2021 Aurora Borealis Cup playoffs
Naisten Liiga pudotuspelit 2021 ( HIFK Helsinki | |
---|---|
Fourth place | Ilves Tampere |
Tournament statistics | |
Scoring leader(s) | Elisa Holopainen (KalPa) (16 points) |
MVP | Tiia Pajarinen |
→ |
The 2021 Aurora Borealis Cup playoffs or the 2021 Naisten Liiga playoffs (Finnish: Naisten Liiga pudotuspelit 2021) was the playoff tournament of the 2020–21 Naisten Liiga season. The Naisten Liiga playoffs began on 3 March and the Aurora Borealis Cup was awarded to Kiekko-Espoo, the 38th Finnish Champion in women's ice hockey, on 25 March.
Playoff bracket
International travel restrictions and quarantine protocols due to the COVID-19 pandemic necessitated extended travel schedules for national teams competing in the 2021 IIHF Women's World Championship, originally scheduled to begin on 4 April 2021, and the Naisten Liiga playoff structure was modified to conclude a week earlier than expected to accommodate a training camp within the quarantine period for the Finnish national team. On 27 February, it was announced that, in order to name the Finnish Champion by 27 March at the latest, the quarterfinal series were to be reduced from the standard best-of-five system to best-of-three. The best-of-five semifinals and finals and the bronze medal match remain unchanged.[1][2]
In an unexpected twist, on 4 March the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) announced that the 2021 Women's Worlds were to be postponed until 6–16 May 2021.[3] As the first games of the Naisten Liiga quarterfinals had already been played the day before, the playoff structure announced on 27 February remained in place following announcement of the postponement.
Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals | ||||||||||||
1 | Kiekko-Espoo | 2 | ||||||||||||
8 | Team Kuortane | 0 | ||||||||||||
1 | Kiekko-Espoo | 3 | ||||||||||||
4 | Ilves Tampere | 1 | ||||||||||||
4 | Ilves Tampere | 2 | ||||||||||||
5 | HPK Hämeenlinna | 0 | ||||||||||||
![]() | Kiekko-Espoo | 3 | ||||||||||||
![]() | KalPa Kuopio | 1 | ||||||||||||
2 | KalPa Kuopio | 2 | ||||||||||||
7 | Kärpät Oulu | 0 | ||||||||||||
2 | KalPa Kuopio | 3 | Bronze medal game | |||||||||||
3 | HIFK Helsinki | 2 | ||||||||||||
3 | HIFK Helsinki | 2 | ![]() | HIFK Helsinki | 2 | |||||||||
6 | TPS Turku | 0 | 4 | Ilves Tampere | 1 |
Quarterfinals
The best-of-three quarterfinals (Finnish: Puolivälierät) began on 3 March 2021 and were scheduled to be continued on 6 March with a third 7 March, if necessary. Home ice advantage was granted to the higher seeded teams for the first and potential third games. Each of the four quarterfinal series concluded in two game sweeps in favor of the higher seeded teams.
(1) Kiekko-Espoo vs. (8) Team Kuortane
Kiekko-Espoo earned the first seed after winning the regular season title with 2.41 points per game, marking the team's third consecutive regular season victory, and finished with 65 points in 27 games.[4] Team Kuortane defeated RoKi Rovaniemi in the last game on the last day of the season to claim second place in the lower division series and secure the eighth seed.[5] The teams last met in the 2019–20 Aurora Borealis Cup semifinals, which Kiekko-Espoo won in three games.[6] They faced one another only once during the 2020–21 season, a 5–3 victory for Kiekko-Espoo on 14 November 2020.
Game times in KalPa Kuopio secured the second seed after completing the regular season with 2.24 points per game (56 points in 25 games), propelled by the elite production of forwards Elisa Holopainen, who scored 32 goals and 22 assists (54 points) in 18 games of the qualifiers to rank first in every scoring metric of the series, and Matilda Nilsson, the regular season goal scoring champion, who tallied 8 goals in 7 regular season (upper division) games.[4] Kärpät Oulu topped the lower division standings to secure the seventh seed with 24 points in 10 games. The teams last met in the 2019–20 Aurora Borealis Cup semifinals, which Kiekko-Espoo won in three games.[6] KalPa won both games in this season's series during the Naisten Liiga qualifiers.
