The National Womenās Hockey League called off the remainder of its season Wednesday on the eve of the playoffs because of additional positive test results for the coronavirus.
The NWHL cited safety concerns for what it called the suspension of play inside a quarantined bubble in Lake Placid, New York. COVID-19 instead wreaked havoc on the two-week event.
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āWe were not trending in the right direction,ā interim commissioner Tyler Tumminia said of more test results coming in Tuesday night. āOur actual numbers per se were not alarming in comparison to the scope of other sports clubs or other sports leagues. However, if you project a number that was going to happen, it doesnāt make sense for us."
Two of the leagueās six teams had already withdrawn from the tournament, with the Metropolitan Riveters citing āseveralā virus cases. Tumminia said the team had 10, which was over the threshold for disqualifying a team.
The Connecticut Whale's departure was a choice made at the team level. Tumminia said the NWHL would not disclose how many total positive tests it had in what she called a ārestrictive access environmentā that did not hold up like other pro sports bubbles.
āThe athletes came in into designated hotels on designated floors,ā she said. āThey were restricted in the sense that they went from their rooms to the rink, rink to the room. That is the technical term of what this bubble was. Thatās how we defined it.ā
The NWHL had an agreement with Yale University to provide saliva-based COVID-19 testing for players and staff, similar to what the NBA used for its Disney World bubble last year. Even that testing couldn't keep the virus out, and Toronto owner Johanna Neilson Boynton said, āWe knew going in it was a gamble.ā
āWe stuck by a very strict protocol, and thereās human error,ā NWHL Players Association executive director Anya Packer said.
Tumminia added, āDefining the origin and placing blame right now is not really our game.ā
Two semifinal games Thursday and the final Friday were set to be televised nationally in the U.S. on NBC Sports Network, putting women's hockey in a prominent spotlight a year away from the Beijing Olympics.
Despite not doing that, Tumminia called the NWHL season āsuccessful.ā
āI actually see it as a success, she said. āIām very proud where we got to this point.ā
The end of the NWHL bubble experiment came on the same day the rival Professional Womenās Hockey Players Association announced it will play a game at New York Cityās Madison Square Garden on Feb. 28. The PWHPA is made up of 125 of the sport's biggest stars, including members of the U.S. and Canadian national teams, who banded together in the hopes of forcing the creation of a new pro league.
The game at MSG comes 13 months after PWHPA players took part in NHL All-Star Weekend. It will be the first professional womenās hockey game at the storied arena.
āThis is a major milestone for womenās hockey and young girls who aspire to play professional hockey but donāt have the option to make it a career today,ā said Hockey Hall of Famer Jayna Hefford, an operations consultant for the PWHPA.
The NHLās New York Rangers are hosting the women's game with the team playing at Buffalo that day. Rangers president John Davidson said the team is āexcited to play even a small role in helping elevate visibility for the womenās game.ā
āThe talent level of womenās hockey is simply incredible," Davidson said. āWe all love this sport so much and any opportunity the Rangers have to participate in its advancement is something we want to be a part of. Itās a win for everyone involved.ā
The game in New York is set to be the first stop on the second āDream Gap Tour,ā with others around the U.S. and Canada to be determined. The announcement was made on National Girls and Women in Sports Day.
āInvesting in and advancing womenās hockey strengthens the game overall and creates a range of professional opportunities for women as coaches, front office executives and athletes,ā said Bauer Hockey vice president of global marketing Mary-Kay Messier, an adviser to the PHWPA.
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