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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".
TPS or Turun Palloseura is an ice hockey team and 10-time champion of SM-liiga and 1-time champion of SM-sarja. They play in Turku, Finland, at Gatorade Center. In terms of championships, TPS is the second all-time most successful team in SM-Liiga, right behind Tappara.
Mikko Henrikki Eloranta is a Finnish former ice hockey player who played with TPS Turku of the SM-Liiga. He represented Finland in both the Olympic Winter Games and the World Cup of Hockey.
Antero Pertti Elias Niittymäki is a Finnish former professional ice hockey goaltender who last played for TPS of the SM-liiga. He additionally played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Philadelphia Flyers, Tampa Bay Lightning and San Jose Sharks. At the 2006 Winter Olympics, while playing for Team Finland, he was voted the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the entire ice hockey tournament.
Aulis Virtanen was Finnish ice hockey editor, journalist, sportscaster and rink announcer.
Kimmo Rintanen is a former professional ice hockey player who played in the SM-liiga before getting transferred to Swiss Elite League Team Kloten Flyers, where he played from the 2001-02 season until 2010-11, before his final season at HC Lugano in 2011-12. Before his international career, he played for Lukko, TPS, and Jokerit in Finland. He also won a bronze medal at the 1998 Winter Olympics. Rintanen has played 155 matches for the National team of Finland and has scored 35 goals. Starting in 2015 he has been an assistant coach for TPS in Finland.
Jukka Einar Virtanen is a retired professional ice hockey player who played in the SM-liiga. He played for Ässät and TPS. He also won a silver medal at the 1988 Winter Olympics.
Jani Tapani Virtanen is a Finnish former professional footballer who played as a striker.
Ville Vahalahti is a Finnish ice hockey player currently playing for Lukko of the Finnish Liiga.
Alexander Salák is a Czech professional ice hockey goaltender. He is currently an unrestricted free agent who most recently played for Djurgårdens IF of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). He played two games in the National Hockey League with the Florida Panthers in 2009. Internationally Salák has played for the Czech national team at three World Championships, and at the 2014 Winter Olympics.
Atte Engren is a Finnish former professional ice hockey goaltender. He is currently the goaltending coach of Lukko U18 in the U18 SM-sarja, the top-tier under-18 junior league in Finland.
Terhi Eveliina Mertanen is a Finnish retired ice hockey defenceman and current head coach of TPS Naiset in the Naisten Liiga. She was a member of the Finnish national ice hockey team for thirteen seasons and won bronze medals in the women's ice hockey tournament at the 2010 Winter Olympics and at the IIHF Women's World Championships in 2004 and 2011.
Joni Ortio is a Finnish professional ice hockey goaltender who is currently playing for HV71 of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). He has previously played for the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was a sixth round selection of the Flames, 171st overall, at the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. Prior to the NHL he played for TPS and HIFK Helsinki in the Sm-liiga. Internationally, Ortio has represented Finland on four occasions. He was a member of the bronze medal-winning team at the 2009 IIHF World U18 Championships and played in the 2013 World Championship
Markus Palmroth is a Finnish ice hockey defenceman. He is currently playing with HC TPS in the Finnish Liiga.
Teemu Virtanen is a Finnish professional ice hockey player who played with Ilves in the SM-liiga during the 2010–11 season.
Kari Virtanen is a Finnish football manager and former player. He is currently coach of Veikkausliiga club Inter Turku.
Marko Virtanen is a Finnish former professional ice hockey player. He is currently the head coach of Lukko in the Finnish Liiga.
Susanna "Suski" Tapani is a Finnish multi-sport elite athlete who competes in ice hockey, ringette, and in-line hockey, and is a member of the Finnish national ice hockey team and Finnish national ringette team. She currently plays ice hockey in the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) with the Metropolitan Riveters.
The 2019–20 Liiga season was the 45th season of the Liiga, the top level of ice hockey in Finland, since the league's formation in 1975. The last two game days of the regular season were scheduled to be played in front of an empty arena due to the Finnish government advising that all public events with more than 500 attendees would be cancelled or postponed. On 13 March, the rest of the season, which included the final round of the regular season and all of playoffs, was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Turun Palloseura Naiset or TPS Naiset are an ice hockey team in the Finnish Naisten Liiga. They are the representative women's ice hockey team of Turun Palloseura (TPS), a multi-sport club based in Turku, Southwest Finland and they play at the Kupittaan jäähalli and the Impivaara Ice Rink. The team has played in the Naisten Liiga, Finland’s premier women's ice hockey league, since gaining promotion in the 2018–19 season.
