| Julia Liikala | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born | (2001-03-20)20 March 2001 (age 24) Peräseinäjoki, Finland | ||
| Height | 166 cm (5 ft 5 in) | ||
| Weight | 64 kg (141 lb; 10 st 1 lb) | ||
| Position | Right wing | ||
| Shoots | Left | ||
| SWHL A team Former teams | HCAP Girls HIFK Helsinki HPK Hämeenlinna | ||
| National team |  Finland | ||
| Playing career | 2016–present | ||
Julia Liikala (born 20 March 2001) is a Finnishice hockeywinger and member of theFinnish national ice hockey team. She is signed with theHockey Club Ambrì-Piotta Girls (HCAP Girls) of the SwissWomen's League (SWHL A) for the 2024–25 season.
Liikala was born and raised inPeräseinäjoki, which was merged withSeinäjoki in 2005. As a child, she began playing ice hockey with the local club, S-Kiekko. Her debut in a women's league came at age 13, in aNaisten Suomi-sarja game betweenS-Kiekko and theKisa-Eagles on 7 February 2015, where she scored the sixth goal in a 10–0whitewash.[1]
At age 16, Liikala considered joiningTeam Kuortane of theKuortaneen urheilulukio inKuortane, 42 km (26 mi) east of Seinäjoki, where a significant number of players from theFinnish national U18 team played and attended secondary school (Finnish:lukio). Ultimately, she felt that Kuortane was too close to home and opted instead to sign withHPK Kiekkonaiset and continue her studies inHämeenlinna, 235 km (146 mi) away.[2]
As ajunior player with theFinnish national U18 team, Liikala participated in threeIIHF World Women's U18 Championships, winning a bronze medal in2019.
In 2019, Finnish national team head coach,Pasi Mustonen, described Liikala as having an extremely high potential of earning a roster position on the team for the2022 Winter Olympics[3] and she was selected to represent Finland at the2020 IIHF Women's World Championship. She was officially named to the roster on 4 March 2020,[4] prior to the cancellation of the tournament on 7 March 2020 due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[5][6] She had previously appeared with the national team at all of the tournaments of the2019–20 Women's Euro Hockey Tour.[7][8][9]
Liikala ultimately made herWorld Championship debut in2021, recording two assists in seven games and winning bronze. As predicted, she was selected to representFinland in thewomen's ice hockey tournament at the2022 Winter Olympics inBeijing and took home an Olympic bronze medal.
She recorded her first World Championship goal in the preliminary round of the2022 IIHF Women's World Championship, the lone goal scored for Finland in a 1–4 loss toCanada.[10]
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Finland | U18 | 5th | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 2018 | Finland | U18 | 5th | 5 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2019 | Finland | U18 |  | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2021 | Finland | WC | | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2022 | Finland | OG | | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2022 | Finland | WC | 6th | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | |
| 2023 | Finland | WC | 5th | 7 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2025 | Finland | WC | | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | |
| Junior totals | 16 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 2 | ||||
| Senior totals | 35 | 3 | 9 | 12 | 2 | ||||
