2022–23 Naisten Liiga season

The 2022–23 Naisten Liiga season is the fortieth season of the Naisten Liiga, the premier level of women's ice hockey in Finland, since the league's establishment as the in 1982. The regular season began on 10 September 2022 and concluded on 19 February 2023.
HIFK Helsinki and KalPa Kuopio both finished the regular season at the top of the league, tied with 93 points in 36 games. HIFK were granted the regular season championship title by virtue of a higher goal difference, marking the first regular season victory in team history. Kiekko-Espoo, the reigning regular season champions from the previous four seasons (2018–19 to 2021–22), finished in third place.
HIFK swept all three rounds of the 2023 Aurora Borealis Cup playoffs to win the Aurora Borealis Cup for the first time in team history. Kiekko-Espoo, the reigning Finnish Champions from the 2022 Aurora Borealis Cup playoffs, claimed the franchise's third Finnish Championship silver medal and KalPa won Finnish Championship bronze for the fourth time.
In the qualification, RoKi Rovaniemi and Rauman Lukko overcame Naisten Mestis teams HIFK Akatemia and Kiekko-Espoo Akatemia to save themselves from relegation.
== League business ==
===Season format===
The Finnish Ice Hockey Association chose to streamline the Naisten Liiga season format after the 2021–22 season. Instead of the previous twenty-game preliminary series and ten-game divisional series, the ten teams play a single-series, four-cycle round-robin. For each team, the regular season comprises 36 games.
The top eight teams at the end of the season qualify for the Aurora Borealis Cup playoffs. The teams finishing the season ranked ninth and tenth play a promotion/relegation series against the top two teams of the Naisten Mestis.
The format change adds six games per team to the regular season schedule and matches the season structure of the league's closest neighbor, the Swedish Women's Hockey League (SDHL).
=== Offseason ===
==== Coaching changes ====
Team 	2021–22 	2022–23 	Details
Off–season	Off–season 	Off–season 	Off–season
HPK 	Harri Nummela 	Jari Risku 	Appointed in April 2022, Risku is the fifth HPK head coach in as many seasons. He succeeds Nummela, who piloted the team to a playoff berth from the lower division series. Risku most recently served as head coach of the Austrian national team for the 2022 IIHF Women's World Championship Division I Group A and was previously head coach of KMH Budapest in the European Women's Hockey League (EWHL). He was the inaugural head coach of Team Kuortane, from the team's creation in 2010 until 2018, and coached the Finnish national under-18 team during 2014 to 2018.
Ilves 	Linda Leppänen 	Marjo Voutilainen	Leppänen announced in early April that she was stepping away from her head coaching position after two seasons in role to spend more time with her family. In early May, Ilves revealed that Voutilainen had been selected as her successor. Voutilainen previously coached KalPa Naiset for six seasons, 2016 to 2022, and the team won their fist Finnish Championship silver medal and made it to the Aurora Borealis Cup finals twice with her at the helm. Prior to her coaching career, she was a forward with the Finnish national team and an Olympic and World Championship medalist.
KalPa 	Marjo Voutilainen	Mika Väärälä 	Following a challenging season in which KalPa narrowly secured the bottom seed of the playoffs after winning Finnish Championship silver one season before, the club opted not to resign Voutalainen as head coach and to instead pursue a new direction with the hire of Väärälä. Väärälä joined KalPa after serving as head coach of KMH Budapest for three seasons, during which the team won the EWHL Championship three times and the EWHL Super Cup twice. He has been an assistant coach to the Hungarian national team since 2016.
Kärpät 	Samuli Hassi 	Sanna Lankosaari 	Hassi vacated the Kärpät head coach position after accepting a director of coaching position with Vaasan Sport U18 in the U18 SM-sarja. Lankosaari was promoted to head coach from assistant coach, a position she had held since 2018. Prior to her coaching career, Lankosaari was a forward with the Finnish national team and won a bronze medal in the inaugural Olympic women's ice hockey tournament at the 1998 Winter Olympics. She was also a three-time IIHF Women's World Championship bronze medalist and was Finland’s leading scorer at the 1996 IIHF European Women Championships. She played seven seasons with Oulun Kärpät Naiset in the Naisten SM-sarja during 1994 to 2001.
