# Sanni Ahola

Sanni Ahola (born 3 June 2000) is a Finnish ice hockey goaltender and member of the Finnish national team, currently playing in the NCAA Division I with the St. Cloud State Huskies women's ice hockey program.

## Playing career

Ahola developed on the minor ice hockey teams of Red Wings Helsinki [fi], a youth ice hockey club in the Malmi neighborhood of Helsinki. She played as a defenseman and in goal throughout her childhood but committed to the pursuit of goaltending by age thirteen.
During her early teens, she served as goaltender with several boys' teams of Itä-Helsingin Kiekko [fi] (IHK) and was the starting net minder for the IHK boys' under-16 (U16) team during the 2014–15 season. In the following season, she split starts for IHK U17 in the U17 Mestis. In addition to backstopping IHK teams, she continued to play as both a skater and goaltender with Red Wing girls' teams.
When Saara Niemi established the new HIFK Naiset team in 2018, Ahola was one of the first players she named to the team. HIFK's inaugural season was an historic success that culminated in the team’s promotion to the Naisten Liiga (NSML), the premier national league in Finland. Ahola maintained a .957 save percentage across seventeen Naisten Mestis games, improving to .967 across five games in the post-season Naisten Liiga qualification series.
Entering the 2019–20 season, she remained HIFK's number one goaltender as the team recruited a number of new players, including Karoliina Rantamäki, French national team players Athéna Locatelli and Emmanuelle Passard, and future Finnish national team player Krista Parkkonen. Ahola achieved a .915 save percentage in 21 games and helped the team secure a playoff berth in their first full Naisten Liiga season.

### NCAA

By Ahola's own assessment, the 2021–22 season "didn't go exactly as [she] would have liked." The team struggled overall, amassing a 9-23-3 record with a win percentage of .300, and Ahola's game was not immune to the collective slump. Deployed in a goaltending tandem with Polusny, she played in eighteen games and recorded a .900 save percentage, 3.75 GAA, and chartered a 5-13-0 record.
Ahead of the 2022–23 season, Brian Idalski was named head coach of the Huskies program and Finnish Olympian Mira Jalosuo was hired as the assistant coach overseeing defense. The coaching staff was the catalyst for a "really big change in the team" and a Ahola was one of a number of players who had career years under the new regime. Highlights of her season included a shutout against the Bemidji State Beavers on 4 November and a 34-save performance in St. Cloud State's 4–1 victory over the Minnesota Golden Gophers on 7 November, the fourth win against Minnesota in program history. Her continued level of play across the remaining games of November 2022 resulted in her selection as the WCHA Goaltender of the Month and as the St. Cloud State University (SCSU) Athletics Female Athlete of the Month.

## International play

Ahola was a member of the Finnish national under-18 ice hockey team during 2015 to 2019. She served as backup goaltender to Jenna Silvonen at the 2017 IIHF U18 Women's World Championship and played the preliminary round match against Czechia, recording a .909 save percentage and 2.95 GAA as Finland lost the march 2–3 in overtime.
At the 2018 IIHF U18 Women's World Championship, she recorded the best save percentage (.929) and best goals against average (1.81) of all starters at the tournament, and was selected as one of the top-three players for Finland by the coaches.
She made her debut with the Finnish national team in the second tournament of the 2022–23 Women's Euro Hockey Tour, a 5-nations tournament in Ängelholm, Sweden. Starting in two matches, she notched a win against Switzerland and posted a shutout against Germany.
Ahola was selected to the Finnish roster for the 2023 IIHF Women's World Championship on 20 March 2023, alongside goaltenders Anni Keisala and Emilia Kyrkkö.

## Personal life

Ahola was born on 3 June 2000 to Riikka and Jukka Ahola in Helsinki, Finland. She attended the sports high school of the North Haaga Community School [fi] in the Haaga district of Helsinki.
She is pursuing a major in biology at St. Cloud State University.

