Espoo United Naiset

Kiekko-Espoo Naiset (previously Espoo Blues Naiset) is the representative women's ice hockey team of the hockey club Kiekko-Espoo based in Espoo, Finland. They compete in the Naisten Liiga, the premier women's ice hockey league in Finland, where they are the winningest team in league history. The team has been known as Espoon Kiekkoseura (EKS), Espoo Blues Naiset, Espoo United Naiset, and Kiekko-Espoo during its tenure in the Naisten Liiga; at least one Finnish Championship medal (gold, silver, or bronze) was won under each name.
== History ==
=== EKS, 1990–1992 ===
The team entered Naisten SM-sarja (now Naisten Liiga) in the 1990–91 season under the name EKS (Espoon Kiekkoseura). The two seasons played as EKS were an impressive showing for the newcomers and each resulted in a bronze medal, one in the 1990–91 season after defeating Ässät and one in the 1991–92 season after defeating KalPa.
Several EKS players also played for the bronze medal winning Finnish women's national team at the 1992 IIHF World Championship including Liisa Karikoski, Katri-Helena Luomajoki, and Hanna Teerijoki.
=== Kiekko-Espoo, 1992–1998 ===
In 1992 EKS was renamed Kiekko-Espoo, the same name as its brother-team in the Liiga. The team continued to be held to bronze or lower finishes, making it to five bronze medal series in six years and winning four of them (1993, 1994, 1997, 1998).
=== The Golden Age: Espoo Blues, 1998–2016 ===
The team was renamed Espoo Blues in 1998, continuing the trend of sharing the name of its brother-team in the Liiga, which also renamed Espoo Blues in that year. The name change unwittingly marked the beginning of a "golden age" for the team. Starting with their first SM-sarja gold medal in 1999, after achieving victory over JYP in the finals, they went on to win a staggering seven consecutive championships (1999–2005) and a total of thirteen championships in eighteen years. The Blues were kept off the SM-sarja medal podium only three times in the 1998–2016 span; in addition to their championship titles, they earned the team's first silver medal in 2009 and two more bronze medals in 2006 and 2016.
The Espoo Blues were also strong competitors at international tournaments in this period, earning medals at six IIHF European Women's Champions Cups: three silver medals (2005, 2007-08, 2009-10) and three bronze medals (2008-09, 2013–14, 2014–15).
=== Espoo United, 2016–17 ===
In March 2016 Jääkiekko Espoo Oy, the parent club of both the Espoo Blues of the Naisten Liiga and Espoo Blues of the Liiga, declared bankruptcy with estimated liabilities of approximately €3 million. In response, Jussi Salonoja, a Finnish millionaire and film director who had previously owned the Espoo Blues franchise from 2002–2012, created a new club and organization called Espoo United Oy, stating that he was "committed to supporting hockey in Espoo." The Espoo Blues men's and women's basketball and ice hockey teams would play for Espoo United.
For the 2016–17 season the Espoo United women's ice hockey team played in the Naisten SM-sarja and won silver in the 2017 Finnish Championship. The Espoo United men's team played in the Mestis, the league below the premier-level Liiga, where they won bronze in the playoffs.
On 15 August 2017 Salonoja announced that the Espoo United was abandoning its women's ice hockey and basketball teams for financial reasons. “The reason is twofold: the men's teams' budgets are far greater than those of women's teams, so their running is more demanding, but on the other hand, [the men's teams] are more interesting to sponsors and audiences,” Salonoja said.
The future of women's ice hockey team was left uncertain and many possible solutions were proposed, including being acquired by HIFK or merging with Espoo Blues Juniorit (a junior club with strong ties to the franchise).
=== Espoo Blues part 2, 2017–2019 ===
In September 2017 the Finnish Ice Hockey Association announced that it had supported the creation of an independent association, Ysikoppi ry, to oversee the team and had given its approval for the team to compete in the upcoming 2017–18 season under the name Espoo Blues.
== Players and personnel ==
=== 2020–21 roster ===
=== 2020–21 coaching staff ===
* Head Coach: Sami Haapanen
* Assistant Coach: Timo Löppönen
* Goaltending Coach: Risto Jaakkola
* Conditioning Coach: Viola Kaukonen
* Team Manager: Jarkko Malm
* Equipment Manager: Marko Ahlroth & Harri Lehtonen
=== Team captaincy history ===
* Katri-Helena Luomajoki, 1997–98
* Essi Sievers, 2007–2009
* Emma Laaksonen Terho, 2009–2011
* Essi Sievers, 2011–12
* Emma Laaksonen Terho, 2012–2014
* Minttu Tuominen, 2014–2016
* Linda Välimäki Leppänen, 2016–17
* Minttu Tuominen, 2017–2020
* Annina Rajahuhta, 2020–present
=== Head coaches ===
* Jari Kalho, 2000–01
* Hannu Saintula, 2001–02
* Jari Peltonen, 2002–2006
* Sami Haapanen, 2008–2011
* Kai Jansson, 2012–13
* Sami Haapanen, 2013–present
== Team honours ==
=== Finnish Championship ===
* Finnish Champions (14): 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2019
**Aurora Borealis Cup (4): 2013, 2014, 2015, 2019
* Runners-up (2): 2010, 2017
* Third Place (8): 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1997, 1998, 2006, 2016
Note:</small>
===IIHF European Women's Champions Cup===
* Silver (3): 2005, 2007–08, 2009–10
* Bronze (3): 2008–09, 2013–14, 2014–15
== Season-by-season results ==
This is a partial list of the last five seasons completed by the franchise. The team was called the “Espoo Blues” during the 2015–16, 2017–18, and 2018–19 seasons; “Espoo United” in the 2016–17 season, and “Kiekko-Espoo” in the 2019–20 season. 
