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CANADA: World junior hockey championship cancelled due to COVID-19 cases on multiple teams

A third game forfeited in two days left organizers with few options to continue a tournament with competitive integrity
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EDMONTON — The world junior men's hockey championship in Edmonton and Red Deer, Alta., was cancelled Wednesday in the face of lost games due to COVID-19.

A third game forfeited in two days left the International Ice Hockey Federation, Hockey Canada and organizing committee with few options to continue a tournament with competitive integrity, and they opted to call off the 11-day, 10-country tournament in Edmonton and Red Deer, Alta.

After two days of games, players testing positive for COVID-19 had put defending champion United States, Russia and Czechia into mandatory quarantines by Wednesday.

Canada was scheduled to play its third preliminary-round game against Germany on Wednesday night.

Teams arrived in Alberta on Dec. 15. Players were quarantined and were tested before being allowed to skate. 

The pre-tournament schedule was reduced to one game per team, with the Czechs and Swiss unable to play any because of positive tests for the virus.

 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 29, 2021.

Donna Spencer, The Canadian Press