Ice Hockey In Finland
Ice hockey is the most popular sport in Finland in terms of television viewership and game attendance figures. It is third most popular sport in participation amongst children. As of 2020, approximately 1.3% of the Finnish population was registered with the International Ice Hockey Federation, ranking Finland second in the world for percentage of population participating in ice hockey and the highest percentage of any country outside of North America. History Ice hockey leagues were first established in Finland in the 1920s. SM-sarja was established as the first national men's ice hockey league in 1928. Viipurin Reipas were champions in the inaugural year and remain one of the oldest ice hockey teams in Finland, still competing today under the name Lahti Pelicans. Finland's first ice hockey rink, Tampere Ice Stadium, Hakametsä, was founded in January 1965 in Tampere. Governing body The Finnish Ice Hockey Association () is the national board for ice hockey in the country and h ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Esa Pirnes
Esa Pirnes (born April 1, 1977) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey centre (ice hockey), centre. He played most of his career, which lasted from 1995 to 2016, in the Finnish Liiga. He also played 57 games in the National Hockey League with the Los Angeles Kings during the 2003–04 NHL season, 2003–04 season, after the Kings selected him in the 6th round (174th overall) of the 2003 NHL Entry Draft. Internationally Pirnes played for the Finland men's national ice hockey team, Finnish national team at four Ice Hockey World Championships, World Championships, winning two bronze medals. Playing career Pirnes started his career with Kärpät in the Finnish second league in 1995 and played with them until 1999, when he signed with SM-Liiga club Espoo Blues, Blues. He stayed with the Blues for two seasons before he moved to rivals Tappara in 2001. In 2003, he was drafted by the Kings after four good seasons in SM-Liiga. Pirnes went over the Atlantic Ocean to play in the Nationa ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Naisten Suomi-sarja
The Naisten Suomi-sarja (), distinguished as the Jääkiekon naisten Suomi-sarja (), is the third-tier women's national ice hockey league in Finland. It was established by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association in 2003 and is the lowest tier of national ice hockey competition, below the premier Auroraliiga and secondary Naisten Mestis, but above regional leagues (). Season format 2023–24 season Beginning in the 2023–24 season, the Naisten Mestis adopted the ten team, 36-game format used by the Auroraliiga. Since then, all teams not playing in the Auroraliiga or Naisten Mestis and any new teams play in the Naisten Suomi-sarja by default. The top teams in the Naisten Suomi-sarja have the opportunity to earn promotion to the Naisten Mestis in a promotion/relegation series against the bottom ranked Naisten Mestis teams at the end of the season. Previous formats ;2022–23 season Excepting the ten teams of the Naisten Liiga, all women's ice hockey teams competing at the nation ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2022 Winter Olympics
The 2022 Winter Olympics, officially called the XXIV Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Beijing 2022 (2022), were an international winter multi-sport event held from 4 to 20 February 2022 in Beijing, China, and surrounding areas with competition in selected events beginning 2 February 2022. It was the 24th edition of the Winter Olympic Games. Beijing was selected as host city on 31 July 2015 at the 128th IOC Session in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, marking its second time hosting the Olympics, and the last of three consecutive Olympics hosted in East Asia following the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang County, South Korea, and the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. Having previously hosted the 2008 Summer Olympics, Beijing became the first city to have hosted both the Summer and Winter Olympics. The venues for the Games were concentrated around Beijing, its suburb Yanqing District, and Zhangjiakou, with some events (including the ceremonies and curling) repurposing v ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Big Six (hockey)
In men's international ice hockey, the Big Six is a group comprising the six national teams that have dominated play throughout the history of international ice hockey, especially since the 1950s. It has traditionally been composed of the North American countries of Canada and the United States and four European countries: Czechia, Finland, Russia, and Sweden."Figuring out the seventh and eighth teams beyond the so-called big six was the biggest hurdle to overcome in planning this event." During the Cold War and for two years afterwards, the Soviet Union/ CIS and Czechoslovakia held the places of Russia and Czechia, respectively, within the group. The four European members are sometimes referred to as the "European Big Four" or "Big Four", especially to distinguish them from the North American teams. As of 2025, out of the 264 Ice Hockey World Championships medals awarded by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), 234 have been won by the Big Six teams. Since 1954, only ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2019 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships
The 2019 Men's Ice Hockey World Championships was the 83rd such event hosted by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). Teams participated at several levels of competition. The competition also served as qualifications for division placements in the 2020 competition. Two national teams, Kyrgyzstan and Thailand, made their debut in the World Championships. Championship (Top Division) The tournament was held in Bratislava and Košice, Slovakia from 10 to 26 May 2019. Participants in the tournament were 14 teams continuing from the 2018 Championship tournament, as well as Great Britain and Italy, promoted from the 2018 Division I-A tournament. Finland won the tournament's gold medal, followed by silver medalist Canada and bronze medalist Russia. This was Finland's first gold medal since 2011. Austria and France each finished last in their group and were relegated to the 2020 Division I-A tournament. Division I Group A The Group A tournament was held in Nur-Sultan ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ice Hockey World Championships
