The 2021–22 Naisten Liiga season was the thirty-ninth season of the Naisten Liiga, the premier level of women's ice hockey in Finland, since the league's establishment as the Naisten SM-sarja in 1982. The season began on 11 September 2021 and concluded on 20 March 2022.
League business
Offseason
HPK Kiekkonaiset team transfer
In June 2021, it was announced that the HPK Kiekkonaiset team would be transferred to HPK Liiga Oy, owner of the Liiga team HPK and the U20 SM-sarja team HPK U20.[1] HPK Kiekkonaiset had previously been a part of the HPK-affiliated junior club HPK Edustusjääkiekko Ry, a non-profit association. According to Antti Toivanen, CEO of HPK Liiga Oy and general manager of the HPK men's team, the move was motivated by an interest in capitalizing on the growing women's ice hockey market, which was highlighted by the record crowds that attended the 2019 IIHF Women's World Championship in Espoo. Jorma Hassinen, general manager of HPK Kiekkonaiset, expressed hope that the transfer would allow female players to develop with the same opportunities as their male counterparts.[2]
Financial support for RoKi players
Rovaniemen Kiekko ry announced it would begin supporting RoKi Naiset ice hockey players selected to women's national team camps and evaluation tournaments with grants of several hundred to a thousand euros. RoKi Naiset head coach Tuomas Liitola stated the club's long-term goal is to reduce the cost of playing with RoKi Naiset to zero.[3]
Appointed in May 2021, Nummela is the fourth HPK head coach in as many seasons. He has previously served as head coach of men's teams in the Suomi-sarja and 2. Divisioona.[4]
Hassi was appointed as the new Kärpät head coach in April 2021, replacing Salmela after two seasons at the helm.[5] The 27 year old, originally from Oulu, spent the previous four seasons studying in Rovaniemi and coaching in the junior organization of Rovaniemen Kiekko (RoKi). He served as the head coach of RoKi U18 in the 2020–21 season of the men's U18 Mestis.[6]
Ortio was promoted from assistant coach to head coach after Tähkäpää's contract was terminated with five games remaining in the 2020–21 regular season.[7] Mertanen was named the 2021–22 head coach shortly thereafter, in March 2021. An Olympic medalist with the Finnish national team at the 2010 Winter Olympics, Mertanen spent the previous two seasons as an assistant coach of RoKi Naiset.[8][9]
Player signings of note
Note: The following tables do not include all player movements made during the Naisten Liiga season but rather feature moves involving national team players or international players, extra-league moves, and player movements determined to be otherwise notable.
The preliminary series began on 11 September and concluded on 12 December 2021. The Finnish Ice Hockey Association opted to use the points per game ranking system first implemented in the 2020–21 season to allow for the potential of cancelled matches due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[21] Some games in the preliminary series were rescheduled, however, each team was able to play all twenty matches.
The top six ranked teams in the preliminaries advanced to the regular season, also called the upper division series (Finnish: Ylempi jatkosarja) and were guaranteed playoff berths.
