvi Areena	Marjo Voutilainen	Emma Ritari
Kiekko-Espoo Naiset	Espoo	Tapiolan harjoitussaree	Sami Haapanen	Annina Rajahuhta
Kärpät Naiset	Oulu	Oulun Energia Areena	Janne Salmela	Suvi Käyhkö
Lukko Naiset	Rauma	Kivikylän Areena	Marko Toivonen	Maija Koski
RoKi Naiset	Rovaniemi	Lappi Areena	Tuomas Liitola	Jenna Pirttijärvi
Sport Naiset	Vaasa	Vaasan Sähkö Arena	Marko Haapala	Paulina Suoniemi
Team Kuortane	Kuortane	Kuortaneen jäähalli	Mira Kuisma	Anna-Lotta Räsänen
TPS Naiset	Turku	Marli Areena	Matti Tähkäpää	Elina Heikkinen
Team promoted from the Naisten Mestis to the lower division
JYP Naiset	Jyväskylä	Jyväskylän harjoitusjäähall	Joni Aho	Zaida Holmström

Past participants

1980s Ässät (Pori), 1982–1995 EVU (Vantaa), 1982–1990 Haukat (Järvenpää), 1982–83 HJK (Helsinki), 1982–1986 Jäähonka (Espoo), 1982–1984 SaiPa (Lappeenranta), 1982–1992 Shakers (Kerava), 1982–1985 & 1986–1996 Tiikerit (Hämeenlinna), 1982–1984, 1987–88 & 1989–90 Kiekko-Vesa (Raahe), 1983–1985 Teräs-Kiekko (Raahe), 1983–1985 Ilves-Kiekko (Tampere), 1984–1987 & 1988–1990 Ketterä (Imatra), 1984–85 & 1991–1993 StU (Savitaipale), 1984–85

1990s Karhut (Joensuu) JoKP, 1992–1994 Kiekko-Karhut, 1994–1997 Karhut, 1997–98 Tappara (Tampere), 1993–94 & 1997–2008 JyP HT (Jyväskylä) JyP HT, 1989–1997 JYP, 1997–2000 IHK (Helsinki), 1998–2009 K-Kissat (Helsinki), 1999–2002

2000s JyHC (Jyväskylä) JyHC, 1996–2004 Cats, 2004–2009 KS Noux (Espoo), 2002–03 Y-Ilves (Ylöjärvi), 2002–2004 Team China, 2005–2007 LoKV (Lohja), 2008–2012 Salo HT (Salo), 2008–2013 APV (Alavus), 2009–10 & 2019–20 KJT (Kerava) KJT, 2013–2018 KJT Haukat, 2018–19

Sources:[7][8]

Format

Season format

The season format of the Naisten Liiga has changed many times over the league’s history. The format described here was introduced for the 2019–20 season.[9]

Preliminaries

The preliminaries (Finnish: Alkusarja, lit. 'initial series') are played as a double round-robin plus a two-game Opening Weekend Tournament; each of the ten teams plays a total of twenty matches. Points are awarded by match outcome: three points for a regulation win, two points for an overtime win, one point for an overtime loss, and no points/zero points for a regulation loss. The points earned in the opening series determine which division a team will be sorted for the continuation of the season.

Regular season

The regular season, also called the upper division series (Finnish: Ylempi jatkosarja), is played by the top six teams from the preliminaries. Like the preliminaries, the series is played as a double round-robin, with each team playing a total of ten games. All six teams in the regular season are guaranteed placement in the playoffs; the cumulative points earned in the thirty games of the preliminaries and regular season are used to establish the teams' playoff berths, from first to sixth. Only points scored in the upper division series are considered when determining the players who will receive the Marianne Ihalainen Award, for most regular season points earned, and the Tiia Reima Award, for most regular season goals scored; players in the lower division series ineligible for the awards.

Lower division series

The bottom four teams from the preliminary series move on to the lower division series (Finnish: Alempi jatkosarja), where they are joined by the top two teams from the cross-qualifiers (Finnish: Ristiinkarsinta) of the Naisten Mestis, the league directly below Naisten Liiga. The lower division series teams compete for the seventh and eighth seed positions in the playoffs; only the top two ranked teams from the lower division earn placement in the playoffs. Unlike the regular season, all lower division teams start the divisional series with zero points, only points earned in the series are considered when the teams are ranked.

