Big news coming out of the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championships. Team USA has forfeited their game against Switzerland due to two positive COVID tests.
BREAKING:@usahockey has forfeited their game against @SwissIceHockey due to a a mandated team quarantine following a positive test result of two of its players.
More at https://t.co/dDceNHvTed#WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/0WkEUif0m3
— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) December 28, 2021
2022 World Junior Championships: Team USA Forfeits
There was a reason the IIHF said there would be no relegation this year for teams as they did for the 2021 World Junior Championships. Team USA had its first two positive tests of the semi-bubble of the tournament. It is believed the first positive test was with a goaltender on Team USA. Therefore following a mandated quarantine period, Team USA had to forfeit its Group B round-robin game against Switzerland. The records will show Switzerland won 1-0.
There were efforts being made to have the game between Team USA and Switzerland rescheduled, unfortunately, because of two positive COVID tests that cannot happen. Now efforts are being made for Team USA to play Sweden on Wednesday, December 29th. However, according to the IIHF Team USA’s quarantine status will be evaluated later to determine whether it will be able to compete in its next preliminary round game.
That game was going to determine a lot where the Americans were going to finish in Group B. Many people figured that Sweden and Team USA would be both 2-0 entering the game. However, that is no longer the case.
Going Forward
Team USA won its first preliminary game of Group B Sunday, December 26th against Slovakia by a score of 3-2. Drew Commesso stole the show for Team USA. Team USA had big hopes coming into this tournament looking to repeat. However, their chances of that with positive COVID tests, get harder and harder.
Right now, Team USA will isolate, test, test, and hope for the best. As they hope they can continue playing for a chance to win another gold medal. But as previously mentioned, there was a reason why the IIHF said no relegation this year. They did not want a team relegated because they couldn’t play because of a COVID outbreak. Therefore, next year’s tournament will feature 11-teams.
Stay tuned for continuing coverage of the 2022 World Junior Championships here at Last Word on Hockey
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Embed from Getty Images