Updated to match(es) played on 12 December 2021. Source: Leijonat
Official ranking
Teams were officially ranked by average points per game with ties broken by greater number of games played, followed by best goal difference, then greater number of goals.[22]
Shutout recorded by Kati Asikainen (1); highest attended game
K-Espoo
5–2
TPS
57
31 October
Sport
2–10
HIFK
65
KalPa
0–4
Ilves
87
Shutout recorded by Anni Keisala (2)
TPS
2–1
Kuortane
OT
40
3 November
Sport
0–7
Kuortane
41
Shutout recorded by Hannele Tarkiainen (1)
5 November
HIFK
7–2
TPS
72
6 November
Ilves
3–4
KalPa
OT
80
RoKi
0–7
K-Espoo
51
Shutout recorded by Minja Drufva (1)
TPS
3–1
HPK
30
7 November
Kärpät
1–6
K-Espoo
112
Sport
1–4
KalPa
35
RoKi
1–5
Ilves
68
19 November
Sport
0–3
Kuortane
45
Shutout recorded by Hannele Tarkiainen (2)
20 November
Ilves
4–2
RoKi
68
Sport
0–6
HPK
40
No shutout recorded
K-Espoo
5–2
Kärpät
42
21 November
KalPa
1–2
RoKi
91
HIFK
5–2
Kärpät
85
Kuortane
3–4
Ilves
OT
50
HPK
2–1
TPS
SO
80
27 November
RoKi
1–2
Kuortane
OT
69
HPK
4–2
KalPa
52
Ilves
8–0
Sport
80
Shutout recorded by Salla Sivula (1)
HIFK
1–3
K-Espoo
117
28 November
Kärpät
4–2
Kuortane
102
HPK
5–3
Sport
50
TPS
5–2
KalPa
55
3 December
K-Espoo
5–1
Ilves
46
HIFK
6–3
HPK
77
4 December
Kärpät
6–1
Sport
86
TPS
3–9
K-Espoo
35
HIFK
3–1
Ilves
69
5 December
KalPa
3–4
Kuortane
75
Kärpät
4–0
RoKi
158
Shutout recorded by Kati Asikainen (2)
11 December
Sport
1–4
Kärpät
20
KalPa
2–4
TPS
61
HIFK
1–2
K-Espoo
102
Kuortane
3–0
RoKi
40
Shutout recorded by Hannele Tarkiainen (3)
12 December
Sport
2–5
RoKi
20
KalPa
1–2
HIFK
61
HPK
2–5
K-Espoo
70
Kuortane
0–6
Kärpät
40
Shutout recorded by Johanna Oksman (2)
Major events
26 September 2021 – Ilves 3–0 TPS, Tesoman jäähalli (Tampere) TPS forward Maija Otamo was issued a six-game ban – the longest suspension ever handed down to a player in the Naisten Liiga – after rendering Ilves forward Emilia Varpula unconscious with two hits in the head and neck area.[23] The hits came with just nine seconds left on the clock and less than a minute after Varpula contributed an assist to Ilves' third and final goal in the eventual shutout. Varpula was taken directly from the ice to hospital by ambulance and was ultimately diagnosed with a concussion.[24] Following the hits, a fight broke out between TPS forward Estelle Duvin and Ilves defenseman Elli Suoranta, resulting in one game suspensions for both players.[25]
Player statistics
Scoring leaders
The following players led the league in points at the conclusion of games the preliminaries on 12 December 2021.[26]
The following skaters were the top point scorers of teams not represented in the scoring leader table at the conclusion of the preliminary series, noted with their overall league scoring rank:
Elisa Holopainen was the leading point scorer in the preliminaries for the third consecutive season
Goaltenders
The following goaltenders lead the league in save percentage at the conclusion of the preliminary series on 12 December 2021, while starting at least one third of matches.[27]
Vaasan Sport was the only team not represented in the top goaltenders table at the conclusion of the preliminary series. Sport's best goaltender was Oona Mäki, who played in thirteen games and recorded a .860 save percentage and 7.38 goals against average.
Regular season
The preliminary series began on 11 September and concluded on 12 December 2021. The Finnish Ice Hockey Association opted to use the points per game ranking system first implemented in the 2020–21 season to allow for the potential of cancelled matches due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[28] Some games in the preliminary series were rescheduled, however, each team was able to play all twenty matches.
The top six ranked teams from the preliminary series advanced to the regular season, also called the upper division series (Finnish: Ylempi jatkosarja), while teams ranked seventh through tenth progressed to the lower division series (Finnish: Alempi jatkosarja). The regular season began on 8 January 2022.
Updated to match(es) played on 20 March 2022. Source: Leijonat
Official ranking
Teams are officially ranked by average points per game with ties broken by greater number of games played, followed by best goal difference, then greater number of goals.
