Finland women's national ice hockey team

The Finnish women's national ice hockey team represents Finland at the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Women's World Championships, the Olympic Games, the Four Nations Cup, and other international-level women's ice hockey competitions. The women's national team is overseen by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association and its general manager is Tuula Puputti. Finland's national women's program is ranked third in the world by the IIHF and had 5,858 active players as of 2019.[2]

Finland
Nickname(s)Naisleijonat ('Lady Lions')
AssociationFinnish Ice Hockey Association
Head coachJuuso Touvila
AssistantsSaara Niemi
Mikko Palsola
CaptainJenni Hiirikoski
Most gamesKaroliina Rantamäki (431)
Top scorerRiikka Sallinen (138)
Most pointsRiikka Sallinen (351)
Team colors   
IIHF codeFIN
Ranking
Current IIHF4 1 (28 August 2023)[1]
Highest IIHF3 (first in 2003)
Lowest IIHF4 (first in 2006)
First international
Finland  6–0  Norway
(Copenhagen, Denmark; 26 December 1988)
Biggest win
Finland  34–0  Czechoslovakia
(Düsseldorf, West Germany; 4 April 1989)
Biggest defeat
Canada  15–0  Finland
(St. John's, Canada; 12 November 2010)
World Championships
Appearances24 (first in 1990)
Best result Silver: (2019)
European Championships
Appearances5 (first in 1989)
Best result Gold: (1989, 1991, 1993, 1995)
Olympics
Appearances7 (first in 1998)
Medals Bronze (1998, 2010, 2018, 2022)
International record (W–L–T)
356–251–13
Finland women's national ice hockey team
Medal record
Olympic Games
1998 NaganoTeam
2010 VancouverTeam
2018 PyeongchangTeam
2022 BeijingTeam
World Championships
2019 Finland
1990 Canada
1992 Finland
1994 United States
1997 Canada
1999 Finland
2000 Canada
2004 Canada
2008 China
2009 Finland
2011 Switzerland
2015 Sweden
2017 United States
2021 Canada
2024 United States
European Championships
1989 West Germany
1991 Czechoslovakia
1993 Denmark
1995 Latvia
1996 Russia

History

Finland has finished third or fourth in almost every World Championships and Olympics, with one exception being a fifth place finish at the 2014 Winter Olympics and second place at the 2019 World Championship. They are ranked behind Canada (#2) and the United States (#1). Historically, Finland's primary rival was Sweden, which finished second to Canada at the 2006 Winter Olympics. Finland finished fourth, losing the game for the bronze medal to the United States. Finland defeated the United States for the first time, at the 2008 World Championship in China, 1–0 in overtime. Finland defeated Canada 4–3 for the first time at the 2017 World Championship in the United States. However, Finland lost the semi-final game against Canada in the same tournament, proceeding to win the bronze medal game.

At the 2019 World Championship, Finland reached the championship final for the first time in tournament history after beating Canada 4–2 in the semi-final. During the gold medal game, Petra Nieminen scored in overtime but her goal was overturned after a video review for goalie interference. The IIHF released a press statement the next day citing rules 186 and 183ii as the reasons for overturning the goal. Finland finished as runners-up and won a silver medal after losing to the United States in a shootout.[3]

Tournament record

Olympic Games
GamesFinish
1998 Nagano Bronze
2002 Salt Lake City4th
2006 Turin4th
2010 Vancouver Bronze
2014 Sochi5th
2018 Pyeongchang Bronze
2022 Beijing Bronze
2026 Milan / Cortina

World Championships

Breaks indicate Olympic years.

