2020–21 Liiga season
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| League | Liiga |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Duration | October 2020 – May 2021 |
| Number of teams | 15 |
| 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 |
| Liiga seasons | |
The 2020–21 Liiga season was the 46th season of the Liiga (formerly 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 Hakametsä's last full season.
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 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 Liiga decided that the rankings of the regular season will be determined by points per game average.[3]
| Pl. | Team | GP | W | L | OTW | OTL | Goals | Pts | P/SP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Lukko | 60 | 38 | 15 | 6 | 1 | 114:90 | 127 | 2,12 |
| 2. | HIFK | 50 | 26 | 13 | 7 | 4 | 153:113 | 96 | 1,92 |
| 3. | TPS | 59 | 27 | 14 | 7 | 11 | 165:140 | 106 | 1,80 |
| 4. | Tappara | 59 | 26 | 20 | 8 | 5 | 171:151 | 99 | 1,68 |
| 5. | KalPa | 58 | 25 | 18 | 7 | 8 | 152:125 | 97 | 1,67 |
| 6. | Pelicans | 58 | 25 | 21 | 10 | 2 | 169:147 | 97 | 1,67 |
| 7. | Kärpät | 58 | 25 | 21 | 10 | 2 | 143:134 | 97 | 1,67 |
| 8. | Ilves | 53 | 25 | 18 | 3 | 7 | 161:142 | 88 | 1,66 |
| 9. | KooKoo | 55 | 25 | 19 | 5 | 6 | 165:125 | 91 | 1,65 |
| 10. | Sport | 54 | 19 | 23 | 6 | 6 | 123:140 | 75 | 1,39 |
| 11. | HPK | 57 | 16 | 22 | 6 | 13 | 143:172 | 72 | 1,26 |
| 12. | Ässät | 58 | 15 | 28 | 6 | 9 | 150:193 | 66 | 1,14 |
| 13. | SaiPa | 53 | 13 | 31 | 3 | 6 | 95:147 | 51 | 0,96 |
| 14. | Jukurit | 57 | 13 | 34 | 5 | 5 | 120:199 | 54 | 0,95 |
| 15. | JYP | 59 | 13 | 34 | 4 | 8 | 139:211 | 55 | 0,93 |
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.[4] The remaining rounds will be played in the best-of-5 format instead of the typical best-of-7 format[5]
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 | |||||||||||||
| 1 | Lukko | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| 9 | KooKoo | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Tappara | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Tappara | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| 5 | KalPa | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Lukko | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| 3 | TPS | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2 | HIFK | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Kärpät | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2 | HIFK | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Kärpät | 7 | ||||||||||||||||
| 3 | TPS | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| 10 | Sport | 3 | 3 | TPS | 3 | |||||||||||||
| 6 | Pelicans | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
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.[5]
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sport | 3–7 | Kärpät | 2–4 | 1–3 |
| KooKoo | 4–6 | Ilves | 1–4 | 3–2 |
Quarter-finals
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Semi-finals
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Bronze medal game
| 5/6/2021 18:30 |
HIFK | 7–1 (4–0, 3–0, 0–1) |
Tappara | Helsinki Ice Hall, Helsinki |
| Game reference | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frans Tuohimaa | Goalies | Christian Heljanko Dominik Hrachovina |
Referees: Antti Boman Jani Luoma-aho | |
| J. Saarinen (D. Bernhardt, J. Jääskä) – 04:37 J. Sallinen (V. Varakas, V. Leskinen) – 05:48 M-M Åsten (E. Teräväinen, J. Motin) (PP1) – 14:56 H. Borgström (V. Leskinen, A. Lundell) (PP1) – 15:44 J. Sallinen (V. Leskinen, A. Lundell) – 20:32 T. Tallberg (S. Dyk, A. Broadhurst) – 21:16 V. Varakas (A. Broadhurst, S. Dyk) – 24:26 |
1–0 2–0 3–0 4–0 5–0 6–0 7–0 7–1 |
45:51 – J. Peltola (A. Levtchi, M. Moravčík) | ||
