Saara Elisa Niemi, (born 1 January 1986) is a Finnish retired

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 hock ...

player and current general manager and head coach of

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 wome ...

of the

Naisten Liiga The Kansallinen Liiga ('National League') is the premier division of women's football in Finland. It was previously called the Jalkapallon naisten SM-sarja ('Women's Football Finnish Championship Series') during 1974 to 2006 and the Naisten Lii ...

(NSML). At the

2006 Torino Olympics The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially the XX Olympic Winter Games ( it, XX Giochi olimpici invernali) and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February 2006 in Turin, Italy. This marked the second ...

, Tuominen competed for . scoring one goal and four assists. She was an

alternate captain In ice hockey, the captain is the player designated by a team as the only person authorized to speak with the game officials regarding rule interpretations when the captain is on the ice. At most levels of play each team must designate one captai ...

for Finland's women's ice hockey team at the

2010 Winter Olympics )'' , nations = 82 , athletes = 2,626 , events = 86 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , opening = February 12, 2010 , closing = February 28, 2010 , opened_by = Governor General Michaëlle Jean , cauldron = Catriona Le May DoanNancy GreeneWayne Gretz ...

in Vancouver where the Finns won the bronze medal. She graduated in 2010 from the

University of Minnesota Duluth The University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) is a public university in Duluth, Minnesota. It is part of the University of Minnesota system and offers 16 bachelor's degrees in 88 majors, graduate programs in 25 different fields, and a two-year progr ...

(UMD) and was a two-year captain of the

Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs The Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs are the athletic teams that represent the University of Minnesota Duluth. They were first named Bulldogs in 1933. Their colors are maroon and gold. The school competes in the NCAA's Division II in all sports except ic ...

, the NCAA Division I national champions in 2008 and 2010. She was a 2009 and 2010 WCHA All-Academic Team member, a 2008 All-WCHA Third Team selection and a member of the 2007 All-WCHA Rookie Team.

Playing career

After graduation, she joined the Minnesota Whitecaps for their 2010–11 season. On 8 October, against former WCHA rival Minnesota Golden Gophers, Tuominen scored a goal. The following day, against former WCHA rival St. Cloud State, she scored a goal.

Career statistics

Awards and honors

* 2006 Naisten SM-sarja Best Forward * 2008 All-WCHA Third Team * 2021 Naisten Liiga Coach of the Year

Gallery

File:SaaraT1.JPG, Saara Tuominen takes a face-off during a game against the University of New Hampshire at the DECC arena in Duluth, MN on Saturday, 13 March 2010. File:Saara2.JPG, Saara Tuominen in a game against the University of New Hampshire at the DECC arena in Duluth, MN on Saturday, 13 March 2010. File:Saara Tuominen 3.jpg, Saara Tuominen in a game against the University of Wisconsin Badgers at the DECC arena in Duluth, MN on Sunday, 17 January 2010.

References

External links

* * * 1986 births Living people People from Ylöjärvi Finnish ice hockey coaches Naisten Liiga (ice hockey) coaches Finnish women's ice hockey forwards HIFK Naiset players Ilves Naiset players Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs women's ice hockey players Minnesota Whitecaps players Ice hockey players at the 2006 Winter Olympics Ice hockey players at the 2010 Winter Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for Finland Olympic ice hockey players of Finland Olympic medalists in ice hockey Medalists at the 2010 Winter Olympics Universiade medalists in ice hockey Universiade silver medalists for Finland Competitors at the 2011 Winter Universiade Women ice hockey executives Finnish ice hockey administrators Sportspeople from Pirkanmaa {{Finland-Winter-Olympic-medalist-stub