Quite a concentration of Finnish hockey players has emerged in Lulea, Sweden. No less than 12 Finns play in the main leagues, six of them women and six men. There are no comparable Finns anywhere else in Europe.
In the women’s category, Luulaja is currently moving towards the finals again.
The Finnish players scored all of Luluaja’s hits, when the team took a 4-2 away victory over Modo in their semi-final opener. The familiar faces of the national team managed to score Jenni Hiirikoski, Ronja Savolainen, Petra Nieminen and Viivi Vainikka. There are also puck players in Luulaja’s ranks Jenna Pirttijärvi and Nora Tulus.
Three wins are required for a place in the finals. The teams will meet each other next on Friday.
According to Savolainen, the communication between the men’s and women’s teams works exceptionally well in Lulaja.
– It does warm the heart. Of course, it’s always nice when there are a lot of Finns. You can grind these things in your own language, and no one will understand. It’s always fun. Yeah, those Swedes are always a bit sad when they don’t understand what we’re talking about.
The men’s team from Lulea secured their place in the SHL playoffs and also made it to the CHL finals, where they lost to Tappara.
Ladies: Jenni Hiirikoski (p), Ronja Savolainen (p), Petra Nieminen (h), Jenna Pirttijärvi (h), Noora Tulus (h), Viivi Vainikka (h)
Gentlemen: Julius Honka (p), Leo Komarov (h), Olli Nikupeteri (h), Joonas Rask (h), Tomi Sallinen (h), Juhani Tyrväinen (h)
The Swedish league attracts Finnish women’s hockey players because the activities in the western neighbor are more professional than in Finland. In Sweden, efforts have been made to narrow the gap between the women’s and men’s series.
Vainikka estimates that the series is competitively more even than in Finland, where even double-digit winning numbers are seen. In Sweden, the branding of the women’s series has also taken big steps.
– The games are filmed well and people get interested. Visibility is in large part.
In Lulea, women are taken into account in marketing as much as men. Ronja Savolainen says that the women’s team gets visibility on the club’s social media like the men’s. Female players are featured on posters around the city. The team also has its own budget.
– We are not after men, but next to them. We are a united club. I think that’s the biggest thing. All sponsors want to sponsor us so we can grow and be more professional. We can play the way we love. You don’t have to go to work so much. Sponsors see us too and visibility is really important.
According to Savolainen, improving visibility could bring a lift to women’s ice hockey in Finland as well, where you don’t see much news about the matches of the Women’s League.
– It’s a bit of a pity. Let’s put them on the front pages of magazines. It is the most important. That we will show that women’s hockey exists.
In Lulea, the internship culture and opportunities are also better than in Finland. In Finland, women’s teams often have to train in the evenings, when professional men’s teams take over the morning ice.
In Luleå, women’s workouts start at half past ten in the morning with a side workout, for example, at the crossfit gym connected to the hall. You can get on the ice in eleven countries. Guided practice ends at half past one.
– We have ice until midnight if you want to stay to do something at the end. Then the day is over. It’s nice to have all day. You can play the flute or do some training. It’s pretty wonderful to be able to eat in the morning and then go straight to the ice rink. The kind that men have too. Maybe that is also a good sign going forward, says Savolainen.
Female lions boast a desire to show off
The season of women’s national team players is exceptionally long. The camp for last year’s World Championships in August-September already started in the summer. The following club team season can even last until the end of March, if the team plays in the final series. Also in Finland, the medal games will be decided after mid-March.
At the beginning of April, it’s time for the World Championships again, this time in Canada, the birthplace of the sport. Vainikka and Savolainen assure that they still have enough energy for the spring tournament.
– Of course, you always get a boost from being part of the national team, Vainikka says.
The previous World Cup ended in disappointment. The Czech Republic knocked Finland out of the medal games, and the loss to Japan ended the tournament with a minor victory. Therefore, the Women’s Lions will start the upcoming competitions in Group B with Sweden, Hungary, Germany and France.
After the flop at the beginning of autumn, Naisleijonat has forged a strong result with a renewed team. It has won all 12 of its matches and three of its EHT tournaments. The World Cup disappointment has fueled the team’s will to win.
– We have taken it as an energy source. Something has to happen now. We can’t just go on the train that has always won medals and come the easy way. Now we have to figure out from the ground up how we will manage, where we are bad and where we are good, says Savolainen.
– We’ve had fun and many are looking forward to showing the B group how hard we can go. We want to get back to the A group and of course take home a medal.
There has been enough commotion around female lions, for example Noora Rädyn and Pasi Mustonen between inflamed spaces and Susanna Tapani from the wedding visit. According to Savolainen, the incident between Räty and Mustonen was discussed within the team.
– The matter was brought up, we talked and it was said that now we will move on. They can take care of it among themselves, and we take care of our own box on the field. I think it has worked really well. It has also been seen in games. We have an eye forward.