Naisten Mestis


Naisten Mestis is the second-highest league in Finnish women’s ice hockey. The league was founded as Naisten I-divisioona in 1985 by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association when the number of teams playing in the Naisten SM-sarja was limited. It was renamed Naisten Mestis prior to the 2012-13 season.

Series format

The Mestis season format has changed many times since the founding of the league in 1985. The current format was introduced for the 2019–20 season.
Qualifiers
With the exception of the Naisten SM-liiga teams, all club representative teams start the season in the Mestis Qualifiers. Each team is grouped into a division of five to eight teams; the number of divisions is determined by the total number of teams competing and each division is loosely defined by geographic location, with proximate teams being grouped. Each team plays a total of fifteen or sixteen matches within their division. The points earned in the games determine the team’s ranking within their division; victories earn three points, overtime victories earn two points, and overtime losses earn one point. Teams that rank forth or lower in each division at the end of the qualifiers do not qualify to play in the Mestis and continue the season in the Naisten Suomi-sarja. The qualifying round runs from the beginning of the season in September to late November or early December.
Cross qualifiers
The team with the highest point total from each division of the qualifiers moves on the cross qualifying round. If there are an odd number of divisions, the team with the highest point total of all remaining teams also moves on. The cross qualifiers are a round-robin tournament, each team faces all other participating teams once. The two teams earning the highest point totals at the end of the tournament continue their seasons in the Lower Division of the Naisten Liiga and have the opportunity to gain promotion to the Naisten Liiga for the following season. The teams ranked third and lower in the cross qualifiers continue the season in the Naisten Mestis regular season. The cross qualifying round is played in late November and/or early December.
Regular season
The teams ranked third and lower in the cross qualifiers and the teams that finished second or third in each division of the qualifiers fill the ranks of the Mestis regular season. If the number of divisions is odd, the third ranked team from the qualifiers with smallest point total does not qualify and moves to the Naisten Suomi-sarja so that an even number of teams is maintained in the Mestis. Each team in the regular season plays an equal number of games against each of the other teams. The regular season runs from January to March.

Teams participating in the 2019–2020 season

Qualifiers

Division 1
  1. APV, Alavus
  2. HIFK Ak, Helsinki
  3. KJT Haukat, Kerava
  4. K-Espoo Akatemia, Espoo
  5. Salo HT, Salo
  6. UJK, Uusikaupunki
  7. PaRa, Eura
  8. Rockets, Loimaa
Division 2
  1. JYP, Jyväskylä
  2. SaiPa, Lappeenranta
  3. LL-89, Lapinlahti
  4. Jukurit, Mikkeli
  5. KalPa Akatemia, Kuopio
Division 3
  1. RoKi, Rovaniemi
  2. Kärpät Akatemia, Oulu
  3. YJK, Ylivieska
  4. Hermes, Kokkola
  5. TeKi, Raahe

    Regular season

TeamTeam full nameClub nameLocationHome venue
HIFK AkHIFK AkatemiaHIFK Ishockey rf HelsinkiHelsingin jäähalli
JYPJYP Jyväskylä NaisetJYP Juniorit ry JyväskyläJyväskylän harjoitusjäähalli
KJT HaukatKJT Haukat NaisetKJT Hockey ry KeravaKaravan jäähalli
Kärpät AkatemiaOulun Kärpät Naiset AkatemiaOulun Kärpät 46 ry OuluOulun Energia Areena
SaiPaSaiPa NaisetSaimaan Pallo ry LappeenrantaUK-areena
YJKYJK NaisetYlivieskan Jääkarhut ry YlivieskaKalajokilaakso Areena

Series champions

The manner in which the Mestis Championship is won has changed many times since the founding of the league in 1985. For example, it has been awarded to the most successful team in the regular season, the winner of Mestis playoffs, or to the team able to win promotion through the Naisten Liiga qualification/relegation series. The winner of the Naisten Mestis has not been historically guaranteed a place in the Naisten Liiga for the following season.