#Naisten Liiga

[grantmentis]

Women’s Hockey News Round Up 6/16-7/1

Everything here is official only, and try to list the most relevant transactions globally but may miss something, so always feel free to add! Since a lot of people who follow this blog are North American/most familiar with the PWHL, i put less context there than I may for other leagues

Extended indicates they did not change teams. buckle in this one is long as hell

PWHL (North America)

RETIRMENTS: Becca Gilmore (OTT) and Erica Howe (TOR) announce their retirements

PWHL Ottawa signings: - Alexa Vasko (PWHL Toronto) for one year -Logan Agners (Quinnipiac, undrafted) for one year -Rebecca Leslie (PWHL Toronto) for one year -Anna Meixner (Brynäs) for one year -Shiann Darkangelo (extended) for one year,

PWHL Toronto signings: -Daryll Watts (PWHL Ottawa) for two years -Emma Woods (PWHL New York) for two years -Raygan Kirk ( Ohio state) for two years -Izzy Daniel (Cornell) for two years -Megan Carter (Northeastern) for two years -Julia Gosling (st Lawrence) for two years -Hannah Miller (extension) for one year -Allie Munroe (extension) for two years

PWHL Boston signings: -Lexie Adzija (extended) for one year -Hannah Brandt (extended) for two years -Emily brown (extended) for two years -Sidney Morin (extended) for one year -Sophie Shirley (extended) for two years

PWHL Montreal: -Mikyla Grant Mentis (extended) for one year -Cayla Barnes (Ohio State) for three years -Elaine Chuli (extended) for one year -Mariah Keopple (extended) for one year -Amanda Boulier (extended) for one year

PWHL New York Signings: -Abbey levy (extended) two years

PWHL Minnesota signings: -Liz schepers (extended) for one year -Denisa Křižová (extended) for two years -Michela Cava (extended) for one year -Klára Hymlárová (st cloud) for two years -britta Curl (Wisconsin) for one year,

Josh Sciba joins PWHL New York as assistant coach. He has experience as Union College's head coach of their women's program as well as with the USWNT as an assistant coach

SDHL (Sweden)

The league has announced they will have goal cameras in place next season!

Finnish national team defender Sini Karjalainen joins Skellefteå AIK after playing with Brynäs last season

18 year old Swedish defender Thea Liodden signs with Linköping HC from AIK

Clarkson University forward Darcie Lappan signs with MoDo hockey

Providence College captain Rachel Weiss signs with HV71

16 year old Ebba Westerlind, who has shown very strong success in Sweden's youth programs, signs with Frölunda HC

Ann-Frédérique Guay, who played 4 years at Norwich University on the D3 level before transferring to UMaine and having a successful final year, has joined Linköping HC

American forward Naomi Rogge, who was successful last season with SDE, has joined Linköping HC

SDHL veteran Emmy Alasalmi joins Linköping HC

Lily George of University of New Brunswick joins Leksands

Dominique Kremer, most recently with PWHL Minnesota, has signed with SDE

Jakob Löf joins Brynäs as an assistnt coach. He previously coached the programs u16 team

Swedish National Team forward Michelle Löwenhielm extends with SDE for another year

Naisten Liiga (Finland)

Rising Finnish national team star Emma Ekoluoma changes teams from Kärpät to Ilves

Norweigan national team defender Iben Tillman will join the league and HPK specifically after a strong performance at the D1A World Championship

24 year old finnish forward Anni Montonen returns to Kiekko-Espoo after spending a season in the SDHL. She previously played for Kiekko-Espoo from 2019-2023 and was one of their top producers

Susanna Viitala, who played for TPS last year and was just under a point per game, joins Kiekko-Espoo

Julia Kuusisto get a one year extension in Ilves after a season where she took a big step forward and played with the u18 national team

defender Nelly Andersson will be back with HIFK after playing 23 games with them last year for the first time and getting experience with both the u18 and senior team

Defender Ilona Palin who spent time with the team last year as well a the u18 Finnish team, will return to HIFK for another year as well