Game times in Eastern European Time (UTC+02:00) Having gained promotion to the Naisten Liiga just two seasons prior, Game times in Ilves Tampere earned the fourth seed after finishing the season with 47 points in 28 games for a 1.68 points percentage and HPK Hämeenlinna earned the fifth seed after finishing the season with 46 points in 29 games for a 1.59 points percentage. This was the first quarterfinal match-up between the two teams since 2015 and their fourth playoff match-up in ten seasons. HPK won two of the three previous series, including defeating Ilves in the 2011 Aurora Borealis Cup final. HPK won three of four games in this year's season series.[8][9][10][11]
Game times in Eastern European Time (UTC+02:00) Game times in Game times in Game times in Scoring leaders
The following players were led the league in playoff points at the conclusion of the playoffs on 25 March 2021.[13]
Leading goaltenders
The following goaltenders lead the league in playoff save percentage at the conclusion of the playoffs on 25 March 2021, while playing at least one third of matches.[14]
Game reference Tiia Parjarinen Goalies Emilia Kyrkkö Referee:
Henna Åberg
Linesmen:
Salla-Maaria Raitala
Julia HaiminenVesa (Rajahuhta, Laitinen) – 5:13 1–0 1–1 7:50 – Sundelin (Vartiainen) 1–2 16:10 – Kaila (Tervonen) Rajahuhta (Rakkolainen) – 19:50 2–2 Rajahuhta – 37:18 3–2 Vesa (Rajahuhta, Rakkolainen) – 37:48 4–2 2 min Penalties 6 min 51 Shots 21 6 March 2021
15:30Team Kuortane 0–6 Kiekko-Espoo Kuortaneen jäähalli, Kuortane Game reference Aino Laitinen
Emilia KyrkköGoalies Tiia Pajarinen Referee:
Henna Åberg
Linesmen:
Kristian Ouri
Anssi Mutka0-1 16:38 – Vesa (Leinonen) (SH) 0-2 35:57 – Rajahuhta (Rakkolainen, Laitinen) 0-3 37:22 – Rakkolainen (Vesa, Laitinen) 0-4 42:42 – Viitasuo (Vesa, Villilä) (PP) 0-5 44:34 – Viitasuo (S. Nuutinen) (PP) 0-6 51:40 – Haukijärvi (Katjamäki, Vesa) 29 min Penalties 4 min 25 Shots 42 (2) KalPa vs. (7) Kärpät
3 March 2021
18:30KalPa Kuopio 3–2
(2–1, 1–0, 0–1)Kärpät Oulu Niiralan Monttu, Kuopio Game reference Tiina Ranne Goalies Johanna Oksman Referee:
Sini Kauhanen
Linesmen:
Santeri Smahl
Joonas Heinonen0-1 9:34 – Antti-Roiko (Rahunen, Keränen) Holopainen (Saari) – 12:54 1-1 Rantanen (Koljonen, Juutilainen) – 19:25 2-1 Niskanen (Koljonen, Holopainen) – 36:14 3-1 3-2 55:47 – Kaijankoski (Antti-Roiko, Nousiainen) (PP) 8 min Penalties 2 min 20 Shots 24 6 March 2021
12:30Kärpät Oulu 4–5
(0-2, 1-1, 3-1, 0-1)KalPa Kuopio Raksilan jäähalli, Oulu Game reference Johanna Oksman Goalies Tiina Ranne Referee:
Johanna Tauriainen
Linesmen:
Linnea Sainio
