From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
2020–21 SM-liiga
League SM-liiga
Sport Ice hockey
DurationOctober 2020 – May 2021
Number of teams15
TV partner(s) Telia
C More
Regular season
Best record Lukko
  Runners-up HIFK
Season MVP Robin Press ( Lukko)
Top scorer Petri Kontiola ( HPK)
Playoffs
Playoffs MVP Eetu Koivistoinen ( Lukko)
Finals champions Lukko
  Runners-up TPS
SM-liiga seasons

The 2020–21 SM-liiga season was the 46th season of the SM-liiga, the top level of ice hockey in Finland, since the league's formation in 1975. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic all the games had to be played to a very limited audience or no audience at all. [1] Two teams have temporarily let go of their coaches due to financial reasons: JYP and SaiPa. [2] The season was HakametsĂ€'s last full season.

Teams

Team City Head coach Arena Capacity Captain
HIFK Helsinki Jarno Pikkarainen Helsingin jÀÀhalli 8,200 Jere Sallinen
HPK HÀmeenlinna Matti Tiilikainen PohjantÀhti Areena 5,360 Markus Nenonen
Ilves Tampere Jouko MyrrÀ Tampereen jÀÀhalli 7,300 Eemeli Suomi
Jukurit Mikkeli Marko Kauppinen12.3.2021 [3]
Jari Kauppila
Ikioma Areena 4,200 Jesper Piitulainen
JYP JyvĂ€skylĂ€ Mikko Viitanen (27.12.2020–)
Jussi TupamĂ€ki (21.10.2020–27.12.2020)
Pekka Tirkkonen (furloughed 21.10.2020–31.3.2021)
LĂ€hiTapiola Areena 4,437 Jani Tuppurainen
KalPa Kuopio Tommi Miettinen Olvi Areena 5,300 Tommi Jokinen
KooKoo Kouvola Jussi Ahokas Lumon Areena 5,950 Alexander Bonsaksen
KÀrpÀt Oulu Mikko Manner Oulun Energia Areena 6,400 Mika PyörÀlÀ
Lukko Rauma Pekka Virta KivikylÀn Areena 4,700 Heikki Liedes
Pelicans Lahti Tommi NiemelÀ Isku Areena 5,371 Hannes Björninen
SaiPa Lappeenranta Ville HĂ€mĂ€lĂ€inen (8.11.2020–27.3.2021)
Tero LehterĂ€ (furloughed 8.11.2020–27.3.2021)
Lappeenrannan jÀÀhalli 4,820 Jarno Koskiranta
Sport Vaasa Risto Dufva Vaasan SÀhkö Areena 4,164 Erik Riska
Tappara Tampere Jussi Tapola Tampereen jÀÀhalli 7,300 Jukka Peltola
TPS Turku Raimo Helminen Gatorade Center 11,820 Lauri Korpikoski
ÄssĂ€t Pori Ari-Pekka Selin IsomĂ€ki Areena 6,350 Niklas Appelgren

Regular season

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 SM-liiga is a closed series and thus there is no relegation. Due to several games having been cancelled due to COVID-19 cases in various teams in March 2021, not all teams got an even number of games, therefore SM-liiga decided that the rankings of the regular season will be determined by points per game average. [4]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD W+ Pts PPG Final Result
1 Lukko 60 38 7 15 204 114 90 6 127 2.12 Advance to Quarterfinals
2 HIFK 50 26 11 13 153 113 40 7 96 1.92
3 TPS 59 27 18 14 165 140 25 7 106 1.80
4 Tappara 59 26 13 20 171 151 20 8 99 1.68
5 KalPa 58 25 15 18 152 125 27 7 97 1.67
6 Pelicans 58 25 12 21 169 147 22 10 97 1.67
7 KÀrpÀt 58 25 12 21 143 134 9 10 97 1.67 Advance to Wild-card round
8 Ilves 53 25 10 18 161 142 19 3 88 1.66
9 KooKoo 55 25 11 19 165 125 40 5 91 1.65
10 Sport 54 19 12 23 123 140 −17 6 75 1.39
11 HPK 57 16 19 22 143 172 −29 6 73 1.28
12 ÄssĂ€t 58 15 15 28 150 193 −43 6 66 1.14
13 SaiPa 53 13 9 31 95 147 −52 3 51 0.96
14 Jukurit 57 13 10 34 120 199 −79 5 54 0.95
15 JYP 59 13 12 34 139 211 −72 4 55 0.93
Source: Liiga

Rules for classification: 1) Points per game; 2) 3-point wins 3) Goal difference; 4) Goals scored; 5) Head-to-head points. [5]

Playoffs

Contrary to the best of three format used in the past seasons, the wild-card round will take place in two games and the aggregate score decides the team which advances. [6] The remaining rounds will be played in the best-of-5 format instead of the typical best-of-7 format [7]

Bracket

Wild-card round (agg-of-2) Quarter-finals (best-of-5) Semi-finals (best-of-5) Finals (best-of-5)
1 Lukko 3
8 Ilves 6 8 Ilves 0
9 KooKoo 4 1 Lukko 3
4 Tappara 1
4 Tappara 3 (Pairings are re-seeded after the first and second round)
5 KalPa 1
1 Lukko 3
3 TPS 1
2 HIFK 3
7 KÀrpÀt 7 7 KÀrpÀt 0
10 Sport 3 2 HIFK 1 Bronze medal game
3 TPS 3
3 TPS 3 2 HIFK 7
6 Pelicans 2 4 Tappara 1


Wild-card round

The worse ranked team will play the first game at home. The aggregate score of the two games decides the winner of the round. There will be no over-time or penalty shoot-outs in the first game even if the score is tied. If the aggregate score is tied after the second game, overtime will be played in 20 minute periods until a goal is scored. [7]

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Sport 3–7 KĂ€rpĂ€t 2–4 1–3
KooKoo 4–6 Ilves 1–4 3–2

Quarter-finals

Semi-finals

Bronze medal game

6 May 2021
18:30
HIFK7–1
(4–0, 3–0, 0–1)
Tappara Helsinki Ice Hall, Helsinki
Game reference
Frans TuohimaaGoalies Christian Heljanko
Dominik Hrachovina
Referees:
Antti Boman
Jani Luoma-aho
Linesmen:
Niko Jusi
Joni Pekkala
J. Saarinen ( D. Bernhardt, J. JÀÀskĂ€) – 04:371–0
J. Sallinen ( V. Varakas, V. Leskinen) – 05:482–0
M-M Åsten ( E. TerĂ€vĂ€inen, J. Motin) (PP1) – 14:563–0
H. Borgström (V. Leskinen, A. Lundell) (PP1) – 15:444–0
J. Sallinen (V. Leskinen, A. Lundell) – 20:325–0
T. Tallberg ( S. Dyk, A. Broadhurst) – 21:166–0
V. Varakas (A. Broadhurst, S. Dyk) – 24:267–0
7–145:51 – J. Peltola ( A. Levtchi, M. Moravčík)
2 minPenalties27 min
30Shots20

Finals

7 May 2021
18:30
Lukko1–4
(0–1, 1–1, 0–2)
TPS KivikylÀn Areena, Rauma
Game reference
Lassi LehtinenGoalies Karri RÀmöReferees:
Lassi Heikkinen
Kristian Vikman
Linesmen:
Joona Elonen
Markus HÀgerström
0–111:55 – H. Larsson ( R. Ishakov, J. Kestner) (PP1)
0–223:16 – T. Haapanen ( J. PĂ€rssinen, L. Pajuniemi)
R. Press ( T. Gregoire, A. Saarela) (PP1) – 33:451–2
1–352:53 – L. Pajuniemi
1–456:24 – L. Pajuniemi ( M. PyyhtiĂ€)
42 minPenalties35 min
36Shots19
8 May 2021
17:00
Lukko4–0
(0–0, 2–0, 2–0)
TPS KivikylÀn Areena, Rauma
Game reference
Lassi LehtinenGoalies Andrei KareyevReferees:
Antti Boman
Mikko Kaukokari
Linesmen:
Onni HautamÀki
Jussi Thomann
E. Koivistoinen ( V. SaarijĂ€rvi, P. SkalickĂœ) – 34:351–0
A. Saarela ( S. Repo, V. SaarijĂ€rvi) – 36:372–0
T. Gregoire ( H. Liedes) – 51:183–0
S. Repo (V. SaarijĂ€rvi, E. Koivistoinen) (ENG) – 58:194–0
4 minPenalties8 min
41Shots13
10 May 2021
16:00
TPS1–3
(0–1, 0–0, 1–2)
Lukko Gatorade Center, Turku
Game reference
Karri RÀmöGoalies Lassi LehtinenReferees:
Antti Boman
Mikko Kaukokari
Linesmen:
Joona Elonen
Markus HÀgerström
0–117:21 – R. Press (PS)
0–258:15 – S. Repo ( A. Saarela) (ENG)
0–358:46 – P. SkalickĂœ ( H. Liedes, E. Koivistoinen) (ENG)
A. Intonen ( T. Haapanen, J. Janatuinen) – 59:511–3
10 minPenalties8 min
22Shots29
11 May 2021
16:00
TPS2–6
(0–2, 2–2, 0–2)
Lukko Gatorade Center, Turku
Game reference
Karri RÀmöGoalies Lassi LehtinenReferees:
Antti Boman
Mikko Kaukokari
Linesmen:
Joona Elonen
Markus HÀgerström
0–111:01 – T. Koivisto ( E. Koivistoinen, R. Press)
0–216:08 – J. Mattila ( K. PospĂ­ĆĄil, P. SkalickĂœ)
J. Kestner ( H. Larsson) – 28:121–2
A. Anttalainen ( J. PĂ€rssinen) – 33:232–2
2–334:57 – P. SkalickĂœ (K. PospĂ­ĆĄil)
2–436:29 – E. Koivistoinen ( A. Hakulinen, J. Tammela)
2–556:05 – H. Liedes ( V. SaarijĂ€rvi) (SH1, ENG)
2–656:33 – E. Koivistoinen ( S. Repo, L. Klok) (SH1, ENG)
8 minPenalties4 min
16Shots24

Lukko wins the finals 3-1.

Final rankings

Lukko
TPS
HIFK
4 Tappara
5 KalPa
6 Pelicans
7 KÀrpÀt
8 Ilves
9 KooKoo
10 Sport
11 HPK
12 ÄssĂ€t
13 SaiPa
14 Jukurit
15 JYP

See also

References

  1. ^ "Liiga jatkuu ensi viikolla - joulukuun ottelut pelataan ilman yleisöÀ | Uutiset | Liiga" (in Finnish). Liiga.fi. 2020-12-12. Retrieved 2021-01-12.
  2. ^ "SaiPa joutui koviin ratkaisuihin - valmennus ja urheilujohto lomautettiin | Yle Urheilu | yle.fi" (in Finnish). Yle.fi. 2020-11-08. Retrieved 2021-01-12.
  3. ^ "Jukurit vaihtaa pÀÀvalmentajaa | Uutiset | Liiga" (in Finnish). Liiga.fi. 2021-03-12. Retrieved 2021-03-16.
  4. ^ "Pistekeskiarvo mÀÀrÀÀ Liigan runkosarjansijoitukset | Uutiset | Liiga" (in Finnish). Liiga.fi. 2021-03-15. Retrieved 2021-03-16.
  5. ^ "Joukkuetilastot | Runkosarja 2020-2021 | Tilastot | Liiga". Liiga.fi. Retrieved 2021-03-24.
  6. ^ "Liiga avaa kevÀÀn playoffs-ohjelmaa – EnsimmĂ€isellĂ€ kierroksella pelataan CHL-formaatilla | Uutiset | Liiga" (in Finnish). Liiga.fi. 2021-04-02. Retrieved 2021-04-02.
  7. ^ a b "Liigan playoffs-ohjelma julkaistu – NĂ€illĂ€ askelmerkeillĂ€ ratkaisupeleihin | Uutiset | Liiga" (in Finnish). Liiga.fi. 2021-04-12. Retrieved 2021-04-12.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
2020–21 SM-liiga
League SM-liiga
Sport Ice hockey
DurationOctober 2020 – May 2021
Number of teams15
TV partner(s) Telia
C More
Regular season
Best record Lukko
  Runners-up HIFK
Season MVP Robin Press ( Lukko)
Top scorer Petri Kontiola ( HPK)
Playoffs
Playoffs MVP Eetu Koivistoinen ( Lukko)
Finals champions Lukko
  Runners-up TPS
SM-liiga seasons

The 2020–21 SM-liiga season was the 46th season of the SM-liiga, the top level of ice hockey in Finland, since the league's formation in 1975. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic all the games had to be played to a very limited audience or no audience at all. [1] Two teams have temporarily let go of their coaches due to financial reasons: JYP and SaiPa. [2] The season was HakametsĂ€'s last full season.

Teams

Team City Head coach Arena Capacity Captain
HIFK Helsinki Jarno Pikkarainen Helsingin jÀÀhalli 8,200 Jere Sallinen
HPK HÀmeenlinna Matti Tiilikainen PohjantÀhti Areena 5,360 Markus Nenonen
Ilves Tampere Jouko MyrrÀ Tampereen jÀÀhalli 7,300 Eemeli Suomi
Jukurit Mikkeli Marko Kauppinen12.3.2021 [3]
Jari Kauppila
Ikioma Areena 4,200 Jesper Piitulainen
JYP JyvĂ€skylĂ€ Mikko Viitanen (27.12.2020–)
Jussi TupamĂ€ki (21.10.2020–27.12.2020)
Pekka Tirkkonen (furloughed 21.10.2020–31.3.2021)
LĂ€hiTapiola Areena 4,437 Jani Tuppurainen
KalPa Kuopio Tommi Miettinen Olvi Areena 5,300 Tommi Jokinen
KooKoo Kouvola Jussi Ahokas Lumon Areena 5,950 Alexander Bonsaksen
KÀrpÀt Oulu Mikko Manner Oulun Energia Areena 6,400 Mika PyörÀlÀ
Lukko Rauma Pekka Virta KivikylÀn Areena 4,700 Heikki Liedes
Pelicans Lahti Tommi NiemelÀ Isku Areena 5,371 Hannes Björninen
SaiPa Lappeenranta Ville HĂ€mĂ€lĂ€inen (8.11.2020–27.3.2021)
Tero LehterĂ€ (furloughed 8.11.2020–27.3.2021)
Lappeenrannan jÀÀhalli 4,820 Jarno Koskiranta
Sport Vaasa Risto Dufva Vaasan SÀhkö Areena 4,164 Erik Riska
Tappara Tampere Jussi Tapola Tampereen jÀÀhalli 7,300 Jukka Peltola
TPS Turku Raimo Helminen Gatorade Center 11,820 Lauri Korpikoski
ÄssĂ€t Pori Ari-Pekka Selin IsomĂ€ki Areena 6,350 Niklas Appelgren

Regular season

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 SM-liiga is a closed series and thus there is no relegation. Due to several games having been cancelled due to COVID-19 cases in various teams in March 2021, not all teams got an even number of games, therefore SM-liiga decided that the rankings of the regular season will be determined by points per game average. [4]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD W+ Pts PPG Final Result
1 Lukko 60 38 7 15 204 114 90 6 127 2.12 Advance to Quarterfinals
2 HIFK 50 26 11 13 153 113 40 7 96 1.92
3 TPS 59 27 18 14 165 140 25 7 106 1.80
4 Tappara 59 26 13 20 171 151 20 8 99 1.68
5 KalPa 58 25 15 18 152 125 27 7 97 1.67
6 Pelicans 58 25 12 21 169 147 22 10 97 1.67
7 KÀrpÀt 58 25 12 21 143 134 9 10 97 1.67 Advance to Wild-card round
8 Ilves 53 25 10 18 161 142 19 3 88 1.66
9 KooKoo 55 25 11 19 165 125 40 5 91 1.65
10 Sport 54 19 12 23 123 140 −17 6 75 1.39
11 HPK 57 16 19 22 143 172 −29 6 73 1.28
12 ÄssĂ€t 58 15 15 28 150 193 −43 6 66 1.14
13 SaiPa 53 13 9 31 95 147 −52 3 51 0.96
14 Jukurit 57 13 10 34 120 199 −79 5 54 0.95
15 JYP 59 13 12 34 139 211 −72 4 55 0.93
Source: Liiga

Rules for classification: 1) Points per game; 2) 3-point wins 3) Goal difference; 4) Goals scored; 5) Head-to-head points. [5]

Playoffs

Contrary to the best of three format used in the past seasons, the wild-card round will take place in two games and the aggregate score decides the team which advances. [6] The remaining rounds will be played in the best-of-5 format instead of the typical best-of-7 format [7]

Bracket

Wild-card round (agg-of-2) Quarter-finals (best-of-5) Semi-finals (best-of-5) Finals (best-of-5)
1 Lukko 3
8 Ilves 6 8 Ilves 0
9 KooKoo 4 1 Lukko 3
4 Tappara 1
4 Tappara 3 (Pairings are re-seeded after the first and second round)
5 KalPa 1
1 Lukko 3
3 TPS 1
2 HIFK 3
7 KÀrpÀt 7 7 KÀrpÀt 0
10 Sport 3 2 HIFK 1 Bronze medal game
3 TPS 3
3 TPS 3 2 HIFK 7
6 Pelicans 2 4 Tappara 1


Wild-card round

The worse ranked team will play the first game at home. The aggregate score of the two games decides the winner of the round. There will be no over-time or penalty shoot-outs in the first game even if the score is tied. If the aggregate score is tied after the second game, overtime will be played in 20 minute periods until a goal is scored. [7]

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Sport 3–7 KĂ€rpĂ€t 2–4 1–3
KooKoo 4–6 Ilves 1–4 3–2

Quarter-finals

Semi-finals

Bronze medal game

6 May 2021
18:30
HIFK7–1
(4–0, 3–0, 0–1)
Tappara Helsinki Ice Hall, Helsinki
Game reference
Frans TuohimaaGoalies Christian Heljanko
Dominik Hrachovina
Referees:
Antti Boman
Jani Luoma-aho
Linesmen:
Niko Jusi
Joni Pekkala
J. Saarinen ( D. Bernhardt, J. JÀÀskĂ€) – 04:371–0
J. Sallinen ( V. Varakas, V. Leskinen) – 05:482–0
M-M Åsten ( E. TerĂ€vĂ€inen, J. Motin) (PP1) – 14:563–0
H. Borgström (V. Leskinen, A. Lundell) (PP1) – 15:444–0
J. Sallinen (V. Leskinen, A. Lundell) – 20:325–0
T. Tallberg ( S. Dyk, A. Broadhurst) – 21:166–0
V. Varakas (A. Broadhurst, S. Dyk) – 24:267–0
7–145:51 – J. Peltola ( A. Levtchi, M. Moravčík)
2 minPenalties27 min
30Shots20

Finals

7 May 2021
18:30
Lukko1–4
(0–1, 1–1, 0–2)
TPS KivikylÀn Areena, Rauma
Game reference
Lassi LehtinenGoalies Karri RÀmöReferees:
Lassi Heikkinen
Kristian Vikman
Linesmen:
Joona Elonen
Markus HÀgerström
0–111:55 – H. Larsson ( R. Ishakov, J. Kestner) (PP1)
0–223:16 – T. Haapanen ( J. PĂ€rssinen, L. Pajuniemi)
R. Press ( T. Gregoire, A. Saarela) (PP1) – 33:451–2
1–352:53 – L. Pajuniemi
1–456:24 – L. Pajuniemi ( M. PyyhtiĂ€)
42 minPenalties35 min
36Shots19
8 May 2021
17:00
Lukko4–0
(0–0, 2–0, 2–0)
TPS KivikylÀn Areena, Rauma
Game reference
Lassi LehtinenGoalies Andrei KareyevReferees:
Antti Boman
Mikko Kaukokari
Linesmen:
Onni HautamÀki
Jussi Thomann
E. Koivistoinen ( V. SaarijĂ€rvi, P. SkalickĂœ) – 34:351–0
A. Saarela ( S. Repo, V. SaarijĂ€rvi) – 36:372–0
T. Gregoire ( H. Liedes) – 51:183–0
S. Repo (V. SaarijĂ€rvi, E. Koivistoinen) (ENG) – 58:194–0
4 minPenalties8 min
41Shots13
10 May 2021
16:00
TPS1–3
(0–1, 0–0, 1–2)
Lukko Gatorade Center, Turku
Game reference
Karri RÀmöGoalies Lassi LehtinenReferees:
Antti Boman
Mikko Kaukokari
Linesmen:
Joona Elonen
Markus HÀgerström
0–117:21 – R. Press (PS)
0–258:15 – S. Repo ( A. Saarela) (ENG)
0–358:46 – P. SkalickĂœ ( H. Liedes, E. Koivistoinen) (ENG)
A. Intonen ( T. Haapanen, J. Janatuinen) – 59:511–3
10 minPenalties8 min
22Shots29
11 May 2021
16:00
TPS2–6
(0–2, 2–2, 0–2)
Lukko Gatorade Center, Turku
Game reference
Karri RÀmöGoalies Lassi LehtinenReferees:
Antti Boman
Mikko Kaukokari
Linesmen:
Joona Elonen
Markus HÀgerström
0–111:01 – T. Koivisto ( E. Koivistoinen, R. Press)
0–216:08 – J. Mattila ( K. PospĂ­ĆĄil, P. SkalickĂœ)
J. Kestner ( H. Larsson) – 28:121–2
A. Anttalainen ( J. PĂ€rssinen) – 33:232–2
2–334:57 – P. SkalickĂœ (K. PospĂ­ĆĄil)
2–436:29 – E. Koivistoinen ( A. Hakulinen, J. Tammela)
2–556:05 – H. Liedes ( V. SaarijĂ€rvi) (SH1, ENG)
2–656:33 – E. Koivistoinen ( S. Repo, L. Klok) (SH1, ENG)
8 minPenalties4 min
16Shots24

Lukko wins the finals 3-1.

Final rankings

Lukko
TPS
HIFK
4 Tappara
5 KalPa
6 Pelicans
7 KÀrpÀt
8 Ilves
9 KooKoo
10 Sport
11 HPK
12 ÄssĂ€t
13 SaiPa
14 Jukurit
15 JYP

See also

References

  1. ^ "Liiga jatkuu ensi viikolla - joulukuun ottelut pelataan ilman yleisöÀ | Uutiset | Liiga" (in Finnish). Liiga.fi. 2020-12-12. Retrieved 2021-01-12.
  2. ^ "SaiPa joutui koviin ratkaisuihin - valmennus ja urheilujohto lomautettiin | Yle Urheilu | yle.fi" (in Finnish). Yle.fi. 2020-11-08. Retrieved 2021-01-12.
  3. ^ "Jukurit vaihtaa pÀÀvalmentajaa | Uutiset | Liiga" (in Finnish). Liiga.fi. 2021-03-12. Retrieved 2021-03-16.
  4. ^ "Pistekeskiarvo mÀÀrÀÀ Liigan runkosarjansijoitukset | Uutiset | Liiga" (in Finnish). Liiga.fi. 2021-03-15. Retrieved 2021-03-16.
  5. ^ "Joukkuetilastot | Runkosarja 2020-2021 | Tilastot | Liiga". Liiga.fi. Retrieved 2021-03-24.
  6. ^ "Liiga avaa kevÀÀn playoffs-ohjelmaa – EnsimmĂ€isellĂ€ kierroksella pelataan CHL-formaatilla | Uutiset | Liiga" (in Finnish). Liiga.fi. 2021-04-02. Retrieved 2021-04-02.
  7. ^ a b "Liigan playoffs-ohjelma julkaistu – NĂ€illĂ€ askelmerkeillĂ€ ratkaisupeleihin | Uutiset | Liiga" (in Finnish). Liiga.fi. 2021-04-12. Retrieved 2021-04-12.

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