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HIFK Naiset
CityHelsinki
LeagueNaisten Liiga
Founded1982 (1982)
Refounded 2018
Home arenaPirkkolan jäähalli
ColoursRed, white, dark blue
     
Owner(s)HIFK Ishockey rf
General managerSaara Niemi
Head coachSaara Niemi
CaptainKaroliina Rantamäki
AffiliateHIFK Akatemia
Parent club(s)HIFK
WebsiteOfficial website
Franchise history
1982–1989HIFK Naiset
2018–presentHIFK Naiset
(Stadin Gimmat)
Championships
Regular season titles1 (2022–23)
Aurora Borealis Cup1 (2023)
Current uniform
Current season

HIFK Naiset, also known as Stadin Gimmat (lit.'Girls of Stadi', a nickname for Helsinki), are an ice hockey team in the Finnish Naisten Liiga. They play in the Pirkkola district of Helsinki at the Pirkkolan jäähalli (lit.'Pirkkola ice hall'). The team is operated by Oy HIFK-Hockey Ab, the same organization that owns the HIFK men's ice hockey team of the Liiga – HIFK Naiset are one of only two Naisten Liiga teams owned directly by a Liiga team.[1]

The original HIFK Naiset was one of the ten founding teams from the inaugural 1982–83 Naisten SM-sarja season but they were financially relegated in 1989 and the club chose not to pursue women's ice hockey for the following several decades. The current team was established in 2018 and gained promotion to the Naisten Liiga from the second-tier Naisten Mestis at the end of their debut season in 2018–19.[2]

History

Original team, 1982–1989

HIFK Naiset was one of the original ten teams to play in the inaugural season, 1982–83, of the Naisten SM-sarja, 'Women's Finnish Championship Series' (renamed Naisten Liiga in 2017). The team struggled early on, forced to compete with fellow Helsinki-based team Helsingin Jääkiekkoklubi (HJK) for top talent. HIFK finished in the bottom half of the league in their first five seasons, ranking seventh of ten teams in 1982–83, ninth of twelve in 1983–84, eighth of thirteen in 1984–85, fifth of eight in 1985–86, and sixth of eight in 1986–87.

The team's fortunes turned in the 1987–88 season and they earned a 7-2-5 (win-tie-loss) record with a +3 goal differential and claimed third place in the Naisten SM-sarja playoffs, earning Finnish Championship bronze. With a 1988–89 roster that included three members of the newly-created Finnish women's national ice hockey teamdefencemen Johanna Ikonen and Maria Turki (Novitsky), and forward Ulla Saarikko – HIFK continued their upward trajectory, posting an 8-2-4 record with a +20 goal differential and claiming Finnish Championship bronze for the second consecutive season.

Despite the marked improvement of the team, HIFK was financially relegated after the 1988–89 season and no senior women's representative team or any programs for women and girls existed in the club for the following twenty-five years.

Season-by-season results

This is a list of all seasons completed by HIFK Naiset, including the original HIFK Naiset (1982–1989) and Stadin Gimmat-HIFK Naiset (2018–present).[3]

Note: Finish = Rank at end of regular season; GP = Games played, W = Wins (3 points), OTW = Overtime/shootout wins (2 points), T = Ties (1 point), OTL = Overtime/shootout losses (1 point), L = Losses, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, Pts = Points, Top scorer: Points (Goals+Assists)

Season League Preliminaries and regular season Post season results
Finish GP W OTW T OTL L GF GA Pts Top scorer
1982–83 Naisten SM-sarja 7th 8 3 0 5 43 26 6 Did not qualify
1983–84 Naisten SM-sarja 9th 8 2 0 6 27 42 4 Did not qualify
1984–85 Naisten SM-sarja 8th 9 3 0 6 26 29 6 Did not qualify
1985–86 Naisten SM-sarja 5th 14 3 4 7 36 40 10 Did not qualify
1986–87 Naisten SM-sarja 6th 14 6 0 8 33 39 12 Did not qualify
1987–88 Naisten SM-sarja 3rd 14 7 2 5 35 32 16 Won bronze medal
1988–89 Naisten SM-sarja 3rd 14 8 2 4 53 33 18 Won bronze medal
2018–19 Naisten Mestis 1st 26 24 1 0 1 159 26 74 Finland Mi. Klemola 50 (23+27) Promoted to Naisten Liiga
2019–20 Naisten Liiga 7th 30 15 2 3 10 124 74 52 France E. Passard 47 (28+19) Lost quarterfinals, 0–3 (Kärpät)
2020–21 Naisten Liiga 3rd 27 16 4 1 6 104 57 57 France E. Passard 37 (19+21) Won bronze medal, 2–1 (Ilves)
2021–22 Naisten Liiga 2nd 29 26 0 0 3 137 41 78 Finland M. Nilsson 55 (37+18) Lost final, 2–3 (K-Espoo)
2022–23 Naisten Liiga 1st 36 29 3 0 4 197 57 93 Czech Republic M. Pejzlová 82 (32+50) Won Championship, 3–0 (K-Espoo)

