The 2022–23 Naisten Liiga season was the fortieth 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 ...
in
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 in 1982. The regular season began on 10 September 2022 and concluded on 19 February 2023.
HIFK Helsinki
HIFK (a traditional abbreviation of the Swedish name Idrottsföreningen Kamraterna, Helsingfors, English: "Sporting Society Comrades, Helsinki") is a professional ice hockey team based in Helsinki, Finland that plays in the SM-liiga, the sport's ...
and
KalPa Kuopio
Kalevan Pallo (KalPa) is a professional ice hockey team which competes in the Finnish Liiga. They play in Kuopio, Finland at the Olvi Areena.
Team history
Established in 1929 as ''Sortavalan Palloseura'' in Sortavala, the club relocated to Kuop ...
both finished the regular season at the top of the league, tied with 93 points in 36 games. HIFK were granted the regular season championship title by virtue of a higher goal difference, marking the first regular season victory in team history.
Kiekko-Espoo
Kiekko-Espoo is a Finnish professional ice hockey club founded in 2018 as a continuation of the Kiekko-Espoo team originally founded in 1984. Kiekko-Espoo men's team plays in the Liiga, where they were promoted for the 2024–25 Liiga season, 20 ...
, the reigning regular season champions from the previous four seasons (2018–19 to
2021–22), finished in third place.
HIFK swept all three rounds of the
2023 Aurora Borealis Cup playoffs to win the
Aurora Borealis Cup
The Aurora Borealis Cup () is the trophy awarded by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association to the victorious team of the Auroraliiga playoffs, the Finnish Champion in women's ice hockey.
Project
Christopher Shapardanov, Canadian Ambassador to Fin ...
for the first time in team history. Kiekko-Espoo, the reigning Finnish Champions from the
2022 Aurora Borealis Cup playoffs, claimed the franchise's third Finnish Championship silver medal and KalPa won Finnish Championship bronze for the fourth time.
In the qualification,
RoKi Rovaniemi
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 use ...
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 ...
overcame
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 ...
teams HIFK Akatemia and Kiekko-Espoo Akatemia to save themselves from
relegation
Promotion and relegation is used by sports leagues as a process where teams can move up and down among divisions in a league system, based on their performance over a season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are sometimes call ...
.
League business
Season format
The
Finnish Ice Hockey Association
The Finnish Ice Hockey Association (, ) is the sport governing body, governing body of ice hockey in Finland. Since the late 1980s, Finland has enjoyed a period of success on the international stage and, , the Finland men's national ice hockey t ...
chose to streamline the Naisten Liiga season format after the 2021–22 season. Instead of the previous twenty-game preliminary series and ten-game divisional series, the ten teams play a single-series, four-cycle round-robin. For each team, the regular season comprises 36 games.
The top eight teams at the end of the season qualify for the Aurora Borealis Cup playoffs. The teams finishing the season ranked ninth and tenth play a
promotion/relegation series against the top two teams of 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 ...
.
The format change adds six games per team to the regular season schedule and matches the season structure of the league's closest neighbor, 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 ...
(SDHL).
Offseason
Coaching changes
Player signings
''Note: This section does not record all player signings. It is limited to player movements involving national team players (from any country), international import players, and extra-league signings.''
Pre-season
The
2022 Aurora Borealis Cup champions, Kiekko-Espoo, saw the single largest number of pre-season player departures, with a majority of departures involving
Finnish national team players. Players from Kiekko-Espoo departing for other leagues included reigning
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 ...
winner and Playoff MVP
Nelli Laitinen, who left to pursue a
college ice hockey
College ice hockey is played principally in the United States and Canada, though leagues exist outside North America.
In the United States, competitive "college hockey" refers to ice hockey played between colleges and universities within the go ...
career with the
Minnesota Golden Gophers
The Minnesota Golden Gophers (commonly shortened to Gophers) are the college athletics, college sports teams of the University of Minnesota. The university fields a total of 21 (9 men's, 12 women's) teams in both men's and women's sports and com ...
