SaiPa

Saimaan Pallo (SaiPa) is an ice hockey team in the Finnish Liiga. They play their home games at Kisapuisto in Lappeenranta, Finland. SaiPa has many nicknames, such as "The Sputniks", "Sputnik", "miracle of the East" and "East giant."

SaiPa
CityLappeenranta, Finland
LeagueLiiga
Founded1948 (1948)
Home arenaKisapuisto
(capacity: 4,820)
ColoursYellow, black
   
General manager Jussi Markkanen
Head coach Tero Lehterä
Captain Jarno Koskiranta
Websitewww.saipa.fi

SaiPa play home games in the yellow shirt, black pants, yellow socks, and a black helmet. SaiPa play away games in mostly the same costumes as the home games, but also have a black version of the jersey.

History

The team's best achievement is from the 1965-1966 season, when they won bronze medals for placing third. SaiPa also played in a bronze medal game in the 1998–1999 and 2013–14 seasons, but lost the games to HPK (7–2) and Lukko (3–2).

SaiPa has participated twice in the Champions Hockey League. During the 2014-2015 season, the team survived the quarterfinals, where they lost the return match against Oulun Kärpät. During the 2016-2017 season, SaiPa won their initial games by 11 points. Eisbären Berlin and Luleå HF were the runners-up.

SaiPa has produced seven players who have played in the National Hockey League (NHL): Antti Aalto, Jussi Markkanen, Petteri Nokelainen, Petri Skriko, Jussi Timonen, Vesa Viitakoski, and Niklas Bäckström. Jussi Markkanen is also a part owner of the club.

Honours

Domestic

SM-sarja

Pre-season

Finnish Cup

  • Runners-up (3): 1958, 1965, 1971

Players

Current roster

Source: eliteprospects.com[1]As of December 19, 2020.

# Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace
49 David Bernhardt D L 23 2019 Huddinge, Sweden
7 Mário Grman D R 23 2019 Topoľčany, Slovakia
62 Rasmus Hämäläinen RW L 26 2020 Lappeenranta, Finland
4 Jimi Jalonen D R 24 2019 Rauma, Finland
72 Elmeri Kaksonen (A) LW L 33 2015 Savonlinna, Finland
76 Leevi Karjalainen D L 20 2018 Helsinki, Finland
26 Markus Kojo (A) D L 26 2017 Noormarkku, Finland
40 Jarno Koskiranta (C) C L 34 2020 Paimio, Finland
16 Filip Krivošík C R 21 2020 Bratislava, Slovakia
19 Jaakko Lantta C R 24 2020 Valkeala, Finland
29 Veikko Loimaranta C L 20 2019 Vantaa, Finland
10 Matias Mäntykivi C L 19 2018 Lappeenranta, Finland
13 Joni Nikko LW L 26 2016 Vaasa, Finland
6 Joel Olkkonen D R 28 2019 Hyvinkää, Finland
23 Ville Petman C L 21 2020 Lappeenranta, Finland
12 Topi Piipponen LW L 23 2019 Siilinjärvi, Finland
38 Simo-Pekka Riikola D R 29 2019 Joensuu, Finland
10 Micke Saari LW L 26 2019 Kirkkonummi, Finland
30 Matej Tomek G L 23 2020 Bratislava, Slovakia
80 Ville Vainikainen RW L 27 2019 Kuopio, Finland
45 Veeti Vainio D R 23 2018 Espoo, Finland
22 Santeri Virtanen C L 21 2018 Kirkkonummi, Finland
53 Niclas Westerholm G L 23 2017 Helsinki, Finland
67 Tomáš Záborský LW L 33 2019 Trenčín, Slovakia

Retired numbers
50th anniversary of SaiPa's 1965-1966 bronze medal team

NHL alumni

References
  1. "Team Roster / SaiPa". www.eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 2019-01-28.
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