Jonne Mustonen0-1 2:57 – Holopainen (Niskanen, Saari) 0-2 11:44 – Saari (Holopainen, Niskanen) 0-3 21:53 – Mäkelä (Holopainen, Niskanen) (PP) Kaijankoski (Karjalainen, Havana) (PP) – 34:34 1-3 Karjalainen (Nousiainen, Antti-Roiko) (PP) – 41:54 2-3 Havana (Karjalainen) – 48:02 3-3 Sarkkinen Mata (Antti-Roiko) (DP) – 56:11 4-3 4-4 57:58 – Holopainen (Niskanen, Juutilainen) (PP) 4-5 69:47 – Mäkelä (Juutilainen, Saari) (PP) 32 min Penalties 12 min 31 Shots 29 (3) HIFK vs. (6) TPS
3–0
(2-0, 1-0, 0-0)TPS Turku Malmin jäähalli, Helsinki Game reference Iina Kuusela Goalies Isabella Laiho Referee:
Henna-Maria Koivuluoma
Linesmen:
Jenni Heikkinen
Helinä AnttilaPassard (Pejzlová, Rantamäki) (PP) – 2:15 1-0 Rantamäki (Pejzlová, Mäkelä) – 3:20 2-0 Mäkelä (Pejzlová) – 25:53 3-0 20 min Penalties 2 min 27 Shots 24 6 March 2021
13:20Game reference Isabella Laiho Goalies Iina Kuusela Referee:
Kaisa Ketonen
Linesmen:
Johanna Oksanen
Jenni Jaatinen0-1 17:55 – Passard (Rozier, Pejzlová) (PP) 0-2 33:21 – Passard 0-3 42:57 – Juusela (Passard, Kemppainen) 0-4 57:15 – Rozier (Pejzlová) (SH, EN) Heikkinen (Otamo, Serdar) (NG) – 58:51 1-4 Serdar (Vuorenmaa, Robinson) (NG) – 59:36 2-4 24 min Penalties 10 min 30 Shots 35 (4) Ilves vs. (5) HPK
3 March 2021
19:15Ilves Tampere 1–0
(1-0, 0-0, 0-0)HPK Hämeenlinna Tesoman jäähalli, Tampere Game reference Anni Keisala Goalies Meeri Räisänen Referee:
Anniina Nurmi
Linesmen:
Tiina Saarimäki
Reetta-Kaisa LusiSuokko (Jokikokko, Vanhanen) – 2:48 1-0 6 min Penalties 18 min 23 Shots 27 6 March 2021
14:00HPK Hämeenlinna 0–2
(0-0, 0-0, 0-2)Ilves Tampere Jääliikuntakeskus Hakio, Hämeenlinna Game reference Meeri Räisänen Goalies Anni Keisala Referee:
Anniina Nurmi
Linesmen:
Tiina Saarimäki
Reetta-Kaisa Lusi0-1 56:39 – Vanhanen (Varpula, Suokko) 0-2 59:37 – Suokko (Kilponen) (EN) 6 min Penalties 8 min 38 Shots 31 Semifinals
(1) Kiekko-Espoo vs. (4) Ilves
Game reference Tiia Pajarinen Goalies Anni Keisala Referee:
Henna-Maria Koivuluoma
Linesmen:
Jenni Heikkinen
Helinä AnttilaHaukijärvi (S. Nuutinen) – 34:16 1-0 Vesa (Rakkolainen, Laitinen) (PP) – 42:44 2-0 6 min Penalties 6 min 33 Shots 17 11 March 2021
19:15Ilves Tampere 0–2
(0-2, 0-0, 0-0)Kiekko-Espoo Tesoman jäähalli, Tampere Game reference Anni Keisala Goalies Tiia Pajarinen Referee:
Anniina Nurmi
Linesmen:
Tiina Saarimäki
Reetta-Kaisa Lusi0-1 03:05 – Rajahuhta (Vesa, Laitinen) (PP) 0-2 17:36 – Rakkolainen (Rajahuhta, Laitinen) (PP) 10 min Penalties 6 min 26 Shots 40 13 March 2021
17:45Shootout Riipinen
Vanhanen
Varpula
Kilponen
Suokko
Kilponen
18 min Penalties 4 min 49 Shots 28 14 March 2021
12:15Ilves Tampere 1–2