;
Ella Viitasuo and
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 ...
, who signed in 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 ...
(SDHL) with
HV71 Dam;
and
Minttu Tuominen, who began the 2021–22 season as
captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...
of Kiekko-Espoo but concluded the season in the
Zhenskaya Hockey League
The Zhenskaya Hockey League or ZhHL (), officially called the Women's Hockey League (WHL), is a professional ice hockey league in Russia, currently comprising eight teams. The league is also known as the PariMatch Women's Hockey League for sponso ...
(ZhHL) with the
KRS Vanke Rays and signed in the
Premier Hockey Federation
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 ...
(PHF) with the
Metropolitan Riveters
The Metropolitan Riveters (originally the New York Riveters) were a professional women's ice hockey team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, with home games at the American Dream Meadowlands ice rink.
They were one of the four charter franc ...
for the
2022–23 season.
Several high-impact Kiekko-Espoo players signed with other Naisten Liiga teams, including reigning
Best Forward for four consecutive seasons
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 ...
and All-Star
Sanni Rantala, who both signed with KalPa;
Emilia Vesa, who signed with
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 ...
; and
Emmi Leinonen, who retired from playing and joined HPK as an assistant coach.
HPK celebrated the career of all-time Naisten Liiga top point scorer and most games played record holder
Riikka Noronen, who retired from playing in 2022 after 27 consecutive seasons in the league. The vacancy left by Noronen’s departure and other player movements made it possible for HPK to attract a number of international players, including Olympic medalist in
speed skating
Speed skating is a competitive form of ice skating in which the competitors race each other in travelling a certain distance on skates. Types of speed skating are long-track speed skating, short-track speed skating, and marathon speed skat ...
and
Czech national team forward
Karolína Erbanová,
Czech national under-18 team forward
Barbora Juříčková Barbora (; ) is a Czech and Slovak female given name. It was derived from the Greek word ''barbaros'' () meaning "foreign", a variant of " Barbara". It is the 36th most popular given name in the Czech Republic (as of 2007). Notable people with the ...
, and
Slovak national team centre
Lucia Záborská.
French national team goaltender
Margaux Mameri was signed to replace Canadian
Kassidy Sauvé, who departed HPK to sign in the PHF with the
Buffalo Beauts
The Buffalo Beauts were a professional ice hockey team in the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF). They played in Amherst, New York, a suburb of Buffalo, at the Northtown Center.
The Beauts were established in 2015 as one of the four founding f ...
.
Sauvé had signed in the middle of the 2021–22 season as successor to starting netminder
Noora Räty
Noora Helena Räty (born 29 May 1989) is a Finnish ice hockey goaltender and the goaltending coach of Shenzhen KRS in the Chinese Women's Ice Hockey League. She was a founding board member of the Professional Women's Hockey Players Association ...
, who left HPK in January to rejoin the KRS Vanke Rays in the ZhHL.
KalPa also bid farewell to a franchise star with the retirement of their captain, the 2020
Player of the Year
Several sports leagues honour their best player with an award called Player of the Year. In the United States, this type of award is usually called a Most Valuable Player award.
Association football
In association football, this award is held on b ...
winner and a three-time All-Star,
Tanja Niskanen
Tanja Niskanen (born 11 September 1992) is a Finnish retired ice hockey player and former member of the Finnish national team. Following her second Olympic bronze medal win in February 2022, she announced her retirement from the national team an ...
. In addition to signing national team players Holopainen and Rantala from Kiekko-Espoo, KalPa attracted Finnish goaltender
Aino Laitinen from the
Budapest Jégkorong Akadémia of the
European Women's Hockey League
The European Women's Hockey League, abbreviated EWHL, is an international ice hockey league. Created as the Elite Women's Hockey League in 2004 by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), the EWHL comprises clubs from several countries in ...
(EWHL).
TPS boasted both the 2021–22 regular season
top point scorer in French national team centre
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 ...
, and the player with the most regular season assists in
Maija Otamo (three-way tied with Elisa Holopainen and
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 ...