YearLocationResult
1990Ottawa Bronze
1992Tampere Bronze
1994Lake Placid Bronze
1997Ontario Bronze
1999Espoo Bronze
2000Ontario Bronze
2001Minnesota4th
2003BeijingCancelled
2004Halifax and Dartmouth Bronze
2005Linköping and Norrköping4th
2007Winnipeg and Selkirk4th
2008Harbin Bronze
2009Hämeenlinna Bronze
2011Zürich Bronze
2012Burlington4th
2013Ottawa4th
2015Malmö Bronze
2016Kamloops4th
2017Plymouth Bronze
2019Espoo Silver
2020Halifax and TruroCancelled[4]
2021Calgary Bronze
2022Frederikshavn and Herning6th
2023Brampton5th
2024Utica, New York Bronze
2025České Budějovice

European Championship
YearLocationResult
1989Füssen, Landsberg am Lech and Kaufbeuren Gold
1991Frýdek-Místek, Havířov Gold
1993Esbjerg Gold
1995Riga Gold
1996Yaroslavl Bronze

3/4 Nations Cup
  • 1995 – Finished in 4th place (4 Nations Cup)
  • 1996 – Won Bronze Medal
  • 1997 – Won Bronze Medal
  • 1998 – Won Bronze Medal
  • 1999 – Won Bronze Medal
  • 2000 – Won Bronze Medal (4 nations Cup)
  • 2001 – Won Silver Medal
  • 2002 – Won Bronze Medal (4 Nations Cup)
  • 2003 – Won Bronze Medal (4 Nations Cup)
  • 2004 – Finished in 4th place (4 Nations Cup)
  • 2005 – Won Bronze Medal (4 Nations Cup)
  • 2006 – Finished in 4th place (4 Nations Cup)
  • 2007 – Won Bronze Medal (4 Nations Cup)
  • 2008 – Finished in 4th place (4 Nations Cup)
  • 2009 – Finished in 4th place (4 Nations Cup)
  • 2010 – Won Bronze Medal (4 Nations Cup)
  • 2011 – Finished in 4th place (4 Nations Cup)
  • 2012 – Finished in 4th place (4 Nations Cup)
  • 2013 – Won Silver Medal (4 Nations Cup)
  • 2014 – Finished in 4th place (4 Nations Cup)
  • 2015 – Won Bronze Medal (4 Nations Cup)
  • 2016 – Won Bronze Medal (4 Nations Cup)
  • 2017 – Won Bronze Medal (4 Nations Cup)
  • 2018 – Won Bronze Medal (4 Nations Cup)

Women's Nations Cup

Formerly known as the Air Canada Cup, the MLP Nations Cup and the Meco Cup.

  • 2003 – Won Bronze Medal (Air Canada Cup)
  • 2004 – Finished in 4th place (Air Canada Cup)
  • 2005 – Won Silver Medal (Air Canada Cup)
  • 2006 – Won Silver Medal (Air Canada Cup)
  • 2007 – Finished in 6th place (Air Canada Cup)
  • 2008 – Won Silver Medal (Air Canada Cup)
  • 2009 – Finished in 5th place ( MLP Nations Cup)
  • 2010 – Finished in 5th place ( MLP Nations Cup)
  • 2011 – Finished in 6th place ( MLP Nations Cup)
  • 2012 – Won Silver Medal (Meco Cup)
  • 2013 – Won Bronze Medal (Meco Cup)
  • 2014 – Won Gold Medal (Meco Cup)
  • 2015 – Won Bronze Medal (Meco Cup)
  • 2016 – Won Silver Medal (Women's Nations Cup)
  • 2017 – Won Gold Medal (Women's Nations Cup)
  • 2018 – Won Bronze Medal (Women's Nations Cup)

Canada Cup
  • 2009 Canada Cup – Won Bronze Medal

Current roster
Main article: List of Finland women's national ice hockey team rosters

Roster for the 2024 IIHF Women's World Championship.[5][6]