(1-0, 0-1, 0-1)Kiekko-Espoo Tesoman jäähalli, Tampere Game reference Anni Keisala Goalies Tiia Pajarinen Referee:
Henna-Maria Koivuluoma
Linesmen:
Johanna Oksanen
Jenni JaatinenPuputti (Rouhiainen) – 08:51 1-0 1-1 23:15 – Leinonen (Haukijärvi, Katajamäki) 1-2 50:01 – S. Nuutinen (Haukijärvi) 2 min Penalties 2 min 15 Shots 39 (2) KalPa vs. (3) HIFK
Niiralan Monttu, Kuopio Game reference Tiina Ranne Goalies Iina Kuusela Referee:
Johanna Tauriainen
Linesmen:
Linnea Sainio
Aino HärkönenKastikainen (Koljonen, Nilsson) – 04:09 1-0 1-1 14:58 – Kemppainen (Parkkonen, Yrjölä) 1-2 16:55 – PP – Mäkelä (Yrjölä, Parkkonen) 1-3 18:37 – Pasanen (Virtanen, Locatelli) Niskanen (Holopainen, Nilsson) – 28:45 2-3 2-4 29:05 – Pasanen (Yrjölä) Holopainen (Niskanen) – 30:17 3-4 3-5 31:01 – Pejzlová (Rozier, Lamminaho) 3-6 49:14 – Mäkelä (Yrjölä, Mehtonen) 3-7 58:32 – EN – Parkkonen 8 min Penalties 8 min 33 Shots 28 11 March 2021
19:155–2
(1-0, 2-0, 2-2)KalPa Kuopio Malmin jäähalli, Helsinki Game reference Iina Kuusela Goalies Tiina Ranne Referee:
Henna Åberg
Linesmen:
Johanna Oksanen
Jenni JaatinenRozier – SH – 13:47 1-0 Mäkelä (Rantamäki, Pejzlová) – 25:06 2-0 Passard (Rozier) – 35:21 3-0 Mäkelä (Locatelli, Parkkonen) – 53:35 4-0 4-1 54:51 – NG – Nilsson (Holopainen, Niskanen) 4-2 55:24 – NG – Holopainen (Niskanen) Pejzlová – EN – 57:52 5-2 4 min Penalties 4 min 33 Shots 29 13 March 2021
12:00Niiralan Monttu, Kuopio Game reference Tiina Ranne Goalies Iina Kuusela Referee:
Johanna Tauriainen
Linesmen:
Jenna Puhakka
Linnea Sainio0-1 03:20 – Passard (Juusela, Locatelli) Nilsson (Juutilainen) – 03:45 1-1 1-2 05:05 – PP – Rozier (Rantamäki) Katajisto (Rantanen, Lappi) – 8:52 2-2 Holopainen (Niskanen) – 32:58 3-2 Niskanen (Saari, Koljonen) – 45:11 4-2 Nilsson (Kastikainen, Juutilainen) – 57:01 5-2 Holopainen – EN – 58:12 6-2 20 min Penalties 10 min 30 Shots 20 14 March 2021
16:001–3
(0-0, 1-2, 0-1)KalPa Kuopio Malmin jäähalli, Helsinki Game reference Iina Kuusela Goalies Tiina Ranne Referee:
Anniina Nurmi
Linesmen:
Tiina Saarimäki
Salla-Maaria Raitala0-1 22:33 – Rantanen (Kastikainen) Mäkelä (Kemppainen) – 36:48 1-1 1-2 37:54 – PP – Saari (Holopainen, Niskanen) 1-3 59:59 – EN – Holopainen 12 min Penalties 20 min 30 Shots 29 17 March 2021
18:30Niiralan Monttu, Kuopio Game reference Tinna Ranne Goalies Iina Kuusela Referee:
Johanna Tauriainen
Linesmen:
Linnea Sainio
Jenna PuhakkaRitari (Saari) – SH – 25:53 1-0 Saari (Niskanen, Juutilainen) – PP – 31:27 2-0 2-1 52:20 – PP – Pejzlová (Mäkelä) Holopainen – 55:42 3-1 8 min Penalties 18 min 31 Shots 34 Bronze medal game
2–1
(2-1, 0-0, 0-0)Ilves Tampere Malmin jäähalli, Helsinki Game reference Iina Kuusela Goalies Anni Keisala Referee:
