Aurora Borealis Cup
Aurora Borealis -malja (Finnish)
SportIce hockey
CompetitionNaisten Liiga playoffs
NicknameTyttö ('The Girl')
Presented byFinnish Ice Hockey Association
History
First winnerHPK Hämeenlinna
Most winsKiekko-Espoo (6)
Most recentHIFK 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.

Project

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]

Design

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]

Championship history

The Sammon -malja on display at the Suomen Jääkiekkomuseo in 2022

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.

Finnish Champions by season

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 Gold Champion Silver Runner-up Bronze 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.[a]
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
  1. ^ The 2019–20 Naisten Liiga post-season was cancelled by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association on 12 March 2020, citing public health concerns regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. The Aurora Borealis Cup Finnish Championship finals, between Kiekko-Espoo and KalPa, and the Finnish Championship bronze medal game, between Team Kuortane and Kärpät, were scheduled to begin on 14 March 2020. With the cancellation of the season, neither the Aurora Borealis Cup nor any Finnish Championship medals were awarded for the 2019–20 season.[8]

Sources: [9]

References

  1. ^ "Aurora Borealis Cup Community Page". Facebook. Retrieved 4 July 2019. 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.
  2. ^ "Naisten SM-sarja saa oman "Kanada-maljan"". MTV Uutiset (in Finnish). 21 March 2011. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  3. ^ "Tältä se näyttää - Aurora Borealis -malja julkistettiin!". Finnish Ice Hockey Association (in Finnish). 21 March 2011. Archived from the original on 4 July 2019. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  4. ^ Mennander, Pasi (9 September 2011). "Aurora Borealis Cup lahjoitettiin Jääkiekkomuseoon". Finnish Ice Hockey Association (in Finnish). Archived from the original on 4 February 2022. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
  5. ^ Mennander, Pasi (3 December 2013). "15 faktaa Aurora Borealis -maljasta". Finnish Ice Hockey Association (in Finnish). Archived from the original on 4 July 2019. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  6. ^ a b Sammon -malja (Object description plaque). Accessed 10 July 2022. Suomen Jääkiekkomuseo: Suomen Jääkiekkomuseoyhdistys ry. 2022.((cite sign)): CS1 maint: others (link)
  7. ^ "Jääkiekkoilun palkitut". Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish). STT. 7 April 1991. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
  8. ^ Mennander, Pasi (12 March 2020). "Koronavirus lopettaa Jääkiekkoliiton alaisten sarjojen kauden". Finnish Ice Hockey Association (in Finnish). Archived from the original on 24 March 2020. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
  9. ^ Salmela, Sari; Pelkonen, Johanna (2008). "SM-sarjan historiaa vuosilta 1982 - 2008" [History of the SM-sarja from 1982 to 2008]. Finnish Ice Hockey Association (in Finnish). Archived from the original on 6 September 2008. Retrieved 6 July 2019.

External links

Naisten Liiga
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