SWHL / Postfinance Women League (Switzerland)

HC Davos ladies make four big signings -Swiss national team defender Alessia Baechler who played with ZSC Lions Frauen last year -Renee lendi who also played with ZSC and their B league affiliate -American/Canadian defender Lucie Tenenbaum. This is particularly interesting because Tenenbaum played prep school with Bishop Kearney last year and is committed to Minnesota State for the year following next season, so cool to see her develop in Switzerland for the year in between -Italian national team forward Aurora Abatangelo who was with Ladies Team Lugano last year

EWHL (Central/Eastern Europe + others)

The rebranded KSV Neuberg Highlanders also add five new players -Bishop University graduate and defender Marie-Camille Théorêt -Slovenian national team forward and EWHL Veteran/consistent top forward Sara Confidenti -Slovakian forward and EWHL top scorer Nikola Rumanova -American forward and SUNY-Oswego graduate Kensie Malone -American forward and Franklin Pierce University graduate Claire Casey

[auroraliiga]

Coach Saara Niemi with all the HIFK alumnae on Naisleijonat: Sanni Vanhanen, Sanni Ahola, Emilia Vesa, Krista Parkkonen, and Julia Liikala

[womenshockeyworld]

wHw Team 2023/24

SDHL

AIK: Becky Brown, Emily Rickwood

BIF: Noemi Neubauerová

DIF: Anneke Linser

FHC: -

HV71: Tea Nyberg, Anni Keisala

LIF: Emilie Kruse Johanssen, Nathalie Carlsson Mattila

LHC: -

LHF: -

MODO: Andrea Brändli

SDE: Viktorie Švejdová

NAISTEN LIIGA

[rakkauspaita]

Chris Paul kokee jälleen omistajan myyntitiimin

Phoenix Sunsin omistajan Robert Sarverin äskettäinen päätös myydä joukkue on noussut huomion kohteeksi. NBA:ssa on monia omistajia, jotka ovat joutuneet myymään joukkueensa erilaisten ongelmien vuoksi, eikä Phoenix Sunsin omistaja Robert Sarver ole suinkaan viimeinen. Tämä on vasta kolmas kerta, kun Chris Paul on kokenut omistaja-myyntitiimin, ja hänen 3. Phoenix Suns Pelipaita näkee päivänvalon.

Vuonna 2012 Charlotte Hornetsin omistaja George Shinn jäi kiinni joukkueen varojen kavalluksesta. Häntä uhkaa kova rangaistus liigalta, ja Charlotte Hornetsia johtaa suoraan liiga. Vuonna 2014 Los Angeles Clippersin omistaja Donald Sterling paljastettiin rasistisista huomautuksista. Sen jälkeen kun Donald Sterling oli saanut liigalta raskaat sakot, hän joutui myös joukkueen pakkomyyntiin ja vetäytymiseen NBA-markkinoilta. Nyt Phoenix Sunsin omistaja Robert Sarver kohtaa myös joukkueen myyntiongelman, jonka suurin ongelma on rasismi ja naisten epäkunnioitus. Vaikka Robert Sarver saikin raskaan sakon ja vuoden joukkueen johtamiskiellon, hän päätti tehdä jotain vieläkin väärin. Nyt Robert Sarver vihdoin ei kestä ulkomaailman painetta, hän teki päätöksen myydä joukkue.

Näillä kolmella joukkueella on yksi suurimmista uhreista, ja hän on Chris Paul, joka pelaa näissä joukkueissa. Kun Chris Paul pelasi Charlotte Hornetsissa vuonna 2012, joukkue oli tilanteessa, joka esti häntä olemasta Kobe Bryantin joukkuetoveri. Vanha Chris Paul ajatteli, että hänellä olisi parempi tulevaisuus liigassa sanottuaan hyvästit Charlotte Hornets Pelipaita. Mutta Chris Paul kävi jälleen omistaja-myyntitiimien läpi Los Angeles Clippersin ja Phoenix Sunsin kanssa, ja onneksi hän on pysynyt uskollisena oikeuteen.

