IFK Helsinki Naiset (), abbreviated HIFK Naiset and also known as Stadin Gimmat (, a nickname for Helsinki), is an

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

team in the Finnish

Auroraliiga The is the national premier league for women's ice hockey in Finland. Founded by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association as the Naisten Suomen mestaruus, SM-sarja (NSMs; ) in 1982, it was known as the Naisten Liiga (NSML;) from 2017 until being rebr ...

. They play in the Pirkkola district of

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

at the (). The team is the representative women's ice hockey team of the multisport club Idrottsföreningen Kamraterna, Helsingfors and is operated by Oy HIFK-Hockey Ab, the same organization that owns the HIFK men's ice hockey team of the

Liiga The Liiga, colloquially called the Finnish Elite League in English or FM-ligan in Swedish, is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. The league comprises 16 teams from all around Finland with relegation and promotion between the Mesti ...

– HIFK Naiset are one of only two Auroraliiga teams owned directly by a Liiga team. The original HIFK Naiset was one of the ten founding teams from the inaugural

1982–83 Naisten SM-sarja season The 1982–83 Naisten SM-sarja season was the first season of the Naisten SM-sarja, the premier league of women's ice hockey in Finland. The inaugural Finnish Champions in women's ice hockey were Helsingin Jääkiekkoklubi, HJK Helsinki, winners ...

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 Auroraliiga (then called the Naisten Liiga) from the second-tier

Naisten Mestis Naisten Mestis (; from , 'Championship series') is the second-highest women's national ice hockey league in Finland. Founded as the Naisten I-divisioona () in 1985 by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association, when the number of teams playing in the Au ...

at the end of their debut season in 2018–19. HIFK-Stadin Gimmat has two affiliate teams, HIFK Akatemia and HIFK Challenger (known as HIFK U18 from 2018 to 2023), which are active in the Naisten Mestis and

Naisten Suomi-sarja The Naisten Suomi-sarja (), distinguished as the Jääkiekon naisten Suomi-sarja (), is the third-tier women's national ice hockey league in Finland. It was established by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association in 2003 and is the lowest tier of natio ...

, respectively.

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 (; renamed Naisten Liiga in 2017 and Auroraliiga in 2024). 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 difference Goal difference, goal differential or points difference is a form of tiebreaker used to rank sport teams which finish on equal points in a league competition. Either "goal difference" or "points difference" is used, depending on whether matches ar ...

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 team – defensemen Johanna Ikonen and Maria Turki (Novitsky), and

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

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 Promotion and relegation is used by sports leagues as a process where teams can move up and down among divisions in a league system, based on their performance over a season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are sometimes call ...

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 HIFK Naiset-Stadin Gimmat (2018–present). Note: Finish = Rank at end of regular season; GP =

Games played Games played (GP) is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated (in any capacity); the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested. Associat ...

, W = Wins (3 points), OTW = Overtime/shootout wins (2 points), T =

Ties TIES may refer to: * TIES, Teacher Institute for Evolutionary Science * TIES, The Interactive Encyclopedia System * TIES, Time Independent Escape Sequence * Theoretical Issues in Ergonomics Science * The International Ecotourism Society {{disambig ...

(1 point), OTL = Overtime/shootout losses (1 point), L = Losses, GF =

Goals for The following are statistics commonly tracked in ice hockey. Team statistics * STK – winning or losing streak * GD – ''Goal Difference'' (used as standings tie breaker) * GP – ''Games played'' – Number of games the team has played * W ...

, GA = Goals against, Pts =

Points A point is a small dot or the sharp tip of something. Point or points may refer to: Mathematics * Point (geometry), an entity that has a location in space or on a plane, but has no extent; more generally, an element of some abstract topologica ...

, Top scorer: Points ( Goals+ Assists)

Players and personnel

2024–25 roster

Coaching staff and team personnel * Head coach: Saara Niemi * Assistant coach: Antti Borgenström * Goaltending coach: Aleksi Kiviranta * Skills coach: Martin Andler * Conditioning coach: Marko Kivenmäki * Team manager: Nina Forelius * Equipment managers: Oliver Karlberg & Timo Nikunen * Physical therapist: Virpi Rajala

Team captaincy history

* Saara Suomikallio, 2018–19 *

Karoliina Rantamäki Karoliina Stina Margaretha Rantamäki (born 23 February 1978) is a Finnish ice hockey forward. She plays in the Auroraliiga with Kiekko-Espoo. Rantamäki holds the all-time career record for games played with the Finnish women's national ice ...

, 2019–2024 * Athéna Locatelli, 2024–

Head coaches

* Saara Niemi, 2018–

Awards and honors

Finnish Championship

Aurora Borealis Cup The Aurora Borealis Cup () is the trophy awarded by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association to the victorious team of the Auroraliiga playoffs, the Finnish Champion in women's ice hockey. Project Christopher Shapardanov, Canadian Ambassador to Fin ...