==== Player signings ====
Note: This section does not record all player signings. It is limited to player movements involving national team players (from any country), international import players, and extra-league signings.
Pre-season
The 2022 Aurora Borealis Cup champions, Kiekko-Espoo, saw the single largest number of pre-season player departures, with a majority of departures involving Finnish national team players. Players from Kiekko-Espoo departing for other leagues included reigning Päivi Halonen Award winner and Playoff MVP Nelli Laitinen, who left to pursue a college ice hockey career with the Minnesota Golden Gophers; Ella Viitasuo and Kiira Yrjänen, who signed in the Swedish Women's Hockey League (SDHL) with HV71 Dam; and Minttu Tuominen, who began the 2021–22 season as captain of Kiekko-Espoo but concluded the season in the Zhenskaya Hockey League (ZhHL) with the KRS Vanke Rays and signed in the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) with the Metropolitan Riveters for the 2022–23 season. Several high-impact Kiekko-Espoo players signed with other Naisten Liiga teams, including reigning Best Forward for four consecutive seasons Elisa Holopainen and All-Star Sanni Rantala, who both signed with KalPa; Emilia Vesa, who signed with HIFK; and Emmi Leinonen, who retired from playing and joined HPK as an assistant coach.
HPK celebrated the career of all-time Naisten Liiga top point scorer and most games played record holder Riikka Noronen, who retired from playing in 2022 after 27 consecutive seasons in the league. The vacancy left by Noronen’s departure and other player movements made it possible for HPK to attract a number of international players, including Olympic medalist in speed skating and Czech national team forward Karolína Erbanová, Czech national under-18 team forward Barbora Juříčková, and Slovak national team centre Lucia Záborská. French national team goaltender Margaux Mameri was signed to replace Canadian Kassidy Sauvé, who departed HPK to sign in the PHF with the Buffalo Beauts. Sauvé had signed in the middle of the 2021–22 season as successor to starting netminder Noora Räty, who left HPK in January to rejoin the KRS Vanke Rays in the ZhHL.
KalPa also bid farewell to a franchise star with the retirement of their captain, the 2020 Player of the Year winner and a three-time All-Star, Tanja Niskanen. In addition to signing national team players Holopainen and Rantala from Kiekko-Espoo, KalPa attracted Finnish goaltender Aino Laitinen from the Budapest Jégkorong Akadémia of the European Women's Hockey League (EWHL).
TPS boasted both the 2021–22 regular season top point scorer in French national team centre Estelle Duvin, and the player with the most regular season assists in Maija Otamo (three-way tied with Elisa Holopainen and Michaela Pejzlová). In a major loss to the team's offensive production, the linemates both signed in the Swiss Women's League (SWHL A) with EV Bomo Thun for the 2022–23 season. Continuing the pattern of signing at least one French national team player to the roster in each season since 2020, TPS inked defenseman Raphaëlle Grenier.
Ilves goaltender Anni Keisala was named 2022 Naisten Liiga Player of the Year and Best Goaltender – in addition to being named Best Goaltender of the 2021 IIHF Women's World Championship – making her a highly sought after addition to a number of international teams. Her decision to sign in the SDHL with HV71 was one of the most significant moves of the pre-season. Ilves recruited internationally to fill Keisala's roster spot and brought in Canadian goaltender Camille Scherger from the UPEI Panthers women's ice hockey program of U Sports. Top defenceman Anna Kilponen, who began the 2021–22 season as captain of Ilves before concluding the season in the ZhHL with the KRS Vanke Rays, opted not to return to Finland and instead signed in the PHF with the Metropolitan Riveters. 
