COVID-19 forces the USA to lose the world match for juniors against Switzerland
Switzerland will earn three points for the win. They are scheduled to play against Slovakia on Thursday and Sweden on New Year’s Eve to end the group stage of the tournament.
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EDMONTON – Two positive cases of covid-19 forced the United States to lose its second match at the World Junior Hockey Championship on Tuesday.
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The United States was to play against Switzerland at the Peavey Mart Centrium in Red Deer, but the cases sent the rest of the team quarantined. The United States are the defending champions in gold medals and won their opening match of the tournament 3-2 against Slovakia on Sunday.
“We are extremely disappointed, especially with our players,” said United States General Manager John Vanbiesbrouck in a statement. “We operate in an ever-changing landscape and it is very challenging.
“We have followed the tournament protocol from the beginning and will continue to do everything we can to ensure that our players have the opportunity to compete in the junior world championships.”
Switzerland will be awarded a 1-0 victory according to the rules of the International Ice Hockey Federation and earn three points for the win. They are scheduled to play against Slovakia on Thursday and Sweden on New Year’s Eve to end the group game in the tournament. Switzerland opened the tournament and lost 4-2 to Russia on Monday.
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Having the United States in quarantine puts its game against Sweden on Wednesday and against Russia on Friday in danger.
According to the IIHF, the team’s quarantine status will be evaluated later to determine if it can complete its next two group games.
The United States is not the first team to hit covid-19 in the tournament.
Finland had a positive player test and was placed in isolation, but it did not affect the rest of the squad. A Swiss player tested positive before the tournament, forcing the suspension of the showdown against the Czech Republic, while an Austrian player tested positive and was also quarantined.
Two match officials also tested positive and have been quarantined.
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The four best teams in each of the two five-team groups advance to the quarterfinals.
With their win in the opening match, the United States can still qualify for the quarterfinals even if they have to lose their remaining two matches.
The quarterfinals are scheduled for January 2, where the top team in group A will face the team in fourth place in group B, where the team in second place will be in third place. The semifinals are on January 4 and the final on January 5.
The United States won the tournament last year with a 2-0 victory over Canada in the final, which was played at Rogers Place without fans in the building.
This year, the tournament was to be played at full capacity, but the provincial government’s restrictions due to the increase in cases of the Omicron variant forced the organizers to reduce capacity to 50 percent.
Canada met Austria in the only second match on Tuesday’s schedule.
Email: [email protected]
On Twitter: @DerekVanDiest