Norovirus Wrecks Olympic Hockey Roster, Postpones Team's Tournament Opener
The game will now be played on February 12
The Opening Ceremony for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina won't get underway until Friday night, but some events, like the women's hockey tournament, are scheduled to get underway beforehand.
However, that tournament has already hit a snag, and, believe it or not, it has nothing to do with the arena or the size of the rink.
It has everything to do with a Norovirus outbreak.
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The Canadian women's hockey team — which is always a favorite in any tournament, along with the United States — was slated to get its tournament underway with a game against the always dangerous Finnish national team.
However, just hours before the game, it was revealed that a large number of Finnish players were either sick or quarantining after Norovirus started making its way through the roster on Tuesday night.
In fact, according to the Associated Press, 13 members of the team were impacted by the sickness or by quarantine measures, which left the Finns with just eight skaters and two goalies for what was supposed to be their pregame skate.
Shortly after this, it was announced that the game had been postponed to February 12, making it the final game of the group stage for both teams.
"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," Olympic officials said in a statement.
That could make it a massive game, as Group A is easily the tougher of the two Groups with Canada, Finland, the US, Czechia, and Switzerland battling it out in the preliminary round.
The Canadians' first game of the tournament will now be on February 7 against Switzerland.
As for Finland, its next game is the same day against Team USA.