Kiekko-Espoo’s Laitinen was not the only Naisten Liiga defenseman to embark on a college ice hockey career in the NCAA Division I, as Krista Parkkonen of HIFK, the 2020 Naisten Liiga Rookie of the Year and a two-time All-Star, joined the Vermont Catamounts women's ice hockey program. HIFK saw relatively little turnover in comparison to their close neighbors in Espoo, with the departure of just Parkkonen and Czech forward Veronika Lorencová, who left for the EVB Eagles Südtirol of the EWHL and Italian Hockey League Women. The team acquired two Finnish national team players: Sanni Vanhanen, the youngest active member of the national team and the top Finnish scorer at the 2022 IIHF U18 Women's World Championship, who had previously played with the Tappara boys' under-17 teams in Finland's top U17 league and had been loaned to Ilves Naiset for a handful of games over the previous several seasons, and Emilia Vesa, a standout winger and former captain of Team Kuortane, who had played with Kiekko-Espoo since 2020. 
Player 	Previous team 	2022–23 team 	ref.
Incoming players 	Incoming players 	Incoming players 	Incoming players
Karolína Erbanová (F) 	Almtuna IS (Damettan) 	HPK Hämeenlinna 	
Raphaëlle Grenier (D) 	Clermont-Lyon-Roanne U17 (France U17) 	TPS Turku 	
Sydney Harris (D) 	Elmira Soaring Eagles (NCAA D3) 	RoKi Rovaniemi 	
Eliška Hotová (D) 	HC Příbram (Extraliga) 	TPS Turku 	
Barbora Juříčková (F) 	HC Uničov (1. liga žen) 	HPK Hämeenlinna 	
Anna Kalová (F) 	HC Litvínov (Extraliga) 	RoKi Rovaniemi 	
Aino Laitinen (G) 	Budapest JA (EWHL) 	KalPa Kuopio 	
Margaux Mameri (G) 	ACBB-Meudon U17 (France U17) 	HPK Hämeenlinna 	
Camille Scherger (G) 	UPEI Panthers (U Sports) 	Ilves Tampere 	
Karolína Skořepová (F)	HC Kobra Prague (1. liga žen) 	Kärpät Oulu 	
Jenna Silvonen (G) 	Mercyhurst Lakers (NCAA D1) 	Kiekko-Espoo 	
Sanni Vanhanen (F) 	Tappara U16 (Finland U16) 	HIFK Helsinki 	
Ellie Wallace (F) 	Queen Bees IHC (WNIHL Elite) 	TPS Turku 	
Lucia Záborská (F) 	Hammarby IF (Damettan) 	HPK Hämeenlinna 	
Intra-league transfers	Intra-league transfers 	Intra-league transfers 	Intra-league transfers
Elisa Holopainen (F) 	Kiekko-Espoo 	KalPa Kuopio 	
Sanni Rantala (D) 	Kiekko-Espoo 	KalPa Kuopio 	
Emilia Vesa (F) 	Kiekko-Espoo 	HIFK Helsinki 	
Departing players 	Departing players 	Departing players 	Departing players
Megan Delay (D) 	HPK Hämeenlinna 	Buffalo Beauts (PHF) 	
Estelle Duvin (F) 	TPS Tampere 	EV Bomo Thun (SWHL A) 	
Ana Kahlhammer (F) 	Lukko Rauma 	Maryville University Saints (ACHA)	
Aino Karppinen (D) 	RoKi Rovaniemi 	AIK Hockey (SDHL) 	
Anni Keisala (G) 	Ilves Tampere 	HV71 (SDHL) 	
