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Canada’s opening game against Finland in women’s hockey at the Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics was postponed because the Finns were struck with the norovirus.
Thursday’s preliminary-round game will now be played Feb. 12 at the Milano Rho Ice Hockey Arena.
“The decision was taken following consultations with medical professionals after cases of norovirus were identified within Team Finland,” said a joint statement Thursday from the International Olympic Committee, the International Ice Hockey Federation and the organizing committee.
“It was made collectively and in accordance with established health and safety principles, with the health and well-being of players, team staff, officials and all tournament participants as the highest priority.
“While all stakeholders recognize the disappointment of not playing the game as originally scheduled, this was a responsible and necessary decision that reflects the spirit of the Olympic Games and the integrity of the competition.”
The decision to postpone the game was announced shortly after Finland completed its early afternoon practice with just eight skaters and two goalies. The remaining 13 players are either in quarantine or isolation due to illness that began affecting the team on Tuesday night.
The postponement provides Finland two extra days to rest before playing the U.S. on Saturday. Had their game against Canada not been postponed, Finnish officials were considering the possibility of a forfeiture.
Team Finland officials were already weighing the likelihood of not playing before the game was postponed.
Unfair to players
Head coach Tero Lehterä said it could be unfair to ask his 10 currently healthy players to compete in a full game. Lehterä also said the team has to take into account the possibility of Canadian opponents being infected as well.
“Most of them are getting better but not healthy enough to play. And there’s the chance that if we would play it could influence Team Canada and their health as well,” Lehterä said following practice.
“But I couldn’t risk my players if they were ill yesterday to play tonight because that would be wrong against the individual,” he added.
Lehterä said the first sign of the illness became apparent on Tuesday night — and after the team held a full practice earlier in the day.
The rescheduled game falls on the second of two consecutive off days during the women’s tournament, and a day before the quarterfinals open.
The 53-year-old Lehterä is in his first year coaching the women’s team. He played for the Finland national team in the 1990s and previously coached men’s teams.
Lehterä did his best to stay upbeat despite the situation. At one point he joked the last time he competed in a game with 10 players was in a beer league outing.
“It might become a strength. I got to think positive,” he said. “We might be stronger when we come out of this. You never know.”
Lehterä then noted the potential of facing of adversity was among his first messages to the team last summer.
“Some things might happen, you never know what happens. And you only worry about the things that we can affect,” Lehterä said. “And this is not something we can do anything about it. We have no say whether we play or not. It’s not up to us. When we’re told to show up, we show up. Whether it’s five, six, seven, 15 or 20 [players].”
Finland captain Jenni Hiirikoski, making her fifth Olympic appearance, said players were leaning on each other for support.
“It’s not nice, definitely. But we try to focus one day at a time,” the 38-year-old defender said. “The big thing has been how we tolerate different things. I think we try to help each other, whatever it is, and how it goes. So it’s just stay calm and focused.”
Finland, along with Czechia, entered the tournament as medal contenders behind the two global powers — the favoured Americans and defending Olympic champion Canada.
4-time Olympic medallists
Finland is a four-time Olympic bronze medallist, with the last coming at the 2022 Beijing Games. And the team has won bronze at the past two world championships, beating Czechia both times.
Though the 2022 Beijing Games were played amid the Coronavirus pandemic, no games were postponed during a competition that took place in front of few fans and with participants limited to a closed bubble.
The closest a hockey game came to being postponed or forfeited happened during a preliminary round meeting between Canada and Russia. Team Canada refused to take the ice for pregame warmups and the game time was delayed because COVID test results of Russian players were not available.
As a compromise, Canada agreed to begin the game after officials ruled all participants had to wear facemasks.
Canada faces Switzerland on Saturday, Czechia on Monday and archrival United States on Tuesday before concluding the preliminary round against the Finns.
Canada, the defending Olympic women’s hockey champion, held an optional skate Thursday for a handful of players.
Finland was the bronze medallist at the 2022 Olympic Games in Beijing and in last year’s world championship in Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic.
Several veterans on Canada’s team have handled disruption before in the Olympic Games.
A game against Russia in the 2022 Olympic Games in Beijing was delayed over an hour because of late tests involving the Russian team.
Both teams started the game wearing masks. Russia’s women wore theirs for two periods, but the Canadian women wore theirs to the buzzer.