The 2015–16 Riksserien season was the ninth season of the
Swedish Women's Hockey League
The Swedish Women's Hockey League (), abbreviated SDHL, is the elite league for women's ice hockey in Sweden. It was established in 2007 as the by the Swedish Ice Hockey Association and was renamed prior to the 2016–17 season. The league has ...
. The season began in September 2015 and ended in March 2016. It was the last season the league was known under the Riksserien name, changing to Svenska damhockeyligan (SDHL) the following year.
League business
The fee for carrying international players on team rosters was set at 3500kr per player for the season.
In November 2015, two members of the far-right
Sweden Democrats
The Sweden Democrats ( , SD ) is a Nationalism, nationalist and Right-wing populism, right-wing populist political party in Sweden founded in 1988. As of 2024, it is the largest member of Sweden's Right-wing politics, right-wing bloc and the sec ...
party proposed a motion in the
Riksdag
The Riksdag ( , ; also or , ) is the parliament and the parliamentary sovereignty, supreme decision-making body of the Kingdom of Sweden. Since 1971, the Riksdag has been a unicameral parliament with 349 members (), elected proportional rep ...
calling on the government to discuss financial support for women's hockey in Sweden.
Significant events
Pre-season
For the 2015-16 season, the league expanded from eight to ten teams, with both
HV71
HV71 (), often referred to as just HV, is a Swedish professional ice hockey club based in Jönköping, playing in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL), the first tier of Swedish ice hockey. The team played in the 2008–09 Champions Hockey League ...
and
Djurgårdens IF
Djurgårdens Idrottsförening, commonly known simply as Djurgårdens IF, Djurgården (), and (especially locally) Djurgår'n (), Dif or DIF – is a Swedish sports association with several sections, located in Stockholm. Djurgårdens IF is an s ...
joining the league. After facing financial difficulties,
Munksund-Skuthamns SK merged with
Luleå HF
Luleå Hockeyförening, also known as Luleå Hockey, is a professional ice hockey club from Luleå, Sweden. The club has been playing in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL), the top tier of ice hockey in Sweden, since the 1984–85 season. They are ...
to form
Luleå HF/MSSK
Luleå Hockey/MSSK are a semi-professional ice hockey team in the Swedish Women's Hockey League (SDHL). They play in Luleå, a port city in northeastern Sweden, at Coop Norrbotten Arena. The team is the most successful in SDHL history, having b ...
.
In North America, the
National Women's Hockey League
The Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) was a women's professional ice hockey league in the United States and Canada that operated from March 2015 until June 2023. The league was established in 2015 as the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL), com ...
was formed as the first professional women's hockey league to pay all of its players a salary. Many Swedish players chose to remain in Sweden and in Riksserien, however.
Regular season
The regular season began on the 9th of September 2015.
A Sundsvall-Modo match in late November 2015 was marked with controversy after three Sundsvall players were forced to leave the game after suffering concussions, including Canadian forward
Danielle Stone. Sundsvall head coach Lars Johansson stated that he had "never experienced anything like this."
25 games into the season, Djurgården forward
Andrea Dalen scored two goals to lift her season total to 34, breaking
Josefine Jakobsen
Josefine Jakobsen (born 17 May 1991) is a Danish ice hockey forward and member of the Danish national team, currently playing in the Swedish Women's Hockey League (SDHL) with Brynäs IF. Known for her strong two-way play, she is the thirtee ...
's record for most goals scored in a single riksserien. She would finish the year with 47 goals, a record that still stands.
In January 2016, defender
Nathalie Lidman made her Riksserien debut for Luleå at the age of 14, one of the youngest players in league history to make her debut.
After Luleå star
Emma Nordin injured herself while on international duty just before the playoffs, the organised a fundraising efforts to be able to afford the transfer fee to fill her spot on the roster. The club was able to raise over 50,000kr, with Swedish men's international
Dick Axelsson among the notable contributors.
Playoffs
Before the start of the finals series, Linköping HC was forced to fundraise as the club's women's side lacked the budget to pay for flights to Luleå and accommodation. The club was able to collect over 20,000kr via fundraising.
Luleå HF/MSSK
Luleå Hockey/MSSK are a semi-professional ice hockey team in the Swedish Women's Hockey League (SDHL). They play in Luleå, a port city in northeastern Sweden, at Coop Norrbotten Arena. The team is the most successful in SDHL history, having b ...
won the championship playoffs in their first season as a club, defeating
Linköping HC
Linköping Hockey Club, often known by its Acronym, initials LHC, or Colloquialism, colloquially among its fans as Cluben, is a Swedish professional ice hockey club from Linköping, founded in 1976. The home arena of the team is Saab Arena (for ...
2 games to 1. The final games of the finals set a Riksserien record for attendance, with 4179 spectators present at the Coop Norrbotten Arena in Luleå.
Post-season
After losing in the finals,
Linköping HC
Linköping Hockey Club, often known by its Acronym, initials LHC, or Colloquialism, colloquially among its fans as Cluben, is a Swedish professional ice hockey club from Linköping, founded in 1976. The home arena of the team is Saab Arena (for ...
discovered that their plane tickets back from
Luleå
Luleå ( , , locally ; ; ) is a Cities in Sweden, city on the coast of northern Sweden, and the County Administrative Boards of Sweden, capital of Norrbotten County, the northernmost county in Sweden. Luleå has 48,728 inhabitants in its urban ...
had gone missing, with head coach Peter Frantz deeming it "sabotage". After a short investigation it turned out that the club had simply forgotten to book the tickets. Frantz ended up paying for new tickets out of his own pocket at the women's team didn't have enough money left in its budget.
In April 2016,
Emma Eliasson was named Riksserien Defender of the Year and was named Swedish Hockey Girl of the Year.
After receiving the award, she called on the Swedish Ice Hockey Federation to change the name of the award to something less outdated.
Standings
Each team played 36 regular season games, with three points being awarded for winning in regulation time, two points for winning in overtime or shootout, one point for losing in overtime or shootout, and zero points for losing in regulation time. At the end of the regular season, the team that finishes with the most points is crowned the league champion.
Regular season
See also
*
Women's ice hockey in Sweden
References
External links
League websiteOfficial season statistics from the Swedish Ice Hockey Association
{{DEFAULTSORT:2015-16 Riksserien season
SDHL
The Swedish Women's Hockey League (), abbreviated SDHL, is the elite league for women's ice hockey in Sweden. It was established in 2007 as the by the Swedish Ice Hockey Association and was renamed prior to the 2016–17 season. The league ha ...
2015–16 in European ice hockey leagues
Women's ice hockey competitions in Sweden
Swedish Women's Hockey League seasons