Anna Kilponen (F) 	Ilves Tampere → KRS Vanke Rays (ZhHL) 	Metropolitan Riveters (PHF) 	
Nelli Laitinen (D) 	Kiekko-Espoo 	Minnesota Golden Gophers (NCAA) 	
Emmi Leinonen (F) 	Kiekko-Espoo 	retired 	
Veera Lindroth (F) 	Ilves Tampere 	ESC Planegg-Würmtal (DFEL) 	
Veronika Lorencová (F)	HIFK Helsinki 	EVB Eagles Südtirol (EWHL/IHLW) 	
Matilda Nilsson (F) 	HIFK Helsinki 	Brynäs IF Dam (SDHL) 	
Tanja Niskanen (F) 	KalPa Kuopio 	retired 	
Riikka Noronen (F) 	HPK Hämeenlinna 	retired 	
Maija Otamo (F) 	TPS Tampere 	EV Bomo Thun (SWHL A) 	
Krista Parkkonen (D) 	HIFK Helsinki 	Vermont Catamounts (NCAA) 	
Noora Räty (G) 	HPK Hämeenlinna → KRS Vanke Rays (ZhHL)	unsigned 	
Kassidy Sauvé (G) 	HPK Hämeenlinna 	Buffalo Beauts (PHF) 	
Minttu Tuominen (D) 	Kiekko-Espoo → KRS Vanke Rays (ZhHL) 	Metropolitan Riveters (PHF) 	
Ella Viitasuo (D) 	Kiekko-Espoo 	HV71 (SDHL) 	
Kiira Yrjänen (F) 	Kiekko-Espoo 	HV71 (SDHL) 	
== Teams ==
===2022–23 season===
Team 	Location 	Home venue 	Head coach	Captain
HIFK 	Helsinki 	Pirkkolan jäähalli 	 	
HPK 	Hämeenlinna	Jääliikuntakeskus Hakio 	 	
Ilves 	Tampere 	Tesoman jäähalli 	 	
KalPa 	Kuopio 	Niiralan Monttu 	 	
Kiekko-Espoo 	Espoo 	Tapiolan harjoitusareena	 	
Kärpät 	Oulu 	Raksilan jäähalli 	 	
Lukko 	Rauma 	Westinghouse Areena 	 	
RoKi 	Rovaniemi 	Lappi Areena 	 	
Team Kuortane	Kuortane 	Kuortaneen jäähalli 	 	
TPS 	Turku 	Kupittaan jäähalli 	 	
;Naisten Mestis teams participating in the qualification series
Team 	Location	Home venue 	Head coach	Captain
HIFK Akatemia 	Helsinki	Pirkkolan jäähalli 	 	
Kiekko-Espoo Akatemia	Espoo 	Matinkylän jäähalli	 	
== Regular season ==
The 180-game regular season began on 10 September 2022 and concluded on 19 February 2023.
===Standings===
HIFK Helsinki claimed first place in the regular season for the first time in team history. They tied KalPa Kuopio in points, with 93 points each, but HIFK were awarded top rank by virtue of a higher goal difference. Kiekko-Espoo, the first place team from the 2021–22 regular season, finished in third place with 74 points. HPK Hämeenlinna improved from seventh place (first in the lower division series) in the 2021–22 regular season to fourth in 2022–23, amassing 67 points. Though Tampereen Ilves outperformed their 1.43 points per game (Pts/G) average from 2021–22, with a 1.64 Pts/G, they moved down the rankings from fourth to fifth place, season over season. Team Kuortane finished in sixth place for the second consecutive season, however, like Ilves, they notably improved their points per game from 1.15 to 1.53, season over season. TPS Turku fell from fifth to seventh place and Oulun Kärpät suffered the most dramatic fall in the standings, going from third to eighth place.