[juhollamago]

Whoever this Vaasan Sport player is, do they know I love her

[liigainenglish]

TEAM FINLAND for women’s world championships

Team Finland for the women’s world championships played May 6th to 16th in Canada. The players will now start a self-training period that includes a six day quarantine prior boarding the plane to Canada on 22nd. The players will be tested three times during their quarantine period and then again after arriving to Canada.

* first-time participants

GOALTENDERS Keisala Anni, Ilves Räisänen Meeri, HPK Silvonen Jenna, Mercyhurst University

DEFENSE Hiirikoski Jenni, Luleå HF (team captain) Karppinen Aino, RoKi * Karjalainen Sini, University of Vermont *  Laitinen Nelli, Kiekko-Espoo Lindstedt Rosa, Brynäs IF Savolainen Ronja, Luleå HF Tuominen Minnamari, Shenzen KRS Vanke Rays Viitasuo Ella, Kiekko-Espoo

FORWARDS Hakala Sanni, HV71 Holopainen Elisa, KalPa Karvinen Michelle, H.C. Ladies Lugano Liikala Julia, HPK * Nieminen Petra, Luleå HF Nilsson Matilda, KalPa * Niskanen Tanja, KalPa Nylund Jenniina, St. Cloud State University * Sundelin Sofianna, Team Kuortane * Tapani Susanna Tulus Noora, Luleå HF Vainikka Viivi, Luleå HF Vanhanen Sanni, Ilves/Tappara * Vesa Emilia, Kiekko-Espoo *

[klingb3rg]

Hey folks! If you’d like to follow women’s hockey happening outside of North America, I run two blogs that you might be interested in:

NaistenLiiga has content about the top-tier league in Finland (the Naisten Liiga), Finnish players in other leagues (SDHL, ZhHL), and the Finnish national and U18 teams

RussianWHL has content about the top-tier league in Russia +China (the ZhHL/Russian WHL/ЖХЛ) and the Russian national team. I just started this one so there’s not much posted yet but the playoffs are in full swing so it will probably be fairly busy for the next few weeks.

I try to keep a balance of official team content and player social media so you can get a more complete picture of players as athletes and as people.

My goal is to make it easier to follow non-North American elite players, since language barriers and limited content can make them seem totally inaccessible. In the future I hope to make a blog for the SDHL/Damkronorna and possibly other leagues and national teams, but I’m just one person and I have a full time job so I can’t promise that I’ll be able to maintain that many blogs. Please let me know if there is a player or team or league that you would like to see more content for though!

It’d be really great and I’d appreciate it so much if you wanted to follow either blog (or both!). Thanks 👍

[theicegarden-blog1]

[IMAGE DESCRIPTION: Oulun Kärpät Naiset and new U18 women’s head coach Mira Kuisma coaching during a game.]

[fangirlinglikealoon]

Golden girls! ❤ The champions of Finnish national women's league, Oulun Kärpät!

[grantmentis]

The Finnish top Women’s Hockey League, formally known as Naisten Liiga, will now be known as the Aurora Liiga and compete for the Aurora Borealis Cup

[auroraliiga]

KalPa forward Elisa Holopainen was awarded the Golden Helmet Trophy (Kultainen Kypärä -palkinto) for MVP of the Naisten Liiga, as voted by the players

Karoliina Rantamäki presented the award to Holopainen on behalf of the SJRY

[kuu-ukkeli]

We are the champions!!!💛💛

[midar1]

11-year-old Venla’s dream is to stop pucks at the Olympics -- the path to the top is a complicated one

At the end of September, Kirsi Varis answered a phone call where she was asked to come play a game with APV, a team that plays in the women’s Mestis’ qualifying series. Even though the game against Kärpät Akatemia intrigued Kirsi, she was unable to participate. APV were desperate and low on options, and Varis was asked if she knew anyone who could play. She could only think of one goaltender: her own 11-year-old daughter, Venla. “They weren’t so convinced at first, but they didn’t have any other option.”

