2021–22 Liiga season

The 2021–22 Liiga season was the 47th season of the Liiga, the top level of ice hockey in Finland, since the league's formation in 1975.

2021–22 Liiga
League	Liiga
Sport	Ice hockey
Duration	September 2021 – April 2022
Number of teams	15
TV partner(s)	Telia C More
Regular season
Best record	Tappara
Runners-up	Jukurit
Season MVP	Petrus Palmu (Jukurit)
Top scorer	Anton Levtchi (Tappara)
Playoffs
Playoffs MVP	Joona Luoto (Tappara)
Finals champions	Tappara
Runners-up	TPS

Teams

Jukurit

HIFK

HPK

Ilves
Tappara

JYP

KalPa

KooKoo

Kärpät

Lukko

Pelicans

SaiPa

Ässät

Sport

TPS

Location of teams in 2021–22 Liiga

Team	City	Head coach	Arena	Capacity	Captain
HIFK	Helsinki	Ville Peltonen[1]	Helsingin jäähalli	8,200	Teemu Tallberg
HPK	Hämeenlinna	Matti Tiilikainen[2]	Pohjantähti Areena	5,360	Markus Nenonen
Ilves	Tampere	Jouko Myrrä[3]	Tampereen jäähalli, Hakametsä (September - November 2021) Nokia Arena (December 2021 – present)	7,300 13,330	Eemeli Suomi
Jukurit	Mikkeli	Olli Jokinen[4]	Ikioma Areena	4,200	Petrus Palmu
JYP	Jyväskylä	Jukka Ahvenjärvi[5]	LähiTapiola Areena	4,437	Jan Ščotka
KalPa	Kuopio	Tommi Miettinen[6]	Olvi Areena	5,300	Tuomas Kiiskinen
KooKoo	Kouvola	Olli Salo[7]	Lumon Areena	5,950	Alexander Bonsaksen
Kärpät	Oulu	Lauri Mikkola[6]	Oulun Energia Areena	6,400	Atte Ohtamaa
Lukko	Rauma	Marko Virtanen[6]	Kivikylän Areena	4,700	Anrei Hakulinen
Pelicans	Lahti	Tommi Niemelä[6]	Isku Areena	5,371	Joonas Jalvanti
SaiPa	Lappeenranta	Pekka Virta[8]	Lappeenrannan jäähalli, Kisapuisto	4,820	Jarno Koskiranta
Sport	Vaasa	Risto Dufva[9]	Vaasan Sähkö Areena	5,185	Erik Riska
Tappara	Tampere	Jussi Tapola[6]	Tampereen jäähalli, Hakametsä (September - November 2021) Nokia Arena (December 2021 – present)	7,300 13,330	Otto Rauhala
TPS	Turku	Jussi Ahokas[10]	Gatorade Center	11,820	Juhani Jasu
Ässät	Pori	Ari-Pekka Selin[6] and Karri Kivi	Isomäki Areena (renamed to West Areena)	6,350	Jarno Kärki

Regular season

A game between TPS and Ilves on 11 September 2021

Opening game of new Tampere Deck Arena on 3 December 2021

Standings

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. The top 3 teams of the regular season qualified for the Champions Hockey League and the 4th team to the Spengler Cup.

The match program was on hiatus during the EHT, Karjala Cup from 7 to 14 November. In December, Christmas was a week-long match break. In December, a new ice rink named Tampere Deck Arena (Nokia Arena) was opened in Tampere for the use of Ilves and Tappara. Two matches were played in the new arena on 19 February, when Ilves hosts his own in the afternoon and Tappara in the evening.

