The 2024–25 Liiga season was the 50th season of the Liiga , the top level of Finnish ice hockey since 1975.
The Liiga expanded to 16 teams for the season with the addition of Kiekko-Espoo . The league also brought back the relegation to the Mestis and a reformed playoff system and new divisions that decide the number of games teams play against each other.[ 1] [ 2]
The regular season started in September 2024. Due to the addition of Kiekko-Espoo, the previous amount of 450 matches was increased to 480 matches total in the regular season. Each team played 60 matches, and all teams were divided into four groups.[ 1] [ 2]
As usual, the series was on break in November for a week and a half while the national teams played in the Euro Hockey Tour . The Christmas break lasted 5–7 days, depending on the team, with the exception of Kärpät , which participated on the 26th–31 December in the Spengler Cup in Switzerland .[ 3] For other teams, the Christmas break ended on Saint Stephen's day , 26 December. Other one week break was in February 2025. The regular season ended in mid-March 2025.
Two outdoor games were played in Pori between the rivals Porin Ässät and Rauman Lukko in January 2025. The games went by the name Satakunnan Talviklassikko or The Satakunta Winter Classic . The games were counted as normal regular season games. They were played in the Amiko-areena, which is normally used by the bandy club Narukerä . Temporary stands with a capacity of 9,000 spectators were built for the two games.[ 4] [ 5] [ 6]
Teams
Location of teams in 2024–25 SM-liiga
Team
City
Head coach
Arena
Capacity
Captain
HIFK
Helsinki
Ville Peltonen
Helsingin jäähalli
8,200
Ilari Melart
HPK
Hämeenlinna
Matias Lehtonen 23 Sep 2024 [ 7] Mikko Manner
Pohjantähti Areena
5,360
Petteri Nikkilä
Ilves
Tampere
Tommi Niemelä
Nokia Arena
12,700
Niklas Friman
Jukurit
Mikkeli
Marko Tuomainen 14 Jan 2025 [ 8] Jonne Virtanen
Ikioma Areena
4,200
Jesper Piitulainen
JYP
Jyväskylä
Johan Pennerborn
LähiTapiola Areena
4,437
Teemu Eronen
KalPa
Kuopio
Petri Karjalainen
Olvi Areena
5,300
Tuomas Kiiskinen
Kiekko-Espoo
Espoo
Jyrki Aho
Espoo Metro Areena
6,982
Ville Lajunen
KooKoo
Kouvola
Jouko Myrrä
Lumon Areena
5,950
Otto Paajanen
Kärpät
Oulu
Ville Mäntymaa 3 Mar 2025 [ 9] Petri Matikainen
Oulun Energia Areena
6,300
Marko Anttila
Lukko
Rauma
Tomi Lämsä
Kivikylän Areena
4,500
Sebastian Repo
Pelicans
Lahti
Juhamatti Yli-Junnila 20 Jan 2025 [ 10] Sami Kapanen [ 11]
Isku Areena
4,403
Miika Roine
SaiPa
Lappeenranta
Raimo Helminen
Lappeenrannan jäähalli
4,820
Ville Petman
Sport
Vaasa
Juuso Hahl
Vaasan Sähkö Areena
5,185
Sebastian Stålberg
Tappara
Tampere
Rikard Grönborg
Nokia Arena
12,700
Otto Rauhala
TPS
Turku
Tommi Miettinen
Gatorade Center
10,500
Casimir Jürgens
Ässät
Pori
Jarno Pikkarainen
Enersense Areena
6,150
Jan-Mikael Järvinen
Regular season standings
Satakunta WInter Classic 2025
Top four advance straight to the quarter-finals, while teams between 5th and 12th positions play a wild card round for the final four spots. The 15th and 16th placed teams play against each other to decide which team will play against the Mestis champion for a spot in the SM-liiga.[ a] The top two teams of the regular season qualified for the Champions Hockey League and the 3rd team to the Spengler Cup .