Venla said yes before her mom could finish the question. She packed her gear and on the last day of September traveled to Oulu to play a Mestis qualifying series game against Kärpät Akatemia. Even though the young goaltender had played many years in both girls and boys’ teams, Mestis was a huge step for her.

Before the game, Venla was the most nervous about warm ups because she wasn’t used to them. Her mom was just as nervous as the first shots went right past Venla into the net. “I was thinking that, we’ll see how this turns out. But she pulled herself together and played at her own level.”

And her mom’s words proved to be true; Venla stopped a total of 18 shots in the game and recorded a shutout as APV beat Kärpät Akatemia 2--0.

[--] At this moment hockey is only a hobby for Venla, but she does dream of bigger things amongst hockey. Just like her idols, Noora Räty and Meeri Räisänen, she too wants to play in big international games.

“I dream of going to the Olympics, of being the starting goalie on the Olympic team,” Venla said. Besides the national team, she also wants to play in SM-Liiga, but according to her, playing in Mestis would be “pretty ok” as well. But does she dream of playing in the men’s or the women’s leagues?

“Men’s and women’s. First women’s, and then men’s,” she said determined.

[ateeztism]

Women’s U18 Day Two Game One Recap - FIN vs CAN (December 27, 2019)

Brief Recap:

Finland vs Canada - 5:30am - Canada wins 4 - 1 in regulation

In-depth Recap

Game 1 of the Second Day (Game 5 of Tournament) - Finland vs. Canada - 5:30am

Final Score: Canada - 4 / Finland - 1 (Canada wins in regulation)

Finnish Goal Scorers: Nelli Laitinen (1)

Canadian Goal Scorers: Lindsay Bochna (1), Charlotte Kettyle (1), Maddi Wheeler (1), Emilie Lussier (1)

Box Score:

First Period:

CANADA GOAL - Scored by Lindsay Bochna, assisted by Jenna Buglioni

FINLAND GOAL - Scored by Nelli Laitinen, assisted by Sanni Rantala and Kiira Yrjanen

Second Period:

No Goals Scored

Third Period:

CANADA GOAL - Scored by Charlotte Kettyle, assisted by Marianne Picard

CANADA GOAL - Scored by Maddi Wheeler, assisted by Anne Cherkowski

CANADA GOAL - Scored by Emilie Lussier, assisted by Sarah Wozniewicz

Finnish Player of the Game: Nelli Laitinen (1 goal, 3 shots)

Canadian Player of the Game: Lindsay Bochna (1 goal, 2 shots, +2 rating)

Player(s) to Watch Out For: 

She wasn’t on the score sheet but I have multiple notes (yeah, I took notes what about it) about Tilli Keranen. She was a -2 on the game but no one on Finland had a plus rating, and only four players had an even rating. As a forward her defensive play, particularly her ability to separate opposing players from the puck, really caught my eye! She is currently with Oulun Karpat of the Naisten Liiga and has 1 goal in 4 games! I’m excited to see more from her, especially considering my well known affinity for defense,

On Team Canada, however, I have to say watch out for Anne Cherkowski. She had an assist in this game, good for 4 points in 7 games in her U18 career, to go along with six shots. It was her second assist of the tournament, she had one against Russia yesterday. She lost both faceoffs she took, which is a bit concerning considering Finland isn’t too great on faceoffs, but yesterday against Russia she won 11 of 18 that she took. She had a +1 rating on the game and is committed to the University of Minnesota.