Pos	Team	Pld	W	OTW	OTL	L	GF	GA	GD	PCT	Final Result
1	Tappara	60	31	9	4	16	188	120	+68	.639	Advance to Quarterfinals
2	Jukurit	60	31	8	4	17	166	138	+28	.628
3	Ilves	60	28	10	7	15	191	168	+23	.617
4	TPS	60	29	6	3	22	151	137	+14	.567
5	HIFK	59	27	5	8	19	174	146	+28	.559
6	Kärpät	60	24	7	9	20	171	141	+30	.528
7	HPK	60	24	9	5	22	147	135	+12	.528	Advance to Wild-card round
8	KooKoo	60	25	5	9	21	148	141	+7	.522
9	Pelicans	60	25	4	10	21	142	142	0	.517
10	Lukko	58	24	5	7	22	169	151	+18	.511
11	KalPa	60	19	9	13	19	167	159	+8	.489
12	Sport	59	18	8	7	26	120	155	−35	.435
13	JYP	60	14	8	4	34	139	221	−82	.344
14	SaiPa	60	15	3	7	35	128	193	−65	.322
15	Ässät	60	11	7	6	36	127	181	−54	.294

Source: Liiga
Rules for classification: 1) Points percentage; 2) 3-point wins 3) Goal difference; 4) Goals scored; 5) Head-to-head points.^[11]

Statistics

Scoring leaders

The following shows the top ten players who led the league in points, at the conclusion of the regular season.^[12] If two or more skaters are tied (i.e. same number of points, goals and played games), all of the tied skaters are shown.

Player	Team	GP	G	A	Pts	+/–	PIM
Anton Levtchi	Tappara	55	26	35	61	+23	46
Petrus Palmu	Jukurit	59	26	33	59	+27	24
Lukáš Jašek	Pelicans	54	13	38	51	+23	30
Michael Joly	HPK	58	21	29	50	+18	16
Eemeli Suomi	Ilves	54	19	30	49	+2	34
Jere Innala	HIFK	54	18	30	48	+13	30
Jiří Smejkal	Pelicans	44	25	20	45	+16	32
Waltteri Merelä	Tappara	57	21	23	44	+31	38
Eetu Koivistoinen	HIFK	53	19	24	43	+11	8
Vili Saarijärvi	Lukko	52	17	26	43	+19	12

Leading goaltenders

The following shows the top ten goaltenders who led the league in goals against average, provided that they have played at least 40% of their team's minutes, at the conclusion of games played on 25 September 2021.^[13]

Player	Team(s)	GP	TOI	W	T	L	GA	SO	Sv%	GAA
Oskari Salminen	Jukurit	5	279:42	1	2	1	7	1	94.35	1.50
Andrei Kareyev	TPS	7	415:17	5	0	2	11	0	93.25	1.59
Niilo Halonen	HIFK	3	180:00	3	0	0	5	0	89.80	1.67
Niclas Westerholm	SaiPa	6	358:06	2	1	3	11	1	90.83	1.84
Rasmus Reijola	Sport	3	177:25	2	0	1	6	1	91.89	2.03
Nick Malik	KooKoo	4	235:17	2	0	2	8	0	92.16	2.04
Jasper Patrikainen	Pelicans	3	142:54	1	2	0	5	0	91.67	2.10
Stanislav Galimov	Kärpät	6	366:32	3	3	0	13	0	92.07	2.13
Christian Heljanko	Tappara	4	238:58	2	1	1	9	0	86.76	2.26
Michael Garteig	HIFK	3	179:43	0	2	1	7	0	88.89	2.34

Playoffs

Contrary to the best of three format used in the past seasons, the wild-card round will take place in best of two format, with overtime only played after the second game if the points are tied. The remaining rounds will be played in the best-of-7 format.^[14]

Bracket

	Wild-card round (best-of-2)					Quarter-finals (best-of-7)					Semi-finals (best-of-7)					Finals (best-of-7)
						1	Tappara	4
	7	HPK	0			10	Lukko	1
	10	Lukko	1								1	Tappara	4
											8	KooKoo	1
						2	Jukurit	3			(Pairings are re-seeded after the first and second round)
						8	KooKoo	4
																1	Tappara	4
																4	TPS	1
						3	Ilves	4
	8	KooKoo	2			6	Kärpät	3
	9	Pelicans	1								3	Ilves	2			Bronze medal game
											4	TPS	4
						4	TPS	4								3	Ilves	1
						5	HIFK	3								8	KooKoo	0

