The 2024–25 Auroraliiga season is the 42nd ice hockey season of the Auroraliiga. It is the first season since the league re-branded from Naisten Liiga, the name that had been in use since 2017, to Auroraliiga.
Founded in 1982 as the Naisten SM-sarja and known as the Naisten Liiga (NSML) since 2017, the league announced it had rebranded as Auroraliiga on 15 August 2024. Announcing the name change, league director Henni Laaksonen emphasized, "it is high time to play ice hockey without prefixes" – referring to the intentional move away from using "women's [ice hockey]" (Finnish: naisten [jääkiekko]) in the new branding – and outlined the league's goal to develop into a top international league that will enable its players to experience the everyday life of professional athletes.[1][2]
The rebranding included a new wordmark and a black-and-green color scheme.
Adjustments to the Auroraliiga postseason format were approved by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association in May 2024 and included extending the playoff semifinals and finals from best-of-five to best-of-seven series.[3]
The league qualifiers will be a best-of-five series played by the last place (i.e. ninth ranked) team of the Auroraliiga and the winner of the Naisten Mestis playoffs, regardless of the teams.[3]
Väärälä announced he would not continue as head coach of KalPa on 17 March 2024, a day after successfully coaching the team to its second consecutive Finnish Championship bronze medal. Specifics regarding his departure were not reported, however the relationship between the club and coach appeared amicable and he wished the team much success in the future.[4] Väärälä was later appointed associate coach of HK Budapest as the team moved from the European Women's Hockey League (EWHL) to the German Women's Ice Hockey League (DFEL) ahead of the 2024–25 season.[5] Rouhiainen was announced as the new head coach of KalPa on 20 March 2024. The 29-year old spent the 2023–24 season as head coach of KalPa's girls' under-15 team and associate head coach of the girls' under-16 team, while finishing a degree in physical education.[6]
After starting the 2023–24 season as an assistant coach with Kärpät, Kiipeli took on head coaching duties in October 2023 following the resignation of head coach Sanna Lankosaari earlier that month. The team achieved a 9-23 win–loss record on the season and were swept in the quarterfinals of the 2024 playoffs by eventual Aurora Borealis Cup champions HIFK. Koivula was head coach of RoKi during the 2023–24 season, in which the team finished at the bottom of the Naisten Liiga standings. He was announced as the new head coach of Kärpät on 27 March 2024 and, at the same time, it was confirmed that Kiipeli would remain with the team and return to her previous role as assistant coach.[7]
Note: This section does not record all player signings. It is generally limited to player movements involving national team players from any country, international import players, and extra-league signings. Player nationality displayed is limited to primary nation of IIHF eligibility; some players may hold citizenship in more than one country.
The preseason began on 9 August 2024 and comprised exhibition games played between Auroraliiga teams or between an Auroraliiga team and a boys' junior team from the youth department of the same club or a local club. The Regina Cougars women's ice hockey team from the University of Regina in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada played three exhibition matches – against Ilves, HIFK, and HPK, respectively – during the Auroraliiga preseason.[32] No exhibition matches were scheduled for RoKi.[33]
The regular season began on Friday, 6 September 2024. The season opening weekend was hosted in Turku, with eight of nine games played at Turkuhalli and the Sunday match between Team Kuortane and HPK played at Kupittaan jäähalli.
The following skaters were the top point scorers of teams not represented in the scoring leader table at the conclusion of games played on 28 November 2024, noted with their overall league scoring rank:
The following goaltenders had played at least one-third of their team's minutes in net at the conclusion of games played 28 November 2024, sorted by save percentage.[39]
The following five goaltenders had the best save percentages of those playing less than one-third of their team's minutes in net at the conclusion of games played 3 November 2024.
Note: This section records all in-season player transactions. Player nationality indicates primary nation of IIHF eligibility; some players may hold multiple citizenship.
September 2024: Salla Sivula (G), KalPa After dominating the goaltending statistics table in the opening month of the season, Sivula became the first player to be named Auroraliiga player of the month following the league rebrandeding in August 2024. She led the league with a save percentage of 95.7% across five games in net, conceeding just nine goals on 208 shots against. KalPa struggled offesively and Sivula played a large role in securing their two wins in September – a shutout against RoKi and a 3–1 victory over Kiekko-Espoo.[42]