 | |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
|---|---|
| Competition | Naisten Liiga playoffs |
| Nickname | Tyttö ('The Girl') |
| Presented by | Finnish Ice Hockey Association |
| History | |
| First winner | HPK Hämeenlinna |
| Most wins | Kiekko-Espoo (6) |
| Most recent | HIFK Helsinki, 2024 |
The Aurora Borealis Cup (Finnish : Aurora Borealis -malja) is the trophy awarded by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association to the victorious team of the Naisten Liiga playoffs, the Finnish Champion in women's ice hockey.
Christopher Shapardanov, Canadian Ambassador to Finland, first conceived of the Aurora Borealis Cup in September 2009, after a visit to the Finnish Ice Hockey Museum (Finnish : Suomen Jääkiekkomuseo) in Tampere and conversation with Jyrki Lumme and Kimmo Leinonen, chairman of the Finnish Ice Hockey Museum Association (Finnish : Suomen Jääkiekkomuseoyhdistys ry). The project was motivated my a desire to honor the quality of play in Naisten Liiga and as a symbol of support in the promotion of women's ice hockey. [1]
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 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 Jääkiekkomuseo, where it's on permanent display in a place of prominence opposite the original Kanada-malja . [4]
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. [5]
Prior to the introduction of the Aurora Borealis Cup, the Naisten SM-sarja champion received the Sammon -malja. [6] The Sammon -malja was first awarded in 1983 at the conclusion of the inaugural Naisten SM-sarja season to Helsingin Jääkiekkoklubi (HJK) and it was used continuously through the 2009–10 season. [7] The trophy was retired in the spring of 2011 and is now on display at the Suomen Jääkiekkomuseo. [6]
As champions of the 2011 Naisten SM-sarja playoffs, HPK Hämeenlinna were the first team to receive the Aurora Borealis Cup.
Notes: As they are various names of the same franchise, the records of Espoon Kiekkoseura (EKS), Espoo Blues, and Espoo United are all included in the history of Kiekko-Espoo. The club Jyväskylän Palloilijat Hockey Team (JyP HT) updated its name to JYP in 1997 and the record of JyP HT is included in the history of JYP.
| Season |  Champion |  Runner-up |  Third Place |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sammon -malja | |||
| 1983 | HJK Helsinki | Ilves Tampere | EVU Vantaa |
| 1984 | HJK Helsinki | EVU Vantaa | Ilves Tampere |
| 1985 | Ilves Tampere | EVU Vantaa | HJK Helsinki |
| 1986 | Ilves Tampere | HJK Helsinki | Vaasan Sport |
| 1987 | Ilves Tampere | EVU Vantaa | Shakers Kerava |
| 1988 | Ilves Tampere | EVU Vantaa | HIFK Helsinki |
| 1989 | EVU Vantaa | Ilves Tampere | HIFK Helsinki |
| 1990 | Ilves Tampere | EVU Vantaa | SaiPa Lappeenranta |
| 1991 | Ilves Tampere | Shakers Kerava | EKS Espoo |
| 1992 | Ilves Tampere | Shakers Kerava | EKS Espoo |
| 1993 | Ilves Tampere | Shakers Kerava | Kiekko-Espoo |
| 1994 | Shakers Kerava | Ilves Tampere | Kiekko-Espoo |
| 1995 | Shakers Kerava | Ilves Tampere | KalPa Kuopio |
| 1996 | Shakers Kerava | Oulun Kärpät | KalPa Kuopio |
| 1997 | JyP HT Jyväskylä | Shakers Kerava | Kiekko-Espoo |
| 1998 | JYP Jyväskylä | Oulun Kärpät | Kiekko-Espoo |
| 1999 | Espoo Blues | JYP Jyväskylä | Ilves Tampere |
| 2000 | Espoo Blues | Oulun Kärpät | Ilves Tampere |
| 2001 | Espoo Blues | Oulun Kärpät | Ilves Tampere |
| 2002 | Espoo Blues | IHK Helsinki | Oulun Kärpät |
| 2003 | Espoo Blues | Oulun Kärpät | Ilves Tampere |
| 2004 | Espoo Blues | Ilves Tampere | Oulun Kärpät |
| 2005 | Espoo Blues | Ilves Tampere | Oulun Kärpät |
| 2006 | Ilves Tampere | Oulun Kärpät | Espoo Blues |
| 2007 | Espoo Blues | Oulun Kärpät | IHK Helsinki |
| 2008 | Espoo Blues | Ilves Tampere | Oulun Kärpät |
| 2009 | Espoo Blues | Ilves Tampere | HPK Hämeenlinna |
| 2010 | Ilves Tampere | Espoo Blues | HPK Hämeenlinna |
| Aurora Borealis Cup | |||
| 2011 | HPK Hämeenlinna | Ilves Tampere | Oulun Kärpät |
| 2012 | Oulun Kärpät | Ilves Tampere | HPK Hämeenlinna |
| 2013 | Espoo Blues | JYP Jyväskylä | Oulun Kärpät |
| 2014 | Espoo Blues | JYP Jyväskylä | HPK Hämeenlinna |
| 2015 | Espoo Blues | JYP Jyväskylä | Ilves Tampere |
| 2016 | JYP Jyväskylä | HPK Hämeenlinna | Espoo Blues |
| 2017 | Oulun Kärpät | Espoo United | KalPa Kuopio |