Wild-card round

The wild-card round series will be decided as a two game series. Compared to normal playoffs format both games can also end on a tie. If after two games both teams have one win or both games have ended on a tie, immediately after the second game an additional game will play played, which will determine the team that will go through to next round. The additional game will be played as five against five game and with 20 minutes periods. Sudden death rule applies. Penalties received during the 2nd game, which have not ended when 2nd game ends, will be cancelled. Only exception is game misconducts, which will carry on to the additional game.^[15]

HPK – Lukko 0-1 24.3.2022 Lukko HPK 3-0 ref 25.3.2022 HPK Lukko 2-2 ref Lukko wins the series 1-0.

KooKoo – Pelicans 2-1 24.3.2022 Pelicans KooKoo 1-2 ref 25.3.2022 KooKoo Pelicans 2-3 ref 25.3.2022 KooKoo Pelicans 1-0 ref KooKoo wins the series 2-1.

Quarter-finals

Tappara – Lukko 4-1 28.3.2022 Tappara Lukko 5-3 ref 29.3.2022 Lukko Tappara 2-1 ref 31.3.2022 Tappara Lukko 3-1 ref 2.4.2022 Lukko Tappara 2-3 OT1 ref 3.4.2022 Tappara Lukko 4-1 ref Tappara wins the series 4-1. Ilves – Kärpät 4-3 27.3.2022 Ilves Kärpät 5-1 ref 28.3.2022 Kärpät Ilves 1-2 OT1 ref 30.3.2022 Ilves Kärpät 1-2 OT1 ref 1.4.2022 Kärpät Ilves 3-2 OT1 ref 2.4.2022 Ilves Kärpät 1-0 ref 5.4.2022 Kärpät Ilves 2-1 ref 6.4.2022 Ilves Kärpät 2-1 OT1 ref Ilves wins the series 4-3.

Jukurit – KooKoo 3-4 28.3.2022 Jukurit KooKoo 1-3 ref 29.3.2022 KooKoo Jukurit 3-2 ref 31.3.2022 Jukurit KooKoo 1-0 ref 2.4.2022 KooKoo Jukurit 2-3 OT1 ref 3.4.2022 Jukurit KooKoo 1-5 ref 5.4.2022 KooKoo Jukurit 1-2 ref 6.4.2022 Jukurit KooKoo 0-1 ref KooKoo wins the series 4-3. TPS – HIFK 4-3 27.3.2022 TPS HIFK 2-0 ref 29.3.2022 HIFK TPS 4-3 OT1 ref 31.3.2022 TPS HIFK 3-4 OT1 ref 2.4.2022 HIFK TPS 5-7 ref 3.4.2022 TPS HIFK 2-1 ref 5.4.2022 HIFK TPS 3-2 ref 6.4.2022 TPS HIFK 3-1 ref TPS wins the series 4-3.

Semifinals

Tappara – KooKoo 4-1 8.4.2022 Tappara KooKoo 3-4 OT1 ref 9.4.2022 KooKoo Tappara 3-6 ref 11.4.2022 Tappara KooKoo 4-2 ref 12.4.2022 KooKoo Tappara 1-5 ref 14.4.2022 Tappara KooKoo 4-1 ref Tappara wins the series 4-1.

Ilves – TPS 2-4 9.4.2022 Ilves TPS 3-2 ref 10.4.2022 TPS Ilves 6-0 ref 12.4.2022 Ilves TPS 2-3 OT1 ref 13.4.2022 TPS Ilves 3-0 ref 15.4.2022 Ilves TPS 3-0 ref 16.4.2022 TPS Ilves 2-1 ref TPS wins the series 4-2.

