The 2021–22 season was the thirty-ninth season of the , the premier level of women's

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) 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. Tw ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

, since the league's establishment as the Naisten SM-sarja in 1982. The season began on 11 September 2021 and concluded on 20 March 2022.

League business

Offseason

HPK Kiekkonaiset team transfer

In June 2021, it was announced that the HPK team would be transferred to HPK Liiga Oy, owner of the Liiga team HPK and the

U20 SM-sarja The U20 Finnish Champion, SM-sarja ('Under-20 Finnish Championship Series') is the premier Junior ice hockey, junior men's ice hockey league in Finland. It was previously known as the A-nuorten SM-sarja ('Junior A Finnish Championship Series') du ...

team HPK U20. HPK had previously been a part of the HPK-affiliated

junior Junior or Juniors may refer to: Aircraft * Ekolot JK-05L Junior, a Polish ultralight aircraft * PZL-112 Junior, a Polish training aircraft * SZD-51 Junior, a Polish-made training and club glider Arts and entertainment Characters * Bowser Jr., ...

club HPK Edustusjääkiekko Ry, a non-profit association. According to Antti Toivanen, CEO of HPK Liiga Oy and general manager of the HPK men's team, the move was motivated by an interest in capitalizing on the growing women's ice hockey market, which was highlighted by the record crowds that attended the

2019 IIHF Women's World Championship The 2019 IIHF Women's World Championship was an international Ice hockey tournament run by the International Ice Hockey Federation. It was contested in Espoo, Finland from 4 to 14 April 2019 at the Espoo Metro Areena. The United States won the ...

Espoo Espoo (, ; ) is a city in Finland. It is located to the west of the capital, Helsinki, in southern Uusimaa. The population is approximately . It is the most populous Municipalities of Finland, municipality in Finland. Espoo is part of the Helsi ...

. Jorma Hassinen, general manager of HPK , expressed hope that the transfer would allow female players to develop with the same opportunities as their male counterparts.

Financial support for RoKi players

Rovaniemen Kiekko ry announced it would begin supporting RoKi Naiset ice hockey players selected to women's national team camps and evaluation tournaments with grants of several hundred to a thousand euros. RoKi Naiset head coach Tuomas Liitola stated the club's long-term goal is to reduce the cost of playing with RoKi Naiset to zero.

Coaching changes

Player signings of note

Note: The following tables do not include all player movements made during the Naisten Liiga season but rather feature moves involving national team players or international players, extra-league moves, and player movements determined to be otherwise notable. Pre-season Preliminaries Divisional series

Teams

Preliminary series

The preliminary series began on 11 September and concluded on 12 December 2021. The Finnish Ice Hockey Association opted to use the points per game ranking system first implemented in the 2020–21 season to allow for the potential of cancelled matches due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. Some games in the preliminary series were rescheduled, however, each team was able to play all twenty matches. The top six ranked teams in the preliminaries advanced to the regular season, also called the upper division series () and were guaranteed playoff berths.

Standings

Official ranking Teams were officially ranked by average points per game with ties broken by greater number of games played, followed by best goal difference, then greater number of goals.

Schedule

Major events

* 26 September 2021 – Ilves 3–0 TPS, Tesoman jäähalli (Tampere)
TPS forward Maija Otamo was issued a six-game ban – the longest suspension ever handed down to a player in the Naisten Liiga – after rendering Ilves forward Emilia Varpula unconscious with two hits in the head and neck area. The hits came with just nine seconds left on the clock and less than a minute after Varpula contributed an assist to Ilves' third and final goal in the eventual shutout. Varpula was taken directly from the ice to hospital by ambulance and was ultimately diagnosed with a concussion. Following the hits, a fight broke out between TPS forward Estelle Duvin and Ilves defenseman Elli Suoranta, resulting in one game suspensions for both players.

Player statistics

Scoring leaders The following players led the league in points at the conclusion of games the preliminaries on 12 December 2021. The following skaters were the top point scorers of teams not represented in the scoring leader table at the conclusion of the preliminary series, noted with their overall league scoring rank: *22.

Johanna Juutilainen Johanna is a feminine name, a variant form of Joanna that originated in Latin in the Middle Ages, including an -h- by analogy with the Latin masculine name Johannes. The original Greek form ''Iōanna'' lacks a medial /h/ because in Greek /h/ coul ...

( F),

KalPa Kalevan Pallo (KalPa) is a professional ice hockey team which competes in the Finnish Liiga. They play in Kuopio, Finland at the Niiralan monttu, Olvi Areena. Team history Established in 1929 as ''Sortavalan Palloseura'' in Sortavala, the club r ...

