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.

For the women's football league previously called the Naisten Liiga, see Kansallinen Liiga.

Naisten Liiga
Current season, competition or edition:
2020–21 Naisten Liiga season
FormerlyNaisten SM-sarja
1982–2017
SportIce hockey
Founded1982
Inaugural seasonas Naisten SM-sarja,
1982–83
as Naisten Liiga,
2017–18
AdministratorFinnish Ice Hockey Association
No. of teams10 in Preliminaries
6 in Regular season, 6 in Lower division series
Country Finland
Most recent
champion(s)		Kiekko-Espoo
(2019)
Most titlesKiekko-Espoo (14)
TV partner(s)Ruutu
Fanseat
Relegation toNaisten Mestis
Domestic cup(s)Aurora Borealis Cup
International cup(s)European Women's Champions Cup
Official websiteleijonat.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
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

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
Further information: Ice hockey

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]1428
Tampereen Ilves10126
Oulun Kärpät377
Shakers Kerava341
JYP Jyväskaylä[lower-alpha 2]340
Helsingin Jääkiekkoklubi (HJK)211
Etelä-Vantaan Urheilijat (EVU)151
Hämeenlinnan Pallokerho (HPK)114
Itä-Helsingin Kiekko (IHK)010
HIFK/Stadin Gimmat002
Kalevan Pallo (KalPa)003
Saimaan Pallo (SaiPa)001
Vaasan Sport001
Team Kuortane001

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
1982–83HJK HelsinkiIlves TampereEVU Vantaa
1983–84HJK HelsinkiEVU VantaaIlves Tampere
1984–85Ilves TampereEVU VantaaHJK Helsinki
1985–86Ilves TampereHJK HelsinkiVaasan Sport
1986–87Ilves TampereEVU VantaaShakers Kerava
1987–88Ilves TampereEVU VantaaHIFK Helsinki
1988–89EVU VantaaIlves TampereHIFK Helsinki
1989–90Ilves TampereEVU VantaaSaiPa Lappeenranta
1990–91Ilves TampereShakers KeravaEKS Espoo[lower-alpha 1]
1991–92Ilves TampereShakers KeravaEKS Espoo[lower-alpha 1]
1992–93Ilves TampereShakers KeravaKiekko-Espoo
1993–94Shakers KeravaIlves TampereKiekko-Espoo
1994–95Shakers KeravaIlves TampereKalPa Kuopio
1995–96Shakers KeravaOulun KärpätKalPa Kuopio
1996–97JyP HT Jyväskylä[lower-alpha 2]Shakers KeravaKiekko-Espoo
1997–98JYP JyväskyläOulun KärpätKiekko-Espoo
1998–99Espoo Blues[lower-alpha 1]JYP JyväskyläIlves Tampere
1999-2000Espoo Blues[lower-alpha 1]Oulun KärpätIlves Tampere
2000–01Espoo Blues[lower-alpha 1]Oulun KärpätIlves Tampere
2001–02Espoo Blues[lower-alpha 1]IHK HelsinkiOulun Kärpät
2002–03Espoo Blues[lower-alpha 1]Oulun KärpätIlves Tampere
2003–04Espoo Blues[lower-alpha 1]Ilves TampereOulun Kärpät
2004–05Espoo Blues[lower-alpha 1]Ilves TampereOulun Kärpät
2005–06Ilves TampereOulun KärpätEspoo Blues[lower-alpha 1]
2006–07Espoo Blues[lower-alpha 1]Oulun KärpätIHK Helsinki
2007–08Espoo Blues[lower-alpha 1]Ilves TampereOulun Kärpät
2008–09Espoo Blues[lower-alpha 1]Ilves TampereHPK Hämeenlinna
2009–10Ilves TampereEspoo Blues[lower-alpha 1]HPK Hämeenlinna
2010–11HPK HämeenlinnaIlves TampereOulun Kärpät
2011–12Oulun KärpätIlves TampereHPK Hämeenlinna
2012–13Espoo Blues[lower-alpha 1]JYP JyväskyläOulun Kärpät
2013–14Espoo Blues[lower-alpha 1]JYP JyväskyläHPK Hämeenlinna
2014–15Espoo Blues[lower-alpha 1]JYP JyväskyläIlves Tampere
2015–16JYP JyväskyläHPK HämeenlinnaEspoo Blues[lower-alpha 1]
2016–17Oulun KärpätEspoo United[lower-alpha 1]KalPa Kuopio
2017–18Oulun KärpätIlves TampereTeam Kuortane
2018–19Espoo Blues[lower-alpha 1]Ilves TampereOulun 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 PlayerPos SGPGAPtsPIM
Riikka NoronenF 25596313 417730420
Linda Välimäki LeppänenF 16332360342 702 176
Karoliina RantamäkiF 16356361 295 656 100
Petra VaarakallioF 13286280 351 631 142
Tiia ReimaF 20332 330 272 602 352
Marianne IhalainenF 19323 320 282 602 152
Sari Fisk MarjamäkiF 23401 339 253 592 158
Anne HelinF 14276 327 222 549 260
Johanna KoivulaF 21523 205 319 524 337
Annina RajahuhtaF 15299 223 283 506 218

Source(s): Jääkiekkokirja 2021[15]

See also

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.
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