| 2018 | Oulun Kärpät | Ilves Tampere | Team Kuortane |
| 2019 | Espoo Blues | Ilves Tampere | Oulun Kärpät |
| 2020 | Post-season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic. [lower-alpha 1] | ||
| 2021 | Kiekko-Espoo | KalPa Kuopio | HIFK Helsinki |
| 2022 | Kiekko-Espoo | HIFK Helsinki | Oulun Kärpät |
| 2023 | HIFK Helsinki | Kiekko-Espoo | KalPa Kuopio |
| 2024 | HIFK Helsinki | Kiekko-Espoo | KalPa Kuopio |
Sources: [9]
Kiekko-Espoo Naiset are an ice hockey team in the Naisten Liiga. They play in the Tapiola district of Espoo, Finland at the harjoitusareena of the Tapiolan urheilupuisto. The team was founded as Espoon Kiekkoseura or EKS in 1989 and has also been known as Espoo Blues Naiset and Espoo United Naiset during its tenure in the Naisten Liiga. Kiekko-Espoo have won the Aurora Borealis Cup as the Finnish Champions in women's ice hockey sixteen times, six more wins than any other team in league history; at least one Finnish Championship medal was won under each of the four names.
The U20 SM-sarja is the premier junior men’s ice hockey league in Finland. It was previously known as the A-nuorten SM-sarja during 1945 to 1991 and the Nuorten SM-liiga during 1991 to 2020. The league was founded by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association in 1945 and a Finnish Champion in men’s under-20 ice hockey has been named annually since the league’s inaugural season – with the exception of the 2019–20 season, in which the playoffs were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Eighteen to twenty teams compete in the U20 SM-sarja regular season, which is played in a preliminary ranking stage followed by a divisional or group stage.
Ella Viitasuo is a Finnish ice hockey player and member of the Finnish national team. She most recently played during the 2022–23 season with HV71 of the Swedish Women's Hockey League (SDHL).
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Naisten Liiga, also called the Naisten SM-liiga (NSML) and Jääkiekon naisten SM-liiga, is the elite league for women's ice hockey in Finland. Founded by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association as the Naisten SM-sarja in 1982, it was so known until being rebranded as the Naisten Liiga in 2017. The league comprises approximately 250 players across ten teams.
HIFK Naiset, also known as Stadin Gimmat, are an ice hockey team in the Finnish Naisten Liiga. They play in the Pirkkola district of Helsinki at the Pirkkolan jäähalli. The team is operated by Oy HIFK-Hockey Ab, the same organization that owns the HIFK men's ice hockey team of the Liiga – HIFK Naiset are one of only two Naisten Liiga teams owned directly by a Liiga team.
HPK Kiekkonaiset or HPK Naiset are an ice hockey team in the Naisten Liiga (NSML), the premier women's ice hockey league in Finland. They play in Hämeenlinna, a city in the Finnish south-central province of Kanta-Häme, at the Hämeenlinnan harjoitushalli, a secondary ice rink at Ritari-areena. HPK were the first team to be awarded the Aurora Borealis Cup as the winners of the Finnish Championship in 2011 and also won bronze in the 2011–12 IIHF European Women's Champions Cup.
The 2019–20 Naisten Liiga season was the thirty-seventh season of the Naisten Liiga, the premier level of women's ice hockey in Finland, since the league’s establishment in 1982.
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The Katja Riipi Award is an ice hockey trophy, seasonally awarded by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association to the best forward of the Naisten Liiga, previously the Naisten SM-sarja. Best forward in the Naisten Liiga was first awarded in the 2005–06 season, to Saara Niemi (née Tuominen). The award was named in honor of Katja Riipi during the 2010–11 season.
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The Aurora Borealis Cup is the hockey trophy awarded annually to the champions of the women's hockey championship series ("SM-sarja") in Finland. ¶ The cup was designed and commissioned in Canada through a fundraising effort among Finnish-Canadian and hockey-loving communities, and gifted to the Finnish Ice Hockey Association in March 2011. It was awarded for the first time during the playoffs of the 2010-11 championship season.
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