Canada vs. Finland Postponed In Olympic Women’s Hockey Due To Illness On Finnish Roster

An illness that has swept swiftly through Team Finland and decimated their roster has delayed Canada’s start to defending their gold medal in Olympic women’s hockey.

But has it also compromised their chances at a repeat?

The answer will play out over the next two weeks after the scheduled opener for both teams in the Milan-Cortina Olympic women’s hockey tournament scheduled for Thursday at the Rho Arena has been postponed.

As a result of what team officials have identified as multiple cases of the norovirus sent as many as 13 Finnish players into quarantine, the International Olympic Committee and Milan Cortina organizers have decided to postpone the game by a week – with an afternoon puck drop now rescheduled for Feb. 12.

How might that hurt the Canadians, who now don’t get under way until Saturday’s scheduled date against Switzerland making them the last team in the tournament to get game action? At minimum, the switch condenses the Canadian’s schedule significantly at the back end, with the Finnish game now taking place the day before the quarter-finals are slated to start.

In that sense, it arguably puts them at a competitive disadvantage against their rival Americans as most expect the inevitable gold medal showdown between the two undisputed women’s hockey powers.

Originally, the Canadians were scheduled to end pool play next Tuesday with the much-anticipated clash against the Americans. Now the delayed contest against the Finns comes two days later.

Canadian officials have yet to comment on the move, though GM Gina Kingsbury will address it following a closed practice at Rho Arena scheduled for 8 p.m.. Given that initial suggestions were that the Finns would have to forfeit Thursday’s contest, there could be competitive implications.

That, apparently, did not factor in the decision for a postponement over a forfeiture.

According to a statement from Games organizers, the decision “was made collectively and in accordance with well established health and safety principles,” to ensure the well being of players for both teams as well as team staff and officials.

Where it gets tricky though, was the decision not to issue a forfeiture and a 1-0 final in Canada’s favour, as is often the case in such situations in international hockey.

“While all stakeholders recognize the disappointment of not playing the game 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 statement reads.

Officials say the decision was made following consultations with medical professionals after had just eight skaters on the ice for a game-day skate here on Thursday morning. According to Finnish officials, 13 players on the team are in quarantine. Some are confirmed sick, while others are being isolated because of exposure.

Finnish coach Tero Lehtera acknowledged that there was a possibility of having enough skaters to field a team, but the safety of the rest of the field, including the Canadians, was a concern.

“Most of them are getting better, but not healthy enough to play,” Lehtera said. “And there’s the chance that if we would play, it could influence Team Canada and their health as well. I couldn’t risk (it) for my players. It would be wrong.”

That view was echoed by Team Finland general manager, Kimmo Oikarainen, who was also concerned about the strain a reduced roster would have on his players.

“We know that Canada is a tough team and they are a really good team and I really respect the whole Team Canada,” Oikarainen said late Thursday morning. “But we also have to think about the players’ safety and their health is the first thing. You play with six players, five players, eight players, ten players, everybody knows how many minutes is the ice time during the 60 minutes in that case.”

As serious as the situation is – and there are still questions to be answered about Finland’s ability to ice a team for their next scheduled start on Saturday.

The stakes are much higher at the Olympic Games, of course. And a rocky start to the event certainly has the possibility of disrupting the flow and planning for Team Canada and others.