: 18 GP, 6 G, 13 A, 19 Pts, 4 PIM *25. Jenna Heitala ( F),

RoKi Roki may refer to: People * Rodoljub Roki Vulović (born 1955), Bosnian Serb singer * Roki (musician) (born 1985), Zimbabwean musician * Nikša Roki (born 1988), Croatian swimmer * Rōki Sasaki (born 2001), Japanese baseball player Other ...

: 19 GP, 11 G, 6 A, 17 Pts, 6 PIM *27.

Susanna Viitala Susanna or Suzanna may refer to: People * Susanna (Book of Daniel), a portion of the Book of Daniel and its protagonist * Susanna (disciple), a disciple of Jesus * Susanna (given name), or Suzanna, a feminine given name (including a list of peopl ...

( F),

Sport Sport is a physical activity or game, often Competition, competitive and organization, organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The numbe ...

: 16 GP, 10 G, 6 A, 16 Pts, 2 PIM * 49. Riikka Noronen ( F), HPK: 19 GP, 2 G, 10 A, 12 Pts, 40 PIM Elisa Holopainen was the leading point scorer in the preliminaries for the third consecutive season Goaltenders The following goaltenders lead the league in

save percentage Save percentage (often known by such symbols as SV%, SVS%, SVP, PCT) is a statistic in various Goal (sports), goal-scoring sports that track Save (goaltender), saves as a statistic. In ice hockey and lacrosse and association football, it is a sta ...

at the conclusion of the preliminary series on 12 December 2021, while starting at least one third of matches. Vaasan Sport was the only team not represented in the top goaltenders table at the conclusion of the preliminary series. Sport's best goaltender was Oona Mäki, who played in thirteen games and recorded a .860 save percentage and 7.38 goals against average.

Regular season

The Finnish Ice Hockey Association opted to use the points per game ranking system first implemented in the 2020–21 season to allow for the potential of cancelled matches due to the

. The top six ranked teams from the preliminary series advanced to the regular season, also called the upper division series (), while teams ranked seventh through tenth progressed to the lower division series (). The regular season began on 8 January 2022.

Standings

Official ranking Teams are officially ranked by average points per game with ties broken by greater number of games played, followed by best goal difference, then greater number of goals.

Schedule

{, class="wikitable toccolours collapsible collapsed" style="width:90%; clear:both; margin:1.5em auto; text-align:center;" , - ! colspan="10" style="background:#FFFFFF; border-top:#002f6c 5px solid; border-bottom:#002f6c 5px solid;" , Regular Season , - ! Date !! Home !! Score !! Visitor !! OT !! Atn !! Notes , - , 8 January , Kuortane , 0–5 , Kärpät , , 1 , align="left" , Shutout recorded by Kati Asikainen (1) , - , 9 January , TPS , 6–4 , Kuortane , , 0 , align="left" , , - , 15 January , TPS , 2–1 , Kärpät , , 0 , align="left" , , - , rowspan="3" , 26 February , Kuortane , 1–3 , Ilves , , 60 , align="left" , , - , Kärpät , 1–2 , K-Espoo , , 82 , align="left" , , - , TPS , 3–5 , HIFK , , 60 , align="left" , , - , rowspan="3" , 27 February , Kuortane , 1–4 , K-Espoo , , 60 , align="left" , , - , HIFK , 5–0 , TPS , , 87 , align="left" , Shutout recorded by Iina Kuusela (1) , - , Kärpät , 2–1 , Ilves , , 115 , align="left" , , - , rowspan="2" , 2 March , K-Espoo , 1–5 , HIFK , , 143 , align="left" , , - , Ilves , 3–1 , Kuortane , , 70 , align="left" , , - , rowspan="3" , 5 March , Ilves , 5–4 , TPS , , 85 , align="left" , , - , HIFK , 3–0 , Kuortane , , 137 , align="left" , Shutout recorded by Lumi Jääskeläinen (1) , - , K-Espoo , 7–0 , Kärpät , , 53 , align="left" , Shutout recorded by Tiia Pajarinen (1) , - , rowspan="3" , 6 March , TPS , 3–2 , Ilves , , 60 , align="left" , , - , HIFK , 2–0 , Kärpät , , 76 , align="left" , Shutout recorded by Iina Kuusela (2) , - , K-Espoo , 8–0 , Kuortane , , 45 , align="left" , Game with largest goal difference, ±8; shutout recorded by Minja Drufva (1) , - , 9 March , HIFK , 3–0 , Ilves , , 89 , align="left", Shutout recorded by Iina Kuusela (3) , - , rowspan="3" , 12 March , Kärpät , 6–3 , TPS , , 84 , align="left" , , - , K-Espoo , 5–1 , Ilves , , 52 , align="left" , , - , ~~Kuortane~~ , X , ~~HIFK~~ , , , align="left" , ''Match cancelled'' , - , rowspan="3" , 13 March , Ilves , 0–4 , K-Espoo , , 45 , align="left" , Shutout recorded by Minja Drufva (2) , - , Kärpät , 1–6 , HIFK , , 86 , align="left" , , - , ~~Kuortane~~ , , ~~TPS~~ , , , align="left" , ''Match cancelled'' , - , 16 March , HIFK , 3–2 , K-Espoo , , 145 , align="left" , Highest attended game , - , 18 March , K-Espoo , 5–4 , TPS , OT , 51 , align="left" , , - , rowspan="3" , 19 March , Ilves , 3–5 , HIFK , , align="left" , 110 , , - , ~~Kärpät~~ , , ~~Kuortane~~ , , , align="left" , ''Match cancelled'' , - , TPS , 4–7 , K-Espoo , , 30 , align="left" , , - , 20 March , Ilves , 1–2 , Kärpät , OT , 50 , align="left" ,

