KalPa Naiset

Kalevan Pallo Naiset (lit. 'Kaleva's Ball Women'), abbreviated as KalPa Naiset, are an ice hockey team in the Auroraliiga. Founded in 1990, the team plays in Kuopio, the largest city in Finland's eastern-central province of North Savo, at the Kuopion jäähalli (unofficially known as Niiralan Monttu or Niirala); Lippumäen jäähalli serves as a secondary venue. The team won the Finnish Championship (SM) silver medal in 2021, and have won five SM bronze medals, in 1995, 1996, 2017, 2023, and 2024.

Kalevan Pallo Naiset
City	Kuopio, Finland
League	Auroraliiga
Founded	1990; 35 years ago (1990)
Home arena	Kuopion jäähalli Lippumäen jäähalli
Colours	Black, gold
General manager	Jukka Koskinen
Head coach	Artturi Rouhiainen
Captain	Elli Mäkelä
Affiliate	KalPa Akatemia
Parent club(s)	Juniori-KalPa ry
Website	Official website
Current season

History

In 2020, the team qualified for the Aurora Borealis Cup playoff final and were set to face the reigning champions, Kiekko-Espoo, when the playoffs were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic before the first game of the finals. By making it to the playoff finals, KalPa was guaranteed at least a silver medal, which would have been the highest finish in team history to that point, but with the cancellation of the season no Finnish Championship (SM) medals were awarded.^[1]

Season-by-season results

This is a partial list of the most recent seasons completed by KalPa Naiset.
Note: Finish = Rank at end of regular season; GP = Games played, W = Wins (3 points), OTW = Overtime wins (2 points), OTL = Overtime losses (1 point), L = Losses, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, Pts = Points, Top scorer: Points (Goals+Assists)

Season	League	Regular season										Post season results
		Finish	GP	W	OTW	OTL	L	GF	GA	Pts	Top scorer
2015–16	Naisten SM-sarja	6th	28	7	1	1	19	47	124	24	Jo. Juutilainen 32 (10+22)	Lost quarterfinals to HPK, 0–2
2016–17	Naisten SM-sarja	3rd	28	17	1	4	6	100	72	57	T. Niskanen 36 (15+21)	Won bronze medal game, 1–0 (HPK)
2017–18	Naisten Liiga	6th	30	14	2	1	13	112	92	47	T. Niskanen 44 (20+24)	Lost quarterfinals to Blues, 1–3
2018–19	Naisten Liiga	4th	30	19	0	0	11	154	83	57	T. Niskanen 79 (31+48)	Lost bronze medal game to Kärpät, 0–1
2019–20	Naisten Liiga	3rd	30	17	4	2	3	124	64	61	E. Holopainen 62 (37+25)	Won semifinals, 3–0 (Ilves) Finals cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
2020–21	Naisten Liiga	2nd	25	18	1	0	6	121	51	56	E. Holopainen 64 (39+25)	Finals runner-up, 1–3 (K-Espoo)
2021–22	Naisten Liiga	8th	30	8	3	2	17	70	96	32	Jo. Juutilainen 34 (9+25)	Lost quarterfinals to K-Espoo, 1–3
2022–23	Naisten Liiga	2nd	36	29	2	2	3	197	65	93	E. Holopainen 75 (41+34)	Won bronze medal game, 3–1 (HPK)
2023–24	Naisten Liiga	4th	32	18	2	2	10	119	81	60	E. Holopainen 57 (32+25)	Won bronze medal game, 3–1 (HPK)
2024–25	Auroraliiga	6th	32	10	3	4	15	81	87	40	Jo. Juutilainen 27 (13+14)	Lost quarterfinals to Kuortane, 1–3

Players and personnel

2024–25 roster

As of 20 October 2024^[2][3][4][5]

No.	Nat	Player	Pos	S/G	Age	Acquired	Birthplace
23		Emma Hall	F	L	24	2024	Maple Ridge, British Columbia, Canada
15		Minea Huovinen	F	L	16	2024	Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
37		Jenna Juutilainen	G	L	35	2020	Varkaus, North Savo, Finland
17		Johanna Juutilainen (A)	F	L	35	2020	Varkaus, North Savo, Finland
28		Mimmi Keinonen	D	L	21	2022
18		Tilli Keränen (A)	F	L	20	2023	Vihti, Uusimaa, Finland
24		Mirka Kivi	D	L	22	2019	Valkeakoski, Pirkanmaa, Finland
16		Tanja Koljonen (A)	D	L	29	2020	Mikkeli, South Savo, Finland
21		Kaisla Kortelainen	F	L	24	2020
6		Viola Kärkkäinen	D	L	16	2024	Kiuruvesi, North Savo, Finland
31		Aino Laitinen	G	L	23	2022	Sonkajärvi, North Savo, Finland
5		Elli Mäkelä (C)	D	L	24	2020	Kotka, Kymenlaakso, Finland
8		Oona Nenonen	F	–	18	2024
46		Noora Oksanen	D	L	22	2024	Jyväskylä, Central Finland, Finland
13		Kokoro Ota	D	L	25	2024	Hokkaido, Japan
19		Jessica Pappinen	F	–	18	2024
49		Veera Paroinen	F	L	20	2021
45		Veera Pohjala	D	L	24	2021
7		Lunasa Sano	F	L	27	2023	Tokyo, Kantō, Japan
10		Milja Siira	F	L	18	2024	Lieksa, North Karelia, Finland
33		Salla Sivula	G	L	27	2024	Tampere, Pirkanmaa, Finland
9		Vilma Sneck (A)	F	L	24	2022	Lapinlahti, North Savo, Finland
22		Venla Tulppo	F	L	20	2024