=== Schedule ===
Regular Season	Regular Season	Regular Season	Regular Season	Regular Season	Regular Season	Regular Season 	Regular Season	Regular Season	Regular Season	Regular Season	
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September 2022	September 2022	September 2022	September 2022	September 2022	September 2022	September 2022 	September 2022	September 2022	September 2022	September 2022	September 2022
Date 	Home 	Score 	Visitor 	OT 	Attn 	Notes 	Recap 	 	 	 	
10 September 	TPS 	2–6 	HIFK 	 	70 	 	 	 	 	 	
10 September 	Ilves 	2–3 	Kuortane 	SO 	80 	 	 	 	 	 	
10 September 	K-Espoo 	2–3 	KalPa 	 	60 	 	 	 	 	 	
10 September 	HPK 	4–5 	Kärpät 	 	190 	Hat-trick scored by Tilli Keränen (1) 	 	 	 	 	
10 September 	Lukko 	3–2 	RoKi 	OT 	70 	 	 	 	 	 	
11 September 	Kärpät 	0–1 	K-Espoo 	 	30 	Shutout recorded by Jenna Silvonen (1) 	 	 	 	 	
11 September 	HPK 	4–3 	RoKi 	 	80 	 	 	 	 	 	
11 September 	KalPa 	7–1 	Lukko 	 	60 	 	 	 	 	 	
11 September 	Kuortane 	4–3 	TPS 	 	90 	 	 	 	 	 	
11 September 	HIFK 	5–2 	Ilves 	 	70 	 	 	 	 	 	
17 September 	HIFK 	3–1 	HPK 	 	82 	 	 	 	 	 	
17 September 	Lukko 	2–9 	TPS 	 	60 	 	 	 	 	 	
17 September 	K-Espoo 	6–2 	Ilves 	 	72 	Hat-trick scored by Lisette Täks (1) 	 	 	 	 	
17 September 	RoKi 	0–4 	Kuortane 	 	53 	Shutout recorded by Emilia Kyrkkö (1) 	 	 	 	 	
17 September 	KalPa 	9–3 	Kärpät 	 	81 	Hat-trick scored by Jenna Hietala (1) 	 	 	 	 	
18 September 	TPS 	5–3 	HPK 	 	51 	 	 	 	 	 	
18 September 	Lukko 	1–11 	HIFK 	 	50 	Hat-trick scored by Sanni Vanahanen (1) 	 	 	 	 	
18 September 	RoKi 	2–3 	KalPa 	OT 	67 	 	 	 	 	 	
18 September 	Ilves 	1–4 	K-Espoo 	 	110 	 	 	 	 	 	
18 September 	Kärpät 	1–3 	Kuortane 	 	213 	Highest attended game of month 	 	 	 	 	
24 September 	Ilves 	0–3 	HIFK 	 	47 	Shutout recorded by Kiia Lahtinen (1) 	 	 	 	 	
24 September 	TPS 	4–3 	Kärpät 	SO 	40 	 	 	 	 	 	
24 September 	HPK 	3–2 	Kuortane 	OT 	60 	 	 	 	 	 	
24 September 	Lukko 	4–16 	KalPa 	 	50 	Hat-trick scored by Jenna Hietala (2; five goals total)Hat-trick scored by Elisa Holopainen (1; four goals total)	 	 	 	 	
24 September 	K-Espoo 	9–2 	RoKi 	 	54 	 	 	 	 	 	
25 September 	HPK 	1–5 	K-Espoo 	 	55 	 	 	 	 	 	
25 September 	Lukko 	3–6 	Kärpät 	 	50 	Hat-trick scored by Oona Havana (1) 	 	 	 	 	
25 September 	HIFK 	7–2 	RoKi 	 	84 	 	 	 	 	 	
25 September 	Kuortane 	4–1 	Ilves 	 	80 	 	 	 	 	 	
25 September 	TPS 	2–3 	KalPa 	SO 	92 	 	 	 	 	 	
=== Player statistics ===
====Scoring leaders====
The following players led the league in points at the conclusion of the regular season on 19 February 2023. 
Player	Team 	 	 	 	 	
 	HIFK 	31	32	50	82	2
 	KalPa 	28	41	34	75	4
 	HIFK 	30	28	38	66	10
 	KalPa 	36	28	31	59	14
 	HIFK 	28	22	31	53	18
 	KalPa 	35	29	21	50	6
 	KalPa 	36	14	36	50	8
 	HIFK 	34	24	25	49	22
 	HPK 	34	15	28	43	20
 	K-Espoo	34	21	21	42	6
 	HIFK 	31	16	26	42	20
 	TPS 	36	23	17	40	36
 	HIFK 	22	18	22	40	2
 	TPS 	34	14	26	40	8
 	K-Espoo	34	14	25	39	16
 	KalPa 	30	7 	32	39	6
 	K-Espoo	29	13	25	38	10
 	Kärpät 	36	23	13	36	24
 	Ilves 	34	11	25	36	4
 	HIFK 	36	16	19	35	10
 	HPK 	32	18	16	34	10
The following skaters were the top point scorers of teams not represented in the scoring leader table at the conclusion of the regular season on 19 February 2023, noted with their overall league scoring rank:
* 25. Nea Tervonen (F), Kuortane: 33 GP, 12 G, 20 A, 32 Pts, 4 PIM
* 39. Aliisa Toivonen (F), Lukko: 33 GP, 12 G, 12 A, 24 Pts, 28 PIM
* 63. Iida Lappalainen (F), RoKi: 33 GP, 11 G, 6 A, 17 Pts, 26 PIM
====Goaltenders====
The following goaltenders had played at least one-third of their team's minutes in net at the conclusion of the regular season on 19 February 2023, sorted by save percentage.