Qualifiers

The lower division teams ranked third through sixth continue on to the qualifiers (Finnish: Karsintasarja). The points earned in the six qualifying series games are added to the points totals from the lower division series. The two teams with the highest point totals qualify for the following Naisten Liiga season, the two lower ranked teams are relegated to or remain in the Naisten Mestis for the following season.

Game format

A regulation game is sixty minutes in length, played over three 20-minute periods. In the event of a tie at the end of regulation time the winner is decided by a five-minute-length, three-skaters-per-side overtime period. If the game remains tied after the overtime period, the teams proceed to a shootout, in which each team designates three skaters to take penalty shots, one at a time, against the opposing goaltender. Teams alternate shots and each team takes one shot per round. The winner is the team with more goals after three rounds or the team that amasses an unreachable advantage before the third round. If the shootout is tied after three rounds, tie-breaker rounds are played one at a time until there is a winner.

Champions

All-time medal count

  – team currently in league

Team
Kiekko-Espoo[lower-alpha 1]	14	2	8
Tampereen Ilves	10	12	6
Oulun Kärpät	3	7	7
Shakers Kerava	3	4	1
JYP Jyväskaylä[lower-alpha 2]	3	4	0
Helsingin Jääkiekkoklubi (HJK)	2	1	1
Etelä-Vantaan Urheilijat (EVU)	1	5	1
Hämeenlinnan Pallokerho (HPK)	1	1	4
Itä-Helsingin Kiekko (IHK)	0	1	0
HIFK/Stadin Gimmat	0	0	2
Kalevan Pallo (KalPa)	0	0	3
Saimaan Pallo (SaiPa)	0	0	1
Vaasan Sport	0	0	1
Team Kuortane	0	0	1

Notes:

1. Includes record of Espoo Blues, Espoo United, and Espoon Kiekkoseura (EKS)
2. Includes record of JyP HT

Sources:[10][11][12]

Women's Finnish Champions by season

Naisten Liiga logo, 2017–2020

Season	Champion	Runner-up	Third Place
1982–83	HJK Helsinki	Ilves Tampere	EVU Vantaa
1983–84	HJK Helsinki	EVU Vantaa	Ilves Tampere
1984–85	Ilves Tampere	EVU Vantaa	HJK Helsinki
1985–86	Ilves Tampere	HJK Helsinki	Vaasan Sport
1986–87	Ilves Tampere	EVU Vantaa	Shakers Kerava
1987–88	Ilves Tampere	EVU Vantaa	HIFK Helsinki
1988–89	EVU Vantaa	Ilves Tampere	HIFK Helsinki
1989–90	Ilves Tampere	EVU Vantaa	SaiPa Lappeenranta
1990–91	Ilves Tampere	Shakers Kerava	EKS Espoo[lower-alpha 1]
1991–92	Ilves Tampere	Shakers Kerava	EKS Espoo[lower-alpha 1]
1992–93	Ilves Tampere	Shakers Kerava	Kiekko-Espoo
1993–94	Shakers Kerava	Ilves Tampere	Kiekko-Espoo
1994–95	Shakers Kerava	Ilves Tampere	KalPa Kuopio
1995–96	Shakers Kerava	Oulun Kärpät	KalPa Kuopio
1996–97	JyP HT Jyväskylä[lower-alpha 2]	Shakers Kerava	Kiekko-Espoo
1997–98	JYP Jyväskylä	Oulun Kärpät	Kiekko-Espoo
1998–99	Espoo Blues[lower-alpha 1]	JYP Jyväskylä	Ilves Tampere
1999-2000	Espoo Blues[lower-alpha 1]	Oulun Kärpät	Ilves Tampere
2000–01	Espoo Blues[lower-alpha 1]	Oulun Kärpät	Ilves Tampere
2001–02	Espoo Blues[lower-alpha 1]	IHK Helsinki	Oulun Kärpät
2002–03	Espoo Blues[lower-alpha 1]	Oulun Kärpät	Ilves Tampere
2003–04	Espoo Blues[lower-alpha 1]	Ilves Tampere	Oulun Kärpät
2004–05	Espoo Blues[lower-alpha 1]	Ilves Tampere	Oulun Kärpät
2005–06	Ilves Tampere	Oulun Kärpät	Espoo Blues[lower-alpha 1]
2006–07	Espoo Blues[lower-alpha 1]	Oulun Kärpät	IHK Helsinki
2007–08	Espoo Blues[lower-alpha 1]	Ilves Tampere	Oulun Kärpät
2008–09	Espoo Blues[lower-alpha 1]	Ilves Tampere	HPK Hämeenlinna
2009–10	Ilves Tampere	Espoo Blues[lower-alpha 1]	HPK Hämeenlinna
2010–11	HPK Hämeenlinna	Ilves Tampere	Oulun Kärpät
2011–12	Oulun Kärpät	Ilves Tampere	HPK Hämeenlinna
2012–13	Espoo Blues[lower-alpha 1]	JYP Jyväskylä	Oulun Kärpät
2013–14	Espoo Blues[lower-alpha 1]	JYP Jyväskylä	HPK Hämeenlinna
2014–15	Espoo Blues[lower-alpha 1]	JYP Jyväskylä	Ilves Tampere
2015–16	JYP Jyväskylä	HPK Hämeenlinna	Espoo Blues[lower-alpha 1]
2016–17	Oulun Kärpät	Espoo United[lower-alpha 1]	KalPa Kuopio
2017–18	Oulun Kärpät	Ilves Tampere	Team Kuortane
2018–19	Espoo Blues[lower-alpha 1]	Ilves Tampere	Oulun Kärpät
2019–20[lower-alpha 3]	Post-season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic.