). In a major loss to the team's offensive production, the linemates both signed in the Swiss
Women's League Women's League may refer to:
Sports
Association football
* Bulgarian Women's League, top level league of women's football in Bulgaria
* Danish Women's League, top-flight semi-professional football league in Denmark
* Indian Women's League, top ...
(SWHL A) with
EV Bomo Thun for the 2022–23 season. Continuing the pattern of signing at least one French national team player to the roster in each season since 2020, TPS inked defenseman
Raphaëlle Grenier.
Ilves goaltender
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 ...
was named 2022 Naisten Liiga Player of the Year and
Best Goaltender – in addition to being named Best Goaltender of the
2021 IIHF Women's World Championship
The 2021 IIHF Women's World Championship was an international ice hockey tournament organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), which was contested in Calgary, Alberta, from 20 to 31 August 2021, at WinSport Arena. It was ori ...
– making her a highly sought after addition to a number of international teams. Her decision to sign in the SDHL with HV71 was one of the most significant moves of the pre-season.
Ilves recruited internationally to fill Keisala's roster spot and brought in Canadian goaltender
Camille Scherger from the
UPEI Panthers women's ice hockey program of
U Sports
U Sports (stylized as U SPORTS) is the national sport governing body for universities in Canada, comprising the majority of degree-granting universities in the country and four regional conferences: Ontario University Athletics (OUA), Résea ...
. Top defenceman
Anna Kilponen, who began the 2021–22 season as captain of Ilves before concluding the season in the ZhHL with the KRS Vanke Rays, opted not to return to Finland and instead signed in the PHF with the Metropolitan Riveters.
Kiekko-Espoo’s Laitinen was not the only Naisten Liiga defenseman to embark on a college ice hockey career in the NCAA Division I, as
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 ...
of HIFK, the 2020 Naisten Liiga
Rookie of the Year and a two-time All-Star, joined the
Vermont Catamounts women's ice hockey
The Vermont Catamounts women's ice hockey program represents the University of Vermont. The Catamounts compete in Hockey East. Their first year of varsity women's hockey was in 1998–99. The Catamounts were in the ECAC at the Division III level ...
program. HIFK saw relatively little turnover in comparison to their close neighbors in Espoo, with the departure of just Parkkonen and Czech forward
Veronika Lorencová
Veronica, Veronika, etc., may refer to:
People
* Veronica (name)
* Saint Veronica
* Saint Veronica of Syria
Arts and media Comics and literature
* ''Veronica'', an 1870 novel by Frances Eleanor Trollope
* ''Veronica (novel)'', a 2005 novel by ...
, who left for the
EVB Eagles Südtirol of the EWHL and
Italian Hockey League Women
The Italian Hockey League Women, abbreviated IHLW, is the premier national women's ice hockey league in Italy. It was founded in 1990 by the Federazione Italiana Sport del Ghiaccio as the ; the present league name was adopted in 2017. The EVB Ea ...
.
The team acquired two Finnish national team players:
Sanni Vanhanen
Sanni Vanhanen (born 1 July 2005) is a Finnish ice hockey player for Brynäs IF of the Swedish Women's Hockey League (SDHL) and member of the Finnish national team.
Vanhanen was the youngest player to represent Finland at the 2021 IIHF Women's ...
, the youngest active member of the national team and the top Finnish scorer at the
2022 IIHF U18 Women's World Championship
The 2022 IIHF U18 Women's World Championship was the 14th IIHF U18 Women's World Championship in ice hockey.
On December 24, 2021, the tournament was cancelled for the second year in a row by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) due t ...
, who had previously played with the
Tappara
Tappara (; Finnish language, Finnish for "Battle axe") is a Finnish professional ice hockey team playing in the SM-liiga. They play at ''Nokia Arena (Tampere), Nokia Arena'' in Tampere, Finland. The team has won 20 Finnish league championships, wh ...
boys' under-17 teams in Finland's top U17 league and had been loaned to Ilves Naiset for a handful of games over the previous several seasons, and Emilia Vesa, a standout winger and former captain of Team Kuortane, who had played with Kiekko-Espoo since 2020.