Player statistics

Scoring leaders The following players led the league in points at the conclusion of the regular season on 20 March 2022. In a change from the previous seasons, scoring statistics ''were'' carried over from the preliminaries and points scored in the regular season were added to those totals. {, class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: center" ! ! style="width: 10em;", Player ! style="width: 4em;" , Team ! style="width: 3em;" , ! style="width: 3em;" , ! style="width: 3em;" , ! style="width: 3em;" , ! style="width: 3em;" , , - , 1 , style="text-align:left;" , , style="text-align:left;" ,

TPS TPS or Tps may refer to: In arts and entertainment *Télévision Par Satellite, a French satellite television company *Third-person shooter, a game genre * Torsonic Polarity Syndrome, in ''South Park'' animation * Trailer Park Sex, a band from ...

, 26 , 31 , 26 ! 57 , 65 , - , 2 , style="text-align:left;" , , style="text-align:left;" , K-Espoo , 27 , 29 , 27 ! 56 , 4 , - , 3 , style="text-align:left;" , , style="text-align:left;" ,

HIFK HIFK, the Idrottsföreningen Kamraterna, Helsingfors (IFK, Helsingfors) rf (officially abbreviated IFK Helsingfors, colloquially often Helsingfors IFK or Helsingin IFK) is a multi-sport association based in Helsinki, Finland. Formed in 1897 on ...

, 29 , 37 , 18 ! 55 , 22 , - , 4 , style="text-align:left;" , , style="text-align:left;" , K-Espoo , 28 , 26 , 20 ! 46 , 10 , - , 5 , style="text-align:left;" , , style="text-align:left;" ,

, 23 , 17 , 27 ! 44 , 37 , - , 6 , style="text-align:left;" , , style="text-align:left;" ,

, 21 , 15 , 27 ! 42 , 8 , - , 7 , style="text-align:left;" , , style="text-align:left;" , K-Espoo , 30 , 18 , 19 ! 37 , 33 , - , 8 , style="text-align:left;" , , style="text-align:left;" , K-Espoo , 23 , 15 , 22 ! 37 , 10 , - , 9 , style="text-align:left;" , , style="text-align:left;" ,

, 28 , 18 , 15 ! 33 , 0 , - , 10 , style="text-align:left;" , , style="text-align:left;" ,

, 27 , 15 , 18 ! 33 , 10 , - , 11 , style="text-align:left;" , , style="text-align:left;" , K-Espoo , 23 , 7 , 24 ! 31 , 16 , - , 12 , style="text-align:left;" , , style="text-align:left;" ,

Ilves Tampereen Ilves, commonly known as Ilves, (; Finnish language, Finnish for "Eurasian lynx, Lynx") is a Finnish professional ice hockey team based in Tampere. They play in the Liiga at the Nokia Arena (Tampere), Nokia Arena. The colors of Ilves, ...

, 27 , 17 , 13 ! 30 , 10 , - , 13 , style="text-align:left;" , , style="text-align:left;" ,

Kuortane Kuortane is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the South Ostrobothnia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The neighboring municipalities of Kuortane are ...

