Women's ice hockey in Finland

Last updated
Women's ice hockey
CountryFinland
Governing body Finnish Ice Hockey Association
National team(s) Women's national team
Women's national U18 team
Registered players5,858
National competitions
Naisten Liiga
Naisten Mestis
Naisten Suomi-sarja
International competitions

The national program for women's ice hockey in Finland had 5,858 active players in 2019. [1] The Finnish Ice Hockey Association organizes both the national women's program and the three levels of domestic women's leagues in Finland.

Contents

History

The first women's hockey teams were founded in Finland in the early 1970s [2] but it took many years for women's ice hockey to gain enough popularity and participation to warrant the creation of a national league. In 1978, the first "lipstick tournament" was held, creating an informal national women's championship, though records of the competition outcomes are not available.

In 1982 the Naisten SM-sarja was founded as the first elite women's national league in Finland. The first season was played in two divisions of five teams each (10 teams total) and the first playoffs were held in Tampere on March 12 and 13, 1983. [3] Since its founding, the number of teams per season has ranged from 8 to 13. In 2017, the Naisten SM-sarja was renamed Naisten Liiga and in 2018 the number of teams was expanded to the league's original number of 10.

The Finland women's national team entered international competition in the 1988-1989 season, quickly claiming its first gold at the 1989 IIHF European Women Championships. The team has remained successful since its emergence on the international stage, medalling in three Olympics and 13 Women's World Championships. Most recently, Finland took silver at the 2019 Women's World Championship after a controversial loss in the finals to the United States. [4] [5]

Developmental leagues

The number of young women in the junior level increased slowly, from 500 players at the beginning to approximately 2000 today. [6] The growth rate was not satisfactory, so the Finnish Ice Hockey Association decided to invest in development of women's ice hockey by supporting leagues. [6] The number of teams considerably increased: there are now 12 teams in the Women's 1st Division, is Naisten Mestis (second level after the Naisten Liiga).

Lohko 1

TeamCity
HPK Hämeenlinna
Ilves Tampere
Reipas Lahti
Marski-Hockey Mikkeli
SaiPa Lappeenranta
Ässät Pori

Lohko 2

TeamCity
EPS Espoo Espoo
HG-92 Tuusula
Karhu-Kissat Vantaa
PaKa Kuusamo
Sport Vaasa
Tappara Tampere

Tournaments

The following IIHF tournaments were hosted in Finland.

EventLocationFinish
1992 IIHF Women's World Championship Tampere Bronze medal icon.svg Bronze [7]
1998 3 Nations Cup Kuortane Bronze medal icon.svg Bronze
1999 IIHF Women's World Championship Espoo Bronze medal icon.svg Bronze
2001 3 Nations Cup Vierumäki and Tampere Silver medal icon.svg Silver
2005 4 Nations Cup Hämeenlinna Bronze medal icon.svg Bronze
2008–09 IIHF European Women's Champions Cup Lohja Bronze medal icon.svg Bronze (Espoo Blues)
2009 IIHF Women's World Championship Hämeenlinna Bronze medal icon.svg Bronze [7]
2009 4 Nations Cup Vierumäki Fourth
2011–12 IIHF European Women's Champions Cup Hämeenlinna Bronze medal icon.svg Bronze (HPK)
2012 4 Nations Cup Tikkurila Fourth
2012–13 IIHF European Women's Champions Cup Oulu Bronze medal icon.svg Bronze (Oulun Kärpät)
2014–15 IIHF European Women's Champions Cup Espoo Bronze medal icon.svg Bronze (Espoo Blues)
2016 4 Nations Cup Vierumäki Bronze medal icon.svg Bronze

Leading scorers

IIHF Worlds

Olympics

Famous firsts

Finnish women in NCAA

PositionNameNCAA schoolSeasons
G Noora Räty Minnesota 2009–2013
D Mariia Posa Minnesota-Duluth 2009–2012
F Nina Tikkinen Minnesota State–Mankato 2007–2010
F Minttu Tuominen Ohio State 2009–2013
F Saara Niemi Minnesota-Duluth 2008–2010

See also

Related Research Articles

Marianne Ihalainen is a retired Finnish ice hockey forward. She won a bronze medal as captain of the Finnish national team at the 1998 Winter Olympics and also won six IIHF World Women's Championship bronze medals, four IIHF European Women Championships gold medals and one bronze while representing Finland and was eight time SM-sarja Finnish Champion with Ilves. Ihalainen is regarded as one of the pioneers of women’s ice hockey in Finland and she was one of the first women inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame Finland, alongside fellow trailblazer Riikka Sallinen.