Game with largest goal difference, ±8; shutout recorded by Minja Drufva (1)
9 March
HIFK
3–0
Ilves
89
Shutout recorded by Iina Kuusela (3)
12 March
Kärpät
6–3
TPS
84
K-Espoo
5–1
Ilves
52
Kuortane
X
HIFK
Match cancelled
13 March
Ilves
0–4
K-Espoo
45
Shutout recorded by Minja Drufva (2)
Kärpät
1–6
HIFK
86
Kuortane
TPS
Match cancelled
16 March
HIFK
3–2
K-Espoo
145
Highest attended game
18 March
K-Espoo
5–4
TPS
OT
51
19 March
Ilves
3–5
HIFK
110
Kärpät
Kuortane
Match cancelled
TPS
4–7
K-Espoo
30
20 March
Ilves
1–2
Kärpät
OT
50
Player statistics
Scoring leaders
The following players led the league in points at the conclusion of the regular season on 20 March 2022. In a change from the previous seasons, scoring statistics were carried over from the preliminaries and points scored in the regular season were added to those totals.[29]
The following goaltenders lead the league in save percentage at the conclusion of games played on 20 March 2022, while starting at least one third of matches. Goaltending statistics were not carried over from the preliminaries, only statistics accumulated in the regular season were counted towards totals.[30]
The teams ranked seventh through tenth in the Naisten Liiga preliminaries – HPK, KalPa, RoKi, and Sport – progressed to the lower division series (Finnish: Alempi jatkosarja), where they were joined by the top two teams from the Naisten Mestis cross-qualifiers, Alavuden Peli-Veikot (APV) and Rauman Lukko. The lower division series began on 5 February and concluded on 20 March. It was played as a double round-robin, with every team playing each of their five opponents twice. The two teams with the top points per game averages at the conclusion of the series, HPK and KalPa, progress to the playoff quarterfinals. The remaining four teams – APV, Lukko, RoKi, and Sport – proceed to the qualifiers (Finnish: karsintasarja), where they face potential relegation.
Highest attended game; shutout recorded by Kassidy Sauvé (3)
KalPa
2–1
RoKi
OT
62
Lukko
3–1
APV
40
20 March
KalPa
2–5
HPK
63
Lukko
2–1
Sport
60
Player statistics
Scoring leaders
The following players led the series in points at the conclusion of lower division play on 20 March 2022. No statistics were carried over from the preliminaries, all totals represent tallies from the lower division only.[31]
RoKi forward Jenna Hietala topped the scoring charts for both goals and points, with 18 goals and 24 points in 10 games played. Slovak forward Júlia Matejková of HPK and KalPa's Johanna Juutilainen tied to lead the series in assists, both tallying 12 assists in 10 games played.
Rauman Lukko was the only team not represented in the scoring leaders table at the conclusion of the lower division series. Lukko's top scorer was Roosa-Maria Kangasniemi, who notched 2 goals and 5 assists for 7 points in ten games played. She ranked 28th overall on the list of lower division scoring leaders.
Goaltenders
The following goaltenders lead the series in save percentage at the conclusion of lower division play on 20 March 2022, while starting at least one third of matches. Goaltending statistics were not carried over from the preliminaries, only statistics accumulated during the lower division series were considered.[32]
The qualification series (Finnish: karsintasarja) began on 26 March and concluded 10 April.
Three teams from the 2021 qualification series returned to the promotion/relegation tournament in 2022: Lukko, RoKi, and Vaasan Sport. Promoted from the Naisten Mestis to the lower division series alongside Lukko, APV last appeared in the 2020 qualification series, in which they did not gain promotion.
On April 3, Rovaniemen Kiekko (RoKi) and Rauman Lukko both amassed unbeatable point advantages and secured league positions. RoKi will remain in the Naisten Liiga for the 2022–23 season and Lukko will make their return to the league after being relegated to the Naisten Mestis in the 2020–21 Naisten Liiga qualifiers.[33]
Vaasan Sport will be relegated to the 2022–23 Naisten Mestis, following four seasons in the Naisten Liiga in which they qualified for the playoffs as the eighth-seed in 2020 and faced relegation in both 2021 and 2022. APV will return to the Naisten Mestis after missing out on the opportunity for promotion for the second time in three seasons.[33]
The following goaltenders have played at least one match in the qualification series at the conclusion of games played on 9 April 2022, sorted by save percentage.[36]
French forward Estelle Duvin of TPS claimed the Marianne Ihalainen Award as regular season scoring champion, amassing a staggering 31 goals and 26 assists for 57 points in 26 games played. She became the second international player to ever capture the honor, following Czech forward Michaela Pejzlová who won the award in 2021. HIFK Naiset wingerMatilda Nilsson was the top goalscorer of the regular season, notching 37 goals in 29 games played and winning the Tiia Reima Award for the second consecutive season.