''(2)'':

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

* Runners-up ''(1)'':

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

* Third Place ''(3)'': 1988, 1989,

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

Source:

Player awards

* Päivi Halonen Award (Defender of the Year) :* 2022–23:

Siiri Yrjölä Siiri Yrjölä (born 8 September 2004) is a Finnish college ice hockey player for St. Cloud State and a member of Finland women's national ice hockey team. She previously played for IFK Helsinki of the Naisten Liiga. Playing career Yrjölä ...

:* 2023–24: Siiri Yrjölä *

Noora Räty Award The Noora Räty Award () is an ice hockey trophy awarded to the Rookie of the Year of the Naisten Liiga (ice hockey), Naisten Liiga (previously the Naisten SM-sarja), as selected by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association. Rookie of the Year was first ...

(Rookie of the Year) :* 2019–20:

Krista Parkkonen Krista Parkkonen (born 25 June 2002) is a Finnish ice hockey player for Minnesota Duluth of the NCAA Division I and member of the Finnish national team. Playing career Parkkonen first played ice hockey at age 4 or 5, participating in a youth h ...

:* 2022–23: Sanni Vanhanen *

Marianne Ihalainen Award The Marianne Ihalainen Award () an ice hockey trophy seasonally awarded by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association to the regular season top point scorer of the Auroraliiga, known as the Naisten Liiga during 2017 to 2024, and as the Naisten SM-sarja ...

(Top point scorer) :* 2020–21: Michaela Pejzlová :* 2022–23: Michaela Pejzlová :* 2023–24: Michaela Pejzlová *

Tiia Reima Award The Tiia Reima Award or Tiia Reima Trophy () is an ice hockey trophy seasonally awarded by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association to the top goal scorer of the Auroraliiga regular season. It is named after Tiia Reima, one of the trailblazers of wome ...

(Top goal scorer) :* 2021–22: Matilda Nilsson * Sari Fisk Award (Best plus–minus) :* 2022–23: Michaela Pejzlová :* 2023–24:

Clara Rozier Clara Rozier (born 28 August 1997) is a French ice hockey player and member of the French national ice hockey team. She is signed in the Swiss Women's League (SWHL A) with the women's team of SC Bern for the 2024–25 season. Playing career ...

* Emma Laaksonen Award (Fair-play player) :* 2021–22: Emmanuelle Passard *

Karoliina Rantamäki Award The Karoliina Rantamäki Award () is an ice hockey trophy awarded by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association to the playoff MVP of the Naisten Liiga, called the Naisten SM-sarja during 1982 to 2017. The Naisten SM-sarja Playoff MVP trophy was first ...

(Playoff MVP) :* 2022–23: Sanni Vanhanen :* 2023–24: Clara Rozier * Hannu Saintula Award (Coach of the Year) :* 2020–21: Saara Niemi :* 2022–23: Saara Niemi * Scholar-Athlete of the Year :* 2020–21: Anni Hietaharju :* 2022–23: Michaela Pejzlová

All-Stars

Naisten Liiga All-Star teams are selected by Naisten Liiga coaches at the conclusion of the regular season. Prior to the 2023–24 season, All-Star teams were selected by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association.
''First Team'' :* 2022–23: Julia Liikala ( RW), Michaela Pejzlová ( C),

( D) :* 2023–24: Michaela Pejzlová (C), Siiri Yrjölä (D) ''Second Team'' :* 2020–21: Athéna Locatelli ( D),

(D), Michaela Pejzlová ( C) :* 2021–22: Iina Kuusela ( G), Matilda Nilsson ( RW), Krista Parkkonen (D), Michaela Pejzlová (C) :* 2023–24: Julia Liikala (RW)

Player of the Month

* December 2019: Emmanuelle Passard * October 2022: Julia Liikala * January 2023: Emilia Vesa * January 2024: Michaela Pejzlová

Team records and leaders

The player records detailed here are from the Naisten Liiga (called Naisten SM-sarja from 1982 to 2017); Naisten Mestis statistics accrued during the 2018–19 season are not included. Records valid through the conclusion of the 2023–24 season.

Single-season records

* Most goals: Matilda Nilsson, 37 goals (29 games; 2021–22) * Most assists: Michaela Pejzlová, 50 assists (31 games; 2022–23) * Most

points A point is a small dot or the sharp tip of something. Point or points may refer to: Mathematics * Point (geometry), an entity that has a location in space or on a plane, but has no extent; more generally, an element of some abstract topologica ...

: Michaela Pejzlová, 82 points (31 games; 2022–23) * Most points,

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the l ...

, 42 points (31 games; 2022–23) * Most points,

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience, a rookie is typically considered needing more tra ...