Sanna Kristiina Lankosaari is a Finnish retired ice hockey player and current head coach of Oulun Kärpät Naiset in the Naisten Liiga (NSML). She was a right winger with the Finnish national ice hockey team during 1994 to 2003 and won bronze in the women's ice hockey tournament at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano.

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Petra Nieminen is a Finnish ice hockey player for Luleå HF/MSSK of the Swedish Women's Hockey League (SDHL) and alternate captain of Finland women's national ice hockey team. She is considered one of the top young talents in Finnish ice hockey.

Aykroyd, Lucas. "Laitinen's star on the rise". International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved 16 April 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ice hockey in Finland</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Naisten Liiga (ice hockey)</span> Finnish womens ice hockey league

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HIFK Naiset</span> Naisten Liiga ice hockey team in Helsinki, Finland

HIFK Naiset, also known by the nickname Stadin Gimmat, are an ice hockey team in the Naisten Liiga. They play in the Pirkkola district of Helsinki, at the Pirkkola Ice Hall. As the representative women's ice hockey team of the Helsinki-based multi-sport club HIFK, the team is closely affiliated with the HIFK men's ice hockey team of the Liiga.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HPK Kiekkonaiset</span> Naisten Liiga ice hockey team in Finland

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.

Essi Sieversnée Hallvar is a Finnish retired ice hockey defenceman. She played 91 international matches with the Finnish national team and won bronze at the 2011 IIHF Women's World Championship. Sievers competed at the elite club level for 15 seasons; she played 14 seasons in the Finnish Naisten SM-sarja and one season in the German Women's Ice Hockey Bundesliga (DFEL).

Päivi Virta is a Finnish retired ice hockey defenseman and one of the most highly decorated women in the history of Finnish ice hockey. As a member of the Finnish national team she won five World Championship bronze medals and five European Championship medals, four gold and one bronze.

Matilda Nilsson is a Finnish ice hockey player and member of the Finnish national ice hockey team, currently playing in the Swedish Women's Hockey League (SDHL) with Brynäs IF Dam.

Riikka Noronen is a Finnish retired ice hockey forward and the all-time leading point scorer in the Naisten Liiga. She also holds the records for youngest player to ever play in the Naisten Liiga and for most career games played.

The Riikka Nieminen Award is an ice hockey trophy, seasonally awarded by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association to the Naisten Liiga Player of the Year. It is named after Riikka Sallinen, now retired, who is widely considered the best European women’s ice hockey player to ever compete internationally.

The Sari Fisk Award is an ice hockey trophy awarded by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association to the player with the best plus–minus at the end of the regular season of the Naisten Liiga.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">JYP Naiset</span> Naisten Mestis ice hockey team in Jyväskylä, Central Finland

JYP Naiset or JYP Jyväskylä Naiset is a Finnish ice hockey team in the Naisten Mestis. Their home is the Jyväskylän harjoitusjäähalli in Jyväskylä, Central Finland. JYP Naiset have won the Aurora Borealis Cup three times, in 1997, 1998, and 2016.

Jenniina Nylund is a Finnish ice hockey centre and member of the Finnish national ice hockey team, currently serving as captain of the St. Cloud State Huskies women's ice hockey program in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) conference of the NCAA Division I.

Jenna Suokko is a Finnish ice hockey player, currently playing with the Buffalo Beauts of the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF).

References

  1. ↑ "IIHF National Association Member: Finland". International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). Retrieved 2019-07-03.
  2. ↑ "Termit tutuiksi!" [Know the terms!]. leijonat.fi (in Finnish). Finnish Ice Hockey Association . Retrieved 2019-07-11.
  3. ↑ "Women's Hockey in Finland". Whockey.com. Retrieved 2016-10-27.
  4. ↑ Spencer, Donna (2019-04-15). "U.S. wins women's world hockey title with controversial shootout victory over Finland". CBC Sports. Retrieved 2019-06-26.
  5. ↑ Weiswerda, Brennin (2019-04-14). "Controversial goalie-interference call costs Finland gold medal, USA wins in shootout". Russian Machine Never Breaks (RMNB). Retrieved 2019-07-04.
  6. 1 2 "Women's Hockey History in Finland". Whockey.com. Retrieved 2016-10-27.
  7. 1 2 Collins gem Hockey Facts and Stats 2009–10, p.540, Andrew Podnieks, Harper Collins Publishers Ltd, Toronto, Canada, ISBN   978-1-55468-621-6
  8. ↑ "Notable Women Hockey Players". Hockey Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2011-01-14.
  9. ↑ "IIHF Hall of Fame inducts six new members". National Hockey League. Retrieved 5 March 2010.
  10. ↑ "Timeline — Evolution Of Women's Hockey". Hockey Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2011-01-14.
  11. ↑ "Milestones of Finnish Ice Hockey: Years 1975 –". Finnish Hockey Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2011-01-14.
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