Bronze medal game

24 April 2022 17:00

Ilves

3–2 (2–0, 1–2, 0–0)

KooKoo

Nokia Arena, Tampere Attendance: 11,606

Game reference
	Vadim Žerenko	Goalies	Nick Malík	Referees: Antti Boman Aaro Brännare Linesmen: Samuli Niskanen Harri Perämäki
	S. Balázs (L. Lancaster, E. Päkkilä) – 10:18 1–0 L. Lancaster (J. Oden, H. Haapala) – 17:24 2–0 E. Suomi (S. Johansson, P. Kontiola) (PP1) – 32:05 3–0 3–1 37:31 – T. Rautiainen (K. Strömberg, J. Antonen) (PP1) 3–2 38:25 – K. Strömberg (R. Koblížek, R. Tuomola)
	2 min	Penalties	12 min
	37	Shots	22

Finals

20 April 2022 18:30

Tappara

2–1 (1–1, 0–0, 1–0)

TPS

Nokia Arena, Tampere Attendance: 10,767

Game reference
	Christian Heljanko	Goalies	Andrei Kareyev	Referees: Mikko Kaukokari Jukka-Pekka Koistinen Linesmen: Lauri Nikulainen Hannu Sormunen
	0–1 05:15 – J. Slafkovský (M. Nurmi, V. Lajunen) (PP2) A. Levtchi (K. Tanus, O. Leskinen) (PP1) – 19:22 1–1 K. Kuusela (J. Luoto, S. Kinnunen) (PP1) – 49:46 2–1
	10 min	Penalties	6 min
	18	Shots	18

23 April 2022 17:00

TPS

1–2 OT1 (0–1, 0–0, 1–0, 0–1)

Tappara

Gatorade Center, Turku Attendance: 10,500

Game reference
	Andrei Kareyev	Goalies	Christian Heljanko	Referees: Joonas Kova Petri Lindqvist Linesmen: Niko Jusi Joni Pekkala
	0–1 17:53 – W. Merelä (B. Austin, M. Seppälä) J. Pärssinen (M. Nurmi, S. Vainionpää) – 54:31 1–1 1–2 62:41 – C. Bertrand (K. Kuusela, C. Jürgens)
	2 min	Penalties	6 min
	36	Shots	32

25 April 2022 18:30

Tappara

3–1 (0–0, 2–0, 1–1)

TPS

Nokia Arena, Tampere Attendance: 12,075

Game reference
	Christian Heljanko	Goalies	Andrei Kareyev	Referees: Mikko Kaukokari Jukka-Pekka Koistinen Linesmen: Lauri Nikulainen Hannu Sormunen
	V. Savinainen (A. Levtchi, K. Tanus) (PP1) – 31:09 1–0 O. Leskinen (W. Merelä, A. Levtchi) – 38:31 2–0 2–1 44:36 – J. Rodewald (J. Slafkovský, T. Steenbergen) P. Puhakka (V. Savinainen, P. Virta) (ENG) – 58:41 3–1
	4 min	Penalties	4 min
	15	Shots	23

26 April 2022 18:30

TPS

1–0 (0–0, 0–0, 1–0)

Tappara

Gatorade Center, Turku Attendance: 10,251

Game reference
	Andrei Kareyev	Goalies	Christian Heljanko	Referees: Joonas Kova Petri Lindqvist Linesmen: Niko Jusi Joni Pekkala
	E. Eronen (A. Intonen, M. Hults) – 53:17 1–0
	0 min	Penalties	6 min
	27	Shots	25

28 April 2022 18:30

Tappara

1–0 (1–0, 0–0, 0–0)

TPS

Nokia Arena, Tampere Attendance: 12,451

Game reference
	Christian Heljanko	Goalies	Andrei Kareyev	Referees: Mikko Kaukokari Jukka-Pekka Koistinen Linesmen: Lauri Nikulainen Hannu Sormunen
	J. Luoto – 00:35 1–0
	4 min	Penalties	20 min
	23	Shots	16

Tappara wins the finals 4-1.

Final rankings

	Tappara
	TPS
	Ilves
4	KooKoo
5	Jukurit
6	HIFK
7	Kärpät
8	Lukko
9	HPK
10	Pelicans
11	KalPa
12	Sport
13	JYP
14	SaiPa
15	Ässät