Aurora Borealis Cup

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Aurora Borealis Cup
Aurora Borealis Malja.jpg
SportIce hockey
CompetitionNaisten Liiga
Local nameAurora Borealis -malja  (Finnish)
NicknameTyttö "The Girl"
Presented byFinnish Ice Hockey Association
History
First winnerHPK Hämeenlinna
Most winsKiekko-Espoo (5)
Most recentKiekko-Espoo, 2020–21

The Aurora Borealis Cup (Finnish: Aurora Borealis -malja) is the trophy awarded to the women's ice hockey Finnish Champion, the victorious team of the Naisten Liiga playoffs. The Aurora Borealis Cup was created to honor the quality of play in Naisten Liiga and as a symbol of support in the promotion of women's ice hockey.[1]

Project[]

The trophy had its genesis in a moment of inspiration that struck Christopher Shapardanov, Canadian Ambassador to Finland, in September 2009, after a visit to the Suomen Jääkiekkomuseo (Finnish Ice Hockey Museum and Hockey Hall of Fame) in Tampere and conversation with Kimmo Leinonen, chairman of the Suomen Jääkiekkomuseoyhdistys ry:n (Finnish Ice Hockey Museum Association), and Jyrki Lumme.

The project was then commissioned through the fundraising efforts of the Finnish-Canadian community with significant financial contributions from Osuuspankki.[2] Several Canadian former players, including Sami Jo Small and Darren Boyko, contributed to fundraising efforts and other aspects of implementation 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.[3] An exact replica of the Aurora Borealis Cup was also given to the Suomen Jääkiekkomuseon, where it's on permanent display in a place of prominence opposite the original Kanada-malja.[4]

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.[5]

Championship history[]

Finnish Champions by season[]

Season Gold Champion Silver Runner-up Bronze Third Place
1982–83 Ilves Tampere
1983–84 HJK Helsinki EVU Vantaa Ilves Tampere
1984–85 Ilves Tampere EVU Vantaa HJK Helsinki
1985–86 Ilves Tampere HJK Helsinki Vaasan Sport
1986–87 Ilves Tampere EVU Vantaa
1987–88 Ilves Tampere EVU Vantaa HIFK Helsinki
1988–89 EVU Vantaa Ilves Tampere HIFK Helsinki
1989–90 Ilves Tampere EVU Vantaa
1990–91 Ilves Tampere Shakers Kerava [a]
1991–92 Ilves Tampere Shakers Kerava EKS Espoo[a]
1992–93 Ilves Tampere Shakers Kerava Kiekko-Espoo
1993–94 Shakers Kerava Ilves Tampere Kiekko-Espoo
1994–95 Shakers Kerava Ilves Tampere KalPa Kuopio
1995–96 Shakers Kerava Oulun Kärpät KalPa Kuopio
1996–97 JyP HT Jyväskylä[b] Shakers Kerava Kiekko-Espoo
1997–98 JYP Jyväskylä Oulun Kärpät Kiekko-Espoo
1998–99 Espoo Blues[a] JYP Jyväskylä Ilves Tampere
1999-2000 Espoo Blues[a] Oulun Kärpät Ilves Tampere
2000–01 Espoo Blues[a] Oulun Kärpät Ilves Tampere
2001–02 Espoo Blues[a] Oulun Kärpät
2002–03 Espoo Blues[a] Oulun Kärpät Ilves Tampere
2003–04 Espoo Blues[a] Ilves Tampere Oulun Kärpät
2004–05 Espoo Blues[a] Ilves Tampere Oulun Kärpät
2005–06 Ilves Tampere Oulun Kärpät Espoo Blues[a]
2006–07 Espoo Blues[a] Oulun Kärpät IHK Helsinki
2007–08 Espoo Blues[a] Ilves Tampere Oulun Kärpät
2008–09 Espoo Blues[a] Ilves Tampere HPK Hämeenlinna
2009–10 Ilves Tampere Espoo Blues[a] HPK Hämeenlinna
Introduction of the Aurora Borealis Cup
2010–11 HPK Hämeenlinna Ilves Tampere Oulun Kärpät
2011–12 Oulun Kärpät Ilves Tampere HPK Hämeenlinna
2012–13 Espoo Blues[a] JYP Jyväskylä Oulun Kärpät
2013–14 Espoo Blues[a] JYP Jyväskylä HPK Hämeenlinna
2014–15 Espoo Blues[a] JYP Jyväskylä Ilves Tampere
2015–16 JYP Jyväskylä HPK Hämeenlinna Espoo Blues[a]
2016–17 Oulun Kärpät Espoo United[a] KalPa Kuopio
2017–18 Oulun Kärpät Ilves Tampere Team Kuortane
2018–19 Espoo Blues[a] Ilves Tampere Oulun Kärpät
2019–20[c] Post-season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic.
2020–21 Kiekko-Espoo KalPa Kuopio HIFK Helsinki

Notes:

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Included in record of Kiekko-Espoo
  2. ^ Included in record of JYP
  3. ^ The 2019–20 Naisten Liiga post-season was cancelled by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association on 12 March 2020, citing public health concerns regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. The Aurora Borealis Cup Finnish Championship finals between Kiekko-Espoo and KalPa and the Finnish Championship Bronze Medal games between Team Kuortane and Kärpät were scheduled to begin on 14 March 2020. With the cancellation of the season, neither the Aurora Borealis Cup nor any Finnish Championship medals were awarded for the 2019–20 season.[6]

Sources: [7]

References[]

  1. ^ "Aurora Borealis Cup Community Page". Facebook. Retrieved 4 July 2019. The Aurora Borealis Cup is the hockey trophy awarded annually to the champions of the women's hockey championship series ("SM-sarja") in Finland. ¶ The cup was designed and commissioned in Canada through a fundraising effort among Finnish-Canadian and hockey-loving communities, and gifted to the Finnish Ice Hockey Association in March 2011. It was awarded for the first time during the playoffs of the 2010-11 championship season.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. ^ "Naisten SM-sarja saa oman "Kanada-maljan"". MTV Uutiset (in Finnish). 21 March 2011. Retrieved 11 November 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. ^ Finnish Ice Hockey Association, ed. (21 March 2011). "Tältä se näyttää - Aurora Borealis -malja julkistettiin!". leijonat.fi (in Finnish). Finnish Ice Hockey Association. Retrieved 4 July 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. ^ Mennander, Pasi (9 September 2011). "Aurora Borealis Cup lahjoitettiin Jääkiekkomuseoon". leijonat.fi (in Finnish). Finnish Ice Hockey Association. Retrieved 2 March 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  5. ^ Mennander, Pasi (3 December 2013). "15 faktaa Aurora Borealis -maljasta". leijonat.fi (in Finnish). Finnish Ice Hockey Association. Retrieved 4 July 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. ^ Mennander, Pasi (12 March 2020). "Koronavirus lopettaa Jääkiekkoliiton alaisten sarjojen kauden". leijonat.fi (in Finnish). Finnish Ice Hockey Association. Archived from the original on 24 March 2020. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
  7. ^ Salmela, Sari; Pelkonen, Johanna (2008). "SM-sarjan historiaa vuosilta 1982 - 2008" [History of the SM-sarja from 1982 to 2008]. leijonat.fi (in Finnish). Archived from the original on 6 September 2008. Retrieved 6 July 2019.

External links[]

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