The opening women’s hockey game between Canada and Finland at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics has been postponed due to a norovirus outbreak in Finland.

Thursday’s qualifying round matches will be held on February 12th at the Milano Rho Ice Hockey Arena.

“This decision was made in consultation with medical experts following the confirmation of a case of norovirus within the Finnish team,” the International Olympic Committee, International Ice Hockey Federation and organizing committee said in a joint statement on Thursday.

“This was a collective effort in accordance with established health and safety principles, with the health and well-being of all players, team staff, officials and tournament participants as our top priority.

“While all involved recognize the disappointment that the games were not held as originally planned, this was a responsible and necessary decision that reflects the Olympic spirit and the integrity of the competition.”

The decision to postpone the game was announced shortly after Finland finished an early afternoon practice with only eight skaters and two goalies. The remaining 13 players are in isolation or isolation due to the illness that began affecting the team starting Tuesday night.

The postponement will give Finland two more days of rest before playing against the United States on Saturday. Finnish officials were considering a possible forfeiture if the game against Canada was not postponed.

Officials with the Finnish team had been considering the possibility of not playing even before the match was postponed.

it’s unfair to the players

Head coach Tero Lehtera said it might be unfair to ask the 10 players who are currently healthy to play the full game. Lehtera also said teams need to consider the possibility that their Canadian opponents may also be infected.

“Most of them are getting better, but they’re not healthy enough to play. And if we end up playing, that could impact Team Canada and their health as well,” Lehtera said after practice.

“But we can’t risk players who were unwell yesterday and play tonight because that would be wrong for the individuals,” he added.

Lehtera said the first signs of the illness became apparent Tuesday night, after the team held a full practice earlier in the day.

The postponed match will be played on the second of two consecutive off days during the women’s tournament, the day before the quarterfinals begin.

Lehtera, 53, is in her first year coaching the women’s team. He played for the Finnish national team in the 1990s and previously coached the men’s team.

Lehtera did her best to stay positive despite the situation. At one point, he joked that the last time he attended a game with 10 players was in a beer league game.

“That might be a strength. I’ve learned to think positively,” he said. “We may come out of this even stronger. You never know.”

And Lehtera noted that the possibility of facing adversity was one of his first messages to the team last summer.

“Something could happen, but we don’t know what will happen, and the only thing we worry about is what we might impact,” Lehtera said. “And there’s nothing we can do about it. We can’t say whether we’re going to play or not. It’s not up to us. If we’re told to come out, we’ll come out. Whether it’s 5 o’clock, 6 o’clock, 7 o’clock, 3 o’clock or 8 o’clock.” [players]. ”

Finland’s captain Jeni Hiilikoski, who will be competing in her fifth Olympics, said the players look to each other for support.

“It’s never good, but we’re trying to take it one day at a time,” said the 38-year-old defender. “The important thing is how we tolerate being different. I think we’re all trying to help each other, no matter what it is and how it happens. So we just have to stay calm and focus.”

Finland, along with the Czech Republic, entered the tournament as medal favorites behind two world powerhouses, favorites the United States and defending Olympic champion Canada.

4-time Olympic medalist

Finland has won bronze medals at the Olympics four times, the last time they won a medal at the 2022 Beijing Games. And the team has won bronze medals at the past two world championships, defeating the Czech Republic both times.

The 2022 Beijing Games were held amid the coronavirus pandemic, but no matches were postponed during the tournament, which was held in front of a small number of fans and participants confined to a sealed bubble.

The closest a hockey game came to being postponed or forfeited occurred during a preliminary round meeting between Canada and Russia. The Canadian team refused to enter the ice for pregame warmups, and game time was delayed because COVID-19 test results for Russian players were not available.

Canada agreed to start the games as a compromise after authorities ruled all participants must wear masks.

Canada will play Switzerland on Saturday, the Czech Republic on Monday, archrival the United States on Tuesday, and Finland in the preliminary round.

Defending Olympic women’s hockey champion Canada held an optional skate for some of its players on Thursday.

Finland was bronze medalists at the 2022 Beijing Olympics and last year’s world championships in Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic.

Several veterans on Team Canada have experience dealing with disruptions at Olympic Games.

The match against Russia at the 2022 Beijing Olympics was delayed by more than an hour due to delays in testing for the Russian team.

Both teams started the game wearing masks. Russian women wore them for two periods, while Canadian women wore them until the buzzer sounded.