, 22 , 16 , 13 ! 29 , 8 , - , 14 , style="text-align:left;" , , style="text-align:left;" , Kärpät , 25 , 13 , 14 ! 27 , 10 , - , 15 , style="text-align:left;" , , style="text-align:left;" , Kärpät , 22 , 14 , 12 ! 26 , 4 Goaltenders The following goaltenders lead the league in

at the conclusion of games played on 20 March 2022, while starting at least one third of matches. Goaltending statistics were not carried over from the preliminaries, only statistics accumulated in the regular season were counted towards totals. {, class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: center" , - ! ! style="width: 10em;" , Player ! , Team ! style="width: 3em;" , ! style="width: 3em;" , ! style="width: 3em;" , ! style="width: 3em;" , ! style="width: 3em;" , ! style="width: 3em;" , ! style="width: 3em;" , ! style="width: 3em;" , ! style="width: 3em;" , , - , 1 , style="text-align:left;" , , style="text-align:left;" ,

, 6 , , 6 , 0 , 113 , 4 , 3 ! .966 , 0.67 , - , 2 , style="text-align:left;" , , style="text-align:left;" , K-Espoo , 4 , , 4 , 0 , 75 , 5 , 2 ! .938 , 1.25 , - , 3 , style="text-align:left;" , , style="text-align:left;" , Kärpät , 5 , , 2 , 3 , 188 , 13 , 1 ! .935 , 2.61 , - , 4 , style="text-align:left;" , , style="text-align:left;" , Kärpät , 4 , , 2 , 2 , 151 , 11 , 0 ! .932 , 2.70 , - , 5 , style="text-align:left;" , , style="text-align:left;" , K-Espoo , 6 , , 4 , 2 , 164 , 13 , 1 ! .927 , 2.18 , - , 6 , style="text-align:left;" , , style="text-align:left;" ,

, 6 , , 3 , 3 , 196 , 18 , 0 ! .916 , 3.02 , - , 7 , style="text-align:left;" , , style="text-align:left;" ,

, 5 , , 0 , 4 , 178 , 17 , 0 ! .913 , 3.57 , - , 8 , style="text-align:left;" , , style="text-align:left;" ,

, 3 , , 3 , 0 , 53 , 6 , 1 ! .898 , 2.00 , - , 9 , style="text-align:left;" , , style="text-align:left;" ,

, 7 , , 1 , 6 , 211 , 33 , 0 ! .865 , 4.86 , - , 10 , style="text-align:left;" , , style="text-align:left;" ,

, 3 , , 0 , 3 , 68 , 12 , 0 ! .850 , 5.73

Lower division series

The teams ranked seventh through tenth in the Naisten Liiga preliminaries – HPK, KalPa, RoKi, and Sport – progressed to the lower division series (), where they were joined by the top two teams from the

Naisten Mestis Naisten Mestis (; from , 'Championship series') is the second-highest women's national ice hockey league in Finland. Founded as the Naisten I-divisioona () in 1985 by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association, when the number of teams playing in the Au ...

cross-qualifiers, Alavuden Peli-Veikot (APV) and

Rauman Lukko Rauman Lukko (Finnish for "lock") is a Finnish sports club based in Rauma, Finland, best known for its men's professional ice hockey team. The club was founded as Rauma Woodin Lukko in 1936. The representative team currently plays in the Finni ...

. The lower division series began on 5 February and concluded on 20 March. It was played as a double round-robin, with every team playing each of their five opponents twice. The two teams with the top points per game averages at the conclusion of the series, HPK and KalPa, progress to the playoff quarterfinals. The remaining four teams – APV, Lukko, RoKi, and Sport – proceed to the qualifiers (), where they face potential relegation.

Standings

Official ranking {, class="wikitable" , + ! ! Team ! , - style="background:#c3f5bf" , style="text-align:center", 1 , HPK , style="text-align:center", 3.00 , - style="background:#c3f5bf" , style="text-align:center", 2 ,

, style="text-align:center" , 2.20 , - style="background:#fff" , style="text-align:center" , 3 ,

, style="text-align:center" , 1.50 , - style="background:#fff" , style="text-align:center" , 4 ,

Lukko Rauman Lukko (Finnish for "lock") is a Finnish sports club based in Rauma, Finland, Rauma, Finland, best known for its men's professional ice hockey team. The club was founded as Rauma Woodin Lukko in 1936. The representative team currently pla ...

, style="text-align:center" , 1.20 , - style="background:#fff" , style="text-align:center" , 5 ,

, style="text-align:center" , 0.60 , - style="background:#fff" , style="text-align:center" , 6 , APV , style="text-align:center" , 0.50

