Eveliina Suonpää

Eveliina Suonpää (born 12 April 1995) is a Finnish ice hockey goaltender who currently plays with Linköping HC in the SDHL and with the Finnish national team.

Eveliina Suonpää
Born (1995-04-12) 12 April 1995
Kiukainen, Finland
Height 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)
Weight 68 kg (150 lb; 10 st 10 lb)
Position Goaltender
Catches Left
SDHL team
Former teams		 Linköping HC
Team Kuortane
Ilves Naiset
Minnesota–Duluth Bulldogs
Lukko Naiset
National team  Finland
Playing career 2011–present
Medal record
Women's ice hockey
Representing  Finland
Olympic Games
2018 PyeongchangTeam
World Championships
2019 Finland
2015 Sweden
2017 United States

Biography

Suonpää was born in Kiukainen.[1][2] She has played ice hockey since the age of four. She started playing with her brother, and learned the game in an ice hockey rink in her home municipality. She played on hockey teams with men for two seasons during her junior years before eventually joining all-women teams.[3] She currently plays for Lukko in Jääkiekon naisten SM-sarja, the Finnish national women's ice hockey league,[4] where she finished the 2012–13 season with a 3.02 goals against average and a .917 save percentage.[4]

Suonpää played with the Finland women's national under-18 team during the 2013 IIHF World Women's U18 Championship, finishing a 2.77 goals against average and .905 save percentage.[4][4] She made her debut on Finland women's national ice hockey team in August 2013 with a 4–1 victory over Japan. She split goaltending for that game with Tiina Ranne, who was also making her debut with the team.[5] Suonpää was chosen to play in the 2014 Winter Olympics as the third goaltender, a selection that she said took her by surprise.[3]

She currently lives in Kuortane, where she is a student at the Kuortaneen urheilulukio sports academy. She has aspirations for playing ice hockey in the United States.[3]

As of the 2014–15 school year Suonpää attends the University of Minnesota Duluth and plays for their women's hockey team, which is a NCAA Division 1 program.

References
  1. "Eveliina Suonpää". 2014 Winter Olympics. February 2014. Archived from the original on 7 February 2014. Retrieved 7 February 2014.
  2. "Tällä joukkueella Naisleijonat hakee mitalia Sotshista". Yle Urheilu. 18 December 2013. Archived from the original on 7 February 2014. Retrieved 7 February 2014.
  3. Hanhikoski, Herkko (21 January 2014). "Opiskelijana olympialaisiin: Eveliina Suonpää". Jatkoaika.com. Archived from the original on 7 February 2014. Retrieved 7 February 2013.
  4. "Eveliina Suonpää". Eurohockey.com. February 2014. Archived from the original on 7 February 2014. Retrieved 7 February 2014.
  5. "Naisleijonat kaatoi Japanin – Susanna Tapani hurjassa iskussa, maalivahtidebytantit onnistuivat". Leijonat.fi. 8 March 2013. Archived from the original on 7 February 2014. Retrieved 7 February 2014.


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