Kirsi Maaria Hänninen (born 3 October 1976 in Joensuu, Finland) is a Finnish retired ice hockey defenceman and pesäpallo player. She played 116 games with the Finnish national ice hockey team and won a bronze medal with them in the women's ice hockey tournament at the 1998 Winter Olympics.
Playing career Over her ten-year ice hockey career, Hänninen played with five different teams in the Naisten SM-sarja, the highest level women's hockey league in Finland. She spent four seasons, from 1996 to 2000, with JYP Jyväskylä and won the SM-sarja Championship with them in 1996 and 1997. She also played with JoKP (1992–93), Kiekko-Espoo (1993–94), KalPa (1995–96), and Oulun Kärpät (2001-02).
Hänninen is well known in Finland for her career in the Superpesis, Finland's top pesäpallo league, where she competed from 1993 to 2005 and was a five-time Finnish Champion.
Personal life Hänninen is a founding member of VRT Finland, an underwater structural inspection company operating in the Baltic Sea and Central Europe, and ias CEO of the company.
Career statistics Regular season and playoffs
International
Awards and honors Ice Hockey Award YearNaisten SM-sarja Champion1997 (JyP HT) 1998 (JYP) Most Points by a Defenceman in the Olympic Ice Hockey women's tournament1998 (7 points)tied with Thérèse BrissonBest Defenceman in the IIHF World Women's Championships1999IIHF World Women's Championships All-Star Team1999 Suomen JääkiekkoleijonaInducted to the Hockey Hall of Fame Finland 2018 Pesäpallo Award YearSuperpesis Best Runner Most Runs in the Regular Season 1995, 1996, 2000Superpesis Champion1996 (Jyväskylän Kiri) 1997 (Jyväskylän Kiri)
2000 (PattU) Finnish Pesäpallo Association Player of the Year Suomen Pesäpalloliitto Naispesäpalloilijaksi 2000, 2004 Superpesis Best Batter Most Hits in the Regular Season 2004Superpesis Golden Bat Player-elected Best Offensive Player 2004
References
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