Schedule

{, class="wikitable toccolours collapsible collapsed" style="width:90%; clear:both; margin:1.5em auto; text-align:center;" , - ! colspan="11" style="background:#FFFFFF; border-top:#002f6c 5px solid; border-bottom:#002f6c 5px solid;", Lower Division , - ! Date !! Home !! Score !! Visitor !! OT !! Atn !! Notes , - , rowspan="2" , 5 February , RoKi , 11–5 , APV , , 61 , align="left" , , - , Sport , 2–3 , Lukko , , – , align="left" , , - , 12 February , Sport , 1–7 , HPK , , 25 , align="left" , , - , rowspan="2" , 13 February , RoKi , 1–9 , HPK , , 53 , align="left" , , - , APV , 5–4 , Sport , OT , 100 , align="left" , , - , 19 February , APV , 4–6 , Lukko , , 60 , align="left" , , - , 20 February , APV , 1–6 , HPK , , 95 , align="left" , , - , rowspan="2" , 26 February , HPK , 7–2 , RoKi , , 40 , align="left" , , - , KalPa , 3–1 , APV , , 52 , align="left" , , - , rowspan="2" , 27 February , HPK , 5–3 , Lukko , , 40 , align="left" , , - , APV , 7–5 , RoKi , , 80 , align="left" , , - , rowspan="2" , 2 March , RoKi , 3–8 , KalPa , , 64 , align="left" , , - , Lukko , 0–2 , HPK , , 60 , align="left" , Shutout recorded by Kassidy Sauvé (1) , - , rowspan="2" , 5 March , RoKi , 5–0 , Lukko , , 55 , align="left" , Shutout recorded by Janika Järvikari (1) , - , APV , 2–7 , KalPa , , 85 , align="left" , , - , rowspan="3" , 6 March , RoKi , 7–1 , Sport , , 64 , align="left" , , - , HPK , 13–2 , APV , , 50 , align="left" , Largest goal difference, ±11 , - , KalPa , 4–0 , Lukko , , 53 , align="left", Shutout recorded by Tiina Ranne (1) , - , 9 March , KalPa , 2–1 , Sport , OT , 43 , align="left" , , - , rowspan="3" , 12 March , Sport , 8–1 , APV , , 68 , align="left" , , - , HPK , 4–0 , KalPa , , 40 , align="left" , Shutout recorded by Kassidy Sauvé (2) , - , Lukko , 2–5 , RoKi , , 50 , align="left" , , - , rowspan="2" , 13 March , Sport , 5–6 , RoKi , OT , 40 , align="left" , , - , Lukko , 0–3 , KalPa , , 60 , align="left" , Shutout recorded by Tiina Ranne (2) , - , 16 March , Sport , 1–3 , KalPa , , 40 , align="left" , , - , rowspan="3" , 19 March , HPK , 9–0 , Sport , , 120 , align="left" , Highest attended game; shutout recorded by Kassidy Sauvé (3) , - , KalPa , 2–1 , RoKi , OT , 62 , align="left" , , - , Lukko , 3–1 , APV , , 40 , align="left" , , - , rowspan="2" , 20 March , KalPa , 2–5 , HPK , , 63 , align="left" , , - , Lukko , 2–1 , Sport , , 60 , align="left" ,

Player statistics

Scoring leaders The following players led the series in points at the conclusion of lower division play on 20 March 2022. No statistics were carried over from the preliminaries, all totals represent tallies from the lower division only. RoKi forward Jenna Hietala topped the scoring charts for both goals and points, with 18 goals and 24 points in 10 games played. Slovak forward Júlia Matejková of HPK and KalPa's

tied to lead the series in assists, both tallying 12 assists in 10 games played. {, class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: center" ! ! style="width: 10em;", Player ! style="width: 4em;" , Team ! style="width: 3em;" , ! style="width: 3em;" , ! style="width: 3em;" , ! style="width: 3em;" , ! style="width: 3em;" , , - , 1 , style="text-align:left;" , , style="text-align:left;" ,

, 10 , 18 , 6 ! 24 , 0 , - , 2 , style="text-align:left;" , , style="text-align:left;" , HPK , 10 , 12 , 11 ! 23 , 0 , - , 3 , style="text-align:left;" , , style="text-align:left;" , HPK , 10 , 9 , 12 ! 21 , 6 , - , 4 , style="text-align:left;" , , style="text-align:left;" , HPK , 10 , 10 , 8 ! 18 , 12 , - , 5 , style="text-align:left;" , , style="text-align:left;" ,

, 9 , 11 , 6 ! 17 , 6 , - , 6 , style="text-align:left;" , , style="text-align:left;" , HPK , 8 , 6 , 10 ! 16 , 2 , - , 7 , style="text-align:left;" , , style="text-align:left;" , HPK , 8 , 5 , 11 ! 16 , 0 , - , 8 , style="text-align:left;" , , style="text-align:left;" ,

, 10 , 6 , 9 ! 15 , 2 , - , 9 , style="text-align:left;" , , style="text-align:left;" ,

