HIFK Naiset

HIFK Naiset
City:	Helsinki, Finland
League:	Naisten Liiga
Founded:	1982 Refounded 2018
Home Arena:	Pirkkolan jäähalli
Owner(s):	Oy HIFK-Hockey Ab
General Manager:	Saara Niemi
Head Coach:	Saara Niemi
Captain:	Karoliina Rantamäki
Affiliates:	HIFK Akatemia
Franchise history
1982–1989:	HIFK Naiset
2018–:	HIFK Naiset (Stadin Gimmat)

HIFK Naiset, also known by the nickname Stadin Gimmat ('Girls of Stadi,' a nickname for Helsinki), are an ice hockey team in the Naisten Liiga. They play in the Pirkkola district of Helsinki, at the Pirkkola Ice Hall (Finnish: Pirkkolan jäähalli). As the representative women's ice hockey team of the Helsinki-based multi-sport club HIFK, the team is closely affiliated with the HIFK men's ice hockey team of the Liiga.

One of the ten founding teams from the inaugural 1982–83 Naisten SM-sarja season, the original HIFK Naiset was 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.

History

Original team, 1982–1989

HIFK Naiset was one of the original ten teams to play in the inaugural season, 1982–83, of the Finnish: Naisten SM-sarja (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 team – defencemen 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).

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	Mi. Klemola 50 (23+27)	Promoted to Naisten Liiga
2019–20	Naisten Liiga	7th	30	15	2	–	3	10	124	74	52	E. Passard 47 (28+19)	Lost quarterfinals, 0–3 (Kärpät)
2020–21	Naisten Liiga	3rd	27	16	4	–	1	6	104	57	57	E. Passard 37 (19+21)	Won bronze medal, 2–1 (Ilves)
2021–22	Naisten Liiga	2nd	29	26	0	–	0	3	137	41	78	M. Nilsson 55 (37+18)	Lost final, 2–3 (K-Espoo)

Players and personnel

2022–23 roster

As of 26 November 2022

#	Nat	Player	Pos	S/G	Age	Acquired	Birthplace
3	FIN	Andersson, EmmaEmma Andersson	3.0 F	L	18	2022
3	FIN	Andersson, NellyNelly Andersson	2.0 D	R	17	2022	Kotka, Kymenlaakso, Finland
13	FIN	Huotari, VeeraVeera Huotari	3.0 F	L	26	2020
19	FIN	Jääskeläinen, LumiLumi Jääskeläinen	1.0 G	L	26	2019	Lohja, Uusimaa, Finland
44	FIN	Karlberg, NellieNellie Karlberg	3.0 F	L	20	2022
23	FIN	Kemppainen, JohannaJohanna Kemppainen  (A)	3.0 F	L	27	2019	Mäntsälä, Uusimaa, Finland
22	FIN	Kitula, EveliinaEveliina Kitula	3.0 F	R	19	2022	Helsinki, Uusimaa, Finland
20	FIN	Korhonen, EricaErica Korhonen	3.0 F	L	19	2022
16	FIN	Kuuluvainen, SaraSara Kuuluvainen	2.0 D	L	21	2022
21	FIN	Kuusela, IinaIina Kuusela	1.0 G	L	28	2020	Helsinki, Uusimaa, Finland
92	FIN	Kylliäinen, OliviaOlivia Kylliäinen	2.0 D	R	21	2020	Lappeenranta, South Karelia, Finland
33	FIN	Lahtinen, KiiaKiia Lahtinen	1.0 G	L	21	2019	Porvoo, Uusimaa, Finland
91	FIN	Liikala, JuliaJulia Liikala  (A)	3.0 F	L	24	2021	Peräseinäjoki, South Ostrobothnia, Finland
88	FRA	Locatelli, AthénaAthéna Locatelli  (A)	2.0 D	L	33	2020	Bourg-de-Péage, ARA, France
27	FIN	Mäkelä, MiressaMiressa Mäkelä	3.0 F	L	24	2022	Porvoo, Uusimaa, Finland
9	FIN	Mehtonen, NennaNenna Mehtonen	2.0 D	L	23	2018	Klaukkala, Uusimaa, Finland
12	FIN	Palin, IlonaIlona Palin	2.0 D	L	19	2021
18	CZE	Pejzlová, MichaelaMichaela Pejzlová	3.0 F	L	28	2020	Pardubice, Czech Republic
29	FIN	Pere, AnniAnni Pere	3.0 F	L	21	2018	Loviisa, Uusimaa, Finland
11	FIN	Rantamäki, KaroliinaKaroliina Rantamäki  (C)	3.0 F	L	47	2019	Vantaa, Uusimaa, Finland
72	FRA	Rozier, ClaraClara Rozier	3.0 F	R	27	2020	Évian, ARA, France
15	FIN	Saukkonen, MikaelaMikaela Saukkonen	3.0 F	L	25	2018	Hyvinkää, Uusimaa, Finland
39	FIN	Suhonen, SaraSara Suhonen	3.0 F	L	19	2022	Vantaa, Uusimaa, Finland
28	FIN	Vanhanen, SanniSanni Vanhanen	3.0 F	L	19	2022	Nokia, Pirkanmaa, Finland
10	FIN	Vesa, EmiliaEmilia Vesa	3.0 F	R	24	2022	Helsinki, Uusimaa, Finland
26	FIN	Vihervuori, Satu-MaariaSatu-Maaria Vihervuori	2.0 D	L	21	2019	Vantaa, Uusimaa, Finland
4	FIN	Yrjöla, SiiriSiiri Yrjöla	2.0 D	L	20	2020	Vantaa, Uusimaa, Finland

