KooKoo (Liiga)

KooKoo is a Finnish ice hockey team playing in the first level of Finnish ice hockey league Liiga. KooKoo plays in the Lumon arena (capacity 5,950), in Kouvola. The team was established in 1965 and the full name of the club is Kouvolan Kiekko-65.

Franchise history
KooKoo was formerly established by the KPL and Sudet Kouvolan Kuntosali Sports Club in Kouvola on 3 November 1965. The first official match was played on November 17, 1965 when KooKoo won the Kuusankoski Puhti goals 4–2. A new club for ice hockey skills got plenty from Lappeenranta, where many of its first-year players and coaches came from.

Early years
KooKoo started its career in the official series of the Association in the period 1966-1967, when it participated in the region's Southern Finland section. During the 1967-1968 season, KooKoo played in the region of the Greater Savo region, where it ranked fourth. KooKoo tasted in the provincial series without great success for the next two years. In the 1970-1971 season, KooKoo ranked second in the Kymenlaakso Group and reached the Finnish qualifier but did not reach the championship.

Time in the I Division
KooKoo rise to the second highest level in the series, the Finnish series for the period 1971-1972. It was also included in the 1974 newly created series, the first division. In 1982, an ice rink was built in Kouvola, which greatly improved the operating conditions. The first jumping match in November 1982 between KooKoo and SaPKo ended in KooKo's 7-4 victory over 4,000 spectators. KooKoo was able to attempt an SM-liiga for the first time in the 1984-1985 season, after ranking third in the season. However, KooKoo did not make any profit. During the 1985-1986 season, KooKoo was reigned by Reino Ruotsalainen, and in the training team the team was ranked third in the regular season. In the four-legged league qualifying, Kookoo also ranked third and was forced to continue in the division. In the 1986-1987 season, the club celebrated its first league victory after winning the division's regular season prematurely before TuTo Hockey.

Time in SM-Liiga
KooKoo's first season in the SM-Liiga was difficult, as did the rider in general. In the spring of 1988, KooKoo played a very A tight five-game elimination series with Lahden Kiekkoreipas. The fourth game extended to the overtime until Lasse Tasala Solved the victory to KooKoo. After that, KooKoo easily retained its place in the crucial fifth match played at home.

In his second season, KooKoo played in the 1988-1989 season with Urpo Ylönen. In this case, the team reached its best position in the ninth of the league.

The team's last season in the league was very weak and it fell back to the first division after losing to the qualifying round for Hockey Reipas.

Back to Division and Fall in Division II
KooKoo started in the first division of the 1990s. The team was at the top of the line even though its economy had come out of trouble due to lease payments. KooKoo fell back to the downs in 1997 when the first division team was downsized by four. The unambiguous aim of the club was to get back to the first division. The team always survived until qualifying, but Hyvinkää Ahmat was better off with 3-2.

Back to Division and Mestis
In the 1998-1999 season, KooKoo came out again in qualifying. It succeeded in winning the Uudenkaupungin Jää-Kotkat in the matches 3-2 and rise after the two-year break to the first division.

KooKoo started in the autumn of 1999 in the first division. In 2000, the team moved to the newly established Mestis. In the spring of 2005, the club announced that it would end the level of representation of the board, but the team's games continued with new background factors. In 2009-2010 season, KooKoo won the Mestis Regular Series for the first time in 23 years. At the end of the season KooKoo reached bronze medals by winning LeKi 4-2. In the season 2013-2014, KooKoo wins the Jukurit in finals, won the Mestis championship and 24 years later KooKoo get promoted back to the SM-Liiga.

Return to the SM-Liiga
In October 2014, information about KooKoo return to the SM-Liiga for the period 2015-2016 was published. In his current league season, KooKoo took 26 wins, 16 of which came in the regular time, total score was 78 and the result was 11.

At the beginning of the 2017-2018 season, KooKoo made a follow-up history in the SM-Liiga by being the leader in the series for the first time. In the regular season history, there are now 15 teams who have reached the top spot in the regular season.

KooKoo made the 2019-2020 season Kouvola's hockey history for the first time making the climb straight to the main-level playoffs. However, the playoffs were not played during the season due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

Champions

 * Mestis (1): 2013-14
 * I-Divisioona (1): 1986-87
 * Maakuntasarja (II-Divisioona) (1): 1972

Runners-up

 * Mestis (3): 2001-02, 2012-13, 2014-15
 * I-Divisioona (Fazer-liiga) (1): 1994–95
 * Mestis (3): 2002-03, 2009-10, 2011-12
 * I-Divisioona (5): 1982–83, 1984–85, 1985–86, 1991–92, 1992–93

Other awards for the club:
 * Imatra Bauer Tournament winner (1): 2016
 * Vaasa Cup winner (1): 2013

Ranking in the SM-Liiga

 * 1987–88 – 10.
 * 1988–89 – 9.
 * 1989–90 – 11.
 * 2015–16 – 11.
 * 2016-17 – 13.
 * 2017–18 – 14.
 * 2018–19 - 13.
 * 2019–20 - 5.
 * 2020–21 -

NHL alumni

 * 🇫🇮 Mika Alatalo
 * 🇫🇮 Hannu Kamppuri
 * 🇫🇮 Marko Kiprusoff
 * 🇫🇮 Jarno Kultanen
 * 🇫🇮 Anssi Melametsä
 * 🇫🇮 Jarmo Myllys
 * 🇫🇮 Joni Ortio
 * 🇫🇮 Petri Varis
 * 🇨🇦 Brett Carson
 * 🇨🇦 Josh Green
 * 🇨🇦 Leland Irving
 * 🇨🇦 Gary Yaremchuk
 * 🇨🇦 Jim Leavins
 * 🇨🇦 Steve Peters
 * 🇨🇦 Matt Watkins
 * 🇺🇸 Tommy Wingels
 * 🇩🇪 Niklas Treutle
 * 🇨🇿 Libor Šulák
 * 🇸🇪 Joakim Andersson

Other former notable players

 * 🇷🇺 / Viktor Tyumenev
 * 🇫🇮 / 🇪🇪 Siim Liivik
 * 🇨🇦 / 🇮🇹 Frederic Cloutier
 * 🇫🇮 Reino Soijärvi
 * 🇸🇪 Malte Strömwall
 * 🇫🇮 Timo Susi
 * 🇫🇮 Ari Vallin