Teams
2022–23 season
;Naisten Mestis teams participating in the qualification series
Regular season
The 180-game regular season began on 10 September 2022 and concluded on 19 February 2023.
Standings
HIFK Helsinki claimed first place in the regular season for the first time in team history. They tied KalPa Kuopio in points, with 93 points each, but HIFK were awarded top rank by virtue of a higher
goal difference
Goal difference, goal differential or points difference is a form of tiebreaker used to rank sport teams which finish on equal points in a league competition. Either "goal difference" or "points difference" is used, depending on whether matches ar ...
. Kiekko-Espoo, the first place team from the 2021–22 regular season, finished in third place with 74 points. HPK Hämeenlinna improved from seventh place (first in the lower division series) in the 2021–22 regular season to fourth in 2022–23, amassing 67 points. Though Tampereen Ilves outperformed their 1.43 points per game (Pts/G) average from 2021–22, with a 1.64 Pts/G, they moved down the rankings from fourth to fifth place, season over season. Team Kuortane finished in sixth place for the second consecutive season, however, like Ilves, they notably improved their points per game from 1.15 to 1.53, season over season. TPS Turku fell from fifth to seventh place and Oulun Kärpät suffered the most dramatic fall in the standings, going from third to eighth place.
Schedule
Player statistics
Scoring leaders
The following players led the league in points at the conclusion of the regular season on 19 February 2023.
The following skaters were the top point scorers of teams not represented in the scoring leader table at the conclusion of the regular season on 19 February 2023, noted with their overall league scoring rank:
* 25.
Nea Tervonen (
F),
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 ...
: 33 GP, 12 G, 20 A, 32 Pts, 4 PIM
* 39.
Aliisa Toivonen (
F),
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 ...
: 33 GP, 12 G, 12 A, 24 Pts, 28 PIM
* 63.
Iida Lappalainen Iida or IIDA may refer to:
*Iida, Nagano, Japan
*Iida (surname) Iida (written: 飯田) is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include:
*, Japanese racing driver
*, Japanese film actress
*, Japanese film and television director, scr ...
(
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 ...
: 33 GP, 11 G, 6 A, 17 Pts, 26 PIM
Goaltenders
The following goaltenders had played at least one-third of their team's minutes in net at the conclusion of the regular season on 19 February 2023, sorted by
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 ...
.
Top backup goaltenders
The following goaltenders recorded the highest save percentages of those who had played a minimum of ten percent but fewer than one-third of their team’s minutes in net at the conclusion of the regular season on 19 February 2023.
Player movements
Loans
Playoffs
HIFK swept all three rounds of the
2023 Aurora Borealis Cup playoffs to win the
Aurora Borealis Cup
The Aurora Borealis Cup () is the trophy awarded by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association to the victorious team of the Auroraliiga playoffs, the Finnish Champion in women's ice hockey.
Project
Christopher Shapardanov, Canadian Ambassador to Fin ...
for the first time in team history. Kiekko-Espoo, the reigning Finnish Champions from the
2022 Aurora Borealis Cup playoffs, claimed the franchise's third Finnish Championship silver medal and KalPa won Finnish Championship bronze for the fourth time.
Qualification
The qualification series () began on 18 March and concluded on 2 April 2023. It was played as a double round-robin in which each team will face every opponent once at home and once away.
Two teams from the 2022 qualification series returned to the promotion/relegation tournament in 2023: Lukko and RoKi. In the 2022 series, RoKi successfully defended their place in the league and, after having been relegated to the Naisten Mestis in the
2021 Naisten Liiga qualifiction, Lukko earned promotion back to the Naisten Liiga via the relegation of
Vaasan Sport Naiset
Vaasan Sport Naiset were a women's ice hockey team in Finland. They played in Vaasa, on the west coast of Finland, at the Vaasan Sähkö Areena. Founded in 1983, the team most recently played in the Naisten Liiga from the 2018–19 season unti ...
.