Coaching staff and team personnel

• Head coach: Saara Niemi
• Goaltending coach: Tuukka Hämäläinen
• Video coach: Nikolas Sepponen
• Skills coach: Martin Andler
• Conditioning coach: Simon Dannapfel
• Conditioning coach: Joonas Lahtinen
• Conditioning coach: Margot Vander Ghinst
• Team managers: Jukka Ahola & Johanna Sandqvist
• Equipment managers: Riikka Ahola & Timo Nikunen

Team captaincy history

• Saara Suomikallio, 2018–19 (Mestis)
• Karoliina Rantamäki, 2019–

Head coaches

• Saara Niemi, 2018–

Awards and honors

Finnish Championship

• 2 Runners-up (1): 2022
• 3 Third Place (3): 1988, 1989, 2021

Source:

Player awards

• Noora Räty Award (Rookie of the Year)

• Krista Parkkonen, 2019–20

• Marianne Ihalainen Award (Top point scorer)

• Michaela Pejzlová, 2020–21

• Tiia Reima Award (Top goal scorer)

• Matilda Nilsson, 2021–22

• Hannu Saintula Award (Coach of the Year)

• Saara Niemi, 2020–21

• Scholar-Athlete Award

• Anni Hietaharju, 2020–21

All-Stars

• Second Team
  • Athéna Locatelli, 2020–21
  • Krista Parkkonen, 2020–21
  • Michaela Pejzlová, 2020–21

Player of the Month

• December 2019 – Emmanuelle Passard

Team records

The individual 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 1982–1989 Naisten SM-sarja seasons are not available. Records valid through the conclusion of the 2021–22 season.

Single-season records

• Most goals in a season: Matilda Nilsson, 37 goals (29 games; 2021–22)
• Most assists in a season: Michaela Pejzlová, 27 assists (21 games; 2021–22)
• Most points in a season: Matilda Nilsson, 55 points (29 games; 2021–22)
• Most points in a season, defenceman: Caroline Shaunessy, 27 points (30 games; 2019–20)
• Most points in a season, rookie: Krista Parkkonen, 21 points (28 games; 2019–20)
• Best points per game in a season, over ten games played: Michaela Pejzlová, 2.00 P/G (21 games; 2021–22)
• Most penalty minutes in a season: Krista Parkkonen, 63 PIM (28 games; 2019–20)
• Best save percentage in a season, over ten games played: Iina Kuusela, .951 SV% (18 games; 2021–22)
• Best goals against average in a season, over ten games played: Iina Kuusela, 1.23 GAA (18 games; 2021–22)
• Most shutouts in a season: Iina Kuusela, 6 shutouts (18 games; 2021–22)

Career records

Statistics valid from 2019–20 season through 2021–22 season.

• Most career goals: Emmanuelle Passard, 65 goals (85 games; 2019–2022)
• Most career assists: Karoliina Rantamäki, 58 assists (74 games; 2019–2022)
• Most career points: Emmanuelle Passard, 120 points (85 games; 2019–2022)
• Most career points, defenceman: Krista Parkkonen, 49 points (69 games; 2019–2022)
• Best career points per game, over 30 games played: Michaela Pejzlová, 1.84 P/G (43 games; 2019–2022)
• Most career penalty minutes: Krista Parkkonen, 75 PIM (69 games; 2019–2022)
• Most games played, skater: Emmanuelle Passard, 85 games (2019–2022)
• Most games played, goaltender: Iina Kuusela, 33 games (2020–2022)

All-time scoring leaders

The top-ten point (goal+assist) scorers since HIFK joined the Naisten Liiga in 2019.

As of April 2022

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
	Passard, EmmanuelleEmmanuelle Passard	F	85	65	55	120	1.41
	Rantamäki, KaroliinaKaroliina Rantamäki	F	74	28	58	86	1.16
	Pejzlová, MichaelaMichaela Pejzlová	F	43	32	47	79	1.84
	Nilsson, MatildaMatilda Nilsson	F	29	37	18	55	1.90
	Kemppainen, JohannaJohanna Kemppainen	F	81	29	25	54	0.67
	Rozier, ClaraClara Rozier	F	55	22	31	53	0.96
	Parkkonen, KristaKrista Parkkonen	D	69	14	35	49	0.71
	Locatelli, AthénaAthéna Locatelli	D	54	6	33	39	0.72
	Mäkelä, MiressaMiressa Mäkelä	F	44	18	17	35	0.80
	Jalonen, FannyFanny Jalonen	F	54	12	22	34	0.63
	Liikala, JuliaJulia Liikala	F	27	15	18	33	1.22
	Shaunessy, CarolineCaroline Shaunessy	D	30	7	20	27	0.90
	Juusela, EmmiEmmi Juusela	F	47	12	13	25	0.53
	Yrjölä, SiiriSiiri Yrjölä	D	56	6	19	25	0.45
	Lorencová, VeronikaVeronika Lorencová	F	74	10	12	22	0.30

Source(s): Finnish Ice Hockey Association, Elite Prospects

External links

• Official website (in Finnish)
• HIFK Naiset on Facebook
• HIFK Naiset on Instagram
• HIFK Naiset on Twitter