The 2021–22 Liiga season was the 47th season 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 leagu ...
(formerly SM-liiga), the top level of
ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two o ...
in
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bo ...
, since the league's formation in 1975.
Teams
Regular season
Standings
Top six advanced straight to the quarter-finals, while teams between 7th and 10th positions played a wild card round for the final two spots. The Liiga is a closed series and thus there is no relegation. The top 3 teams of the regular season qualified for the
Champions Hockey League
The Champions Hockey League is a European first-level ice hockey tournament. Launched in the 2014–15 season by 26 clubs, 6 leagues and the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), the tournament features top teams across Europe.
Backgrou ...
and the 4th team to the
Spengler Cup
The Spengler Cup is an annual invitational ice hockey tournament held in Davos, Switzerland. First held in 1923, the Spengler Cup is often cited as the oldest invitational ice hockey tournament in the world. The event is hosted by the Swiss t ...
.
The match program was on hiatus during the
EHT,
Karjala Cup from 7 to 14 November. In December, Christmas was a week-long match break.
In December, a new ice rink named
Tampere Deck Arena
Nokia Arena (originally Tampere Deck Arena, fi, Tampereen Kannen areena) is an indoor arena in Tampere, Finland. It hosts ice hockey games, including the 2022 Men's World Championship, and large cultural events. It is also the home arena of Il ...
(Nokia Arena) was opened in Tampere for the use of Ilves and Tappara. Two matches were played in the new arena on February 19, when Ilves hosts his own in the afternoon and Tappara in the evening.
Statistics
Scoring leaders
The following shows the top ten players who led the league in points, at the conclusion of the regular season. If two or more skaters are tied (i.e. same number of points, goals and played games), all of the tied skaters are shown.
Leading goaltenders
The following shows the top ten goaltenders who led the league in
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 on ...
, provided that they have played at least 40% of their team's minutes, at the conclusion of games played on 25 September 2021.
Playoffs
Contrary to the best of three format used in the past seasons, the wild-card round will take place in best of two format, with overtime only played after the second game if the points are tied. The remaining rounds will be played in the best-of-7 format.
Bracket
Wild-card round
The wild-card round series will be decided as a two game series. Compared to normal playoffs format both games can also end on a tie. If after two games both teams have one win or both games have ended on a tie, immediately after the second game an additional game will play played, which will determine the team that will go through to next round. The additional game will be played as five against five game and with 20 minutes periods. Sudden death rule applies. Penalties received during the 2nd game, which have not ended when 2nd game ends, will be cancelled. Only exception is game misconducts, which will carry on to the additional game.
Quarter-finals
Semifinals
Bronze medal game
Finals
Tappara wins the finals 4-1.
Final rankings
References
External links
Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:2021-22 Liiga season
Liiga seasons
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 leagu ...
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 leagu ...