Savonlinna is a town in Finland, located in the eastern interior of the country. It lies in the Finnish Lakeland, the South Savo region. The population of Savonlinna is approximately 32,000, while the sub-region has a population of approximately 39,000. It is the 36th most populous municipality in Finland.
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.
Porin Ässät, officially named Hockey Club Ässät Pori and colloquially known as Pata, is a professional ice hockey club based in Pori, Finland. It competes in the SM-liiga, the highest-ranking league of ice hockey in Finland. Since 1971, Ässät has played its games in the Isomäki Ice Hall.
Mestis is the second-highest men's ice hockey league in Finland. The league was established by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association in 2000 to replace the I-divisioona.
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.
SM-Sarja was the top level of ice hockey in Finland from 1928 to 1975. SM-sarja is a common abbreviation for Suomen mestaruussarja, "Finnish Championship Series".
Heinolan Peliitat is an ice hockey club based in Heinola, Finland. The club is made up of 11 teams with the top team playing in the 2. Divisioona, the 4th tier of ice hockey in Finland. They play their home games in the Versowood Areena, which has a capacity of 2,975. The club is affiliated with the Liiga side Lahti Pelicans.
Pekka Tirkkonen is a Finnish ice hockey coach and former professional ice hockey player. He most recently served as head coach of EHC Kloten of the National League (NL). Tirkkonen was selected by the Boston Bruins in the 2nd round of the 1986 NHL Entry Draft.
Paavo Juhani Tirkkonen was a Finnish ice hockey defenceman and Olympian.
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.
The 2016–17 Mestis season was the 17th season of Mestis, the second highest level of ice hockey in Finland after Liiga. Previous seasons champion Jukurit got a place in the Liiga. IPK got promoted from Suomi-sarja at the end of last season. Espoo United got a place in Mestis after Espoo Blues suffered bankruptcy and the league was exceptionally played with 13 teams.
The 2018–19 Mestis season is the 19th season of Mestis, the second highest level of ice hockey in Finland after Liiga. KOOVEE was promoted from Suomi-sarja due to Espoo United declaring bankruptcy at the end of last season.
Ice hockey is the most popular sport in Finland in terms of television viewership and game attendance figures. It is third most popular sport in participation amongst children. As of 2020, approximately 1.3% of the Finnish population was registered with the International Ice Hockey Federation, ranking Finland second in the world for percentage of population participating in ice hockey and the highest percentage of any country outside of North America.
Naisten Mestis is the second-highest women's ice hockey league in Finland. The league was founded as Naisten I-divisioona in 1985 by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association, when the number of teams playing in the Naisten SM-sarja was limited. It was renamed Naisten Mestis prior to the 2012–13 season.
Vaasan Sport Naiset were a women's ice hockey team in Finland. They played in Vaasa, on the west coast of Finland, at the Vaasan Sähkö Areena. Founded in 1983, the team most recently played in the Naisten Liiga from the 2018–19 season until being relegated at the conclusion of the 2021–22 season. The team was dissolved following relegation.
Porin Ässät was a football club from Pori, Finland. It was established in 1967 as two local sports clubs Karhut and RU-38 merged. The football section was dissolved in 1981 and today Ässät is known as an ice hockey club.
Teemu Lepaus is a Finnish professional ice hockey player who plays for Bietigheim Steelers in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). He also plays roller in-line hockey last time playing for Team Haippi winning the Finnish championships. He has also played for the Finnish men's team winning silver in 2017 world championships.
The Naisten Suomi-sarja, distinguished as the Jääkiekon naisten Suomi-sarja, is the third-tier women's ice hockey league in Finland. It was established by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association in 2003 and is the lowest tier of national ice hockey competition, below the premier Naisten Liiga and secondary Naisten Mestis, but above regional leagues.
The 1967–68 Porin Ässät season was the club's inaugural season. Ässät had been formed after a merger with Porin Karhut and RU-38 in June 1967 and would compete in the top-tier of ice hockey in Finland, the SM-sarja. Ässät inherited Karhut's place in the 1967 Finnish Cup, which it won after beating SaPKo 7–0 in the final. Ässät also inherited RU-38's place in the IIHF European Cup, as RU-38 had won the Finnish Championship 1967.