Player	Team 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	KalPa 	20	1186:55	16	2 	501	33 	3	93.8	1.67
 	HIFK 	18	1080:31	17	1 	349	24 	4	93.6	1.33
 	HPK 	26	1482:59	15	8 	611	49 	2	92.6	1.98
 	Kuortane	24	1430:18	9 	12	692	56 	3	92.5	2.35
 	K-Espoo 	21	1229:49	13	6 	389	34 	5	92.1	1.66
 	Ilves 	15	837:31 	7 	5 	384	33 	3	92.1	2.36
 	Ilves 	19	947:58 	10	9 	415	44 	3	90.4	2.78
 	Kärpät 	29	1740:11	6 	21	892	106	0	89.4	3.65
 	TPS 	13	778:32 	4 	7 	374	46 	0	89.0	3.55
 	RoKi 	21	1121:41	1 	18	740	95 	0	88.6	5.08
 	K-Espoo 	13	750:57 	8 	5 	224	30 	3	88.2	2.40
 	RoKi 	19	1037:02	1 	15	701	95 	0	88.1	5.50
 	TPS 	15	786:10 	7 	3 	308	44 	1	87.5	3.36
 	Lukko 	16	906:25 	2 	12	501	87 	0	85.2	5.76
 	Lukko 	15	805:46 	2 	11	447	80 	0	84.8	5.96
Top backup goaltenders
The following goaltenders recorded the highest save percentages of those who had played a minimum of ten percent but fewer than one-third of their team’s minutes in net at the conclusion of the regular season on 19 February 2023.
Player	Team 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	HPK 	9 	499:01	5	3	217	13	2	94.3	1.56
 	 	6 	360:00	5	1	121	11	1	91.7	1.83
 	KalPa 	10	563:48	9	0	142	14	2	91.0	1.49
 	KalPa 	7 	421:41	5	2	156	17	1	90.2	2.42
 	HIFK 	9 	541:22	7	2	146	16	3	90.1	1.77
 	Kuortane	10	570:47	5	4	228	25	1	90.1	2.63
=== Player movements ===
Player 	Previous team 	Active team 	Date
Incoming players 	Incoming players 	Incoming players 	Incoming players
Noora Räty (G) 	KRS Vanke Rays 	HPK Hämeenlinna 	30 September 2022
Anna Zíková (D) 	Göteborg HC (SDHL)	HPK Hämeenlinna 	26 January 2023
Sarah Knee (D) 	no team 	KalPa Kuopio 	15 February 2023
Esther Väärälä (F) 	no team 	KalPa Kuopio 	16 February 2023
Departing players 	Departing players 	Departing players 	Departing players
Camille Scherger (G) 	Ilves Tampere 	Skellefteå AIK (Damettan) 	11 September 2022
Margaux Mameri (G) 	HPK Hämeenlinna 	Jets d’Evry-Viry (FFHG Division 2)	11 November 2022
Tuva Schall Mikkelsen (D)	Ilves Tampere 	Hasle-Løren (NIHF Kvinner Elite) 	5 December 2022
====Loans====
Player 	Signed team 	Loaned team 	Notes
Alexandra Väyrynen (G)	Kiekko-Espoo	RoKi Rovaniemi	2-game loan, 10–11 September 2022
Heta Paasilinna (D) 	Kiekko-Espoo	RoKi Rovaniemi	1-game loan, 25 September 2022
Rosa-Marie Ojala (G) 	APV 	Team Kuortane 	2-game loan, began 4 February 2023
==Playoffs==
HIFK swept all three rounds of the 2023 Aurora Borealis Cup playoffs to win the Aurora Borealis Cup for the first time in team history. Kiekko-Espoo, the reigning Finnish Champions from the 2022 Aurora Borealis Cup playoffs, claimed the franchise's third Finnish Championship silver medal and KalPa won Finnish Championship bronze for the fourth time.