## Career statistics
### Regular season and playoffs

| | | | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Post season | Post season | Post season | Post season | Post season | Post season | Post season | Post season | Post season |
| Season | Team | League | GP | W | L | T | Min | GA | SO | SV% | GAA | GP | W | L | T | Min | GA | SO | SV% | GAA |
| 2018-19 | HIFK | NMestis | 17 | 15 | 1 | – | 1023:33 | 18 | 5 | .957 | 1.05 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2018-19 | HIFK | NSML | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 5 | 4 | 0 | – | 275:40 | 4 | 1 | .966 | 0.87 |
| 2019-20 | HIFK | NSML | 17 | 5 | 10 | – | 1074:27 | 48 | 2 | .914 | 2.68 | 3 | 0 | 3 | – | 180:24 | 9 | 0 | .922 | 2.99 |
| 2020-21 | St. Cloud State Huskies | NCAA | 10 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 541:07 | 28 | 2 | .918 | 3.11 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2021-22 | St. Cloud State Huskies | NCAA | 18 | 5 | 13 | 0 | 1056:16 | 66 | 0 | .900 | 3.75 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2022-23 | St. Cloud State Huskies | NCAA | 20 | 9 | 11 | 0 | 1128:03 | 47 | 1 | .923 | 2.50 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2023-24 | St. Cloud State Huskies | NCAA | 17 | 10 | 6 | 1 | 1013:23 | 29 | 5 | .935 | 1.72 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| NCAA totals | NCAA totals | NCAA totals | 67 | 27 | 35 | 2 | 3738:49 | 170 | 3 | .917 | 2.73 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |

### International

| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | W | L | MIN | GA | SO | SV% | GAA |
| 2017 | Finland U18 | WC18 | 5th | 1 | 0 | 1 | 61:02 | 3 | 0 | .909 | 2.95 |
| 2018 | Finland U18 | WC18 | 5th | 5 | 3 | 2 | 299:07 | 9 | 0 | .929 | 1.81 |
| 2023 | Finland | WC | 5th | 3 | 3 | 0 | 179:39 | 2 | 1 | .957 | 0.67 |
| 2024 | Finland | WC | | 6 | 2 | 3 | 367:49 | 16 | 0 | .914 | 2.61 |
| Junior totals | Junior totals | Junior totals | Junior totals | 6 | 3 | 3 | 360:09 | 12 | 0 | .925 | 2.00 |
| Senior totals | Senior totals | Senior totals | Senior totals | 9 | 5 | 3 | 547:28 | 18 | 0 | .922 | 1.97 |

## Awards and honors

| Award | Year or Period |
| International ||
| World U18 Top-3 Player on Team | 2018 |
| World Championship Bronze Medal | 2024 |
| World Championship Media All-Star | 2024 |
| World Championship Top-3 Player on Team | 2024 |
| St. Cloud State Huskies ||
| WCHA Rookie of the Week | Week of 1 December 2020 |
| WCHA Goaltender of the Week | Week of 9 February 2021 |
| WCHA Goaltender of the Week | Week of 22 September 2023 |
| WCHA Goaltender of the Week | Week of 2 October 2023 |
| WCHA Goaltender of the Week | Week of 30 November 2023 |
| WCHA All-Rookie Team | 2020–21 |
| WCHA Goaltender of the Month | November 2022 |
| WCHA Goaltender of the Month | October 2023 |
| WCHA Goaltender of the Month | December 2023 |
| SCSU Athletics Female Athlete of the Month | November 2022 |
| HCA National Goaltender of the Month | September/October 2023 |
| HCA National Goaltender of the Month | December 2023 |
| Howies Hockey Tape Performer of the Week | Week of 2 December 2023 |
| HCA National Goalie of the Year semifinalist | 2023–24 |
| All-WCHA First Team | 2023–24 |
| WCHA Goaltender of the Year | 2023–24 |