Kalevan Pallo Naiset or KalPa Naiset 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 (NSML), the premier women's ice hockey league in Finland. Founded in 1990, they play in Kuopio, the largest city in the eastern-central province of

North Savo North Savo (or Northern Savonia; fi, Pohjois-Savo; sv, Norra Savolax) is a region in eastern Finland. It borders the regions of South Savo, Central Finland, North Ostrobothnia, Kainuu, and North Karelia. Kuopio is the largest city in the region ...

, at the Olvi Areena and Lippumäen jäähalli. The team has won one

Aurora Borealis Cup The Aurora Borealis Cup ( fi, Aurora Borealis -malja) is the trophy awarded to the Finnish Champion in women's ice hockey, the victorious team of the Naisten Liiga playoffs. The Aurora Borealis Cup was created to honor the quality of play in Na ...

silver medal, in

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 ...

, and three bronze medals, in 1995, 1996, and 2017. In 2020, the team qualified for the Aurora Borealis Cup playoff final and were set to face the reigning champions,

Kiekko-Espoo Kiekko-Espoo is a Finnish ice hockey club founded in 1984. Kiekko-Espoo men's team plays in the Mestis and the women's team plays in the Naisten Liiga. Kiekko-Espoo's junior teams play at national league levels in U16, U18 and U20 juniors. The ...

, when the playoffs were canceled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

before the first game of the finals. By making it to the playoff finals, KalPa was guaranteed at least a silver medal, which would have been the highest finish in team history to that point, but with the cancellation of the season no

Finnish Championship Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

(SM) medals were awarded.

Season-by-season results

This is a partial list of the most recent seasons completed by KalPa Naiset.
Note: Finish = Rank at end of regular season; GP = Games played, W = Wins (3 points), OTW = Overtime wins (2 points), OTL = Overtime 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: Mika Väärälä * Assistant coach: Pekka Romppanen * Conditioning coach: Tarja Koski * Team managers: Taina Lappi & Maarit Paroinen * Equipment managers: Jari Hämäläinen, Irina Ivanoff, & Harri Mäkkeli

Team captains

* Johanna Juutilainen, 2010–11 *

Isa Rahunen Isa Rahunen (born 16 April 1993) is a Finnish retired ice hockey player, currently serving as a linesman in the Naisten Liiga. She represented Finland with the national ice hockey team in numerous international competitions and won a silver med ...

, 2011–12 * Marjo Voutilainen, 2012–13 *

Venla Hovi Venla Hovi (; born 28 October 1987) is a Finnish former ice hockey forward and the current head coach of the Metropolitan Riveters in the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF). She played with the Finnish national team and won bronze medals at the 20 ...

& Anni Kettunen, 2013–14 * Johanna Juutilainen, 2015–2018 * Tanja Niskanen, 2018–19 * Tiina Ranne & Emma Ritari, 2019–20 * Emma Ritari, 2020–21 * Johanna Juutilainen, 2021–

Head coaches

* Mikko Miettinen, –2000 * Seppo Tirronen, 2000– * Marjo Voutilainen, 2016–2022 * Mika Väärälä, 2022–

Awards and honours

Finnish Championship

Runners-up ''(1)'':

* Third Place ''(3)'' : 1995, 1996, 2017 Sources:

Player awards

* Riikka Nieminen Award (Player of the Year) :* 2020–21: Elisa Holopainen :* 2019–20: Tanja Niskanen :* 2018–19: Elisa Holopainen * Katja Riipi Award (Best forward) :* 2020–21: Elisa Holopainen :* 2019–20: Elisa Holopainen :* 2018–19: Elisa Holopainen * Marianne Ihalainen Award (Top point scorer) :* 2018–19: Elisa Holopainen * Tiia Reima Award (Top goal scorer) :* 2020–21: Matilda Nilsson :* 2019–20: Elisa Holopainen :* 2018–19: Elisa Holopainen * Sari Fisk Award (Best plus/minus) :* 2019–20: Matilda Nilsson * Emma Laaksonen Award (Fair-play player) :* 2020–21: Johanna Juutilainen :* 2016–17: Tanja Niskanen * Hannu Saintula Award (Coach of the Year) :* 2019–20: Marjo Voutilainen

Player of the Month

* September 2020 – Elisa Holopainen * September 2019 – Matilda Nilsson

All-Stars

First Team * 2020–21: Elisa Holopainen (W), Matilda Nilsson (W) * 2019–20: Elisa Holopainen (W), Tanja Niskanen (C), Matilda Nilsson (W) * 2018–19: Tanja Niskanen (C), Elisa Holopainen (W) * 2014–15: Matilda Nilsson (W) * 2013–14: Venla Hovi (W) Second Team * 2020–21: Tiina Ranne (G) * 2019–20: Tiina Ranne (G) * 2018–19: Matilda Nilsson (W) * 2017–18: Matilda Nilsson (W), Elisa Holopainen (W) * 2016–17: Matilda Nilsson (W), Tanja Niskanen (C)

Team records

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:

Elisa Holopainen Elisa Holopainen (born 27 December 2001) is a Finnish ice hockey Winger (ice hockey), winger and member of the Finland women's national ice hockey team, Finnish national team, currently playing in the Finnish Naisten Liiga (ice hockey), Naisten L ...

