Noora Räty


Noora Helena Räty is a Finnish ice hockey goaltender who currently plays with the Shenzhen KRS Vanke Rays of the Women's Hockey League and with the Finnish national team. She is a Professional Women's Hockey Players Association Member of the Board.

Playing career

Räty was named Finland's best women's ice hockey player in 2007 and 2008 and best goalie in 2006 and 2007. She was awarded the Rookie of the Year in 2005–06. In national league action in Finland, she has played in over 55 games, 12 of which were shutouts. Throughout her national league career, Räty has held a 1.45 goals against average and a.950 save percentage. In playoff competition alone had eight shutouts in 22 games played with a 1.24 GAA. Räty also played competitively in high school and was named the Haukilahti High School best hockey player of the year 2006 and 2008.

Minnesota Golden Gophers

Räty was recruited by the University of Minnesota to play ice hockey with the Minnesota Golden Gophers, a member of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association of NCAA Division I. She began her collegiate career at the university in the autumn of 2009 with fellow Finland national team player Mira Jalosuo. Räty's first start in goal for the Gophers came in the team's second game of the 2009–10 season at home against Syracuse University. Through the WCHA conference tournament on 7 March 2010, Räty amassed a 17–3–4 record in 24 starts with 7 shutouts, a GAA of 1.24, and a save percentage of.951.
Räty won a number of WCHA conference awards during the 2009–10 season, being named WCHA Goaltending Champion, the goaltender of the All-WCHA First Team, and the goaltender of the All-WCHA Rookie Team. Räty was also named the WCHA Defensive Player of the Week four times and WCHA Rookie of the Week once.
In March 2010, Räty became only the second freshman to be a finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Award. She set a Golden Gophers club record for most assists in one season by a goaltender.
To start the 2010–11 season, Raty had a shutout in the first three games of the season. On 22 and 23 October 2010, she recorded back to back shutouts against the St. Cloud State Huskies. She held the Huskies scoreless as Minnesota swept the series by scores of 5–0 and 3–0, respectively. Raty played the full 120:00 minutes of the series. She accumulated 14 saves in the first game and 18 in the second for a 32-goal shutout.
Räty played on national championship teams in 2011–12 and 2012–13. The 2012–13 team finished 41–0–0, and the team won the last 49 games of Räty's career. Räty finished with both the career and single-season record for shutouts.

Kiekko-Vantaa

In March 2014, Yle reported that Räty had signed a contract for the 2014–15 season with Kiekko-Vantaa of the Mestis, the second level of Finnish men's hockey after the Liiga. She would become only the second woman to play in the Mestis, the first being Hayley Wickenheiser in 2003 with HC Salamat.
Räty was loaned to the Bewe TuusKi of the Suomi-sarja, the third level of Finnish men's hockey, for the beginning of the season. She played her first Mestis game for Kiekko-Vantaa on 22 October 2014, becoming the first Finnish woman to play in the league.

CWHL

Selected in the first round of the 2017 CWHL Draft by China's expansion Kunlun Red Star franchise, she emerged as a key contributor for a club that finished the 2017–18 CWHL season in second place. Räty's first win with the Red Star took place on 28 October 2017, a 4–3 overtime win versus the Calgary Inferno in which she recorded 39 saves. Coincidentally, Annina Rajahuhta, a teammate from the Finnish national team, recorded the game-winning goal in overtime. She would finish the season leading the league in goals against average and shutouts.
By season's end, Räty would emerge as the CWHL's regular season goaltending champion, leading the league in Goals Against Average. In addition, she would tie for the league in shutouts with goaltender Emerance Maschmeyer of Les Canadiennes, with 6. Of note, Räty would win the CWHL Goaltender of the Year Award, becoming the first European-born goaltender to capture the honor.
Räty was the starting goaltender for the Red Star in the 2018 Clarkson Cup finals, which were held in Toronto. Challenging the Markham Thunder, the contest went into overtime, where Laura Stacey scored with 2:11 left in the 4-on-4 overtime, as Markham prevailed by a 2–1 tally for its first-ever Cup win. Räty recorded 37 saves in the contest.

International play

Räty has been a member of the Finnish women's national team since the age of 15 and has recorded over 100 games in net for the team. At the age of 16, she participated with Team Finland in the women’s ice hockey tournament at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin.
During the 2008 World Championships, Räty recorded a 30-save shutout of Team USA for a 1–0 victory. She was named the Best Goalie of the Tournament by the Directorate in 2007 and in 2008, and earned the Most Valuable Player of the Tournament award in 2008. At the 2009 World Championships she maintained a 1.48 goals against average and a 3–1–0 record, backstopping Finland for their second-straight bronze medal.
She won a bronze medal at the 2010 Four Nations Cup in St. John's, Newfoundland.
Noora Raty would post a shutout in the gold medal of the 2017 Nations Cup against the Canadian Women's Development Team, which featured opposing goaltender Emerance Maschmeyer. Finland prevailed in a 1–0 final that saw Michelle Karvinen log the game-winning tally.

Personal life

Räty is one of the nine founding board members of the Professional Women's Hockey Players’ Association and the only one to hold non-North American citizenship. She has spoken about her hopes that the NHL will create a professional women's national hockey league in North America and her desire to play a part in the creation of such a league.
Räty and her partner, Karel Popper, became engaged in June 2019. Popper is a professional goaltending coach with MEGA Goaltending and the volunteer goaltending coach to the Minnesota Golden Gophers ice hockey teams. The couple reside in Minneapolis with their dog, Dino.

Career statistics

NCAA career

Minnesota

Olympic career

Torino 2006

Vancouver 2010

Games PlayedMinutesWinsLossesShutoutsGoals AgainstSaves Shots on GoalSave %Goals Against Average
5302:333201511412988.372.97

CWHL

YearTeamGPMINGASVSWLTGAASO
2017–18Kunlun Red Star2011593152016301.606

Awards and honors

[List of [IIHF Women's World Championship Directorate award winners|IIHF Women's World Championship Directorate awards]]