Notes:

1. Included in record of Kiekko-Espoo
2. Included in record of JYP
3. The 2019–20 Naisten Liiga post-season was cancelled by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association on 12 March 2020, citing public health concerns regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. The Aurora Borealis Cup Finnish Championship finals between Kiekko-Espoo and KalPa and the Finnish Championship Bronze Medal games between Team Kuortane and Kärpät were scheduled to begin on 14 March 2020. With the cancellation of the season, neither the Aurora Borealis Cup nor any Finnish Championship medals were awarded for the 2019–20 season.[13]

Sources:[10][11][12][14]

League records

All-time records of the Naisten SM-sarja and Naisten Liiga combined, from 1982–83 through the conclusion of the 2019–20 season.[15]

Single-season records

• Most goals in a season: Riikka Sallinen, 73 goals (21 games; 1993–94, Shakers Kerava)
• Most assists in a season: Jenni Hiirikoski, 62 assists (28 games; 2015–16, JYP Jyväskylä)
• Most points in a season: Riikka Sallinen, 129 points (21 games; 1993–94, Shakers Kerava)
• Most points in a season, defenceman: Jenni Hiirikoski, 79 points (29 games; 2015–16, JYP Jyväskylä )
• Most penalty minutes in a season: Jenna Grönroos, 98 PIM (15 games; 2011–12, LoKV)

Career records

• Most career games played, skater: Riikka Noronen, 596 games (1995–2020)
• Most career goals: Karoliina Rantamäki, 361 goals (356 games; 1992–2020)
• Most career assists: Riikka Noronen, 417 assists (596 games; 1995–2020)
• Most career points: Riikka Noronen, 730 points (596 games; 1995–2020)
• Best career points per game, over 30 games played: Michelle Karvinen, 3.667 points per game (39 games; 2007–2009)
• Most career points, defenceman: Päivi Halonen, 495 points (401 games; 1982–2006)
• Most career penalty minutes: Rosa Lindstedt, 483 PIM (314 games; 2002–2016)
• Most career games played, goaltender: Susanna Airaksinen, 209 games (2009–2020)

All-time scoring leaders

The top-ten point-scorers in Naisten SM-sarja/Naisten Liiga history.