Players and personnel

2023–24 roster

As of 14 September 2023[4][5][6][7]
No. Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace
7 Finland Nelly Andersson D R 16 2022 Kotka, Kymenlaakso, Finland
13 Finland Veera Huotari F L 25 2020 Oulu, Pohjois-Pohjanmaa, Finland
9 Finland Nellie Karlberg F L 19 2022
23 Finland Johanna Kemppainen (A) F L 26 2019 Mäntsälä, Uusimaa, Finland
22 Finland Eveliina Kitula D R 18 2022 Helsinki, Uusimaa, Finland
20 Finland Erica Korhonen F L 18 2022 Kirkkonummi, Uusimaa, Finland
92 Finland Olivia Kylliäinen D R 19 2020 Lappeenranta, Etelä-Karjala, Finland
33 Finland Kiia Lahtinen G L 20 2019 Porvoo, Uusimaa, Finland
34 Finland Emmi Laitajärvi G 16 2023
91 Finland Julia Liikala (A) F L 22 2021 Peräseinäjoki, Etelä-Pohjanmaa, Finland
88 France Athéna Locatelli (A) D L 32 2020 Bourg-de-Péage, ARA, France
12 Finland Ilona Palin D L 17 2021
18 Czech Republic Michaela Pejzlová F L 26 2020 Pardubice, Czechia
29 Finland Anni Pere F L 20 2018 Loviisa, Uusimaa, Finland
11 Finland Karoliina Rantamäki (C) F L 45 2019 Vantaa, Uusimaa, Finland
72 France Clara Rozier F R 26 2020 Évian, ARA, France
76 Finland Pauliina Salonen F L 18 2023 Turku, Varsinais-Suomi, Finland
15 Finland Mikaela Saukkonen D L 23 2018 Hyvinkää, Uusimaa, Finland
31 Czech Republic Blanka Škodová G L 26 2023 Šternberk, Olomoucký kraj, Czechia
39 Finland Sara Suhonen F L 18 2022 Vantaa, Uusimaa, Finland
30 Finland Miia Vainio G L 19 2022 Nurmijärvi, Uusimaa, Finland
86 Finland Sanni Vanhanen F L 18 2022 Nokia, Pirkanmaa, Finland
26 Finland Satu-Maaria Vihervuori D L 19 2019 Vantaa, Uusimaa, Finland
4 Finland Siiri Yrjöla D L 19 2020 Vantaa, Uusimaa, Finland

Coaching staff and team personnel

Team captaincy history

Head coaches

Awards and honors

Finnish Championship

Source: [9]

Player awards

  • 2022–23: Siiri Yrjölä[10]
  • 2022–23: Michaela Pejzlová[11]
  • 2022–23: Sanni Vanhanen[10]
  • 2022–23: Michaela Pejzlová[11]
  • 2020–21: Anni Hietaharju

All-Stars

  • 2021–22: Iina Kuusela (G), Matilda Nilsson (RW), Krista Parkkonen (D), Michaela Pejzlová (C)
  • 2020–21: Athéna Locatelli (D), Krista Parkkonen (D), Michaela Pejzlová (C)

Player of the Month

Team records and leaders

The player records detailed here include statistics since the team joined the Naisten Liiga in the 2019–20 season only, as complete player statistics for HIFK Naiset during the 1982–83 through 1988–1989 Naisten SM-sarja seasons are not available. Records valid through the conclusion of the 2022–23 season.

Single-season records

Source: [18]

Career records

Source: [19]

All-time scoring leaders

The top point scorers (goals + assists) since HIFK joined the Naisten Liiga in 2019, as of April 2023.

