The Aurora Borealis Cup () is the trophy awarded by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association to the victorious team of the Auroraliiga playoffs, the Finnish Champion in women's ice hockey.
Project Christopher Shapardanov, Canadian Ambassador to Finland, first conceived of the Aurora Borealis Cup in September 2009, after a visit to the Finnish Ice Hockey Museum () in Tampere and conversation with Jyrki Lumme and Kimmo Leinonen, chairman of the Finnish Ice Hockey Museum Association (). The project was motivated by a desire to honor the quality of play in Auroraliiga and as a symbol of support in the promotion of women's ice hockey.
The project was then commissioned through the fundraising efforts of the Finnish-Canadian community, with significant financial contributions from Osuuspankki. Several Canadian former players, including Sami Jo Small and Darren Boyko, contributed to fundraising efforts and other aspects of the project.
The design and manufacture was executed by Toronto-based Awardco. The completed Aurora Borealis Cup was presented by Ambassador Shapardanov and received by Kalervo Kummola, Chairman of the Finnish Ice Hockey Association, on 21 March 2011. An exact replica of the Aurora Borealis Cup was also given to the , where it's on permanent display in a place of prominence opposite the original .
Design The design of the trophy pays homage to the natural and cultural similarities between Finland and Canada. Both Arctic nations are renowned for the ability to observe the Aurora Borealis, also called the Northern Lights, after which the cup is named. Likewise, the choice of materials celebrate the countries' natural affinity. The metal elements of the trophy are Canadian silver, the wood is maple, and a ring of labradorite circles the foot of the cup. The cup itself depicts the Northern Lights over a coniferous forest landscape. Text documenting the donation of the trophy is engraved in four languages on the upper tier of the base to highlight the official bilingualism of each country; the text appears in Finnish and Swedish, the official languages of Finland, and in English and French, the official languages of Canada. The lower tiers of the base feature 60 metal plates, originally intended to be engraved with the names of the champion teams until the plates were filled in 2070.
Championship history
Prior to the introduction of the Aurora Borealis Cup, the Naisten SM-sarja champion received the . The was first awarded in 1983 at the conclusion of the inaugural Naisten SM-sarja season to Helsingin Jääkiekkoklubi (HJK) and it was used continuously through the 2009–10 season. The trophy was retired in the spring of 2011 and is now on display at the .
As champions of the 2011 Naisten SM-sarja playoffs, HPK Hämeenlinna were the first team to receive the Aurora Borealis Cup.
Finnish Champions by season Notes: As they are various names of the same franchise, the records of Espoon Kiekkoseura (EKS), Espoo Blues, and Espoo United are all included in the history of Kiekko-Espoo. The club Jyväskylän Palloilijat Hockey Team (JyP HT) updated its name to JYP in 1997 and the record of JyP HT is included in the history of JYP. + Season Champion Runner-up Third Place 1983 HJK Helsinki Ilves Tampere EVU Vantaa 1984 HJK Helsinki EVU Vantaa Ilves Tampere 1985 Ilves Tampere EVU Vantaa HJK Helsinki 1986 Ilves Tampere HJK Helsinki Vaasan Sport 1987 Ilves Tampere EVU Vantaa Shakers Kerava 1988 Ilves Tampere EVU Vantaa HIFK Helsinki 1989 EVU Vantaa Ilves Tampere HIFK Helsinki 1990 Ilves Tampere EVU Vantaa SaiPa Lappeenranta 1991 Ilves Tampere Shakers Kerava EKS Espoo 1992 Ilves Tampere Shakers Kerava EKS Espoo 1993 Ilves Tampere Shakers Kerava Kiekko-Espoo 1994 Shakers Kerava Ilves Tampere Kiekko-Espoo 1995 Shakers Kerava Ilves Tampere KalPa Kuopio 1996 Shakers Kerava Oulun Kärpät KalPa Kuopio 1997 JyP HT Jyväskylä Shakers Kerava Kiekko-Espoo 1998 JYP Jyväskylä Oulun Kärpät Kiekko-Espoo 1999 Espoo Blues JYP Jyväskylä Ilves Tampere 2000 Espoo Blues Oulun Kärpät Ilves Tampere 2001 Espoo Blues Oulun Kärpät Ilves Tampere 2002 Espoo Blues IHK Helsinki Oulun Kärpät 2003 Espoo Blues Oulun Kärpät Ilves Tampere 2004 Espoo Blues Ilves Tampere Oulun Kärpät 2005 Espoo Blues Ilves Tampere Oulun Kärpät 2006 Ilves Tampere Oulun Kärpät Espoo Blues 2007 Espoo Blues Oulun Kärpät IHK Helsinki 2008 Espoo Blues Ilves Tampere Oulun Kärpät 2009 Espoo Blues Ilves Tampere HPK Hämeenlinna 2010 Ilves Tampere Espoo Blues HPK HämeenlinnaAurora Borealis Cup 2011 HPK Hämeenlinna Ilves Tampere Oulun Kärpät 2012 Oulun Kärpät Ilves Tampere HPK Hämeenlinna 2013 Espoo Blues JYP Jyväskylä Oulun Kärpät 2014 Espoo Blues JYP Jyväskylä HPK Hämeenlinna 2015 Espoo Blues JYP Jyväskylä Ilves Tampere 2016 JYP Jyväskylä HPK Hämeenlinna Espoo Blues 2017 Oulun Kärpät Espoo United KalPa Kuopio 2018 Oulun Kärpät Ilves Tampere Team Kuortane 2019 Espoo Blues Ilves Tampere Oulun Kärpät2020Post-season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic.2021Kiekko-EspooKalPa KuopioHIFK Helsinki2022Kiekko-EspooHIFK HelsinkiOulun Kärpät2023HIFK HelsinkiKiekko-EspooKalPa Kuopio2024HIFK HelsinkiKiekko-EspooKalPa Kuopio 2025 Kiekko-Espoo HPK Hämeenlinna Ilves Tampere 2026 Kiekko-Espoo HPK Hämeenlinna Ilves Tampere
Sources:
References
External links League information and statistics from Eliteprospects.com and Eurohockey.com and Hockeyarchives.info