Coaching staff and team personnel

• Head coach: Artturi Rouhiainen
• Assistant coach: Jere Hakkarainen
• Assistant coach: Sami Tapaninen
• Conditioning coach: Tarja Koski
• Conditioning coach: Jaakko Uhlbäck
• Team managers: Taina Lappi & Maarit Paroinen
• Equipment managers: Lasse Herranen & Jari Hämäläinen
• Physical therapist: Tarja Koski

Team captains

• Johanna Juutilainen, 2010–11
• Isa Rahunen, 2011–12
• Marjo Voutilainen, 2012–13
• Venla Hovi & Anni Kettunen, 2013–14
• Johanna Juutilainen, 2015–2018
• Tanja Niskanen, 2018–19^[6]
• Tiina Ranne & Emma Ritari, 2019–20^[7]
• Emma Ritari, 2020–21
• Johanna Juutilainen, 2021–2024
• Elli Mäkelä, 2024–

Head coaches

• Mikko Miettinen, 0–2000
• Seppo Tirronen, 2000–
• Marjo Voutilainen, 2016–2022
• Mika Väärälä, 2022^[8]–2024^[9]
• Artturi Rouhiainen, 2024^[10]–

Awards and honours

Finnish Championship

• Aurora Borealis Cup Runners-up (1): 2021
• Third Place (4) : 1995, 1996, 2017, 2023. 2024

Sources: ^[11][12][13]

Individual awards

• Riikka Nieminen Award (Player of the Year)

• 2023–24: Elisa Holopainen^[14]
• 2022–23: Elisa Holopainen^[15]
• 2020–21: Elisa Holopainen^[16]
• 2019–20: Tanja Niskanen^[17]
• 2018–19: Elisa Holopainen^[18]

• Katja Riipi Award (Best forward)

• 2023–24: Elisa Holopainen^[14]
• 2022–23: Elisa Holopainen^[15]
• 2021–22: Elisa Holopainen^[19]
• 2020–21: Elisa Holopainen^[20]
• 2019–20: Elisa Holopainen^[21]
• 2018–19: Elisa Holopainen^[22]

• Marianne Ihalainen Award (Top point scorer)

• 2018–19: Elisa Holopainen^[23]

• Tiia Reima Award (Top goal scorer)

• 2022–23: Elisa Holopainen^[24]
• 2021–22: Matilda Nilsson^[25]
• 2020–21: Matilda Nilsson^[26]
• 2019–20: Elisa Holopainen^[27]
• 2018–19: Elisa Holopainen^[23]

• Sari Fisk Award (Best plus–minus)

• 2019–20: Matilda Nilsson^[21]

• Emma Laaksonen Award (Fair-play player)

• 2023–24: Johanna Juutilainen^[14]
• 2022–23: Jenna Hietala^[15]
• 2020–21: Johanna Juutilainen^[26]
• 2016–17: Tanja Niskanen^[28]

• Hannu Saintula Award (Coach of the Year)

• 2019–20: Marjo Voutilainen^[17]

Player of the Month

• November 2023: Elisa Holopainen^[29]
• November 2022: Elisa Holopainen^[30]
• September 2020: Elisa Holopainen^[31]
• September 2019: Matilda Nilsson^[32]

All-Stars

First Team

• 2023–24: Elisa Holopainen (LW), Sanni Rantala (D)
• 2022–23: Elisa Holopainen (LW), Sanni Rantala (D)
• 2020–21: Elisa Holopainen (LW), Matilda Nilsson (RW)
• 2019–20: Elisa Holopainen (LW), Matilda Nilsson (RW), Tanja Niskanen (C)
• 2018–19: Elisa Holopainen (LW), Tanja Niskanen (C)
• 2014–15: Matilda Nilsson (F)