Pos
Team
Pld
W
OTW
OTL
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
Final Result
1
Lukko
60
32
6
4
18
202
147
+55
112
Advance to Quarterfinals
2
Ilves
60
32
4
7
17
176
145
+31
111
3
KalPa
60
29
7
6
18
196
149
+47
107
4
HIFK
60
27
9
8
16
173
165
+8
107
5
SaiPa
60
30
6
4
20
178
170
+8
106
Advance to Wild-card round
6
KooKoo
60
23
13
4
20
206
169
+37
99
7
Ässät
60
26
4
9
21
160
159
+1
95
8
Kiekko-Espoo
60
20
10
11
19
160
171
−11
91
9
Tappara
60
24
6
6
24
178
168
+10
90
10
HPK
60
21
5
10
24
154
178
−24
83
11
Sport
60
17
9
14
20
172
177
−5
83
12
TPS
60
18
9
7
26
173
190
−17
79
13
Kärpät
60
19
7
6
28
172
193
−21
77
14
JYP
60
19
6
7
28
167
197
−30
76
15
Pelicans
60
20
4
7
29
171
179
−8
75
Advance to Playout round
16
Jukurit
60
12
6
1
41
134
215
−81
49
Broadcast rights
For the 2023–2024 season, Telia had transferred the television rights of the SM-liiga to MTV , which it owns. Telia had acquired the broadcast rights starting from the 2018–2019 season , and with the new agreement MTV has the rights until the end of the 2026–2027 season. MTV pays more than 90 million euros for television rights over four seasons, and the company has admitted that the operation is loss-making.[ 12] The broadcasts are produced by MTV and during the season games can be seen live from C More , Discovery+ , DNA , Elisa Viihde , MTV and Telia.[ 13]
Playoffs
Playoff bracket
First round
(5) SaiPa vs. (12) TPS
18 March
SaiPa
1–2
TPS
Lappeenrannan jäähalli
Recap
Janne Naukkarinen (1) – 12:03
First period
3:56 – Otto Salin (1; PPG )
No scoring
Second period
18:38 – Otto Salin (2)
No scoring
Third period
No scoring
Kari Piiroinen (11 shots / 9 saves)
Goalie stats
Noa Vali (38 shots / 37 saves)
21 March
SaiPa
3–0
TPS
Lappeenrannan jäähalli
Recap
First period
No scoring
No scoring
Second period
No scoring
Mark Pysyk (2, ENG ) – 17:44
Third period
No scoring
Kari Piiroinen (29 shots / 29 saves)
Goalie stats
Noa Vali (25 shots / 23 saves)
22 March
TPS
1–2
SaiPa
Gatorade Center
Recap
No scoring
First period
No scoring
Aarne Talvitie (1) – 17:02
Second period
No scoring
Third period
No scoring
Noa Vali (21 shots / 19 saves)
Goalie stats
Kari Piiroinen (23 shots / 22 saves)
24 March
SaiPa
3–2
OT
TPS
Lappeenrannan jäähalli
Recap
Juuso Heikkilä (1) – 2:57
First period
3:50 – Viljami Marjala (1)
Mikko Petman (2) – 7:36
Second period
12:52 – Viljami Marjala (2)
No scoring
Third period
No scoring
Ville Petman (2) – 13:39
First overtime period
No scoring
Kari Piiroinen (15 shots / 13 saves)
Goalie stats
Noa Vali (35 shots / 32 saves)
(6) KooKoo vs. (11) Sport
18 March
KooKoo
1–3
Sport
Lumon Areena
Recap
No scoring
First period
No scoring
Jimi Suomi (1) – 5:38
Second period
No scoring
Third period
3:00 – Cole Fonstad (1)
Antoine Bibeau (19 shots / 16 saves)
Goalie stats
Masi Härkönen (22 shots / 21 saves)
21 March
KooKoo
1–2
Sport
Lumon Areena
Recap
Seth Barton (1) – 0:50
First period
No scoring
No scoring
Second period
6:10 – Lari Heikkinen (1)
No scoring
Third period
