SaiPa

Saimaan Pallo (SaiPa) is an ice hockey team in the Finnish Liiga. They play their home games at Kisapuisto in Lappeenranta, Finland. SaiPa has many nicknames, such as "The Sputniks", "Sputnik", "Miracle of the East" and "Eastern Giant."

SaiPa
CityLappeenranta, Finland
LeagueLiiga
Founded1948 (1948)
Home arenaKisapuisto
(capacity: 4,820)
ColoursYellow, black
   
General managerJussi Markkanen
Head coachVille Hämäläinen
CaptainJarno Koskiranta
AffiliateImatran Ketterä (Mestis)
Websitesaipa.fi

SaiPa play home games in the yellow shirt, black pants, yellow socks, and a black helmet. SaiPa play away games in mostly the same costumes as the home games, but also have a black version of the jersey.

History

The team's best achievement is from the 1965-1966 season, when they won bronze medals for placing third. SaiPa also played in a bronze medal game in the 1998–1999 and 2013–14 seasons, but lost the games to HPK (7–2) and Lukko (3–2).

SaiPa has participated twice in the Champions Hockey League. During the 2014-2015 season, the team survived the quarterfinals, where they lost the return match against Oulun Kärpät. During the 2016–17 season, SaiPa won their initial games by 11 points. Eisbären Berlin and Luleå HF were the runners-up.

SaiPa has produced seven players who have played in the National Hockey League (NHL): Antti Aalto, Jussi Markkanen, Petteri Nokelainen, Petri Skriko, Jussi Timonen, Vesa Viitakoski, and Niklas Bäckström. Jussi Markkanen is also a part owner of the club.

Honours

Domestic

SM-sarja

Pre-season

Finnish Cup

  • 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runners-up (3): 1958, 1965, 1971

Players

Current roster

As of March 10, 2022.[1]

No. Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace
60 Finland Jaakko Haarti D R 24 2022 Helsinki, Finland
2 Finland Miika Herrala F L 22 2021 Kotka, Finland
77 Finland Henri Hietala D L 22 2019 Hamina, Finland
57 Finland Otto Hokkanen C L 19 2021 Lappeenranta, Finland
4 Finland Joona Huttula D L 26 2021 Tampere, Finland
63 Finland Mikko Juusola LW L 25 2021 Kuusamo, Finland
11 Finland Roni Karvinen F L 21 2020 Vantaa, Finland
59 Finland Niko Kautiainen F R 22 2020 Helsinki, Finland
40 Finland Jarno Koskiranta (C) C L 36 2020 Paimio, Finland
21 Finland Elmeri Laakso D L 19 2021 Joensuu, Finland
90 Finland Valtteri Lipiäinen RW R 26 2021 Lappeenranta, Finland
29 Finland Veikko Loimaranta C L 22 2019 Vantaa, Finland
18 Finland Kalle Maalahti (A) D L 32 2021 Lappeenranta, Finland
25 Finland Tino Metsävainio LW L 27 2021 Haukipudas, Finland
74 Russia Sergei Monakhov LW L 32 2021 St. Petersburg, Russia
70 Finland Janne Naukkarinen C L 19 2021 Lappeenranta, Finland
39 Finland Valtteri Ojantakanen LW R 23 2019 Helsinki, Finland
6 Finland Joel Olkkonen D R 30 2019 Hyvinkää, Finland
23 Finland Ville Petman C L 23 2020 Lappeenranta, Finland
31 Canada Cody Porter G L 26 2022 North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
38 Finland Simo-Pekka Riikola D R 31 2019 Joensuu, Finland
61 Finland Hugo Rikkilä D L 22 2019 Espoo, Finland
86 Finland Aapo Sarell D L 20 2020 Lappeenranta, Finland
82 Finland Aleksi Sinkkonen F L 21 2021 Imatra, Finland
80 Finland Ville Vainikainen RW L 29 2019 Kuopio, Finland
34 Finland Nuutti Viitasalo D R 24 2021 Raisio, Finland
53 Finland Niclas Westerholm G L 26 2017 Helsinki, Finland
50th anniversary of SaiPa's 1965-1966 bronze medal team
Ville Hämäläinen in 2012

Retired numbers
SaiPa retired numbers
No. Player Position Career
3Lalli PartinenD1959–1969
8Ville KohoC2001–2020
9Petri SkrikoLW1979–1984
20Heikki MälkiäC1975–1986
1988–1992

NHL alumni

References
  1. "Team Roster / SaiPa". eliteprospects.com. 10 March 2022. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
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