| Naisten Suomi-sarja | |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Founded | 2003 |
| Inaugural season | 2003–04 |
| No. of teams | 11 |
The Naisten Suomi-sarja (Women's Finland Series), distinguished as the Jääkiekon naisten Suomi-sarja (Ice Hockey Women's Finland Series), is the third-tier women's ice hockey league in Finland and the autonomous region of Åland.[1] It was founded by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association in 2003. The league is the lowest-ranked tier of national ice hockey competition, below the premier Naisten Liiga and secondary Naisten Mestis but above the women's regional hobby leagues (Finnish: Naisten alueelliset harrastesarjat).
Season format[]
2022–23 season[]
Excepting the ten teams of the Naisten Liiga, all women's ice hockey teams competing at the national level began the season in the Naisten Mestis qualifiers (Finnish: karsinta). The Naisten Mestis qualifiers, which are being contested during September to December 2022, involves eighteen teams divided into three groups of five to seven teams. In the closed groups, each team will play every other team at least twice. The top ten teams at the end of the qualifiers will continue in the Naisten Mestis and the remaining teams will fill the ranks of the Naisten Suomi-sarja.[2]
2023–24 season[]
Beginning in the 2023–24 season, the Naisten Mestis will adopt the ten team, 36-game format used by the Naisten Liiga. From that time, all teams not playing in the Naisten Liiga or Naisten Mestis and any new teams will play in the Naisten Suomi-sarja. The top teams in the Naisten Suomi-sarja will have the opportunity to earn promotion to the Naisten Mestis in a promotion/relegation series against the bottom ranked Naisten Mestis teams at the end of the season.[2]
Previous formats[]
2016–17 season
With the exception of the eight Naisten SM-sarja teams, all women's teams teams started the season in the Naisten Mestis qualifiers. The top eight teams qualified for the Naisten Mestis regular season and the remaining teams continued the season in the Naisten Suomi-sarja.
The best four teams of the Naisten Suomi-sarja regular season earned placement in the finals of the Naisten Mestis. The other teams continued the season in the final series of the Naisten Suomi-sarja. The series winner was determined in the final tournament.[3]
Teams[]
2021–22 season[]
- HIFK Naiset U18
- IFK Mariehamn Damer (MIFK)
- Kontiolahden Kajastus
- KalPa Naiset Akatemia
- Kiekko-Espoo Naiset U18
- Haapajärven Kiilat Naiset
- Lapinlahden Luistin -89 Red Lights (LL -89)
- Salo HT
- Teräs-Kiekko Naiset (TeKi)
- TPS Naiset Akatemia
- Turku HC
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Elite Prospects - Suomi-sarja (W) (en).
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Antila, Pirkka (2022-04-28). Naisten Liigan, Mestiksen ja Suomi-sarjan pelaamistavat vahvistettu kausille 22-23 ja 23-24 (fi-fi).
- ↑ Aalto, Markku (2016). Kilpailutoiminta (fi-fi).