Henna Åberg
Linesmen:
Johanna Oksanen
Jenni JaatinenRantamäki (Pejzlová, Mäkelä) – 00:22 1-0 1-1 02:12 – Varpula Mäkelä (Rantamäki, Parkkonen) – 18:22 2-1 4 min Penalties 4 min 25 Shots 19 Finals
Game reference Tiia Pajarinen Goalies Tiina Ranne Referee:
Anniina Nurmi
Linesmen:
Tiina Saarimäki
Jenni HeikkinenLaitinen (Leinonen, Rajahuhta) (PP) – 13:34 1–0 Haukijärvi (S. Nuutinen) – 25:51 2-0 60 min Penalties 8 min 37 Shots 41 21 March 2021
13:30KalPa Kuopio 0–2
(0-0, 0-1, 0-1)Kiekko-Espoo Niiralan Monttu, Kuopio Game reference Tiina Ranne Goalies Tiia Pajarinen Referee:
Johanna Tauriainen
Linesmen:
Linnea Sainio
Jenna Puhakka0-1 35:23 – PP – Leinonen (Aro, Rajahuhta) 0-2 57:02 – Katjamäki (S. Nuutinen, Haukijärvi) 4 min Penalties 8 min 31 Shots 35 23 March 2021
18:45Game reference Tiia Pajarinen
Erika JaskariGoalies Tiina Ranne Referee:
Annina Nurmi
Linesmen:
Tiina Saarimäki
Jenni Heikkinen0-1 00:41 – PP – Niskanen (Holopainen) 0-2 08:16 – Katajisto (Juutilainen, Mäkelä) 0-3 08:39 – Niskanen (Saari, Holopainen) 0-4 14:44 – Holopainen (Nilsson) 0-5 22:56 – PP – Holopainen Haukijärvi (Viitasuo) – PP – 32:11 1-5 Katjamäki (Viitasuo, Villilä) – 33:23 2-5 14 min Penalties 8 min 28 Shots 23 25 March 2021
18:30KalPa Kuopio 2–3
(0-1, 0-1, 2-1)Kiekko-Espoo Niiralan Monttu, Kuopio Game reference Tiina Ranne Goalies Tiia Pajarinen Referee:
Johanna Tauriainen
Linesmen:
Linnea Sainio
Jenna Puhakka0-1 00:58 – Viitasuo (Villilä, Vesa) 0-2 31:50 – PP – S. Nuutinen Holopainen – PS – 40:30 1-2 Niskanen (Saari, Holopainen) – PP – 53:08 2-2 2-3 56:33 – Rajahuhta 12 min Penalties 16 min 35 Shots 31 Statistics
Player
Team
GP
G
A
Pts
PIM
1
Elisa Holopainen
KalPa
11
12
9
21
6
2
Tanja Niskanen
KalPa
11
6
10
16
14
3
Miressa Mäkelä
8
7
3
10
2
4
Annina Rajahuhta
K-Espoo
10
5
5
10
8
5
Michaela Pejzlová
8
3
7
10
8
6
Saila Saari
KalPa
11
3
7
10
4
7
Emilia Vesa
K-Espoo
10
4
5
9
27
8
Tinja-Mariia Haukijärvi
K-Espoo
10
5
3
8
4
9
Nelli Laitinen
K-Espoo
10
1
6
7
6
10
Johanna Juutilainen
KalPa
11
0
7
7
2
11
Emmanuelle Passard
8
5
1
6
8
Player
Team
GP
TOI
W
L
SA
GA
SO
SV%
GA60
1
Meeri Räisänen
HPK
2
117:30
0
2
54
2
0
.964
1.02
2
Anni Keisala
Ilves
7
436:27
2
4
251
10
2
.962
1.37
3
Tiia Pajarinen
K-Espoo
10
588:19
8
1
250
10
5
.962
1.02
4
Emilia Kyrkkö
Kuortane
2
74:56
0
1
64
5
0
.928
4.00
5
Iina Kuusela
8
476:08
5
3
225
18
1
.926
2.27
6
Tiina Ranne
KalPa
11
659:11
6
5
331
29
0
.919
2.64
7
Isabella Laiho
TPS
2
115:11
0
2
62
6
0
.912
3.13
8
Johanna Oksman
Kärpät
2
127:35
0
2
49
8
0
.860
3.76
9
Aino Laitinen
Kuortane
2
44:34
0
1
29
5
0
.853
6.73
References
External links