HIFK Naiset, also known by the nickname Stadin Gimmat ('Girls of ,' a nickname for Helsinki), are an

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

team in the Naisten Liiga. They play in the Pirkkola district of

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the capital, primate, and most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland, and has a population of . The city ...

, at the Pirkkola Ice Hall (). As the representative women's

team of the Helsinki-based multi-sport club

HIFK HIFK, the Idrottsföreningen Kamraterna, Helsingfors (IFK, Helsingfors) rf (officially abbreviated IFK Helsingfors, colloquially often Helsingfors IFK or Helsingin IFK ) is a multi-sport association based in Helsinki, Finland. Formed in 1897 on ...

, the team is closely affiliated with the HIFK men's ice hockey team of the

Liiga The SM-liiga (marketed as just Liiga from 2013 on), (Finnish for ''League'') colloquially called the Finnish Elite League in English or FM-ligan in Swedish, is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. It is one of the six founding lea ...

. 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 Naisten Mestis (; from ''Mestaruussarja'' meaning 'Championship series') is the second-highest women's ice hockey league in Finland. The league was founded as Naisten I-divisioona (Women's First Division) in 1985 by the Finnish Ice Hockey Associ ...

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 (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 Goal difference, goal differential or points difference is a form of tiebreaker used to rank sport teams which finish on equal points in a league competition. Either "goal difference" or "points difference" is used, depending on whether matches ar ...

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 Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the latter a reference to ...

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 In sports leagues, promotion and relegation is a process where teams are transferred between multiple divisions based on their performance for the completed season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are often called open leagues. ...

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 TIES may refer to: * TIES, Teacher Institute for Evolutionary Science * TIES, The Interactive Encyclopedia System * TIES, Time Independent Escape Sequence * Theoretical Issues in Ergonomics Science The ''Theoretical Issues in Ergonomics Science' ...

(1 point), OTL = Overtime/shootout losses (1 point), L = Losses, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, Pts = Points, Top scorer: Points (

Goals A goal is an objective that a person or a system plans or intends to achieve. Goal may also refer to: Sport * Goal (sports), a method of scoring in many sports, or the physical structure or area where scoring occurs ** Goals, the goal frame in ...

+ Assists)

Players and personnel

2022–23 roster

Coaching staff and team personnel * Head coach:

Saara Niemi Saara Elisa Niemi, (born 1 January 1986) is a Finnish retired ice hockey player and current general manager and head coach of HIFK Naiset of the Naisten Liiga (NSML). At the 2006 Torino Olympics, Tuominen competed for . scoring one goal and fo ...

* 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

, 2018–

Awards and honors

Finnish Championship

* Runners-up ''(1)'':

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...

* Third Place ''(3)'': 1988, 1989,

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

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 Matilda Nilsson (born 2 March 1997) is a Finnish ice hockey player, playing in the Swedish Women's Hockey League (SDHL) with Frölunda HC Dam. As a member of the Finnish national ice hockey team, she won a bronze medal at the 2021 IIHF Women' ...

, 2021–22 * Hannu Saintula Award (Coach of the Year) :*

, 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 Emmanuelle Lahouratate-Passard (born 27 January 1992) is a French ice hockey player and member of the French national ice hockey team, currently playing in the FFHG Féminin Élite (FFHG FÉ) with Évry Viry. Passard has represented France at ...

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 A goal is an objective that a person or a system plans or intends to achieve. Goal may also refer to: Sport * Goal (sports), a method of scoring in many sports, or the physical structure or area where scoring occurs ** Goals, the goal frame in ...

in a season:

, 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 Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the latter a reference to ...

: Caroline Shaunessy, 27 points (30 games; 2019–20) * Most points in a season,

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...

: 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 Save percentage (often known by such symbols as SV%, SVS%, SVP, PCT) is a statistic in various goal-scoring sports that track saves as a statistic. In ice hockey and lacrosse, it is a statistic that represents the percentage of shots on goal ...

in a season, over ten games played: Iina Kuusela, .951 SV% (18 games; 2021–22) * Best

goals against average Goals against average (GAA) also known as "average goals against" or "AGA" is a statistic used in field hockey, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, and water polo that is the mean of goals allowed per game by a goaltender or goalkeeper (depending ...

in a season, over ten games played: Iina Kuusela, 1.23 GAA (18 games; 2021–22) * Most

shutouts In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

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:

, 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. Note: Nat = Nationality; Pos =

Position Position often refers to: * Position (geometry), the spatial location (rather than orientation) of an entity * Position, a job or occupation Position may also refer to: Games and recreation * Position (poker), location relative to the dealer * ...

; GP = Games played; G =

; A = Assists; Pts = Points; P/G = Points per game Source(s): Finnish Ice Hockey Association, Elite Prospects

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:HIFK Naiset Naisten Liiga (ice hockey) teams HIFK Ice hockey teams in Finland Women's ice hockey teams in Europe Sport in Helsinki HIFK Naiset 1982 establishments in Finland