SaPKo

Ice hockey team from Savonlinna, Finland
     General managerJan-Erik Wasenius[1]Head coachJuho Nykäne[2]CaptainJuuso ForsströmAffiliateKalPa (SM-liiga)Websitewww.sapko.fi

Savonlinnan Pallokerho (SaPKo) is an ice hockey team from Savonlinna, Finland, they currently play in the Suomi-sarja. It plays its home matches at the Talvisalo ice rink.

The sports club Savonlinnan Pallokerho was founded in 1929. First it consisted football and bandy sections, but since the 1960s ice hockey has been the main sport.

In 1960s SaPKo played four seasons in the highest tier of Finnish ice hockey SM-sarja but was relegated to Suomi-sarja in 1971. In 1974 the new First Division was formed and SaPKo was one of the teams participating. SaPKo soon established itself as the team of I-divisioona expect few visits to Second Division. In 1968 SaPKo worked its way to the final of Finnish Cup, but lost the final to KooVee 10–2.

Later bigger success came in the season 1994/1995 when SaPKo had very good regular season with players like Team Canada captain Brian Tutt and was close to promotion to the SM-liiga. It played tight promotion playoffs against Ilves but failed to promote. After the success started downtrend which culminated to relegation to Suomi-sarja. At the end of the 2005/2006 season SaPKo finally gained promotion back to the second tier, Mestis.

In 2022, the club filed for bankruptcy after acquiring a debt of 227,000 euros.[3][4] However, fifteen entrepreneurs helped fund and re-establish the club for the 2023-24 season and they were approved to play in the Suomi-sarja, where they placed fourth that season.[5][6]

Honours

Mestis

  • 1st place, gold medalist(s) (1): 2017
  • 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) (1): 2018

Suomi-sarja

  • 1st place, gold medalist(s) (1): 2003
  • 2nd place, silver medalist(s) (1): 2006

Finnish cup

  • 2nd place, silver medalist(s) (3): 1967, 1968, 2017

Notable players

  • Jan-Mikael Järvinen

    • Retired numbers

    References

    1. ^ Ylönen, Rauno (13 September 2023). "SaPKo Hockeyn hallituksen puheenjohtaja Wasenius Niko Erosen palkkakiistaan: "kaikki vaaditut velvoitteet hoidettu"". Warkauden Lehti (in Finnish). Retrieved 22 July 2024.
    2. ^ "Joukkue". SaPKo - U20 (in Finnish). Retrieved 22 July 2024.
    3. ^ Tynkkynen, Ossi (21 June 2022). "SaPKo oy hakeutuu konkurssiin". ITA-SAVO. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
    4. ^ "SaPKo hakeutui konkurssiin, puheenjohtaja raskain mielin: "Eihän tämä mukavaa ole missään tapauksessa."". Yle Uutiset (in Finnish). 22 June 2022. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
    5. ^ "Savonlinnan SaPKo sai vahvistuksen paluulle jääkiekon Suomi-sarjaan". Yle Uutiset (in Finnish). 1 March 2023. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
    6. ^ "Leijonat Tulospalvelu". tulospalvelu.leijonat.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 22 July 2024.
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