Aurora Borealis Cup

The Aurora Borealis Cup (Finnish: Aurora Borealis -malja) is the trophy awarded to the women's ice hockey Finnish Champion, the victorious team of the Naisten Liiga playoffs. The Aurora Borealis Cup was created to honor the quality of play in Naisten Liiga and as a symbol of support in the promotion of women's ice hockey.[1]

Aurora Borealis Cup
SportIce hockey
CompetitionNaisten Liiga playoffs
Given forNaisten Liiga playoff champion
Local nameAurora Borealis -malja  (Finnish)
NicknameTyttö “The Girl”
CountryFinland
Presented byFinnish Ice Hockey Association
History
First award2011
Editions9
First winnerHPK Hämeenlinna
Most winsKiekko-Espoo (4)
Most recentKiekko-Espoo, 2019

Project

The trophy had its genesis in a moment of inspiration that struck Christopher Shapardanov, Canadian Ambassador to Finland, in September 2009, after a visit to the Suomen Jääkiekkomuseon (Finnish Ice Hockey Museum) in Tampere and conversation with Kimmo Leinonen, chairman of the Suomen Jääkiekkomuseoyhdistys ry:n (Finnish Ice Hockey Mueseum Association), and Jyrki Lumme.

The project was then commissioned through the fundraising efforts of the Finnish-Canadian community with significant financial contributions from Osuuspankki.[2] Several Canadian former players, including Sami Jo Small and Darren Boyko, contributed to fundraising efforts and other aspects of implementation of the project.

The design and manufacture was executed by Toronto-based Awardco. The completed Aurora Borealis Cup was presented by Ambassador Shapardanov and received by Kalervo Kummola, Chairman of the Finnish Ice Hockey Association, on 21 March 2011.[3] An exact replica of the Aurora Borealis Cup was also given to the Suomen Jääkiekkomuseon, where it's on permanent display in a place of prominence opposite the original Kanada-malja.

Design

The design of the trophy pays homage to the natural and cultural similarities between Finland and Canada. Both Arctic nations are renowned for the ability to observe the Aurora Borealis, also called the Northern Lights, after which the cup is named. Likewise, the choice of materials celebrate the countries' natural affinity. The metal elements of the trophy are Canadian silver, the wood is maple, and a ring of labradorite circles the foot of the cup. The cup itself depicts the Northern Lights over a coniferous forest landscape. Text documenting the donation of the trophy is engraved in four languages on the upper tier of the base to highlight the official bilingualism of each country; the text appears in Finnish and Swedish, the official languages of Finland, and in English and French, the official languages of Canada. The lower tiers of the base feature 60 metal plates, originally intended to be engraved with the names of the champion teams until the plates were filled in 2070.[4]

Past winners
Season Champion* Finalist Bronze
2010-11 HPK Hämeenlinna Ilves Tampere Oulun Kärpät
2011-12 Oulun Kärpät Ilves Tampere HPK Hämeenlinna
2012-13 Espoo Blues[lower-greek 1] JYP Jyväskylä Oulun Kärpät
2013-14 Espoo Blues JYP Jyväskylä HPK Hämeenlinna
2014-15 Espoo Blues[lower-greek 1] JYP Jyväskylä Ilves Tampere
2015-16 JYP Jyväskylä HPK Hämeenlinna Espoo Blues[lower-greek 1]
2016-17 Oulun Kärpät Espoo United[lower-greek 1] KalPa Kuopio
2017-18 Oulun Kärpät Ilves Tampere Team Kuortane
2018-19 Espoo Blues[lower-greek 1] Ilves Tampere Oulun Kärpät
2019–20 Not awarded. Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic.[lower-greek 2]
  1. Included in the record of Kiekko-Espoo
  2. The playoff semifinals had concluded when the season was canceled and the Finnish Championship final would have been contested by Kiekko-Espoo and KalPa Kuopio. The third-place game would have been played by Kärpät Oulu and Team Kuortane.

References
  1. "Aurora Borealis Cup Community Page". Facebook. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  2. "Naisten SM-sarja saa oman "Kanada-maljan"". MTV Uutiset (in Finnish). 21 March 2011. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  3. Finnish Ice Hockey Association, ed. (21 March 2011). "Tältä se näyttää - Aurora Borealis -malja julkistettiin!" [Here it is - the Aurora Borealis Cup has been revealed!]. leijonat.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  4. Mennander, Pasi (3 December 2013). "15 faktaa Aurora Borealis -maljasta" [Fifteen facts about the Aurora Borealis Cup]. leijonat.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 4 July 2019.
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