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 | |
|---|---|
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| City | Lappeenranta, Finland |
| League | Liiga |
| Founded | 1948 |
| Home arena | Kisapuisto (capacity: 4,820) |
| Colours | Yellow, black |
| General manager | Jussi Markkanen |
| Head coach | Raimo Helminen |
| Captain | Jarno Koskiranta |
| Affiliate | Imatran Ketterä (Mestis) |
| Website | saipa |
 | |
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
editThe 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
editDomestic
edit
3rd place (1): 1965–66
Pre-season
edit
Runners-up (3): 1958, 1965, 1971
Players
editCurrent roster
editAs of March 10, 2022.[1]
Retired numbers
edit| No. | Player | Position | Career |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Lalli Partinen | D | 1959–1969 |
| 8 | Ville Koho | C | 2001–2020 |
| 9 | Petri Skriko | LW | 1979–1984 |
| 20 | Heikki Mälkiä | C | 1975–1986 1988–1992 |
NHL alumni
edit
References
edit- ^ "Team Roster / SaiPa". eliteprospects.com. 10 March 2022. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
External links
edit- SaiPa official website (in Finnish)
- SaiPa Fan Club (in Finnish)
- Idän Ihme fan site (in Finnish)
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