: Sanni Vanhanen, 40 points (22 games; 2022–23) * Best

points per game Points per game, often abbreviated PPG, is the average number of points scored by a player or team per game played in a sport, over the course of a series of games, a whole season, or a career. It is calculated by dividing the total number of poi ...

, over ten games played: Michaela Pejzlová, 2.96 P/G (24 games; 2023–24) * Most

penalty minutes A penalty in ice hockey is a punishment for an infringement of the rules. Most penalties are enforced by sending the offending player to a penalty box for a set number of minutes. During the penalty the player may not participate in play. Penalties ...

: Krista Parkkonen, 63 PIM (28 games; 2019–20) * Best

save percentage Save percentage (often known by such symbols as SV%, SVS%, SVP, PCT) is a statistic in various Goal (sports), goal-scoring sports that track Save (goaltender), saves as a statistic. In ice hockey and lacrosse and association football, it is a sta ...

, over ten games played: Iina Kuusela, .951 SV% (18 games; 2021–22) * Best

goals against average Goals against average (GAA), also known as average goals against (AGA), is a statistic used in field hockey, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, and water polo that is the mean of goals allowed per game by a goaltender or goalkeeper (depending on spo ...

, over ten games played: Iina Kuusela, 1.23 GAA (18 games; 2021–22) * Most

shutouts In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which the losing team fails to score. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usually seen as a result of ...

: Iina Kuusela, 6 shutouts (18 games; 2021–22)

Career records

* Most goals: Michaela Pejzlová, 94 goals (98 games; 2020–2024) * Most assists: Michaela Pejzlová, 138 assists (98 games; 2020–2024) * Most points: Michaela Pejzlová, 232 points (98 games; 2020–2024) * Most points, defenceman: Siiri Yrjölä, 100 points (114 games; 2020–2024) * Best points per game, over 30 games played: Michaela Pejzlová, 2.37 P/G (98 games; 2020–2024) * Most penalty minutes: ''Two players'', 94 PIM ** Maria Novitsky (68 games; 1983–1989) **

(121 games; 2020–2024) * Most games played, skater: Anni Pere, 138 games (2019–2024) * Most games played, goaltender: Kiia Lahtinen, 48 games (2019–2024) * Best save percentage: Iina Kuusela, .934 SV% (36 games; 2020–2023) * Best goals against average: Kiia Lahtinen, 1.48 GAA (32 games; 2019–2024) * Most shutouts: Kiia Lahtinen, 13 shutouts (48 games; 2019–2024)

All-time scoring leaders

The top Naisten Liiga regular season point scorers (goals + assists) in HIFK history, through the 2023–24 season. Note: Nat = Nationality; Pos =

Position Position often refers to: * Position (geometry), the spatial location (rather than orientation) of an entity * Position, a job or occupation Position may also refer to: Games and recreation * Position (poker), location relative to the dealer * ...

; GP =

; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts =

; P/G =

Points per game Points per game, often abbreviated PPG, is the average number of points scored by a player or team per game played in a sport, over the course of a series of games, a whole season, or a career. It is calculated by dividing the total number of poi ...

Notable alumnae

* Sanni Ahola, 2018–2020 * Johanna Ikonen, 1988–89 * Julia Liikala, 2021–2024 * Matilda Nilsson, 2021–22 *

, 2019–2022 *

, 2019–2024 *

Liisa-Maria Sneck Liisa-Maria Sneck (born 10 November 1968) is a Finnish retired ice hockey goaltender. She played with the Finnish national ice hockey team during 1988 to 1998 and won three IIHF European Women Championship gold medals, four IIHF Women's Worl ...

, 1984–1989 * Sanni Vanhanen, 2022–2024 * Emilia Vesa, 2022–23 *

, 2020–2024

International players

Veronika Lorencová Veronica, Veronika, etc., may refer to: People * Veronica (name) * Saint Veronica * Saint Veronica of Syria Arts and media Comics and literature * ''Veronica'', an 1870 novel by Frances Eleanor Trollope * ''Veronica (novel)'', a 2005 novel by ...

, 2019–2022 * Emmanuelle Lahouratate Passard, 2019–2022 * Michaela Pejzlová, 2020–2024 *

, 2020–2024 * Caroline Shaunessy, 2019–20 *

Blanka Škodová Blanka Škodová (born 1 October 1997) is a Czech ice hockey goaltender and member of the Czech national team. She has played with Leksands IF in the Swedish Women's Hockey League (SDHL) with since June 2025. International play As a junior pla ...

, 10 August–13 October 2023

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:HIFK Naiset 1982 establishments in Finland HIFK * Ice hockey clubs established in 1982 Naisten Liiga (ice hockey) teams Ice hockey teams in Finland Sports clubs and teams in Helsinki Women's ice hockey teams in Europe