# 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.

## Teams

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

## Regular season
### 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 | Advance to Quarterfinals |
| 3 | Ilves | 60 | 28 | 10 | 7 | 15 | 191 | 168 | +23 | .617 | Advance to Quarterfinals |
| 4 | TPS | 60 | 29 | 6 | 3 | 22 | 151 | 137 | +14 | .567 | Advance to Quarterfinals |
| 5 | HIFK | 59 | 27 | 5 | 8 | 19 | 174 | 146 | +28 | .559 | Advance to Quarterfinals |
| 6 | Kärpät | 60 | 24 | 7 | 9 | 20 | 171 | 141 | +30 | .528 | Advance to Quarterfinals |
| 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 | Advance to Wild-card round |
| 9 | Pelicans | 60 | 25 | 4 | 10 | 21 | 142 | 142 | 0 | .517 | Advance to Wild-card round |
| 10 | Lukko | 58 | 24 | 5 | 7 | 22 | 169 | 151 | +18 | .511 | Advance to Wild-card round |
| 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 | |

### Statistics
#### Scoring leaders

The following shows the top ten players who led the league in points, at the conclusion of the regular season. 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.
| 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.

### Bracket

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

### Finals

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 |