Lukko and RoKi were joined by the top two teams of the Naisten Mestis regular season, HIFK Akatemia and Kiekko-Espoo Akatemia, the respective developmental squad of HIFK Naiset and Kiekko-Espoo Naiset, the Aurora Borealis Cup finalists. Both teams made their debut in the Naisten Liiga qualification and the series was the first in league history to feature the developmental squads of two teams active in the Naisten Liiga.
The series concluded with RoKi and Lukko overcoming HIFK Akatemia and Kiekko-Espoo Akatemia to save themselves from relegation. Both teams will remain in the Naisten Liiga for the 2023–24 season, while HIFK Akatemia and Kiekko-Espoo Akatemia will play in the season in the Naisten Mestis.
Standings
Results
Player statistics
;Scoring leaders
The following players were the qualification point leaders at the conclusion of the series on 2 April 2023.
; Goaltenders
The following goaltenders had played a minimum of one qualification game at the conclusion of the series on 2 April 2023, sorted by save percentage.
Awards and honours
Finnish Ice Hockey Association awards
*
Riikka Nieminen Award (Player of the Year):
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 ...
, KalPa
*
Tuula Puputti Award (Goaltender of the Year):
Emilia Kyrkkö
Emilia Kyrkkö (born 24 February 2004) is a Finnish ice hockey goaltender and member of the Finland women's national ice hockey team, Finnish national team. She has played college ice hockey with the St. Cloud State Huskies women's ice hockey pro ...
, Team Kuortane
*
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 ...
(Defender of the Year):
Siiri Yrjölä
Siiri Yrjölä (born 8 September 2004) is a Finnish college ice hockey player for St. Cloud State and a member of Finland women's national ice hockey team. She previously played for IFK Helsinki of the Naisten Liiga.
Playing career
Yrjölä ...
, HIFK
*
Katja Riipi Award (Forward of the Year): Elisa Holopainen, KalPa
*
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):
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 ...
, HIFK
*
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): Elisa Holopainen, KalPa
*
Sari Fisk Award (Best plus–minus): Michaela Pejzlová, HIFK
*
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):
Sanni Vanhanen
Sanni Vanhanen (born 1 July 2005) is a Finnish ice hockey player for Brynäs IF of the Swedish Women's Hockey League (SDHL) and member of the Finnish national team.
Vanhanen was the youngest player to represent Finland at the 2021 IIHF Women's ...
, HIFK
*
Emma Laaksonen Award (Fair-play player):
Jenna Hietala, KalPa
*
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 ...
(Playoff MVP): Sanni Vanhanen, HIFK
*
Hannu Saintula Award (Coach of the Year):
Saara Niemi, HIFK
* Student Athlete Award: Michaela Pejzlová, HIFK
* U18 Student Athlete Award:
Kerttu Lehmus, Team Kuortane
* Anu Hirvonen Award (Best Referee): Anniina Nurmi
* Johanna Suban Award (Best Linesman): Salla Raitala
Player of the Month
* September 2022:
Emilia Kyrkkö
Emilia Kyrkkö (born 24 February 2004) is a Finnish ice hockey goaltender and member of the Finland women's national ice hockey team, Finnish national team. She has played college ice hockey with the St. Cloud State Huskies women's ice hockey pro ...
(
G), Team Kuortane
* October 2022:
Julia Liikala
Julia Liikala (born 20 March 2001) is a Finnish ice hockey winger and member of the Finnish national ice hockey team. She is signed with the Hockey Club Ambrì-Piotta Girls (HCAP Girls) of the Swiss Women's League (SWHL A) for the 2024–25 ...
(
F), HIFK
* November 2022: Elisa Holopainen (F), KalPa
* December 2022:
Kiti Seikkula (F), HPK
* January 2023:
Emilia Vesa (F), HIFK
* February 2023:
Pauliina Salonen (F), TPS
References
Game recaps
Game references
{{DEFAULTSORT:2022-23 Naisten Liiga season
Naisten Liiga (ice hockey) seasons
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 L ...
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 L ...