EDMONTON — A second game in as many days was forfeited Wednesday at the world junior men’s hockey championship because of COVID-19.
Finland’s game against Czechia, scheduled to start at noon local time at Edmonton’s Rogers Place, was abruptly called off in the morning because a Czech player tested positive for the virus.
A 1-0 win was awarded to Finland under International Ice Hockey Federation rules. All on-ice game officials will be required to wear masks until further notice, the IIHF said Wednesday in a statement.
That came a day after the United States had to forfeit a game to Switzerland in Red Deer, Alta., because two Americans had tested positive for the virus.
More testing of the U.S. team was underway Wednesday to determine if its Pool B game against Sweden would go ahead that night in Red Deer.
The Czechs are scheduled to play Austria on Thursday.
Canada (2-0) was to face Germany (0-1-0-1) in a Pool A game in Edmonton, while Russia (1-1) was to meet Slovakia (0-2) in Red Deer on Wednesday.
The preliminary round in each pool concludes Friday with quarterfinals scheduled for Sunday.
While no games are scheduled for Saturday, makeup games can’t be played that day because it is against IIHF sport regulations for teams to play games on three straight days in tournaments.