, 10 , 3 , 12 ! 15 , 0 , - , 10 , style="text-align:left;" , , style="text-align:left;" , HPK , 7 , 5 , 9 ! 14 , 2 , - , 11 , style="text-align:left;" , , style="text-align:left;" , APV , 10 , 6 , 7 ! 13 , 4 Rauman Lukko was the only team not represented in the scoring leaders table at the conclusion of the lower division series. Lukko's top scorer was Roosa-Maria Kangasniemi, who notched 2 goals and 5 assists for 7 points in ten games played. She ranked 28th overall on the list of lower division scoring leaders. Goaltenders The following goaltenders lead the series in

at the conclusion of lower division play on 20 March 2022, while starting at least one third of matches. Goaltending statistics were not carried over from the preliminaries, only statistics accumulated during the lower division series were considered. {, class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: center" , - ! ! style="width: 10em;" , Player ! , Team ! style="width: 3em;" , ! style="width: 3em;" , ! style="width: 3em;" , ! style="width: 3em;" , ! style="width: 3em;" , ! style="width: 3em;" , ! style="width: 3em;" , ! style="width: 3em;" , ! style="width: 3em;" , , - , 1 , style="text-align:left;" , , style="text-align:left;" , HPK , 8 , , 8 , 0 , 188 , 7 , 3 !.964 , 0.88 , - , 2 , style="text-align:left;" , , style="text-align:left;" ,

, 9 , , 7 , 2 , 245 , 17 , 2 !.935 , 1.88 , - , 3 , style="text-align:left;" , , style="text-align:left;" ,

, 8 , , 1 , 7 , 283 , 28 , 0 ! .910 , 3.48 , - , 4 , style="text-align:left;" , , style="text-align:left;" ,

, 7 , , 4 , 1 , 197 , 20 , 1 ! .908 , 3.23 , - , 5 , style="text-align:left;" , , style="text-align:left;" ,

, 7 , , 4 , 3 , 159 , 18 , 0 ! .898 , 2.58 , - , 6 , style="text-align:left;" , , style="text-align:left;" , APV , 10 , , 2 , 7 , 358 , 56 , 0 ! .865 , 6.18

Playoffs

Qualification series

The qualification series () began on 26 March and concluded 10 April. Three teams from the 2021 qualification series returned to the promotion/relegation tournament in 2022: Lukko, RoKi, and Vaasan Sport. Promoted from the Naisten Mestis to the lower division series alongside Lukko, APV last appeared in the 2020 qualification series, in which they did not gain promotion. On April 3, Rovaniemen Kiekko (RoKi) and Rauman Lukko both amassed unbeatable point advantages and secured league positions. RoKi will remain in the Naisten Liiga for the 2022–23 season and Lukko will make their return to the league after being relegated to the Naisten Mestis in the 2020–21 Naisten Liiga qualifiers. Vaasan Sport will be relegated to the 2022–23 Naisten Mestis, following four seasons in the Naisten Liiga in which they qualified for the playoffs as the eighth-seed in 2020 and faced relegation in both 2021 and 2022. APV will return to the Naisten Mestis after missing out on the opportunity for promotion for the second time in three seasons. Official ranking {, class="wikitable" , + ! ! Team ! GP ! Pts ! , - style="background:#c3f5bf" , style="text-align:center", 1 ,

, style="text-align:center", 16 , style="text-align:center", 27 , style="text-align:center" , 1.69 , - style="background:#c3f5bf" , style="text-align:center", 2 ,

, style="text-align:center", 16 , style="text-align:center", 24 , style="text-align:center" , 1.50 , - style="background:#fff" , style="text-align:center" , 3 ,

, style="text-align:center", 16 , style="text-align:center", 15 , style="text-align:center" , 0.94 , - style="background:#fff" , style="text-align:center" , 4 , APV , style="text-align:center", 16 , style="text-align:center", 8 , style="text-align:center" , 0.50

Results

Statistics

Scoring leaders The following players led scoring in the qualification series at the conclusion of games played on 9 April 2022. {, class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: center" ! ! style="width: 10em;" , Player ! style="width: 4em;" , Team ! style="width: 3em;" , ! style="width: 3em;" , ! style="width: 3em;" , ! style="width: 3em;" , ! style="width: 3em;" , , - , 1 , style="text-align:left;" , , style="text-align:left;" ,

, 5 , 6 , 5 ! 11 , 0 , - , 2 , style="text-align:left;" , , style="text-align:left;" ,

, 5 , 5 , 5 ! 10 , 4 , - , 3 , style="text-align:left;" , , style="text-align:left;" ,

, 5 , 2 , 8 ! 10 , 2 , - , 4 , style="text-align:left;" , , style="text-align:left;" ,

, 5 , 7 , 1 ! 8 , 2 , - , 5 , style="text-align:left;" , , style="text-align:left;" ,

, 5 , 2 , 5 !7 , 6 , - , 6 , style="text-align:left;" , , style="text-align:left;" ,

, 5 , 4 , 2 ! 6 , 8 , - , 7 , style="text-align:left;" , , style="text-align:left;" ,