Head coach: Juuso Toivola

No. Pos. Name Height Weight Birthdate Team
1GSanni Ahola1.71 m (5 ft 7 in)81 kg (179 lb) (2000-06-03) 3 June 2000 St. Cloud State Huskies
5DSiiri Yrjölä1.66 m (5 ft 5 in)68 kg (150 lb) (2004-09-08) 8 September 2004 HIFK Helsinki
6DJenni Hiirikoski – C1.62 m (5 ft 4 in)62 kg (137 lb) (1987-03-30) 30 March 1987 Luleå HF
7DSanni Rantala1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)63 kg (139 lb) (2002-07-08) 8 July 2002 KalPa Kuopio
8DEve Savander1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)68 kg (150 lb) (1998-09-02) 2 September 1998 MoDo Hockey
9DNelli Laitinen1.69 m (5 ft 7 in)62 kg (137 lb) (2002-04-29) 29 April 2002 Minnesota Golden Gophers
10FElisa Holopainen1.66 m (5 ft 5 in)58 kg (128 lb) (2001-12-27) 27 December 2001 KalPa Kuopio
12FSanni Vanhanen1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)62 kg (137 lb) (2005-07-01) 1 July 2005 HIFK Helsinki
14DKrista Parkkonen1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)64 kg (141 lb) (2002-06-25) 25 June 2002 Vermont Catamounts
16FPetra Nieminen1.69 m (5 ft 7 in)70 kg (150 lb) (1999-05-04) 4 May 1999 Luleå HF
20FAnna-Kaisa Antti-Roiko1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)62 kg (137 lb) (2004-05-21) 21 May 2004 Kärpät Oulu
22FJulia Schalin1.60 m (5 ft 3 in)60 kg (130 lb) (2005-08-31) 31 August 2005 Kiekko-Espoo
24FViivi Vainikka1.66 m (5 ft 5 in)67 kg (148 lb) (2001-12-23) 23 December 2001 Luleå HF
28FJenniina Nylund1.71 m (5 ft 7 in)63 kg (139 lb) (1999-06-18) 18 June 1999 Brynäs IF
31GTiia Pajarinen1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)69 kg (152 lb) (1998-04-17) 17 April 1998 Kiekko-Espoo
32FEmilia Vesa1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)66 kg (146 lb) (2001-01-03) 3 January 2001 Frölunda HC
33FMichelle Karvinen – A1.67 m (5 ft 6 in)65 kg (143 lb) (1990-03-27) 27 March 1990 Frölunda HC
34FSofianna Sundelin1.69 m (5 ft 7 in)57 kg (126 lb) (2003-01-13) 13 January 2003 St. Cloud State Huskies
36GAnni Keisala1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)80 kg (180 lb) (1997-04-05) 5 April 1997 HV71
40FNoora Tulus – A1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)62 kg (137 lb) (1995-08-15) 15 August 1995 Luleå HF
77FSusanna Tapani1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)68 kg (150 lb) (1993-03-02) 2 March 1993 PWHL Boston
88DRonja Savolainen1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)76 kg (168 lb) (1997-11-29) 29 November 1997 Luleå HF
91FJulia Liikala1.66 m (5 ft 5 in)64 kg (141 lb) (2001-03-20) 20 March 2001 HIFK Helsinki

Awards and honors

Directorate awards

All-Star teams

See also

References
  1. "IIHF Women's World Ranking". IIHF. 28 August 2023. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
  2. "IIHF Member National Association: Finland". IIHF. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  3. "Statement from IIHF". IIHF. 15 April 2019. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  4. Merk, Martin (7 March 2020). "Women's Worlds cancelled". IIHF. Retrieved 19 March 2021.
  5. "Naisleijonat MM-kisoihin tällä joukkueella". Finnish Ice Hockey Association (in Finnish). 11 March 2024. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  6. "Team roster: Finland" (PDF). iihf.com. 2 April 2024. Retrieved 2 April 2024.
  7. Podnieks, Andrew (2009). Hockey Facts and Stats 2009–10. Toronto: HarperCollins. p. 546. ISBN 9781554686216.
  8. Collins gem Hockey Facts and Stats 2009–10, p.542, Andrew Podnieks, Harper Collins Publishers Ltd, Toronto, Canada, ISBN 978-1-55468-621-6
  9. "Awards" (PDF). IIHF. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 January 2018. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
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