Raimo Ilmari Helminen is a Finnish former professional ice hockey player. He is often called "Raipe" or "Maestro" by his fans. He is the world record holder for most international games played by a hockey player, as well as for tied for being the hockey player in the most Olympic Games, and his 26 seasons as a professional is one of the longest careers in professional hockey history. He was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame in 2012.
The SM-liiga, colloquially called the Finnish Elite League in English or FM-ligan in Swedish, is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. It was created in 1975 to replace the SM-sarja, which was fundamentally an amateur league. The SM-liiga is not directly overseen by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association, but the league and association have an agreement of cooperation. SM is a common abbreviation for Suomen mestaruus, "Finnish championship".
Ilves is a Finnish professional ice hockey team based in Tampere. They play in the Liiga at the Tampere Deck Arena.
Tampereen Tappara is a Finnish professional ice hockey team playing in the SM-liiga. They play at Nokia Arena in Tampere, Finland. The team has won 19 Finnish league championships, which makes them the most successful club in Finland. The team continued the traditions of the Tammerfors Bollklub.
Jarmo Pentti Kalevi Myllys is a Finnish former professional ice hockey goaltender. He was drafted by the Minnesota North Stars as their ninth-round pick, #172 overall, in the 1987 NHL Entry Draft. He is currently the goalkeeping coach for Austrian hockey team EC KAC of the EBEL. His jersey number, #35, was retired in Luleå in 2011.
Tampere Ice Stadium is an indoor sports arena in Tampere, Finland. It is primarily used for ice hockey, and it was the former home arena of Ilves and Tappara of the Finnish Liiga, until after the matches both teams played in November 2021, they moved to play the following matches in the new Nokia Arena. Today, the Ice Stadium is currently in use by the Koovee team.
Ari Juhani Sulander, nicknamed Sulo, is a retired Swiss-Finnish professional ice hockey goaltender.
Jukka Pertti Juhani Jalonen is a Finnish professional ice hockey coach and former player. In 2011, 2019 and 2022, he led the Finnish national team to the gold medal in the IIHF World Championship, and at the 2022 Winter Olympics, he coached the team that won Finland's first ever Olympic gold in ice hockey. He was the head coach of Jokerit in the Kontinental Hockey League during 2016–2018 before returning to coach the Finnish national team.
Markus Korhonen is a Finnish former professional ice hockey goaltender and the current goaltending coach of Ilves.
Marika Johanna Lehtimäki is a Finnish retired ice hockey player and former member of the Finnish national ice hockey team. She played 83 international matches with the national team and was on the bronze medal winning rosters in the women's tournament at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano and at the IIHF Women's World Championships in 1990, 1992, and 1994. With the Finnish national team she also won four IIHF European Championship medals, three gold and one bronze.
Eveliina Mäkinen is a Finnish ice hockey goaltender and member of the Finnish national team, currently playing in the SWHL B with EV Zug and intermittently with EHC Sursee in the Swiss men's 2. Liga.
Anna Kilponen is a Finnish ice hockey defenceman, currently playing in the Naisten Liiga (NSML) with the Ilves Tampere. She played four seasons of college ice hockey in the NCAA Division I, two seasons with the North Dakota Fighting Hawks and two seasons with the Quinnipiac Bobcats. Following her college career, she has played in the Swedish Women's Hockey League (SDHL) with Linköping HC, in the Zhenskaya Hockey League (ZhHL) with the KRS Vanke Rays, in the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) with the Metropolitan Riveters, and in the Swiss Women's League with the ZSC Lions Frauen.
Anni Keisala is a Finnish ice hockey goaltender and member of the Finnish national team, currently playing in the Swedish Women's Hockey League (SDHL) with HV71 for the 2023–24 season.
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.
Tampereen Ilves Naiset are an ice hockey team in the Naisten Liiga, the premier women's ice hockey league in Finland. They are the representative women's team of the multi-sport club Ilves, based in Tampere, Pirkanmaa, and their home arena is the Tesoman jäähalli in Tampere's Tesoma district. They are the only team to have iced a team every season since the establishment of the Naisten SM-sarja in 1982. The team ranks second on the list of most Aurora Borealis Cup wins, with ten, and has claimed the most Finnish Championship medals in league history, with ten gold, twelve silver, and six bronze for 28 total medals.
The 2021–22 SM-liiga season was the 47th season of the SM-liiga, the top level of ice hockey in Finland, since the league's formation in 1975.
The 2021–22 Naisten Liiga season was the thirty-ninth season of the Naisten Liiga, the premier level of women's ice hockey in Finland, since the league's establishment as the Naisten SM-sarja in 1982. The season began on 11 September 2021 and concluded on 20 March 2022.
Jenna Suokko is a Finnish ice hockey player, currently playing with the Buffalo Beauts of the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF).
Kimmo Leinonen is a Finnish ice hockey executive and writer. He was the director of public relations and marketing for the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) from 1995 to 2007, and held similar positions for SM-liiga and Ilves. He served as general secretary of the 2012 and 2013 Ice Hockey World Championships co-hosted in Finland and Sweden. He also coached junior ice hockey for Ilves, managed the Ilves Naiset who won three Naisten SM-sarja championships, was a scout for the New York Rangers, and a sports commentator for hockey broadcasts in Finland.
The 2024 Aurora Borealis Cup playoffs or the 2024 Naisten Liiga playoffs is the postseason tournament of the 2023–24 season of the Naisten Liiga. The tournament began on 23 February and the Aurora Borealis Cup was awarded to HIFK Helsinki on 21 March 2024.
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