6:38 – Cole Fonstad (2)
Eetu Randelin (14 shots / 12 saves)
Goalie stats
Masi Härkönen (27 shots / 26 saves)
(7) Ässät vs. (10) HPK
19 March
HPK
1–2
OT
Ässät
Pohjantähti Areena
Recap
Eetu Tuulola (1; PPG ) – 17:59
First period
No scoring
No scoring
Second period
No scoring
No scoring
Third period
9:23 – Dylan Fabre (1; PPG )
No scoring
First overtime period
1:05 – Kasperi Ojantakanen (1)
Kim Saarinen (24 shots / 22 saves)
Goalie stats
Niklas Rubin (23 shots / 22 saves)
21 March
Ässät
5–1
HPK
Enersense Areena
Recap
Nestor Noiva (1) – 12:19
First period
No scoring
Second period
No scoring
Third period
14:51 – Sami Päivärinta (1)
Niklas Rubin (27 shots / 26 saves)
Goalie stats
Kim Saarinen (25 shots / 21 saves)
(8) Kiekko-Espoo vs. (9) Tappara
18 March
Kiekko-Espoo
1–0
Tappara
Espoo Metro Areena
Recap
Arttu Tuomaala (1) – 8:38
First period
No scoring
No scoring
Second period
No scoring
No scoring
Third period
No scoring
Petteri Rimpinen (31 shots / 31 saves)
Goalie stats
Filip Lindberg (18 shots / 17 saves)
19 March
Tappara
6–1
Kiekko-Espoo
Nokia Arena
Recap
Mario Kempe (1) – 10:55
First period
No scoring
Benjamin Rautiainen (1; PPG ) – 1:49 Petteri Puhakka (1) – 3:09 Mario Kempe (2; PPG) – 9:00
Second period
No scoring
Third period
13:33 – Aleksi Laakso (1)
Filip Lindberg (25 shots / 24 saves)
Goalie stats
Petteri Rimpinen (28 shots / 23 saves) Sami Rajaniemi (4 shots / 3 saves)
21 March
Kiekko-Espoo
5–2
Tappara
Espoo Metro Areena
Recap
First period
No scoring
No scoring
Second period
Third period
No scoring
Petteri Rimpinen (35 shots / 33 saves)
Goalie stats
Filip Lindberg (12 shots / 8 saves)
Quarter-finals
(1) Lukko vs. (11) Sport
31 March
Lukko
5–1
Sport
Kivikylän Areena
Recap
First period
18:26 – Linus Andersson (2)
Antoine Morand (2) – 17:05
Second period
No scoring
Third period
No scoring
John Lethermon (18 shots / 17 saves)
Goalie stats
Masi Härkönen (21 shots / 16 saves)
(2) Ilves vs. (9) Tappara
26 March
Ilves
4–0
Tappara
Nokia Arena
Recap
No scoring
First period
No scoring
Second period
No scoring
No scoring
Third period
No scoring
Dominik Pavlát (27 shots / 27 saves)
Goalie stats
28 March
Tappara
1–2
Ilves
Nokia Arena
Recap
No scoring
First period
No scoring
No scoring
Second period
16:01 – Samu Bau (1)
Veli-Matti Savinainen (1; PPG ) – 15:36
Third period
17:23 – Adam Najman (1)
Juha Metsola (25 shots / 23 saves)
Goalie stats
Dominik Pavlát (26 shots / 25 saves)
31 March
Ilves
3–2
Tappara
Nokia Arena
Recap
Jarkko Parikka (1) – 9:21
First period
No scoring
John Nyberg (1) – 4:03
Second period
8:12 – Olli Juolevi (1)
Lukas Svejkovsky (2) – 1:44
Third period
16:22 – Aapeli Räsänen (1; PPG ; ENG )
Dominik Pavlát (24 shots / 22 saves)
Goalie stats
Filip Lindberg (20 shots / 17 saves)
2 April
Tappara
1–6
Ilves
Nokia Arena
Recap
No scoring
First period
No scoring
Julius Mattila (3; PPG ) – 5:40
Second period
No scoring
Third period
7:01 – Samuli Ratinen (1) 8:59 – Matias Mäntykivi (1; PPG) 10:21 – Samuli Ratinen (2) 11:26 – Samuli Ratinen (3; PPG)