Note: Nat = Nationality; Pos = Position; GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; P/G = Points per game

Points
Nat Player Pos GP G A Pts P/G
Czech Republic Michaela Pejzlová F 74 64 97 161 2.18
France Clara Rozier F 89 46 56 102 1.15
Finland Julia Liikala F 27 15 18 33 1.22
France Emmanuelle Passard F 85 65 55 120 1.41
Finland Johanna Kemppainen F 117 45 44 89 0.76
Finland Karoliina Rantamäki F 87 31 61 94 1.08
France Athéna Locatelli D 88 12 56 68 0.77
Finland Siiri Yrjölä D 87 22 45 67 0.77
Finland Matilda Nilsson F 29 37 18 55 1.90
Finland Emilia Vesa F 28 22 31 53 1.89
Finland Krista Parkkonen D 69 14 35 49 0.71
Finland Sanni Vanhanen F 22 18 22 40 1.82
Finland Miressa Mäkelä[20] F 44 18 17 35 0.80
Finland Mikaela Saukkonen D 102 10 25 35 0.34
Finland Fanny Jalonen F 54 12 22 34 0.63
Finland Nenna Mehtonen D 86 9 20 29 0.34

Sources: Finnish Ice Hockey Association, Elite Prospects[19]

Notable alumnae

Main category: HIFK Naiset players

Seasons active with Kiekko-Espoo listed alongside player name.

International players

References

  1. ^ Foster, Meredith (24 July 2018). "Q & A with Saara Niemi of HIFK". The Ice Garden. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  2. ^ Kauhala, Hannu (26 April 2018). "HIFK julkisti naisten joukkueen, aloittaa ensi kaudella Mestiksessä". Länsi-Suomi (in Finnish). Retrieved 29 August 2020.
  3. ^ "SM-sarja (W) - HIFK, Team History and Standings". Elite Prospects. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
  4. ^ "Naisten Liiga (W) - HIFK 2023-2024 Roster". Elite Prospects. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
  5. ^ "Joukkue". Stadin Gimmat (in Finnish). Retrieved 10 August 2022.
  6. ^ "Stadin Gimmat 2022 - 23". Stadin Gimmat (in Finnish). 19 August 2022. Retrieved 11 September 2022.
  7. ^ "2023-2023 Naisten Liiga – Kokoonpano HIFK". Finnish Ice Hockey Association (in Finnish). September 2023. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
  8. ^ Salomäki, Anne (7 December 2018). "HIFK's Saara Niemi is ice hockey from head to toe". Wärtsilä. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
  9. ^ Suomen Jääkiekkoliitto; Liiga. Aaltonen, Juha (ed.). Jääkiekkokirja 2019–2020 (PDF) (in Finnish). Helsinki: Uusi Suomi/Kiekkolehti. ISSN 0784-3321. OCLC 476321083.
  10. ^ a b c d Mennander, Pasi (10 June 2023). "Naisten Liigan kauden 2022–23 palkitut pelaajat, valmentajat ja tuomarit". Finnish Ice Hockey Association (in Finnish). Retrieved 12 June 2023.
  11. ^ a b c Mennander, Pasi (24 February 2023). "Naisten Liigan kauden 2022–23 ensimmäisten pelaajapalkintojen voittajat ovat tässä: Pejzlova, Holopainen, Lehmus!". Finnish Ice Hockey Association (in Finnish). Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  12. ^ Mennander, Pasi (22 March 2022). "Duvin, Nilsson, Yrjänen, Rakkolainen ja Havana – Naisten Liigan ensimmäiset kausipalkintojen voittajat julkistettu". leijonat.fi (in Finnish). Finnish Ice Hockey Association. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
  13. ^ Mennander, Pasi (13 June 2022). "Naisten Liigan kauden 2021–22 palkitut pelaajat ja tähtikentät". leijonat.fi (in Finnish). Finnish Ice Hockey Association. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
  14. ^ Mennander, Pasi (15 March 2021). "Naisten Liigan parhaan valmentajan palkinto Saara Niemelle". leijonat.fi (in Finnish). Finnish Ice Hockey Association. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
  15. ^ Mennander, Pasi (1 February 2023). "HIFK:n Emilia Vesa Naisten Liigan tammikuun pelaaja". Finnish Ice Hockey Association (in Finnish). Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  16. ^ Mennander, Pasi (1 November 2022). "HIFK:n Julia Liikala Naisten Liigan lokakuun pelaaja". Finnish Ice Hockey Association (in Finnish). Retrieved 9 November 2022.
  17. ^ Mennander, Pasi (8 January 2020). "HIFK:n Emmanuelle Passard Naisten Liigan joulukuun pelaaja". leijonat.fi (in Finnish). Finnish Ice Hockey Association. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  18. ^ "HIFK - All Time Regular Season Player Stats per Season, from 19/20 Season – Naisten Liiga (W)". Elite Prospects. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  19. ^ a b "HIFK - All Time Regular Season Player Stats, from 19/20 Season – Naisten Liiga (W)". Elite Prospects. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  20. ^ Aalto, Markku. "Pelaajat: Miressa Mäkelä". Finnish Ice Hockey Association (in Finnish). Retrieved 10 August 2023.