The Ice Hockey World Championships are an annual international men's ice hockey tournament organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), first officially held at the 1920 Summer Olympics. The IIHF was created in 1908 while the Ice Hockey European Championships, European Championships, the precursor to the World Championships, were first held in 1910. The Ice hockey at the Olympic Games, tournament held at the 1920 Summer Olympics is recognized as the first Ice Hockey World Championship. From 1920 to 1968, the Olympic hockey tournament was also considered the World Championship for that year. The first World Championship that was held as an individual event was in 1930 World Ice Hockey Championships, 1930 in which twelve nations participated. In 1931 World Ice Hockey Championships, 1931, ten teams played a series of Round-robin tournament, round-robin format qualifying rounds to determine which nations participated in the medal round. Medals were awarded based on ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Helsingin Sanomat
, abbreviated ''HS'' and colloquially known as , is the largest subscription newspaper in Finland and the Nordic countries, owned by Sanoma. Except after certain holidays, it is published daily. Its name derives from that of the Finnish capital, Helsinki, where it is published. It is considered a newspaper of record for Finland. History and profile The paper was founded in 1889 as '' Päivälehti'', when Finland was a Grand Duchy under the Tsar of Russia. Political censorship by the Russian authorities, prompted by the paper's strong advocacy of greater Finnish freedoms and even outright independence, forced Päivälehti to often temporarily suspend publication, and finally to close permanently in 1904. Its proprietors re-opened the paper under its current name in 1905. Founded as the organ of the Young Finnish Party, the paper has been politically independent and non-aligned since 1932. During the Cold War period was among the Finnish newspapers which were accused by t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Junior Ice Hockey
Junior ice hockey is amateur-level ice hockey for 16 to 20 year-old players. National Junior teams compete annually for the IIHF World Junior Championship. The United States men's national junior ice hockey team are the defending champions from the 2024 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships. Hockey Canada There are four levels of Junior hockey in the Canadian Club System: 1. Major Junior, 2. Junior A, 3. Junior B, and 4. Junior C. Not all teams playing in Canadian Junior leagues are based in Canada. , there were approximately twelve US-based teams playing in various Major Junior and Junior A leagues in Canada. In 2023, BC Hockey announced plans to restructure its Junior framework following the departure of its only Junior A league. Its three Junior B leagues ( PJHL, KIJHL and VIJHL) were re-styled as "Junior A Tier 2", with plans to promote some to "Junior A Tier 1" following an independent evaluation. It was expected that those teams promoted to "Junior A Tier 1" would ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Minor Ice Hockey
Minor ice hockey or minor hockey is an umbrella term for amateur ice hockey which is played below the junior age level. Players are classified by age, with each age group playing in its own league. The rules, especially as it relates to body contact, vary from class to class. In North America, the rules are governed by the national bodies, Hockey Canada and USA Hockey, while local hockey associations administer players and leagues for their region. Many provinces and states organize regional and provincial championship tournaments, and the highest age groups in Canada and the United States also participate in national championships. Minor hockey is not to be confused with minor league professional hockey. Canada In Canada, the age categories are designated by each provincial hockey governing body based on Hockey Canada's guidelines, and each category may have multiple tiers based on skill. In November 2019, Hockey Canada announced that beginning in 2020 (officially tak ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Tampere
Tampere is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Pirkanmaa. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Tampere is approximately , while the metropolitan area has a population of approximately . It is the most populous municipality in Finland, and the second most populous urban area in the country after the Helsinki metropolitan area. Tampere is the most populous inland city in the Nordic countries. The urban area has a population of approximately 340,000. Tampere is considered to be the most important urban, economic and cultural centre in the whole of inland Finland. Tampere and its surroundings are part of the historic province of Satakunta. The area belonged to the province of Häme from 1831 to 1997; over time, it has often been considered a province of Tavastia. For example, in '' Uusi tietosanakirja'', published in the 1960s, the Tampere sub-region is presented as part of the then province of Tavastia. However between 1775 and 1870 Tammerkoski rap ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Tampere Ice Stadium
Tampere Ice Stadium (, often called ''Hakametsä'') is an indoor sports arena in Tampere, Finland. It is primarily used for ice hockey, and it was the former home arena of Ilves and Tappara of the Finnish Liiga until November 2021, when both teams moved to the new Nokia Arena. Today, the Ice Stadium is currently in use by the Koovee team. The ice hall, designed by the architect Jaakko Tähtinen was built for the 1965 World Ice Hockey Championships and opened the same year. The current capacity of the ice hall for hockey games is 7,300 spectators (5,629 seats, 1,359 standing, 312 suites). Tampere Ice Stadium is the third biggest ice hall in the Finnish ice hockey league. As there are several ice hockey venues in Tampere, this primary one is usually called "Hakametsän jäähalli" (after the district where it is located) or, more precisely, "Hakametsä 1" to distinguish it from the two smaller halls nearby. History Tampere Ice Stadium is the first and the oldest ice hocke ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Lahti Pelicans
The Lahti Pelicans are a Finnish professional ice hockey team playing in the Liiga, Finland. Founded in 1996, they play in the city of Lahti at Isku Arena. The team is co-owned by (among others) former National Hockey League (NHL) goaltender Pasi Nurminen and Formula One racecar driver Valtteri Bottas. History Viipurin Reipas (1891–1964) Viipurin Reipas was a sports club located in Vyborg. They won the first ever Finnish Ice Hockey Championship in 1928 with a team consisting mostly of bandy players. After Vyborg was taken from Finland by Soviet Union during World War II, the club relocated to Lahti where it continued under its original name until renamed to Lahden Reipas. Lahden Reipas (1964–1975) Reipas spent five seasons in SM-sarja from 1965 to 1970. Their best finish was sixth in 1965–66. Kiekkoreipas (1975–1989) Kiekkoreipas was formed in 1975 to take over hockey operations from Lahden Reipas. They finished top of the league in recently formed First Division in 19 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |