The 2023–24 Naisten Liiga season is the forty-first season of the Naisten Liiga, the premier level of women's
ice hockey in
Finland, since the league's establishment as the Naisten SM-sarja in 1982. The regular season began on 9 September 2023 and concluded on 18 February 2024. The
playoffs began on 23 February 2024 and the
Aurora Borealis Cup was awarded to
HIFK Naiset on 21 March 2024.
Lukko unexpectedly withdrew from the Naisten Liiga and the team was dissolved in April 2023, just weeks after they’d successfully defended their place in the league in the
2023 Naisten Liiga qualification. Rauman Lukko ry, the team's operating association, cited difficulties in recruiting and retaining players as the principal reasons behind the decision.[1]
Lukko players were not consulted prior to the announcement.
Captain Maija Koski was shocked by the news and felt that the team could have been saved if avenues of communication had been opened between the association and Lukko players.[2]
Lukko's departure from the Naisten Liiga decreased the number of teams in the league from ten to nine for the 2023–24 season. The standard 36-game season was reduced to 32 games per team to account for the four game that would have been played against Lukko.
Five Lukko players –
forwards Carolina Grönroos, Maija Koski, and Amanda Julkunen, and
defensemen Hanna Brofelt and Mette Karru – transferred to
TPS in
Turku, about 90 km (56 mi) southeast of
Rauma.
Centre Aliisa Toivonen, Lukko's leading scorer in the
2022–23 season, signed with
Kiekko-Espoo.
Liitola departed RoKi in June 2023 to accept the head coaching position with
Skellefteå AIK in the Swedish
Nationella Damhockeyligan (NDHL). He had served as RoKi's head coach for five seasons, during which the team earned promotion to the Naisten Liiga and consistently defended its place in the league. The vacancy left by Liitola was filled by 26 year old Koivula, a recent physical education graduate of the
Lapland University of Applied Sciences. Koivula previously coached
junior ice hockey teams of
Rovaniemen Kiekko (RoKi), including RoKi U16 boys' team in the U16 SM-sarja during the 2022–23 season.[3]
After four seasons as head coach of both the
Finnish national U18 team and Team Kuortane, Kuisma was appointed head coach of the national U18 team on a full-time basis.[4] Nieminen joins Team Kuortane after several seasons coaching in the junior department of RoKi, most recently serving as head coach to the RoKi U18 team in the men's U18 Mestis during the 2021–22 season.
Player movements
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. Player nationality is limited to the primary nation of IIHF eligibility; some players may hold citizenship in more than one country.
The preseason began on 10 August 2023 and comprised
exhibition games played between Naisten Liiga teams or between a Naisten Liiga team and a boys'
junior team from the youth department of the same club or a local club. No exhibition matches were scheduled for Kärpät or RoKi.[22]
The regular season began on Saturday, 9 September 2023. All eight games of the opening weekend were played at
Matinkylän jäähalli [
fi] in Espoo; Team Kuortane was the only team that did not participate in any opening weekend games.[23]
^In August 2023, the disciplinary committee of the Finnish Ice Hockey Association identified that necessary international transfer documents for HIFK player Michaela Pejzlová had not been filed for the 2022–23 Naisten Liiga season, which had concluded months earlier. The committee placed the fault on the club, which was responsible for managing the transfer, rather than on the individual player or the team executives. The club was issued a fine and the team was penalized with a six-point deduction for the 2023–24 Naisten Liiga season – the equivalent of two regulation-time victories.[24]
The following skaters were the top point scorers of teams not represented in the scoring leader table at the conclusion of the season on 18 February 2024, noted with their overall league scoring rank:
The following goaltenders played at least one-third of their team's minutes in net at the conclusion of the regular season on 18 February 2024, sorted by
save percentage.[29]
The following goaltenders had played a minimum of one game but fewer than one-third of their team's minutes in net at the conclusion of games played 18 February 2024, sorted by save percentage.[30]
On 13 October 2023, Kärpät announced that Sanna Lankosaari had stepped down from the head coaching position. Following Lankosaari's departure, Kärpät youth hockey supervisor and former Kärpät Naiset general manager Saija Tarkki took over as interim head coach during the search for a replacement. Lankosaari initiated the termination of her contract after Kärpät amassed only six points in the first eight games of the season and ranked eighth in the league, ahead of only RoKi.[31]
Note: This section records all in-season player transactions. Player nationality indicates primary nation of IIHF eligibility; some players may hold multiple citizenship.
September 2023:
Salla Sivula (
G), Ilves Sivula dominated the goaltending table in the first month of the season, leading the league with a save percentage of 95.2 across five games in net. She faced 157 shots against while recording a win for every start, including shutouts against KalPa and HPK. The representative council of Naisten Liiga clubs highlighted that "Sivula has made top saves in every match she has played and [has] given her team a chance to win."[45]
October 2023:
Lisette Täks (
F), Kiekko-Espoo Täks earned a point in every Kiekko-Espoo game during October, extending her scoring streak to ten games and recording two hat-tricks (against KalPa and Kärpät). She finished the month with 12 goals and 5 assists for 18 points in seven games. In summation, the representative council of Naisten Liiga clubs noted that "her puck skills are very strong, she is a hard skater, and a good competitor."[46]
November 2023:
Elisa Holopainen (F), KalPa Holopainen sustained a leg injury in late-January 2023 and rehabilitation kept her from competition for ten months. She made her return to the Naisten Liiga on 28 October and scored a hat-trick in her season debut.[47] KalPa extended their win streak, which began with Holopainen's return, and claimed victories in all five matches during the month of November. In that period, Holopainen scored eight goals and tallied six assists for fourteen points – a rate of 2.8 points per game. Highlights included scoring the game-winning goal in overtime against Kärpät and the shootout winning goal against Kiekko-Espoo. The representative council of Naisten Liiga clubs observed that "the impact of one player on the whole team has been incredible."[48]
December 2023:
Emma Ekoluoma (F), Kärpät Seventeen year old Ekoluoma recorded five goals and eight points across four games in December, including a four-goal showing in the Kärpät match versus RoKi. Regarding Ekoluoma's selection as player of the month, the representative council of Naisten Liiga clubs described her as "a young player who has become one of the most important player and scorers of Kärpät this season."[49]
January 2024:
Michaela Pejzlová (F), HIFK Czech centre Pejzlová "dominated on the ice" following her return from an injury that had kept her sidelined through November and December. Across five matches in January, she recorded four goals and nine assists for thirteen points. Her return snapped HIFK's losing streak and she led the team to victory in every game match in which she played in January. The representative council of Naisten Liiga clubs were effusive in its praise, calling her the "most superior individual in the league at creating opportunities in the offensive end for herself and her teammates."[50]
The 2023–24 Naisten Liiga season is the forty-first season of the Naisten Liiga, the premier level of women's
ice hockey in
Finland, since the league's establishment as the Naisten SM-sarja in 1982. The regular season began on 9 September 2023 and concluded on 18 February 2024. The
playoffs began on 23 February 2024 and the
Aurora Borealis Cup was awarded to
HIFK Naiset on 21 March 2024.
Lukko unexpectedly withdrew from the Naisten Liiga and the team was dissolved in April 2023, just weeks after they’d successfully defended their place in the league in the
2023 Naisten Liiga qualification. Rauman Lukko ry, the team's operating association, cited difficulties in recruiting and retaining players as the principal reasons behind the decision.[1]
Lukko players were not consulted prior to the announcement.
Captain Maija Koski was shocked by the news and felt that the team could have been saved if avenues of communication had been opened between the association and Lukko players.[2]
Lukko's departure from the Naisten Liiga decreased the number of teams in the league from ten to nine for the 2023–24 season. The standard 36-game season was reduced to 32 games per team to account for the four game that would have been played against Lukko.
Five Lukko players –
forwards Carolina Grönroos, Maija Koski, and Amanda Julkunen, and
defensemen Hanna Brofelt and Mette Karru – transferred to
TPS in
Turku, about 90 km (56 mi) southeast of
Rauma.
Centre Aliisa Toivonen, Lukko's leading scorer in the
2022–23 season, signed with
Kiekko-Espoo.
Liitola departed RoKi in June 2023 to accept the head coaching position with
Skellefteå AIK in the Swedish
Nationella Damhockeyligan (NDHL). He had served as RoKi's head coach for five seasons, during which the team earned promotion to the Naisten Liiga and consistently defended its place in the league. The vacancy left by Liitola was filled by 26 year old Koivula, a recent physical education graduate of the
Lapland University of Applied Sciences. Koivula previously coached
junior ice hockey teams of
Rovaniemen Kiekko (RoKi), including RoKi U16 boys' team in the U16 SM-sarja during the 2022–23 season.[3]
After four seasons as head coach of both the
Finnish national U18 team and Team Kuortane, Kuisma was appointed head coach of the national U18 team on a full-time basis.[4] Nieminen joins Team Kuortane after several seasons coaching in the junior department of RoKi, most recently serving as head coach to the RoKi U18 team in the men's U18 Mestis during the 2021–22 season.
Player movements
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. Player nationality is limited to the primary nation of IIHF eligibility; some players may hold citizenship in more than one country.
The preseason began on 10 August 2023 and comprised
exhibition games played between Naisten Liiga teams or between a Naisten Liiga team and a boys'
junior team from the youth department of the same club or a local club. No exhibition matches were scheduled for Kärpät or RoKi.[22]
The regular season began on Saturday, 9 September 2023. All eight games of the opening weekend were played at
Matinkylän jäähalli [
fi] in Espoo; Team Kuortane was the only team that did not participate in any opening weekend games.[23]
^In August 2023, the disciplinary committee of the Finnish Ice Hockey Association identified that necessary international transfer documents for HIFK player Michaela Pejzlová had not been filed for the 2022–23 Naisten Liiga season, which had concluded months earlier. The committee placed the fault on the club, which was responsible for managing the transfer, rather than on the individual player or the team executives. The club was issued a fine and the team was penalized with a six-point deduction for the 2023–24 Naisten Liiga season – the equivalent of two regulation-time victories.[24]
The following skaters were the top point scorers of teams not represented in the scoring leader table at the conclusion of the season on 18 February 2024, noted with their overall league scoring rank:
The following goaltenders played at least one-third of their team's minutes in net at the conclusion of the regular season on 18 February 2024, sorted by
save percentage.[29]
The following goaltenders had played a minimum of one game but fewer than one-third of their team's minutes in net at the conclusion of games played 18 February 2024, sorted by save percentage.[30]
On 13 October 2023, Kärpät announced that Sanna Lankosaari had stepped down from the head coaching position. Following Lankosaari's departure, Kärpät youth hockey supervisor and former Kärpät Naiset general manager Saija Tarkki took over as interim head coach during the search for a replacement. Lankosaari initiated the termination of her contract after Kärpät amassed only six points in the first eight games of the season and ranked eighth in the league, ahead of only RoKi.[31]
Note: This section records all in-season player transactions. Player nationality indicates primary nation of IIHF eligibility; some players may hold multiple citizenship.
September 2023:
Salla Sivula (
G), Ilves Sivula dominated the goaltending table in the first month of the season, leading the league with a save percentage of 95.2 across five games in net. She faced 157 shots against while recording a win for every start, including shutouts against KalPa and HPK. The representative council of Naisten Liiga clubs highlighted that "Sivula has made top saves in every match she has played and [has] given her team a chance to win."[45]
October 2023:
Lisette Täks (
F), Kiekko-Espoo Täks earned a point in every Kiekko-Espoo game during October, extending her scoring streak to ten games and recording two hat-tricks (against KalPa and Kärpät). She finished the month with 12 goals and 5 assists for 18 points in seven games. In summation, the representative council of Naisten Liiga clubs noted that "her puck skills are very strong, she is a hard skater, and a good competitor."[46]
November 2023:
Elisa Holopainen (F), KalPa Holopainen sustained a leg injury in late-January 2023 and rehabilitation kept her from competition for ten months. She made her return to the Naisten Liiga on 28 October and scored a hat-trick in her season debut.[47] KalPa extended their win streak, which began with Holopainen's return, and claimed victories in all five matches during the month of November. In that period, Holopainen scored eight goals and tallied six assists for fourteen points – a rate of 2.8 points per game. Highlights included scoring the game-winning goal in overtime against Kärpät and the shootout winning goal against Kiekko-Espoo. The representative council of Naisten Liiga clubs observed that "the impact of one player on the whole team has been incredible."[48]
December 2023:
Emma Ekoluoma (F), Kärpät Seventeen year old Ekoluoma recorded five goals and eight points across four games in December, including a four-goal showing in the Kärpät match versus RoKi. Regarding Ekoluoma's selection as player of the month, the representative council of Naisten Liiga clubs described her as "a young player who has become one of the most important player and scorers of Kärpät this season."[49]
January 2024:
Michaela Pejzlová (F), HIFK Czech centre Pejzlová "dominated on the ice" following her return from an injury that had kept her sidelined through November and December. Across five matches in January, she recorded four goals and nine assists for thirteen points. Her return snapped HIFK's losing streak and she led the team to victory in every game match in which she played in January. The representative council of Naisten Liiga clubs were effusive in its praise, calling her the "most superior individual in the league at creating opportunities in the offensive end for herself and her teammates."[50]