Goalie stats
Dominik Pavlát (25 shots / 24 saves)
(3) KalPa vs. (7) Ässät
9 April
KalPa
3–2
Ässät
Olvi Areena
Recap
Konsta Kapanen (1) – 5:55
First period
No scoring
Benjamin Korhonen (1) – 13:05 Juuso Mäenpää (3) – 14:34
Second period
No scoring
No scoring
Third period
Stefanos Lekkas (23 shots / 21 saves)
Goalie stats
Niklas Rubin (28 shots / 25 saves)
(4) HIFK vs. (5) SaiPa
If the series had gone past game 4, the order of games 5 and 6 where switched due to ISU World Synchronized Skating Championships being held in Helsingin jäähalli on 4 and 5 April.[ 14]
29 March
HIFK
0–2
SaiPa
Helsingin jäähalli
Recap
No scoring
First period
1:20 – Mikko Petman (3) 3:28 – Roni Karvinen (1; PPG )
No scoring
Second period
No scoring
No scoring
Third period
No scoring
Niko Hovinen (18 shots / 16 saves)
Goalie stats
Kari Piiroinen (22 shots / 22 saves)
2 April
SaiPa
6–2
HIFK
Lappeenrannan jäähalli
Recap
No scoring
First period
2:34 – Micke-Max Åsten (1)
Roni Karvinen (2; PPG ) – 1:38 Mikko Petman (4) – 11:05 Ville Petman (3; PPG) – 11:44Eero Klintrup (2; SHG ) – 16:01
Second period
18:05 – Vincent Marleau (1)
Third period
No scoring
Kari Piiroinen (28 shots / 26 saves)
Goalie stats
Niko Hovinen (24 shots / 19 saves)
Semi-finals
(1) Lukko vs. (5) SaiPa
11 April
Lukko
1–2
SaiPa
Kivikylän Areena
Recap
No scoring
First period
5:35 – Juuso Heikkilä (2)
No scoring
Second period
No scoring
Antti Saarela (1; PPG ) – 14:08
Third period
18:51 – Otto Kivenmäki (2)
John Lethermon (18 shots / 16 saves)
Goalie stats
Kari Piiroinen (28 shots / 27 saves)
12 April
SaiPa
3–5
Lukko
Lappeenrannan jäähalli
Recap
Mikko Petman (5) – 3:27
First period
Second period
3:34 – Antoine Morand (3)
No scoring
Third period
3:34 – Linus Nyman (1) 19:08 – Jami Krannila (2; ENG )
Kari Piiroinen (31 shots / 27 saves)
Goalie stats
Joni Ortio (24 shots / 21 saves)
14 April
Lukko
1–2
2OT
SaiPa
Kivikylän Areena
Recap
No scoring
First period
No scoring
No scoring
Second period
No scoring
Steven Jandric (4; PPG ) – 1:29
Third period
6:24 – Miro Tauslahti (1)
No scoring
Second overtime period
12:23 – Otto Kivenmäki (3)
Joni Ortio (33 shots / 31 saves)
Goalie stats
Kari Piiroinen (46 shots / 45 saves)
16 April
SaiPa
5–2
Lukko
Lappeenrannan jäähalli
Recap
Mikko Petman (6) – 3:58
First period
No scoring
Mikko Kousa (1) – 18:07
Second period
8:49 – Niklas Ylitalo (1)
Third period
5:05 – Pathrik Westerholm (1)
Kari Piiroinen (31 shots / 29 saves)
Goalie stats
John Lethermon (25 shots / 21 saves)
21 April
SaiPa
2–1
OT
Lukko
Lappeenrannan jäähalli
Recap
No scoring
First period
No scoring
Santeri Airola (3) – 9:08
Second period
18:15 – Henri Ikonen (6)
No scoring
Third period
No scoring
Santeri Airola (4) – 0:59
First overtime period
No scoring
Kari Piiroinen (28 shots / 27 saves)
Goalie stats
Joni Ortio (19 shots / 17 saves)
(2) Ilves vs. (3) KalPa
11 April
Ilves
2–3
KalPa
Nokia Arena
Recap
No scoring
First period
No scoring
Second period
16:15 – Jesper Mattila (1)
No scoring
Third period