, 5 , 3 , 3 ! 6 , 0 , - , 7 , style="text-align:left;" , , style="text-align:left;" ,

, 5 , 3 , 3 ! 6 , 2 , - , 9 , style="text-align:left;" , , style="text-align:left;" , APV , 5 , 1 , 5 ! 6 , 18 , - , 10 , style="text-align:left;" , , style="text-align:left;" ,

, 5 , 3 , 2 ! 5 , 0 , - , 11 , style="text-align:left;" , , style="text-align:left;" ,

, 3 , 2 , 3 ! 5 , 0 Leading goaltenders The following goaltenders have played at least one match in the qualification series at the conclusion of games played on 9 April 2022, sorted by

. {, class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: center" , - ! ! style="width: 10em;" , Player ! , Team ! ! style="width: 3em;" , ! ! ! ! ! ! ! , - , 1 , style="text-align:left;" , , style="text-align:left;" ,

, 2 , style="text-align:right;" , 120:00 , 2 , 0 , 53 , 1 , 1 !.981 , 0.50 , - , 2 , style="text-align:left;" , , style="text-align:left;" ,

, 3 , style="text-align:right;" , 180:00 , 2 , 1 , 88 , 7 , 0 !.926 , 2.33 , - , 3 , style="text-align:left;" , , style="text-align:left;" ,

, 3 , style="text-align:right;" , 112:22 , 1 , 0 , 49 , 4 , 0 !.925 , 2.14 , - , 4 , style="text-align:left;" , , style="text-align:left;" ,

, 2 , style="text-align:right;" , 120:00 , 2 , 0 , 52 , 5 , 0 !.912 , 2.50 , - , 5 , style="text-align:left;" , , style="text-align:left;" , APV , 4 , style="text-align:right;" , 238:07 , 1 , 3 , 144 , 14 , 0 !.911 , 3.53 , - , 6 , style="text-align:left;" , , style="text-align:left;" ,

, 2 , style="text-align:right;" , 80:00 , 1 , 0 , 41 , 4 , 0 !.911 , 3.00 , - , 7 , style="text-align:left;" , , style="text-align:left;" ,

, W , style="text-align:right;" , 96:55 , 0 , 2 , 42 , 5 , 0 !.894 , 3.10 , - , 8 , style="text-align:left;" , , style="text-align:left;" , APV , 1 , style="text-align:right;" , 60:00 , 0 , 1 , 43 , 7 , 0 !.860 , 7.00 , - , 9 , style="text-align:left;" , , style="text-align:left;" ,

, 4 , style="text-align:right;" , 187:38 , 1 , 3 , 101 , 18 , 0 !.849 , 5.76

Awards and honours

Finnish Ice Hockey Association awards

Riikka Nieminen Award The Riikka Nieminen Award () is an ice hockey trophy, seasonally awarded by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association to the Naisten Liiga Player of the Year. It is named after Riikka Sallinen (née Nieminen), now retired, who is widely considered the b ...

(Player of the Year):

Anni Keisala Anni Keisala (born 5 April 1997) is a Finnish ice hockey goaltender and member of the Finnish national team. She is playing the 2024–25 season in the Auroraliiga with HPK Hämeenlinna. Playing career Keisala made her senior club debut at ag ...

, Ilves * Tuula Puputti Award (Best goaltender): Anni Keisala, Ilves *

Päivi Halonen Award The Päivi Halonen Award () is an ice hockey trophy awarded seasonally by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association to the best defenceman in the Naisten Liiga (ice hockey), Naisten Liiga, called the Naisten SM-sarja during 1982 to 2017. It is named aft ...

(Best defenceman): Nelli Laitinen, Kiekko-Espoo * Katja Riipi Award (Best forward):

Elisa Holopainen Elisa Holopainen (born 27 December 2001) is a Finnish ice hockey winger for Frölunda HC of the Swedish Women's Hockey League (SDHL) and member of the Finnish national team. Holopainen represented Finland in the women's ice hockey tournament ...

, Kiekko-Espoo *

Noora Räty Award The Noora Räty Award () is an ice hockey trophy awarded to the Rookie of the Year of the Naisten Liiga (ice hockey), Naisten Liiga (previously the Naisten SM-sarja), as selected by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association. Rookie of the Year was first ...

(Rookie of the Year): Tuuli Tallinen, Team Kuortane *

Marianne Ihalainen Award The Marianne Ihalainen Award () an ice hockey trophy seasonally awarded by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association to the regular season top point scorer of the Auroraliiga, known as the Naisten Liiga during 2017 to 2024, and as the Naisten SM-sarja ...

(Top point scorer):

Estelle Duvin Estelle Duvin (born 1 February 1997) is a French ice hockey centre and alternate captain of the French national team, currently playing in the Swiss Women's League (SWHL A) with SC Bern Frauen. Playing career Duvin attended the University o ...

