Aurora Borealis Cup

The Aurora Borealis Cup (Finnish: Aurora Borealis -malja) is the trophy awarded by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association to the victorious team of the Naisten Liiga playoffs, the Finnish Champion in women's ice hockey.
==Project==
Christopher Shapardanov, Canadian Ambassador to Finland, first conceived of the Aurora Borealis Cup in September 2009, after a visit to the Finnish Ice Hockey Museum (Finnish: Suomen Jääkiekkomuseo) in Tampere and conversation with Jyrki Lumme and Kimmo Leinonen, chairman of the Finnish Ice Hockey Museum Association (Finnish: Suomen Jääkiekkomuseoyhdistys ry). The project was motivated my a desire to honor the quality of play in Naisten Liiga and as a symbol of support in the promotion of women's ice hockey.
The project was then commissioned through the fundraising efforts of the Finnish-Canadian community, with significant financial contributions from Osuuspankki. Several Canadian former players, including Sami Jo Small and Darren Boyko, contributed to fundraising efforts and other aspects of the project.
The design and manufacture was executed by Toronto-based Awardco. The completed Aurora Borealis Cup was presented by Ambassador Shapardanov and received by Kalervo Kummola, Chairman of the Finnish Ice Hockey Association, on 21 March 2011. An exact replica of the Aurora Borealis Cup was also given to the Suomen Jääkiekkomuseo, where it's on permanent display in a place of prominence opposite the original Kanada-malja.
===Design===
The design of the trophy pays homage to the natural and cultural similarities between Finland and Canada. Both Arctic nations are renowned for the ability to observe the Aurora Borealis, also called the Northern Lights, after which the cup is named. Likewise, the choice of materials celebrate the countries' natural affinity. The metal elements of the trophy are Canadian silver, the wood is maple, and a ring of labradorite circles the foot of the cup. The cup itself depicts the Northern Lights over a coniferous forest landscape. Text documenting the donation of the trophy is engraved in four languages on the upper tier of the base to highlight the official bilingualism of each country; the text appears in Finnish and Swedish, the official languages of Finland, and in English and French, the official languages of Canada. The lower tiers of the base feature 60 metal plates, originally intended to be engraved with the names of the champion teams until the plates were filled in 2070.
==Championship history==
Prior to the introduction of the Aurora Borealis Cup, the Naisten SM-sarja champion received the Sammon -malja.[6] The Sammon -malja was first awarded in 1983 at the conclusion of the inaugural Naisten SM-sarja season to Helsingin Jääkiekkoklubi (HJK) and it was used continuously through the 2009–10 season. The trophy was retired in the spring of 2011 and is now on display at the Suomen Jääkiekkomuseo.
As champions of the 2011 Naisten SM-sarja playoffs, HPK Hämeenlinna were the first team to receive the Aurora Borealis Cup. 
Season 	{{Gold1} Champion 	Runner-up 	Third Place
Sammon -malja 	Sammon -malja 	Sammon -malja 	Sammon -malja
1983 	HJK Helsinki 	Ilves Tampere 	EVU Vantaa
1984 	HJK Helsinki 	EVU Vantaa 	Ilves Tampere
1985 	Ilves Tampere 	EVU Vantaa 	HJK Helsinki
1986 	Ilves Tampere 	HJK Helsinki 	Vaasan Sport
1987 	Ilves Tampere 	EVU Vantaa 	Shakers Kerava
1988 	Ilves Tampere 	EVU Vantaa 	HIFK Helsinki
1989 	EVU Vantaa 	Ilves Tampere 	HIFK Helsinki
1990 	Ilves Tampere 	EVU Vantaa 	SaiPa Lappeenranta
1991 	Ilves Tampere 	Shakers Kerava 	EKS Espoo
1992 	Ilves Tampere 	Shakers Kerava 	EKS Espoo
1993 	Ilves Tampere 	Shakers Kerava 	Kiekko-Espoo
1994 	Shakers Kerava 	Ilves Tampere 	Kiekko-Espoo
1995 	Shakers Kerava 	Ilves Tampere 	KalPa Kuopio
1996 	Shakers Kerava 	Oulun Kärpät 	KalPa Kuopio
1997 	JyP HT Jyväskylä 	Shakers Kerava 	Kiekko-Espoo
1998 	JYP Jyväskylä 	Oulun Kärpät 	Kiekko-Espoo
1999 	Espoo Blues 	JYP Jyväskylä 	Ilves Tampere
2000 	Espoo Blues 	Oulun Kärpät 	Ilves Tampere
2001 	Espoo Blues 	Oulun Kärpät 	Ilves Tampere
2002 	Espoo Blues 	IHK Helsinki 	Oulun Kärpät
2003 	Espoo Blues 	Oulun Kärpät 	Ilves Tampere
2004 	Espoo Blues 	Ilves Tampere 	Oulun Kärpät
2005 	Espoo Blues 	Ilves Tampere 	Oulun Kärpät
2006 	Ilves Tampere 	Oulun Kärpät 	Espoo Blues
2007 	Espoo Blues 	Oulun Kärpät 	IHK Helsinki
2008 	Espoo Blues 	Ilves Tampere 	Oulun Kärpät
2009 	Espoo Blues 	Ilves Tampere 	HPK Hämeenlinna
2010 	Ilves Tampere 	Espoo Blues 	HPK Hämeenlinna
Aurora Borealis Cup	Aurora Borealis Cup 	Aurora Borealis Cup 	Aurora Borealis Cup
2011 	HPK Hämeenlinna 	Ilves Tampere 	Oulun Kärpät
2012 	Oulun Kärpät 	Ilves Tampere 	HPK Hämeenlinna
2013 	Espoo Blues 	JYP Jyväskylä 	Oulun Kärpät
2014 	Espoo Blues 	JYP Jyväskylä 	HPK Hämeenlinna
2015 	Espoo Blues 	JYP Jyväskylä 	Ilves Tampere
2016 	JYP Jyväskylä 	HPK Hämeenlinna 	Espoo Blues
2017 	Oulun Kärpät 	Espoo United 	KalPa Kuopio
2018 	Oulun Kärpät 	Ilves Tampere 	Team Kuortane
2019 	Espoo Blues 	Ilves Tampere 	Oulun Kärpät
2020 	Post-season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic.	Post-season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic.	Post-season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic.
2021 	Kiekko-Espoo 	KalPa Kuopio 	HIFK Helsinki
2022 	Kiekko-Espoo 	HIFK Helsinki 	Oulun Kärpät
2023 	HIFK Helsinki 	Kiekko-Espoo 	KalPa Kuopio
2024 	HIFK Helsinki 	Kiekko-Espoo 	KalPa Kuopio
Category:Ice hockey trophies and awards