, 39 goals (25 games; 2020–21) /

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' ...

, 39 goals (30 games; 2018–19) * Most assists in a season: Tanja Niskanen, 48 assists (29 games; 2018–19) * Most points in a season: Tanja Niskanen, 79 points (29 games; 2018–19) * 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 ...

: Kirsi Hänninen, 30 points (23 games; 1995–96) * Best points per game, over 10 games played:

Marjo Voutilainen Marjo Hannele Voutilainen (born 22 March 1981) is a Finnish retired ice hockey player and current head coach of Ilves Naiset in the Naisten Liiga (NSML). During her playing career, she competed internationally with the Finnish national team, wi ...

, 3.00 (14 games; 1997–98) * Most penalty minutes in a season: Kirsi Hänninen, 66 PIM (23 games; 1995–96) * 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: Tiina Ranne, .942 SVS% (18 games; 2019–20) * 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: Tiina Ranne, 1.86 GAA (14 games; 2020–21)

Career records

* Most career goals: Tanja Niskanen, 257 goals (301 games; 2006–2022) * Most career assists: Tanja Niskanen, 231 assists (301 games; 2006–2022) * Most career points: Tanja Niskanen, 488 points (301 games; 2006–2022) * Best career points per game, over 30 games played: Elisa Holopainen, 1.91 points per game (129 games; 2016–2021) * Most career points, defenceman: Emma Ritari, 102 points (251 games; 2009–2021) * Most career penalty minutes: Salla Rantanen, 306 PIM (236 games; 2012–2022) * Most games played, skater: Tanja Niskanen, 301 games (2006–2022) * Most games played, goaltender: Jenna Juutilainen, 115 games (2009–2022)

All-time scoring leaders

The top regular season point scorers in KalPa Naiset history. 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; = 2022–23 KalPa player Source(s): Elite Prospects

Notable alumni

Years active with KalPa listed alongside players' names. *

, 2012–2014 * Kirsi Hänninen, 1995–96 *

Kati Kovalainen Katariina Johanna "Kati" Kovalainen (born 24 January 1975) is a Finnish retired ice hockey player and former member of the Finnish national ice hockey team. She represented Finland in the women's ice hockey tournament at the 2006 Winter Olympic ...

, 1993–1996 * Rose Matilainen, 1993–1996 * Terhi Mertanen, 1999–2001 *

, 2014–2021 * Oona Parviainen, 1993–1999 *

Tuula Puputti Tuula Katriina Puputti (born 5 November 1977) is a Finnish retired ice hockey goaltender and current general manager of the Finnish women's national ice hockey team and women's national under-18 ice hockey team, and Developer of Girls' Hockey ...

, 1992–1995 *

, 2006–2013 *

Saila Saari Saila Saari (born 1 November 1989) is a Finnish retired ice hockey forward. She represented in the women's ice hockey tournament at the 2018 Winter Olympics, winning a bronze medal, and at the IIHF Women's World Championships in 2015 and 201 ...

, 2020–21 *

Riikka Sallinen Hanna-Riikka Sallinen ( Nieminen, previously Välilä; born 12 June 1973) is a Finnish retired ice hockey, bandy, rinkball, and pesäpallo player. She is one of the most highly decorated players to have ever competed in international ice hockey. ...

, 1995–96 *

Eve Savander Eve Savander (born 2 September 1998) is a Finnish ice hockey player, currently playing in the Swedish Women's Hockey League (SDHL) with MoDo Hockey Dam. Her college ice hockey career was spent with the Ohio State Buckeyes women's ice hockey pro ...

, 2013–14 *

, 1995–2001 & 2010–2014

International player(s)

* Nozomi Kiribuchi, 2015–16

References

External links

* Team information and statistics fro
Eliteprospects.com
an

an

(in French) * * {{DEFAULTSORT:KalPa Naiset Naisten Liiga (ice hockey) teams Kuopio 1990 establishments in Finland KalPa