Note: Nat = Nationality; Pos = Position; S = Seasons played; GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; P/G = Points per game;   = current Naisten Liiga player

Points

Nat	Player	Pos	S	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
	Riikka Noronen	F	25	596	313	417	730	420
	Linda Välimäki Leppänen	F	16	332	360	342	702	176
	Karoliina Rantamäki	F	16	356	361	295	656	100
	Petra Vaarakallio	F	13	286	280	351	631	142
	Tiia Reima	F	20	332	330	272	602	352
	Marianne Ihalainen	F	19	323	320	282	602	152
	Sari Fisk Marjamäki	F	23	401	339	253	592	158
	Anne Helin	F	14	276	327	222	549	260
	Johanna Koivula	F	21	523	205	319	524	337
	Annina Rajahuhta	F	15	299	223	283	506	218

Source(s): Jääkiekkokirja 2021[15]

See also

• Women's ice hockey in Finland
• Finland women's national ice hockey team
• Swedish Women's Hockey League

References

1. Foster, Meredith (21 March 2017). "Finnish Women's Hockey League Unveils New Name, Logo". The Ice Garden. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
2. Finnish Ice Hockey Association, ed. (21 March 2017). "Naisten SM-sarja historiaan - Ensi kaudella pelataan Naisten Liigaa". leijonat.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 28 June 2019.
3. Foster, Meredith (26 March 2019). "The Espoo Blues are the 2019 Aurora Borealis Cup Champions". The Ice Garden. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
4. Foster, Meredith (24 March 2017). "Women's Pro Hockey in Finland Tries to Get More Spotlight". The Victory Press. Retrieved 27 June 2019.
5. Aykroyd, Lucas (29 March 2019). "Women's Worlds media round-table". International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). Retrieved 28 June 2019.
6. Teiskonlahti, Kirsi (11 September 2018). "Naiskiekon arvostus on kasvanut, mutta ihannetilanteeseen on Suomessa vielä pitkä matka – kehitys vaatii hurmosta ja SM-liigaseurojen apua" [Appreciation for women's hockey has increased but it is far from an ideal situation in Finland - development will require funds and assistance from Liiga clubs] (in Finnish). YLE Sport. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
7. Hunter, Andria (2008). "Finnish Women's Hockey League Results: 1990-91 to 1994-95". whockey.com. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
8. Aaltonen, Juha, ed. (2019). Jääkiekkokirja: Suomen Jääkiekkoliiton ja Liigan Virallinen Kausijulkaisu 2019–2020 [The Ice Hockey Book: The Finnish Ice Hockey Association and Liiga Official Guide & Record Book 2019–2020] (PDF) (in Finnish). Layout by Joonas Ahola. Jääkiekon SM-liiga Oy & Suomen Jääkiekkoliito. Annamedia Oy. ISSN 0784-3321. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
9. "Sarjatoiminta: Sarjojen pelaamistavat miehet, naiset ja A–C nuoret: Kaavio Naisten Sarjat 19-20" (in Finnish). Finnish Ice Hockey Association. June 2019. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
10. "Liiga (W)". Elite Prospects. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
11. "Compétitions nationales: Finlande hockey féminin 1997-98 to 2014-15". Hockey Archives (in French). Retrieved 6 July 2019.
12. "Naisten Liiga details". eurohockey.com. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
13. Mennander, Pasi (12 March 2020). "Koronavirus lopettaa Jääkiekkoliiton alaisten sarjojen kauden". leijonat.fi (in Finnish). Finnish Ice Hockey Association. Archived from the original on 24 March 2020. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
14. Salmela, Sari; Pelkonen, Johanna (2008). "SM-sarjan historiaa vuosilta 1982 - 2008" [History of the SM-sarja from 1982 to 2008]. leijonat.fi (in Finnish). Archived from the original on 6 September 2008. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
15. Suomen Jääkiekkoliitto; Jääkiekkon SM-liiga Oy (2020). Aaltonen, Juha (ed.). Jääkiekkokirja 2021: Suomen Jääkiekkoliiton ja Liiga Kausijulkaisu 2020–2021 [Ice Hockey Book 2021: The Finnish Ice Hockey Association and Liiga Guide & Record Book 2020–2021] (PDF) (in Finnish). Helsinki: Uusi Suomi/Kiekkolehti. p. 237. ISSN 0784-3321.

External links

• Official website (in Finnish)
• League information and statistics from Eliteprospects.com and Eurohockey.com and Hockeyarchives.info (in French)