Dominik Pavlát (26 shots / 23 saves)
Goalie stats
Stefanos Lekkas (28 shots / 26 saves)
12 April
KalPa
3–2
OT
Ilves
Olvi Areena
Recap
No scoring
First period
13:47 – Matias Mäntykivi (2)
Juuso Mäenpää (4) – 5:52 Jesper Mattila (2) – 16:59
Second period
8:08 – Carl Klingberg (2; PPG )
No scoring
Third period
No scoring
Aleksi Elorinne (2) – 9:05
First overtime period
No scoring
Juha Jatkola (32 shots / 30 saves)
Goalie stats
Dominik Pavlát (31 shots / 28 saves)
14 April
Ilves
3–0
KalPa
Nokia Arena
Recap
First period
No scoring
No scoring
Second period
No scoring
Juuso Könönen (1) – 5:14
Third period
No scoring
Dominik Pavlát (19 shots / 19 saves)
Goalie stats
Stefanos Lekkas (32 shots / 29 saves)
16 April
KalPa
1–0
Ilves
Olvi Areena
Recap
No scoring
First period
No scoring
No scoring
Second period
No scoring
Matyas Kantner (2) – 3:47
Third period
No scoring
Stefanos Lekkas (24 shots / 24 saves)
Goalie stats
Dominik Pavlát (12 shots / 11 saves)
21 April
KalPa
5–4
OT
Ilves
Olvi Areena
Recap
First period
1:47 – Toni Utunen (1)
Matyas Kantner (3) – 0:28 Patrick Curry (5; PPG ) – 8:34
Second period
3:58 – Joonas Nättinen (2)
No scoring
Third period
Juuso Mäenpää (5; PPG) – 10:57
First overtime period
No scoring
Stefanos Lekkas (32 shots / 28 saves)
Goalie stats
Dominik Pavlát (25 shots / 20 saves)
Bronze medal game
Finals
25 April
KalPa
2–6
SaiPa
Olvi Areena
Recap
No scoring
First period
No scoring
Lasse Lappalainen (2) – 9:37
Second period
Matyas Kantner (4; PPG ) – 12:32
Third period
2:21 – Juuso Heikkilä (6) 3:55 – Juuso Heikkilä (7; PPG) 13:10 – Ville Petman (4; DP ) 14:49 – Antti Kalapudas (6; ENG )
Stefanos Lekkas (30 shots / 25 saves)
Goalie stats
Kari Piiroinen (33 shots / 31 saves)
28 April
KalPa
8–1
SaiPa
Olvi Areena
Recap
First period
No scoring
Jesper Mattila (4) – 13:22
Second period
8:42 – Saku Salminen (1)
Third period
No scoring
Stefanos Lekkas (24 shots / 23 saves)
Goalie stats
30 April
SaiPa
0–2
KalPa
Lappeenrannan jäähalli
Recap
No scoring
First period
No scoring
No scoring
Second period
No scoring
Third period
No scoring
Kari Piiroinen (13 shots / 11 saves)
Goalie stats
Stefanos Lekkas (16 shots / 16 saves)
2 May
KalPa
2–4
SaiPa
Olvi Areena
Recap
Patrick Curry (7) – 5:51
First period
9:16 – Saku Salminen (2)
No scoring
Second period
15:09 – Roni Karvinen (3) 15:37 – Mikko Petman (7)
Andreas Okany (2) – 3:20
Third period
9:58 – Janne Naukkarinen (2)
Stefanos Lekkas (25 shots / 21 saves)
Goalie stats
Play Out and Relegation
The two bottom-placed teams from the regular season played a best-of-seven series, with the winner remaining in the Liiga and the loser having to face the winner of the Mestis in a relegation series. The higher-seeded team and in the relation series the team from Liiga held home advantage over the series, playing at home for the first and third games and games five and seven (if required) while the lower-seeded team was at home for games two, four and six (if required).[ 15]
Bracket
Play Out
22 March
Jukurit
2–1
OT