| 2 min | Penalties | 27 min | ||
| 30 | Shots | 20 | ||
Finals
| 5/7/2021 18:30 |
Lukko | 1–4 (0–1, 1–1, 0–2) |
TPS | Kivikylän Areena, Rauma |
| Game reference | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lassi Lehtinen | Goalies | Karri Rämö | Referees: Lassi Heikkinen Kristian Vikman | |
| R. Press (T. Gregoire, A. Saarela) (PP1) – 33:45 | 0–1 0–2 1–2 1–3 1–4 |
11:55 – H. Larsson (R. Ishakov, J. Kestner) (PP1) 23:16 – T. Haapanen (J. Pärssinen, L. Pajuniemi) 52:53 – L. Pajuniemi 56:24 – L. Pajuniemi (M. Pyyhtiä) | ||
| 42 min | Penalties | 35 min | ||
| 36 | Shots | 19 | ||
| 5/8/2021 17:00 |
Lukko | 4–0 (0–0, 2–0, 2–0) |
TPS | Kivikylän Areena, Rauma |
| Game reference | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lassi Lehtinen | Goalies | Andrei Kareyev | Referees: Antti Boman Mikko Kaukokari | |
| E. Koivistoinen (V. Saarijärvi, P. Skalický) – 34:35 A. Saarela (S. Repo, V. Saarijärvi) – 36:37 T. Gregoire (H. Liedes) – 51:18 S. Repo (V. Saarijärvi, E. Koivistoinen) (ENG) – 58:19 |
1–0 2–0 3–0 4–0 |
|||
| 4 min | Penalties | 8 min | ||
| 41 | Shots | 13 | ||
| 5/10/2021 16:00 |
TPS | 1–3 (0–1, 0–0, 1–2) |
Lukko | Gatorade Center, Turku |
| Game reference | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Karri Rämö | Goalies | Lassi Lehtinen | Referees: Antti Boman Mikko Kaukokari | |
| A. Intonen (T. Haapanen, J. Janatuinen) – 59:51 | 0–1 0–2 0–3 1–3 |
17:21 – R. Press (PS) 58:15 – S. Repo (A. Saarela) (ENG) 58:46 – P. Skalický (H. Liedes, E. Koivistoinen) (ENG) | ||
| 10 min | Penalties | 8 min | ||
| 22 | Shots | 29 | ||
| 5/11/2021 16:00 |
TPS | 2–6 (0–2, 2–2, 0–2) |
Lukko | Gatorade Center, Turku |
| Game reference | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Karri Rämö | Goalies | Lassi Lehtinen | Referees: Antti Boman Mikko Kaukokari | |
| J. Kestner (H. Larsson) – 28:12 A. Anttalainen (J. Pärssinen) – 33:23 |
0–1 0–2 1–2 2–2 2–3 2–4 2–5 2–6 |
11:01 – T. Koivisto (E. Koivistoinen, R. Press) 16:08 – J. Mattila (K. Pospíšil, P. Skalický) 34:57 – P. Skalický (K. Pospíšil) 36:29 – E. Koivistoinen (A. Hakulinen, J. Tammela) 56:05 – H. Liedes (V. Saarijärvi) (SH1, ENG) 56:33 – E. Koivistoinen (S. Repo, L. Klok) (SH1, ENG) | ||
| 8 min | Penalties | 4 min | ||
| 16 | Shots | 24 | ||
Lukko wins the finals 3-1.
Final rankings
 |
Lukko |
 |
TPS |
 |
HIFK |
| 4 | Tappara |
| 5 | KalPa |
| 6 | Pelicans |
| 7 | Kärpät |
| 8 | Ilves |
| 9 | KooKoo |
| 10 | Sport |
| 11 | HPK |
| 12 | Ässät |
| 13 | SaiPa |
| 14 | Jukurit |
| 15 | JYP |
See also
References
- ↑ "Liiga jatkuu ensi viikolla - joulukuun ottelut pelataan ilman yleisöä | Uutiset | Liiga" (in fi). Liiga.fi. 2020-12-12. https://liiga.fi/fi/uutiset/2020/12/12/liiga-jatkuu-ensi-viikolla-joulukuun-ottelut-pelataan-ilman-yleisoa.
- ↑ "SaiPa joutui koviin ratkaisuihin - valmennus ja urheilujohto lomautettiin | Yle Urheilu | yle.fi" (in fi). Yle.fi. 2020-11-08. https://yle.fi/urheilu/3-11636942.
- ↑ "Pistekeskiarvo määrää Liigan runkosarjansijoitukset | Uutiset | Liiga" (in fi). Liiga.fi. 2021-03-15. https://liiga.fi/fi/uutiset/2021/03/15/pistekeskiarvo-maaraa-liigan-runkosarjasijoitukset.
- ↑ "Liiga avaa kevään playoffs-ohjelmaa – Ensimmäisellä kierroksella pelataan CHL-formaatilla | Uutiset | Liiga" (in fi). Liiga.fi. 2021-04-02. https://liiga.fi/fi/uutiset/2021/04/02/liiga-avaa-kevaan-playoffs-ohjelmaa-ensimmaisella-kierroksella-pelataan-chl-formaatilla.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Liigan playoffs-ohjelma julkaistu – Näillä askelmerkeillä ratkaisupeleihin | Uutiset | Liiga" (in fi). Liiga.fi. 2021-04-12. https://liiga.fi/fi/uutiset/2021/04/12/liigan-playoffs-ohjelma-julkaistu-nailla-askelmerkeilla-ratkaisupeleihin.
External links
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