Saara Niemi

Saara Niemi
Saara Niemi
	Niemi with the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs in 2010
Born	1 January 1986 (age 38); Ylöjärvi, Finland
Height	1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
Weight	65 kg (143 lb; 10 st 3 lb)
Position	Forward
Shot	Left
Played for	HIFK Helsinki; Tampereen Ilves; Minnesota Whitecaps; Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs;
Current coach	IFK Helsinki; Finland
Coached for	Shenzhen KRS Vanke Rays; Red Wings Helsinki
National team	Finland
Playing career	2004–2019
Coaching career	2015–present
Olympic Games
World Championships
Universiade

Saara Elisa Niemi née Tuominen (born 1 January 1986) is a Finnish ice hockey coach and former player. She has served as head coach of IFK Helsinki in the Auroraliiga since 2018, and as an assistant coach to the Finnish national team since 2021. At the 2006 Torino Olympics, Tuominen competed for Finland. scoring one goal and four assists.^[1] She was an alternate captain for Finland's women's ice hockey team at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver where the Finns won the bronze medal.

She graduated in 2010 from the University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) and was a two-year captain of the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs, the NCAA Division I national champions in 2008 and 2010. She was a 2009 and 2010 WCHA All-Academic Team member, a 2008 All-WCHA Third Team selection and a member of the 2007 All-WCHA Rookie Team.

Playing career

After graduation, she joined the Minnesota Whitecaps for their 2010–11 season. On 8 October, against former WCHA rival Minnesota Golden Gophers, Tuominen scored a goal.^[2] The following day, against former WCHA rival St. Cloud State, she scored a goal.^[3]

Career statistics

Event	Goals	Assists	Points	Shots	PIM	+/-
2010 Winter Olympics	0	1	1	1	12	−3

^[4]^[5]^[6]^[7]^[8]

Awards and honors

2006 Naisten SM-sarja Best Forward
2008 All-WCHA Third Team^[9]
2021 Naisten Liiga Coach of the Year^[10]
2023 Naisten Liiga Coach of the Year^[11]

Gallery

Saara Tuominen takes a face-off during a game against the University of New Hampshire at the DECC arena in Duluth, MN on Saturday, 13 March 2010.
Saara Tuominen in a game against the University of New Hampshire at the DECC arena in Duluth, MN on Saturday, 13 March 2010.
Saara Tuominen in a game against the University of Wisconsin Badgers at the DECC arena in Duluth, MN on Sunday, 17 January 2010.

References

^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Saara Tuominen". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 25 January 2018. Retrieved 23 August 2012.
^ http://www.gophersports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=38867&SPID=3323&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=8400&ATCLID=205008977 ^{[dead link]}
^ "Welcome to". Collegehockeystats.net. 12 February 2005. Archived from the original on 25 July 2011. Retrieved 23 August 2012.
^ "Women's Preliminary Round - Group B - Game 4 - Finland". Vancouver2010.com. The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. Archived from the original on 9 April 2010. Retrieved 23 August 2012.
^ "Women's Preliminary Round - Group B - Game 8 - Finland". Vancouver2010.com. The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. Archived from the original on 9 April 2010. Retrieved 23 August 2012.
^ "Women's Preliminary Round - Group B - Game 11 - Finland". Vancouver2010.com. The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. Archived from the original on 9 April 2010. Retrieved 23 August 2012.
^ "Women's Play-offs Semifinals - Game 17 - Finland". Vancouver2010.com. The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. Archived from the original on 9 April 2010. Retrieved 23 August 2012.
^ "Women's Bronze Medal Game - Game 19 - Finland". Vancouver2010.com. The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. Archived from the original on 28 August 2010. Retrieved 23 August 2012.
^ "Memorable Moments". Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs Athletics. Archived from the original on 16 September 2011. Retrieved 8 June 2010.
^ Mennander, Pasi (15 March 2021). "Naisten Liigan parhaan valmentajan palkinto Saara Niemelle". leijonat.fi (in Finnish). Finnish Ice Hockey Association. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
^ Mennander, Pasi (10 June 2023). "Naisten Liigan kauden 2022–23 palkitut pelaajat, valmentajat ja tuomarit". Finnish Ice Hockey Association (in Finnish). Retrieved 12 June 2023.

External links

Biographical information and career statistics from Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com
Saara Niemi at Olympics.com
Saara Niemi at Olympedia

This biographical article relating to a Finnish ice hockey player is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

This article about a Finnish Winter Olympic medalist is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[1] Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Saara Tuominen". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 25 January 2018. Retrieved 23 August 2012.

[2] ttp://www.gophersports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=38867&SPID=3323&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=8400&ATCLID=205008977 ^{[dead link]}

[3] "Welcome to". Collegehockeystats.net. 12 February 2005. Archived from the original on 25 July 2011. Retrieved 23 August 2012.

[4] "Women's Preliminary Round - Group B - Game 4 - Finland". Vancouver2010.com. The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. Archived from the original on 9 April 2010. Retrieved 23 August 2012.

[5] "Women's Preliminary Round - Group B - Game 8 - Finland". Vancouver2010.com. The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. Archived from the original on 9 April 2010. Retrieved 23 August 2012.

[6] "Women's Preliminary Round - Group B - Game 11 - Finland". Vancouver2010.com. The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. Archived from the original on 9 April 2010. Retrieved 23 August 2012.

[7] "Women's Play-offs Semifinals - Game 17 - Finland". Vancouver2010.com. The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. Archived from the original on 9 April 2010. Retrieved 23 August 2012.

[8] "Women's Bronze Medal Game - Game 19 - Finland". Vancouver2010.com. The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. Archived from the original on 28 August 2010. Retrieved 23 August 2012.

[9] "Memorable Moments". Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs Athletics. Archived from the original on 16 September 2011. Retrieved 8 June 2010.

[10] Mennander, Pasi (15 March 2021). "Naisten Liigan parhaan valmentajan palkinto Saara Niemelle". leijonat.fi (in Finnish). Finnish Ice Hockey Association. Retrieved 23 March 2021.

[11] Mennander, Pasi (10 June 2023). "Naisten Liigan kauden 2022–23 palkitut pelaajat, valmentajat ja tuomarit". Finnish Ice Hockey Association (in Finnish). Retrieved 12 June 2023.

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v t e Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs women's ice hockey
Venues	DECC Arena (1999–2010) AMSOIL Arena (2010–present)
Coaches	Shannon Miller (1999–2015) Maura Crowell (2015–2024) Laura Schuler (2024–present)
National Championships	2001 2002 2003 2008 2010
Conference Championships	WCHA: 2000 2001 2002 2003 2008 2010
Seasons	1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
Olympians	Jenni Asserholt Kassy Betinol Iya Gavrilova Jennifer Harß Elin Holmlöv Erika Holst Haley Irwin Satu Kiipeli Brigette Lacquette Michaela Lanzl Jocelyne Larocque Maria Lindh Michelle Löwenhielm Kim Martin Hasson Sidney Morin Kateřina Mrázová Eveliina Mäkinen Saara Niemi Caroline Ouellette Heidi Pelttari Kristina Petrovskaia Mariia Posa Tuula Puputti Maddie Rooney Maria Rooth Jenny Schmidgall-Potter Hanne Sikiö Emma Söderberg Lara Stalder Nora Tallus Alexandra Vafina Tea Villilä Pernilla Winberg Jessica Wong