Pelicans
Ikioma Areena
Recap
Max Ellis (1; PPG ) – 9:37
First period
No scoring
No scoring
Second period
No scoring
No scoring
Third period
16:28 – Lars Bryggman (1; PPG)
Max Ellis (2) – 10:56
First overtime period
No scoring
Evan Buitenhuis (13 shots / 12 saves)
Goalie stats
Patrik Bartošák (29 shots / 27 saves)
25 March
Pelicans
3–8
Jukurit
Isku Areena
Recap
First period
2:32 – Topias Hynninen (1; PPG) 10:27 – Peter Abbandonato (1; 2PPG) 18:51 – Aleks Haatanen (1; PPG)
No scoring
Second period
4:28 – Peter Abbandonato (2; PPG) 5:44 – Peter Abbandonato (3; PPG) 6:47 – Topias Hynninen (2; PPG) 8:42 – Juuso Arola (1; 2PPG)
Miro Väänänen (1) – 15:39
Third period
13:30 – Max Ellis (3; 2PPG)
Goalie stats
Evan Buitenhuis (23 shots / 20 saves)
28 March
Jukurit
4–1
Pelicans
Ikioma Areena
Recap
Peter Abbandonato (4) – 7:20
First period
No scoring
Kim Johansson (1; PPG ) – 19:06
Second period
No scoring
Viljam Sandvik (1; SHG ) – 9:37 Bence Horváth (1; ENG ) – 19:42
Third period
11:48 – Joona Kumpula (1)
Evan Buitenhuis (19 shots / 18 saves)
Goalie stats
Patrik Bartošák (23 shots / 20 saves)
29 March
Pelicans
2–3
OT
Jukurit
Isku Areena
Recap
No scoring
First period
18:47 – Max Ellis (4)
No scoring
Second period
0:31 – Sakke Hämäläinen (1)
Third period
No scoring
No scoring
First overtime period
1:24 – Peter Abbandonato (5; PPG )
Patrik Bartošák (27 shots / 24 saves)
Goalie stats
Evan Buitenhuis (22 shots / 20 saves)
Relegation series
8 April
Pelicans
5–0
Jokerit
Isku Areena
Recap
First period
No scoring
Hampus Falk (1) – 3:25 Daniel Nieminen (1) – 11:20
Second period
No scoring
Ryan Lasch (1) – 15:00
Third period
No scoring
Patrik Bartošák (7 shots / 7 saves)
Goalie stats
Sisu Heikkeri (14 shots / 10 saves) Henri Risikko (8 shots / 7 saves)
10 April
Jokerit
4–3
2OT
Pelicans
Helsinki Ice Hall
Recap
First period
2:32 – Leevi Tukiainen (1; PS )
Jesse Liuksiala (2) – 3:49
Second period
No scoring
No scoring
Third period
17:01 – Elias Vilén (1; EA ; PPG ) 18:09 – Daniel Nieminen (2; EA)
Ville Vainikainen (1) – 10:50
Second overtime period
No scoring
Sisu Heikkeri (28 shots / 25 saves)
Goalie stats
Patrik Bartošák (22 shots / 18 saves)
12 April
Pelicans
2–0
Jokerit
Isku Areena
Recap
Daniel Nieminen (3) – 11:01
First period
No scoring
No scoring
Second period
No scoring
Leevi Tukiainen (2) – 0:15
Third period
No scoring
Patrik Bartošák (18 shots / 18 saves)
Goalie stats
Sisu Heikkeri (21 shots / 19 saves)
15 April
Jokerit
3–4
OT
Pelicans
Helsinki Ice Hall
Recap
Rony Ahonen (1) – 10:18
First period
16:54 – Joona Kumpula (2)
Second period
No scoring
Third period
No scoring
No scoring
First overtime period
2:54 – Miro Väänänen (1)
Sisu Heikkeri (29 shots / 25 saves)
Goalie stats
Patrik Bartošák (23 shots / 20 saves)
Final rankings
Notes
^ If a Mestis team wins the qualification round, it can still be denied promotion if the team doesn't match SM-liiga's qualification criteria
References
Seasons Current teams (2024–25) Former teams Trophies and awards Other