This was a game that I got up EARLY for, unfortunately I had to leave a little less than half way through as I’m still recovering from a concussion so my head couldn’t handle so much exposure to the computer screen so early on in the day. I gotta say though, I liked what I saw out of Finland and it really saddens me that they lost by 3 goals AGAIN. Early in the game I was ripping Finland in my notes, it just didn’t seem like they cared. It seemed like they had already given up on the idea of beating Canada, but the moment they scored that powerplay goal to tie things up it was almost like something clicked in them. They had more energy, they were making more shot attempts, and early in the second their offensive pressure was great. I’ll tell you this, Tyttöleijonat is excellent when it comes to winning the puck back, in all three zones. They are excellent at separating their opponent from the puck, which is good considering how bad they appear on faceoffs. I see three main problems with the Finnish team: 1. FACEOFFS. It seems like even when they “win” the faceoff they NEVER get possession from it, especially in the offensive zone. 2. Shooting. The shots don’t have to be pretty, they just have to go in. In two games Finland has just 23 shots. (10 against the USA, 13 against Canada) Both of their opponents have had more shots in the one game against them than they have had all tournament. They need to just shoot the damn puck. 3. Morale. It seems to me that these lion cubs are just too easily discouraged. At the beginning of this game it looked to me like they just didn’t think they stood a chance so they didn’t try. Once they tied it up they looked excellent, but even though I didn’t see it it’s clear to me that them giving up 3 fairly quick goals in the third was a result of them being tired and losing confidence, they need to believe in themselves more.

Canada has looked EXCELLENT thus far in the tournament, but they have some things they need to work on as well. For one thing, they need to settle down with all those damn penalties. I know it’s only two games in but they’re averaging FIVE penalties per game! They have a total of 22 penalty minutes thus far, having 14 in this game alone, and that is simply unacceptable. They take a lot of stick infractions and they need to just settle it down. Stop swinging your sticks around and just play girls. They also need to watch those icings, they iced it several times against Finland when the game was tied and were only bailed out thanks to Finland’s mediocrity on faceoffs. Canada should also be practicing their passes. I don’t know if it was just rust, tiredness, or what, but they had several passes that were just complete misses. Multiple times they could’ve had a scoring opportunity but instead they just threw the puck to nobody, confusing me endlessly.

[juhollamago]

when RoKi women's team quarantine ends

[liigainenglish]

Women’s national team camp roster

Women’s national team camp will be held from March 28th to April 7th in Vierumäki. The purpose of the camp is to pick the players for the upcoming World Championship tournament held in Halifax, Canada. The final roster for the tournament will be announced on April 7th.

Few notes:

Goalie Noora Räty has decided to skip the tournament due recent injuries and with setting her sights on the upcoming Olympics.

Several players from Kiekko-Espoo, KalPa, Luleå and Brynäs might not be immediately available for camp due to the ongoing Naisten Liiga and SDHL finals.

KRS Vanke Rays on the other hand had their WHL finals postponed due to covid cases in the opposing team. As new dates for the finals haven’t been scheduled, Vanke Rays dman Minttu Tuominen has been made available by the league to join the national team.

--

GOALTENDERS Keisala Anni, Ilves Räisänen Meeri, HPK Silvonen Jenna, Mercyhurst University

DEFENSEMAN Hiirikoski Jenni, Luleå HF Karppinen Aino, RoKi Karjalainen Sini, University of Vermont Laitinen Nelli, Kiekko-Espoo Lindstedt Rosa, Brynäs IF Parkkonen Krista, HIFK Savander Eve, Ohio State Savolainen Ronja, Luleå HF Tuominen Minnamari, Shenzen KRS Vanke Rays Viitasuo Ella, Kiekko-Espoo

FORWARDS Hakala Sanni, HV71 Holopainen Elisa, KalPa Karvinen Michelle, H.C. Ladies Lugano Liikala Julia, HPK Nieminen Petra, Luleå HF Nilsson Matilda, KalPa Niskanen Tanja, KalPa Nylund Jenniina, St. Cloud State University Pirttijärvi Jenna, RoKi Rakkolainen Emmi, Kiekko-Espoo Sundelin Sofianna, Team Kuortane Tapani Susanna Tulus Noora, Luleå HF Vainikka Viivi, Luleå HF Vanhanen Sanni, Ilves/Tappara Vesa Emilia, Kiekko-Espoo Yrjänen Kiira, Team Kuortane