Second Team

• 2022–23: Jenna Kaila (LW), Adalmiina Makkonen (D), Tiina Ranne (G)
• 2020–21: Tiina Ranne (G)
• 2019–20: Tiina Ranne (G)
• 2018–19: Matilda Nilsson (RW)
• 2017–18: Elisa Holopainen (LW), Matilda Nilsson (RW)

Team records

Various individual KalPa Naiset player records achieved through the end of the 2022–23 season.^[33][34]

Regular season

Single-season records

• Most points: Tanja Niskanen, 79 points (29 games; 2018–19)
• Most points in a season, defenseman: Sanni Rantala, 39 points (30 games; 2022–23)
• Most goals: Elisa Holopainen, 41 goals (28 games; 2022–23)
• Most assists: Tanja Niskanen, 48 assists (29 games; 2018–19)
• Best points per game, over ten games played:

• Elisa Holopainen, 3.00 P/G (19 games; 2023–24)
• Marjo Voutilainen, 3.00 P/G (14 games; 1997–98)

• Most penalty minutes: Kirsi Hänninen, 66 PIM (23 games; 1995–96)
• Best save percentage (Sv%), over five games played: Tiina Ranne, .942 Sv% (18 games; 2019–20)
• Best goals against average (GAA), over five games played: Jenna Juutilainen, 1.49 GAA (10 games; 2022–23)
• Most shutouts in a season: Tiina Ranne, 3 shutouts (accomplished in three different seasons)

• 20 games; 2022–23
• 18 games; 2018–19
• 14 games; 2020–21

Career records

• Most points: Tanja Niskanen, 488 points (301 games; 2006–2022)
• Most points, defenseman: Tanja Koljonen, 103 points (137 games; 2016–2023)
• Most goals: Tanja Niskanen, 257 goals (301 games; 2006–2022)
• Most assists: Johanna Juutilainen, 260 assists (348 games; 2009–2024)
• Best points per game, over 30 games played: Elisa Holopainen, 2.15 points per game (176 games; 2016–2024)
• Most penalty minutes: Salla Rantanen, 322 PIM (272 games; 2012–2023)
• Most games played, skater: Johanna Juutilainen, 348 games (2009–2024)
• Most games played, goaltender: Tiina Ranne, 130 games (2017–2024)
• Best save percentage, over twenty games played: Tiina Ranne, .921 Sv% (130 games; 2017–2024)
• Best career goals against average, over twenty games played: Tiina Ranne, 2.41 GAA (130 games; 2017–2024)
• Most shutouts: Tiina Ranne, 17 shutouts (130 games; 2017–2024)

All-time scoring leaders

The top regular season point scorers in KalPa Naiset history, as of June 2024^[update].^[33]

Note: Nat = Nationality; Pos = Position; GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; P/G = Points per game;   = 2024–25 KalPa player

Points

Nat	Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	P/G
	Tanja Niskanen	F	301	257	231	488	1.62
	Johanna Juutilainen	F	348	162	260	422	1.21
	Elisa Holopainen	F	176	206	173	379	2.15
	Matilda Nilsson	F	189	164	140	304	1.61
	Salla Rantanen	F	272	97	112	209	0.77
	Marjo Voutilainen	F	177	86	101	187	1.06
	Tanja Koljonen	D	169	26	91	117	0.69
	Liisa Kastikainen	F	199	54	63	117	0.59
	Kati Kovalainen	F	70	72	35	107	1.53
	Emma Ritari	D	251	34	68	102	0.41
	Eija Rahunen	F	80	28	54	82	1.03
	Tiina Paananen	F	58	46	35	81	1.40
	Isa Rahunen	D	135	34	47	81	0.60
	Kaisla Kortelainen	F	120	29	46	75	0.63
	Venla Hovi	F	49	38	36	74	1.51

Notable alumni

Main category: KalPa Naiset players

Years active with KalPa listed alongside player name.^[33]

• Elisa Holopainen, 2016–2021 & 2022–2024
• Venla Hovi, 2012–2014
• Kirsi Hänninen, 1995–96
• Kati Kovalainen, 1993–1996
• Rose Matilainen, 1993–1996
• Terhi Mertanen, 1999–2001
• Matilda Nilsson, 2014–2021
• Tanja Niskanen, 2006–2008, 2009–2015 & 2016–2022
• Oona Parviainen, 1993–1999
• Tuula Puputti, 1992–1995
• Isa Rahunen, 2006–2013
• Sanni Rantala, 2022–2024
• Saila Saari, 2020–21
• Riikka Sallinen, 1995–96
• Eve Savander, 2013–14
• Marjo Voutilainen, 1995–2001 & 2010–2014

International player(s)

• Nozomi Kiribuchi, 2015–16
• Sarah Knee, 2022–23