, TPS *

Tiia Reima Award The Tiia Reima Award or Tiia Reima Trophy () is an ice hockey trophy seasonally awarded by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association to the top goal scorer of the Auroraliiga regular season. It is named after Tiia Reima, one of the trailblazers of wome ...

(Top goal scorer): Matilda Nilsson, HIFK * Sari Fisk Award (Best plus/minus):

Kiira Yrjänen Kiira Yrjänen (born 2 January 2002) is a Finnish ice hockey player and member of the Finnish national team. She is signed with Leksands IF in the Swedish Women's Hockey League (SDHL) through the 2025–26 season. International play As a junio ...

, Kiekko-Espoo * Emma Laaksonen Award (Fair-play player): Emmanuelle Passard, HIFK * Student Athlete Award: Emmi Rakkolainen, Kiekko-Espoo * U18 Student Athlete Award:

Oona Havana Oona is a feminine given name. It is an anglicisation of the Irish-language name '' Úna''. Apart from in Ireland, it is also a popular name in Finland. People with the name Oona * Oona Brown (born 2004), American ice dancer * Oona Chaplin (bor ...

, Kärpät * Hannu Saintula Award (Coach of the Year): Sami Haapanen, Kiekko-Espoo *

Karoliina Rantamäki Award The Karoliina Rantamäki Award () is an ice hockey trophy awarded by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association to the playoff MVP of the Naisten Liiga, called the Naisten SM-sarja during 1982 to 2017. The Naisten SM-sarja Playoff MVP trophy was first ...

(MVP of the Playoffs): Nelli Laitinen, Kiekko-Espoo * Anu Hirvonen Award (Best referee): Johanna Tauriainen * Johanna Suban Award (Best linesman): Linnea Sainio Source: Finnish Ice Hockey Association French

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

Estelle Duvin of TPS claimed the

as regular season scoring champion, amassing a staggering 31 goals and 26 assists for 57 points in 26 games played. She became the second international player to ever capture the honor, following Czech forward

Michaela Pejzlová Michaela "Míša" Pejzlová (born 6 April 1997) is a Czech ice hockey player and member of the Czech Republic women's national ice hockey team, Czech national team. She is signed with the Hockey Club Ambrì-Piotta Girls (HCAP Girls) of the Swiss ...

who won the award in 2021. HIFK Naiset winger Matilda Nilsson was the top goalscorer of the regular season, notching 37 goals in 29 games played and winning the

for the second consecutive season.

All-Star Teams

All-Star Team * Goaltender: Anni Keisala, Ilves * Defenceman: Nelli Laitinen, Kiekko-Espoo * Defenceman: Sanni Rantala, Kiekko-Espoo * Left Wing: Elisa Holopainen, Kiekko-Espoo * Center: Estelle Duvin, TPS * Right Wing: Kiira Yrjänen, Kiekko-Espoo All-Star Team II * Goaltender: Iina Kuusela, HIFK * Defenceman:

Krista Parkkonen Krista Parkkonen (born 25 June 2002) is a Finnish ice hockey player for Minnesota Duluth of the NCAA Division I and member of the Finnish national team. Playing career Parkkonen first played ice hockey at age 4 or 5, participating in a youth h ...

, HIFK * Defenceman:

Oona Koukkula Oona Koukkula (born 22 August 2003) is a Finnish ice hockey player for Brynäs IF of the Swedish Women's Hockey League (SDHL) and member of the Finnish national ice hockey team. Playing career Koukkula began playing ice hockey at an ice hockey ...

, Team Kuortane * Left Wing: Sofianna Sundelin, Team Kuortane * Center:

, HIFK * Right Wing: Matilda Nilsson, HIFK Source: Finnish Ice Hockey Association

Player of the Month

* September 2021: Kiira Yrjänen ( F), Kiekko-Espoo * October 2021: Estelle Duvin (F), TPS * November 2021: Elisa Holopainen (F), Kiekko-Espoo * December 2021: ''too few games played due to holiday break, no player named'' * January 2022: ''number of games limited due to COVID-19 Omicron, no player named'' * February/March 2022:

Suvi Käyhkö Suvi, Şuvi or Shuvi may refer to: *Şuvi, Astara, a village and municipality in Azerbaijan *Şovu, a village and municipality in Azerbaijan *Suvi River, a river in western India * ''Suvi'' (novel), a novel by Oskar Luts ** ''Summer'' (1976 film) ( ...

(F), Kärpät

References

External links

Naisten Liiga official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Naisten Liiga season 2021-22 2021–22 2021–22 in women's ice hockey leagues Liiga Naiset 2021–22 in European ice hockey leagues