==Qualification==
The qualification series () began on 18 March and concluded on 2 April 2023. It was played as a double round-robin in which each team will face every opponent once at home and once away.
Two teams from the 2022 qualification series returned to the promotion/relegation tournament in 2023: Lukko and RoKi. In the 2022 series, RoKi successfully defended their place in the league and, after having been relegated to the Naisten Mestis in the 2021 Naisten Liiga qualifiction, Lukko earned promotion back to the Naisten Liiga via the relegation of Vaasan Sport Naiset.
Lukko and RoKi were joined by the top two teams of the Naisten Mestis regular season, HIFK Akatemia and Kiekko-Espoo Akatemia, the respective developmental squad of HIFK Naiset and Kiekko-Espoo Naiset, the Aurora Borealis Cup finalists. Both teams made their debut in the Naisten Liiga qualification and the series was the first in league history to feature the developmental squads of two teams active in the Naisten Liiga.
The series concluded with RoKi and Lukko overcoming HIFK Akatemia and Kiekko-Espoo Akatemia to save themselves from relegation. Both teams will remain in the Naisten Liiga for the 2023–24 season, while HIFK Akatemia and Kiekko-Espoo Akatemia will play in the season in the Naisten Mestis.
===Standings===
===Results===
=== Player statistics ===
;Scoring leaders
The following players were the qualification point leaders at the conclusion of the series on 2 April 2023.
Player	Team 	 	 	 	 	
 	Lukko 	6	8	2	10	0
 	RoKi 	6	3	7	10	2
 	RoKi 	6	3	5	8 	4
 	Lukko 	4	4	3	7 	0
 	RoKi 	6	6	0	6 	6
 	K-Espoo Ak	6	5	0	5 	4
 	HIFK Ak 	6	4	1	5 	4
 	RoKi 	6	2	3	5 	4
 	Lukko 	6	1	4	5 	4
 	HIFK Ak 	5	2	2	4 	2
; Goaltenders
The following goaltenders had played a minimum of one qualification game at the conclusion of the series on 2 April 2023, sorted by save percentage.
Player	Team 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	K-Espoo Ak	3	140:08	2	0	80 	4 	1	95.2	1.71
 	HIFK Ak 	6	361:48	2	3	166	13	1	92.7	2.16
 	RoKi 	6	360:08	4	2	151	12	1	92.6	2.00
 	Lukko 	3	185:00	2	0	47 	4 	0	92.2	1.30
 	K-Espoo Ak	4	217:06	0	4	125	19	0	86.8	5.25
 	Lukko 	3	177:27	1	2	37 	9 	1	80.4	3.04
== Awards and honours ==
=== Finnish Ice Hockey Association awards ===
* Marianne Ihalainen Award (Top point scorer): Michaela Pejzlová, HIFK
* Tiia Reima Award (Top goal scorer): Elisa Holopainen, KalPa
* Sari Fisk Award (Best plus/minus): Michaela Pejzlová, HIFK
* Karoliina Rantamäki Award (Playoff MVP): Sanni Vanhanen, HIFK
* Student Athlete Award: Michaela Pejzlová, HIFK 
* U18 Student Athlete Award: Kerttu Lehmus, Team Kuortane
=== Player of the Month ===
* September 2022: Emilia Kyrkkö (G), Team Kuortane
* October 2022: Julia Liikala (F), HIFK
* November 2022: Elisa Holopainen (F), KalPa
* December 2022: Kiti Seikkula (F), HPK
* January 2023: Emilia Vesa (F), HIFK
* February 2023: Pauliina Salonen (F), TPS
==References==
===Game recaps===
===Game references===
Category:Naisten Liiga (ice hockey) seasons
Naisten Liiga
Naisten Liiga