HIFK Naiset

HIFK Naiset, also known by the nickname Stadin Gimmat ('Girls of ,' 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 (). 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 (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)

Players and personnel

2022–23 roster

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

* Runners-up ''(1)'': 2022
* 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.

Note: Nat = Nationality; Pos = Position; GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; P/G = Points per game

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

References

External links

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{{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