Wikipedia - Lukko Naiset
Lukko Naiset or Rauman Lukko Naiset (lit. 'Rauma's Lock Women') were an ice hockey team in the Naisten Liiga (NSML). They were based in Rauma, a port city in Satakunta on the southwestern coast of Finland, and played at the Eurajoen jäähalli in Eurajoki.
Founded in 2011, the team gained promotion to the Naisten Liiga for the 2016–17 season and remained in the Liiga until being relegated at the conclusion of the 2020–21 season. They achieved promotion in the 2021–22 NSML qualification series and returned to the league after one season in the Naisten Mestis.
History
Lukko Naiset were the representative women's ice hockey team of the ice hockey and ringette club Rauman Lukko ry, which also operates a number of junior and recreational teams. They had limited affiliation with Rauman Lukko Oy, which operates the men's Liiga team Lukko.
The team faced relegation four times in their first five seasons in the Naisten Liiga but were able to save themselves in the qualification series each time, until finally being relegated in the 2020–21 season.
After starting the 2021–22 season in the Naisten Mestis, Lukko earned placement in the Alempi jatkosarja ('Lower division') of the 2021–22 Naisten Liiga season. In the 2022 post-season qualification series, they successfully saved themselves from relegation and maintained their place in the Naisten Liiga in the following season.
Lukko Naiset withdrew from the Naisten Liiga and the team was dissolved in April 2023. Rauman Lukko ry, the team's operating association, cited difficulties in recruiting and retaining players as the principal reasons behind the decision. Lukko Naiset players were not consulted prior to the announcement. Captain Maija Koski was shocked by the announcement and strongly felt that the team could have been saved if avenues of communication had been opened between the association and Lukko Naiset players.