Naisten Mestis

Naisten Mestis (Women's Mestis; from Mestaruussarja, "Championship series") is the second-highest league in Finnish women’s ice hockey. The league was founded as Naisten I-divisioona (Women’s First Division) in 1985 by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association when the number of teams playing in the Naisten SM-sarja (now Naisten Liiga) was limited. It was renamed Naisten Mestis prior to the 2012-13 season.

Series format
The Mestis season format has changed many times since the founding of the league in 1985. The current format was introduced for the 2019–20 season.

Qualifiers

With the exception of the Naisten SM-liiga teams, all club representative teams start the season in the Mestis Qualifiers (Finnish:Karsinta). Each team is grouped into a division (Finnish:lohko) of five to eight teams; the number of divisions is determined by the total number of teams competing and each division is loosely defined by geographic location, with proximate teams being grouped. Each team plays a total of fifteen or sixteen matches within their division. The points earned in the games determine the team’s ranking within their division; victories earn three points, overtime victories earn two points, and overtime losses earn one point. Teams that rank forth or lower in each division at the end of the qualifiers do not qualify to play in the Mestis and continue the season in the Naisten Suomi-sarja. The qualifying round runs from the beginning of the season in September to late November or early December.

Cross qualifiers

The team with the highest point total from each division of the qualifiers moves on the cross qualifying round (ristiinkarsinta). If there are an odd number of divisions, the team with the highest point total of all remaining teams also moves on. The cross qualifiers are a round-robin tournament, each team faces all other participating teams once. The two teams earning the highest point totals at the end of the tournament continue their seasons in the Lower Division (Alempi jatkosarja) of the Naisten Liiga and have the opportunity to gain promotion to the Naisten Liiga for the following season. The teams ranked third and lower in the cross qualifiers continue the season in the Naisten Mestis regular season. The cross qualifying round is played in late November and/or early December.

Regular season

The teams ranked third and lower in the cross qualifiers and the teams that finished second or third in each division of the qualifiers fill the ranks of the Mestis regular season. If the number of divisions is odd, the third ranked team from the qualifiers with smallest point total does not qualify and moves to the Naisten Suomi-sarja so that an even number of teams is maintained in the Mestis. Each team in the regular season plays an equal number of games against each of the other teams. The regular season runs from January to March.

Qualifiers
Lohko 1
 * 1) 🇦🇽 IFK Mariehamn, Mariehamn
 * 2) KOOVEE, Tampere
 * 3) Salo HT, Salo
 * 4) Panelian Raikas (PaRa), Eura
 * 5) Rockets, Loimaa
 * 6) Jää-Kotkat Uusikaupunki (UJK), Uusikaupunki

Lohko 2
 * 1) HIFK Akatemia, Helsinki
 * 2) JYP, Jyväskylä
 * 3) Kiekko-Espoo Akatemia, Espoo
 * 4) KJT Haukat, Tuusula
 * 5) Pelicans, Lahti
 * 6) Saimaan Pallo (SaiPa), Lappeenranta

Lohko 3
 * 1) Alavuden Peli-Veikot (APV), Alavus
 * 2) KalPa Akatemia, Kuopio
 * 3) Kärpät Akatemia, Oulu
 * 4) LL -89 Red Lights, Lapinlahti
 * 5) TeKi, Raahe
 * 6) YJK, Ylivieska

Series champions
The manner in which the Mestis Championship is won has changed many times since the founding of the league in 1985. For example, it has been awarded to the most successful team in the regular season, the winner of Mestis playoffs (which have also repeatedly changed format), or to the team able to win promotion through the Naisten Liiga qualification/relegation series. The winner of the Naisten Mestis has not been historically guaranteed a place in the Naisten Liiga for the following season.


 * 1986: Shakers, Kerava
 * 1987: Tiikerit, Hämeenlinna
 * 1988: Ilves-Kiekko, Tampere
 * 1989: Tiikerit, Hämeenlinna
 * 1990: Espoon Kiekkoseura (EKS), Espoo
 * 1991: Ketterä, Imatra
 * 2001: Hämeenlinnan Pallokerho, Hämeenlinna
 * 2002: Turun Palloseura (TPS), Turku
 * 2003: Turun Palloseura (TPS), Turku
 * 2004: Lohjan Kisa-Veikot (LoKV), Lohja
 * 2005: Turun Palloseura (TPS), Turku
 * 2006: Etelä-Vantaan Urheilijat (EVU), Vantaa
 * 2007: Alavuden Peli-Veikot (APV), Kuortane
 * 2008: Salo Hockey Team (Salo HT), Salo
 * 2009: Alavuden Peli-Veikot (APV), Kuortane
 * 2010: Kalevan Pallo (KalPa), Kuopio
 * 2011: Itä-Helsingin Kiekko (IHT), Helsinki
 * 2012: Keski-Uudenmaan Juniorikiekkoilun Tuki (KJT), Kerava
 * 2013: Keski-Uudenmaan Juniorikiekkoilun Tuki (KJT), Kerava
 * 2014: Rovaniemen Kiekko (RoKi), Rovaniemi
 * 2015: Lapinlahden Luistin -89 Red Lights (LL-89), Lapinlahti
 * 2016: Espoo Blues/Espoon Kiekkoseura (EKS), Espoo
 * 2017: Vaasan Sport, Vaasa
 * 2018: Turun Palloseura (TPS), Turku
 * 2019: Idrottsföreningen Kamraterna, Helsingfors (HIFK), Helsinki
 * 2020: Rovaniemen Kiekko (RoKi), Rovaniemi
 * 2020: Rovaniemen Kiekko (RoKi), Rovaniemi