2023–24 Mestis season
The 2023–24 Mestis season was the 24th season of Mestis, the second level of ice hockey in Finland. 13 teams participated in the league. This season marked the return of Jokerit to Finnish hockey after 10 years in the KHL.[1]
Team changes
The following team changes have happened for the 2023–24 season:
To Mestis
Promoted from Suomi-sarja
- None
Relegated from Liiga
- None as Liiga is closed[2]
Other
- Jokerit from the KHL
From Mestis
Promoted to Liiga
- None as Liiga is closed[2]
Relegated to Suomi-sarja
- None
Other
- HK Zemgale/LLU did not receive a license[3]
- Peliitat went bankrupt an thus did not receive a license[4]
Regular season
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Final Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | IPK | 48 | 32 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 205 | 123 | +82 | 108 | Advance to Quarterfinals |
| 2 | Ketterä | 48 | 29 | 5 | 1 | 13 | 192 | 115 | +77 | 98 | |
| 3 | Jokerit | 48 | 23 | 10 | 5 | 10 | 179 | 120 | +59 | 94 | |
| 4 | K-Espoo | 48 | 26 | 2 | 5 | 15 | 166 | 130 | +36 | 87 | |
| 5 | TUTO Hockey | 48 | 22 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 145 | 142 | +3 | 85 | |
| 6 | Hermes | 48 | 22 | 4 | 6 | 16 | 180 | 147 | +33 | 80 | |
| 7 | JoKP | 48 | 18 | 5 | 8 | 17 | 146 | 158 | −12 | 72 | Advance to Wild-card round |
| 8 | RoKi | 48 | 18 | 6 | 5 | 19 | 165 | 177 | −12 | 71 | |
| 9 | K-Vantaa | 48 | 19 | 3 | 7 | 19 | 164 | 158 | +6 | 70 | |
| 10 | KOOVEE | 48 | 13 | 6 | 3 | 26 | 122 | 174 | −52 | 54 | |
| 11 | KeuPa HT | 48 | 11 | 7 | 5 | 25 | 122 | 180 | −58 | 52 | |
| 12 | Hokki | 48 | 9 | 4 | 6 | 29 | 112 | 166 | −54 | 41 | Qualification to relegation playoffs |
| 13 | FPS | 48 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 37 | 95 | 203 | −108 | 24 |
Playoffs
Playoffs are being played in four stages. Wild-card round is a best-of-3 series, with the quarter-finals, the semifinals and the final being best-of-7 series. The teams are reseeded after the first two stages, so that the best team by regular season performance to make the quarter-finals and the semifinals faces the worst team in the corresponding stage.
- Qualifiers
- JoKP - KOOVEE 4:3 OT, 6:3
- RoKi - Kiekko-Vantaa 6:3, 5:2
- Quarterfinals
- IPK - RoKi 4:3 OT, 1:3, 5:3, 3:5, 4:3 OT, 4:3 OT
- Kettera - JoKP 2:3, 6:1, 3:2 OT, 5:3, 4:0
- Hermes - Jokerit 3:1, 3:2 OT, 2:3, 3:1, 2:6, 6:1
- Kiekko-Espoo - TuTo 5:0, 4:1, 2:1, 0:2, 3:5, 1:2 OT, 4:1
- Semifinals
- IPK - Hermes 0:3, 4:3, 6:2, 3:4 OT, 3:8, 3:1, 4:2
- Kettera - Kiekko-Espoo 2:1, 3:2, 5:0, 2:1
- 3rd place
- Kiekko-Espoo - Hermes 3:1
- Final
- IPK - Kettera 5:4 OT, 3:7, 4:1, 5:1, 0:6, 3:5, 3:0
Promotion and Relegation
Promotion
As the champion of Mestis in season 2022-23, Liiga decided to promote Kiekko-Espoo for the Liiga Season 2024-25.[5]
Relegation
In the first round of relegation playoffs the 12th and 13th seated teams will play against each other. The loser will be relegated to the Suomi-sarja for next season.
In the second round of relegation playoffs, the winner of the first round will play against the champion of Suomi-sarja. The winner of this round will play next season in Mestis and the loser will be in Suomi-sarja.
Both 1st and 2nd rounds are played as a best-of-7 series.[3]
- Hokki Kajaani - FPS Forssa 5:2, 4:3, 1:4, 5:2, 6:1
- Hokki Kajaani - Pyry Nokia 5:0, 4:3 OT, 5:2, 3:2
References
- ↑ "13 joukkuetta sai Mestis-lisenssin – Jokereiden paluulle sinetti" (in fi). https://mestis.fi/fi/uutiset/2023/05/03/13-joukkuetta-sai-mestis-lisenssin-jokereiden-paluulle-sinetti.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "SM-liiga sulkeutuu, Pelicans saa jatkaa" (in fi). 2000-04-20. https://yle.fi/a/3-5929142.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Mestiksen otteluohjelma kaudelle 2023–24 julkaistu – Kiekko-Espoo ja Jokerit kohtaavat avausottelussa" (in fi). https://mestis.fi/fi/uutiset/2023/06/08/mestiksen-otteluohjelma-kaudelle-202324-julkaistu-kiekko-espoo-ja-jokerit-kohtaavat-avausottelussa.
- ↑ "Jokerien paluulle viimein sinetti! Seuralta merkittävä paljastus kotipeleistään Mestiksessä" (in fi). 2023-05-03. https://www.mtvuutiset.fi/artikkeli/jokerien-paluulle-viimein-sinetti-mestiksen-kohuseura-ei-saanut-lisenssia/8688468.
- ↑ "Kiekko-Espoon tiedote Liiga-projektista" (in fi). 2024-03-05. https://kiekko-espoo.com/uutiset/kiekko-espoon-tiedote-liiga-projektista/.