HIFK Naiset
| HIFK Naiset | |
|---|---|
| City: | Helsinki |
| League: | Naisten Liiga |
| Founded: | 1982 Refounded 2018 |
| Home Arena: | Pirkkolan jäähalli |
| Colors: | Red, white, dark blue |
| Affiliate(s): | HIFK Akatemia HIFK Challenger |
| Parent club(s): | HIFK |
| Franchise history | |
| 1982–1989: | HIFK Naiset |
| 2018–present: | HIFK Naiset (Stadin Gimmat) |
HIFK Naiset, also known as Stadin Gimmat, a nickname for Helsinki), is an ice hockey team in the Finnish Naisten Liiga (NSML). They play in the Pirkkola district of Helsinki at the Pirkkolan jäähalli. The team is the representative women's ice hockey team of the multisport club Idrottsföreningen Kamraterna, Helsingfors (abbreviated IFK Helsingfors/IFK Helsinki or HIFK) and is operated by Oy HIFK-Hockey Ab, the same organization that owns the HIFK men's ice hockey team of the Liiga – HIFK Naiset are one of only two Naisten Liiga teams owned directly by a Liiga team.[1]
The original HIFK Naiset was one of the ten founding teams from the inaugural 1982–83 Naisten SM-sarja season but they were financially relegated in 1989 and the club chose not to pursue women's ice hockey for the following several decades. The current team was established in 2018 and gained promotion to the Naisten Liiga from the second-tier Naisten Mestis at the end of their debut season in 2018–19.[2]
HIFK-Stadin Gimmat has two affiliate teams, HIFK Akatemia and HIFK Challenger (known as HIFK U18 from 2018 to 2023), which are active in the Naisten Mestis and Naisten Suomi-sarja, respectively.
History
Original team, 1982–1989
HIFK Naiset was one of the original ten teams to play in the inaugural season, 1982–83, of the Naisten SM-sarja; renamed Naisten Liiga in 2017). The team struggled early on, forced to compete with fellow Helsinki-based team Helsingin Jääkiekkoklubi (HJK) for top talent. HIFK finished in the bottom half of the league in their first five seasons, ranking seventh of ten teams in 1982–83, ninth of twelve in 1983–84, eighth of thirteen in 1984–85, fifth of eight in 1985–86, and sixth of eight in 1986–87.
The team's fortunes turned in the 1987–88 season and they earned a 7-2-5 (win-tie-loss) record with a +3 goal difference and claimed third place in the Naisten SM-sarja playoffs, earning Finnish Championship bronze. With a 1988–89 roster that included three members of the newly-created Finnish women's national ice hockey team – defensemen Johanna Ikonen and Maria Turki (Novitsky), and forward Ulla Saarikko – HIFK continued their upward trajectory, posting an 8-2-4 record with a +20 goal differential and claiming Finnish Championship bronze for the second consecutive season.
Despite the marked improvement of the team, HIFK was financially relegated after the 1988–89 season and no senior women's representative team or any programs for women and girls existed in the club for the following twenty-five years.
Season-by-season results
This is a list of all seasons completed by HIFK Naiset, including the original HIFK Naiset (1982–1989) and HIFK Naiset-Stadin Gimmat (2018–present).[3]
| Season | League | Preliminaries and regular season | Post season results | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finish | GP | W | OTW | T | OTL | L | GF | GA | Pts | Top scorer | |||
| 1982–83 | Naisten SM-sarja | 7th | 8 | 3 | – | 0 | – | 5 | 43 | 26 | 6 |  S-L. Aura 17 (15+2)
|
Did not qualify |
| 1983–84 | Naisten SM-sarja | 9th | 8 | 2 | – | 0 | – | 6 | 27 | 42 | 4 | M. Böckelman 10 (5+5)
|
Did not qualify |
| 1984–85 | Naisten SM-sarja | 8th | 9 | 3 | – | 0 | – | 6 | 26 | 29 | 6 | A. Kaunola 8 (6+2)
|
Did not qualify |
| 1985–86 | Naisten SM-sarja | 5th | 14 | 3 | – | 4 | – | 7 | 36 | 40 | 10 | H. Leppälä 11 (7+4)
|
Did not qualify |
| 1986–87 | Naisten SM-sarja | 6th | 14 | 6 | – | 0 | – | 8 | 33 | 39 | 12 |
|
Did not qualify |
| 1987–88 | Naisten SM-sarja | 3rd | 14 | 7 | – | 2 | – | 5 | 35 | 32 | 16 | A. Kaunola 13 (11+2)
|
Won bronze medal |
| 1988–89 | Naisten SM-sarja | 3rd | 14 | 8 | – | 2 | – | 4 | 53 | 33 | 18 | A. Kaunola 22 (15+7)
|
Won bronze medal |
| 2018–19 | Naisten Mestis | 1st | 26 | 24 | 1 | – | 0 | 1 | 159 | 26 | 74 | Mi. Klemola 50 (23+27)
|
Promoted to Naisten Liiga |
| 2019–20 | Naisten Liiga | 7th | 30 | 15 | 2 | – | 3 | 10 | 124 | 74 | 52 |  E. Passard 47 (28+19)
|
Lost quarterfinals, 0–3 (Kärpät) |
| 2020–21 | Naisten Liiga | 3rd | 27 | 16 | 4 | – | 1 | 6 | 104 | 57 | 57 | E. Passard 37 (19+21)
|
Won bronze medal, 2–1 (Ilves) |
| 2021–22 | Naisten Liiga | 2nd | 29 | 26 | 0 | – | 0 | 3 | 137 | 41 | 78 | M. Nilsson 55 (37+18)
|
Lost final, 2–3 (K-Espoo) |
| 2022–23 | Naisten Liiga | 1st | 36 | 29 | 3 | – | 0 | 4 | 197 | 57 | 93 |  M. Pejzlová 82 (32+50)
|
Won Championship, 3–0 (K-Espoo) |
| 2023–24 | Naisten Liiga | 2nd | 32 | 27 | 0 | – | 0 | 5 | 175 | 49 | 75 | M. Pejzlová 71 (30+41)
|
Won Championship, 3–1 (K-Espoo) |
References
- ↑ Foster, Meredith (2018-07-24). "Q & A with Saara Niemi of HIFK" (in en). https://www.theicegarden.com/2018/7/24/17599336/q-a-with-saara-niemi-of-hifk-helsinki-finland-mestis-womens-hockey.
- ↑ Kauhala, Hannu (2018-04-26). "HIFK julkisti naisten joukkueen, aloittaa ensi kaudella Mestiksessä" (in fi). https://ls24.fi/urheilu/hifk-julkisti-naisten-joukkueen-aloittaa-ensi-kaudella-mestiksessa.
- ↑ "SM-sarja (W) - HIFK, Team History and Standings" (in en). https://www.eliteprospects.com/team/20378/hifk/1982-1983.
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