Oulun Kärpät Naiset ('Oulu's Ermine Women') 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 Oulu, a city on the northeastern coast of the

Bothnian Bay The Bothnian Bay or Bay of Bothnia (; ) is the northernmost part of the Gulf of Bothnia, which is in turn the northern part of the Baltic Sea. The land holding the bay is still rising after the weight of ice-age glaciers has been removed, and wit ...

in the Finnish north-central region of

North Ostrobothnia North Ostrobothnia ( fi, Pohjois-Pohjanmaa; sv, Norra Österbotten) is a region of Finland. It borders the Finnish regions of Lapland, Kainuu, North Savo, Central Finland and Central Ostrobothnia, as well as the Russian Republic of Karelia. ...

, at the ('Raksila training ice rink'), also called Raksila 2, of the

Oulun Energia Areena Oulun jäähalli ('Oulu Ice Hall' or 'Oulu Ice Rink'), previously known as Raksilan jäähalli and called Oulun Energia Areena since 2006 for sponsorship reasons, is an ice sport arena in the Raksila Sports Centre, located in the Raksila distri ...

. Ilves have won the

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 ...

three times, in 2012, 2017, and 2018. The team’s parent club, Oulun Kärpät 46 ry, is the junior affiliate 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 ...

team

Oulun Kärpät Oulun Kärpät (Finnish for "Oulu Ermines", sometimes referred to as Kärpät Oulu) is a Finnish professional ice hockey team based in Oulu and playing in the top-tier Finnish Liiga. Kärpät have won the Finnish championship title eight times, ...

and, through that association, the teams are loosely affiliated.

Season-by-season results

This is a partial list of the most recent seasons completed by Oulun Kärpät 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: Sanna Lankosaari * Assistant coach: Aku-Petteri Antti-Roiko * Assistant coach: Satu Kiipeli * Goaltending coach: Minna Mursu * Conditioning coach: Raimo Huhtanen * Mental coach: Marjo Mäyrä * Team managers: Mika Kaijankoski & Ismo Rantasuomela * Equipment managers: Veli-Matti Puusaari, Jari Siermala & Jukka Välitalo

Team captains

Katja Riipi Katja Hannele Riipi (born 26 October 1975) is a Finnish retired ice hockey player and former member of the Finnish national ice hockey team. She won an Olympic bronze medal representing Finland in the women's ice hockey tournament at the 1998 ...

, 1997–98 * Päivi Salo, 2001–02 * Eini Lehtinen, 2004–2008 * Mira Jalosuo, 2008–09 * Saija Tarkki, 2009–10 * Anne Helin, 2010–2013 *

Niina Mäkinen Niina Mäkinen (born 18 April 1992) is a Finnish ice hockey forward, most recently of Oulun Kärpät Naiset during the 2019–20 Naisten Liiga season. She competed with the Finnish national team and participated in the IIHF World Women's Champ ...

, 2013–14 *

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 ...

, 2014–2019 *

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 ...

, 2019–20 * Suvi Käyhkö, 2020–2022 * Aino Kaijankoski, 2022–

Head coaches

* Kari Ikonen & Pasi Sorvisto, 1994–1997 * Kari Ikonen, Katri Niemelä & Pasi Sorvisto, 1997–98 * Kari Ikonen & Pasi Sorvisto, 1998–99 * Risto Liikka, 1999–2003 * Lauri Merikivi, 2007–2010 * Seppo Karjalainen, 2012–13 * Mira Kuisma, 2015–2019 * Janne Salmela, 2019–2021 * Samuli Hassi, 2021–22 * Sanna Lankosaari, 2022–

Team honors

Finnish Champions

The winner of the Naisten Liiga playoffs receives the

and earns the

Finnish Champion In Finland, the ''Suomen mestaruus'' (SM; ‘Finnish Champion’) is the winner of the highest level of national competition in a particular sport. ''Suomen mestaruussarja'' (Finnish for ‘Finnish Championship’) is the competition in which the w ...

title, with gold medals awarded to each player. Prior to the 2010–11 season, the victorious team was awarded Finnish Championship title and medals only. *

''(3)'': 2012, 2017, 2018 * Runners-up ''(7)'': 1996, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2006, 2007 * Third Place ''(7)'': 2002, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2011, 2013, 2019,

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 ...

IIHF European Women's Champions Cup

* Bronze ''(1)'':

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

Notable alumni

Years active with Kärpät listed alongside players' names. * Sanni Hakala, 2016–17 * Anne Helin, 2008–2013 * Mira Jalosuo, 2004–2009 & 2016–2018 * Aino Karppinen, 2019–20 * Satu Kiipeli, 1991–2000 & 2008–2015 * Sanna Lankosaari, 1994–2001 * Eini Lehtinen, 1995–2008 * Mira Jalosuo, 2004–2009 & 2016–2018 * Marjo Mäyrä, 1994–2002 * Jenni Pitkänen, 2001–2010 * Marja-Helena Pälvilä, 1995–2001, 2002–2006 & 2012–13 *

, 1994–1999 *

, 2016–

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

* Päivi Salo, 1994–2002 * Satu Salonpää, 1990–2003 *

Henna Savikuja Henna Savikuja (born 28 March 1978) is a Finnish retired ice hockey player. She competed in the women's tournament at the 2002 Winter Olympics. Playing with the Finnish national team she won bronze medals at the IIHF World Women's Championships ...

, 1995–2005 & 2006–2012 * Saija Tarkki, 1997–2010 & 2011–2019 * Niina Tikkinen, 2005–2007 & 2011–2015

International players

Michaela Matejová Michaela Matejová (born 2 March 1986) is a Slovak retired ice hockey defenseman and former member of the Slovak national ice hockey team. Playing career Matejová's senior club career began with the women's representative team of HC Slovan Br ...

, 2008–09 * Marianne Mattila, 1994–95 * Josefine Quaade, 2000–01

References

External links

* Team information and statistics fro
Eliteprospects.com
an

an

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kärpät Naiset Naisten Liiga (ice hockey) teams Sport in Oulu 1990 establishments in Finland