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 (0 points); GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points
Season 	League 	Regular season	Regular season	Regular season	Regular season	Regular season	Regular season	Regular season	Regular season	Regular season	Post season results 	Top scorer (regular season)
Season 	League 	Finish 	GP 	W 	OTW 	OTL 	L 	GF 	GA 	Pts 	Post season results 	Top scorer (regular season)
2015–16	SM-sarja	2nd 	28 	19 	3 	1 	5 	162 	67 	64 	Won bronze medal, 1-0 (Kärpät) 	L. Välimäki 70 (31+39)
2016–17	SM-sarja	2nd 	28 	17 	3 	1 	7 	109 	68 	58 	Lost final, 2–3 (Kärpät) 	L. Välimäki 60 (29+31)
2017–18	Liiga 	3rd 	30 	16 	2 	4 	8 	125 	74 	56 	4th: Lost bronze medal, 0-1 (Team Kuortane) 	E. Rakkolainen 27 (16+11)
2018–19	Liiga 	1st 	30 	23 	1 	0 	6 	164 	58 	71 	Won Championship, 3-0 (Ilves) 	A. Rajahuhta 66 (36+30)
2019–20	Liiga 	1st 	30 	20 	3 	2 	5 	145 	60 	68 	Won semi-final, 3–0 (Team Kuortane);Finals cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic	E. Rakkolainen 42 (13+29)
Source(s): Finnish Ice Hockey Association
== Franchise records and leaders ==
===Single-season records===
*Most goals in a season: Karoliina Rantamäki, 39 goals (24 games; 2002–03)
*Most assists in a season: Minttu Tuominen, 50 assists (30 games; 2018–19)
*Most points in a season: Michelle Karvinen, 81 points (22 games; 2008–09)
*Most points in a season, defenceman: Minttu Tuominen, 62 points (30 games; 2018–19)
*Most penalty minutes in a season: Tea Villilä, 76 PIM (16 games; 2008–09)
*Best save percentage in a season, over ten games played: Noora Räty, .954 SVS% (19 games; 2006–07) / Isabella Portnoj, .954 SVS% (19 games; 2013–14)
*Best goals against average in a season, over ten games played: Noora Räty, 1.21 GAA (19 games; 2006–07)
=== Career records ===
*Most career goals: Karoliina Rantamäki, 355 goals (338 games; 1992–2007)
*Most career assists: Petra Vaarakallio, 351 assists (286 games; 1992–1994, 1995–2006)
*Most career points: Karoliina Rantamäki, 639 points (338 games; 1992–2007)
*Best career points per game, over 30 games played: Michelle Karvinen, 3.667 points per game (39 games; 2007–2009)
*Most career points, defenceman: Minttu Tuominen, 313 points (208 games; 2006–2009, 2013–2016, 2017–2020)
*Most career penalty minutes: Tea Villilä, 317 penalty minutes (142 games; 2008–2010, 2016–present)
===All-time scoring leaders===
The top-ten point-scorers in franchise history.
Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; P/G = Points per game; = current Kiekko-Espoo player; Bold indicates franchise record
Points
Player 	Pos	GP 	G 	A 	Pts	P/G
 	F 	338	355	284	639	1.891
align="left" 	F 	286	280	351	631	2.206
align="left" bgcolor="#FFEC8B"	W 	206	176	219	395	1.917
 	C 	151	174	186	360	2.384
 	D 	208	108	205	313	1.505
 	F 	223	119	143	262	1.175
 	F 	195	101	138	239	1.226
 	D 	262	54 	173	227	0.866
 	W 	241	110	104	214	0.888
 	D 	250	71 	117	188	0.752
Source(s): Elite Prospects
== Notable alumni ==
Years active with Kiekko-Espoo listed alongside players' names.
* Susanne Ceder, 1998–2000
* Minna Dunder, 1993–94
* Moeko Fujimoto, 2014–15
* Nikola Gápová, 2015–2018
* Päivi Halonen Virta, 1997–2006
* Fengling Jin, 2005–06
* Liisa Karikoski, 1990–1994
* Michelle Karvinen, 2007–2009
* Miia Kataja, 1994–2006
* Emma Laaksonen Terho, 1996–2000, 2004–2007 & 2008–2015
* Katri-Helena Luomajoki, 1990–1994 & 1995–2002 
* Marianne Mattila, 1996–1998
* Oona Parviainen, 1999–2010
* Karoliina Rantamäki, 1992–2007
* Danielle Rozon, 2017–18
* Noora Räty, 2005–2009
* Maria Selin Saarni, 1994–2000
* Essi Sievers, 2002–2010 & 2011–2014
* Rui Sun, 2005–06
* Hanna Teerijoki, 1991–1994
* Minnamari “Minttu” Tuominen, 2006–2008, 2013–2016 & 2017–2020
* Petra Vaarakallio, 1992–2006
* Linda Välimäki Leppänen, 2010–2017
* Arina Zvezdina, 2011–12
== References ==
== External links ==
* Team information and statistics from Eliteprospects.com and Eurohockey.com and Hockeyarchives.info (in French)
Category:Women's ice hockey in Finland
Category:Ice hockey teams in Finland