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Knights, Lightning seasons on hold amid COVID-19 prevention efforts – CTV News

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LONDON, ONT —
The London Knights and the London Lightning seasons are on hold, amid a slew of cancellations and closures across southwestern Ontario.

Western University announced that classes will be moving online for the rest of the year on Thursday, with Fanshawe following suit on Friday.

However, Fanshawe says in-person classes will be cancelled for three weeks, aligning with the province’s mandate for public schools. Online learning is expected to start March 23.

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After that, Fanshawe will resume regular classes, but will issue updates as needed.

The local OHL and NBL cancellations come amid a sea of announcements from major league sports, including the NBA, NHL, MLB, and many other sports organizations, most recently, the PGA as well.

“In the best interest of the health of our players, member team staff, billets, on and off-ice officials, our great fans as well as the general public, we deemed this to be best course of action effective immediately,” said OHL Commissioner David Branch in a statement.

The news comes as preventative measures to limit the spread of COVID-19 are being put in place across the province and country.

Other postponements, closures and cancellations include:

  • Fanshawe College Polar Plunge scheduled for Friday postponed
  • Islamic Centre of Southwest Ontario  has cancelled all events until further notice
  • London Muslim Mosque is closing the London Islamic School for three weeks
  • Budweiser Gardens has postponed its Jeff Dunham and Kane Brown shows and is asking patrons to watch for further updates
  • The Grand Theatre is suspending ‘productions, events and rentals‘ to the end of the season
  • The Stratford Festival has cancelled performances up until May 2
  • London Public Library locations remain open, but programs and events, including at Wolf Performance Hall are cancelled
  • Stratford Public Library closing until further notice
  • Visiting hours at St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital now 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and there are new restrictions
  • Addiction Services of thames Valley postponing drop-in Supportive Information Sessions (SIS) Sessions
  • City of Sarnia March Break Day Camp at Lawrence House cancelled, hockey arenas and the Strangway Community Centre closed until April 5
  • Bruce Power’s Visitor Centre closed
  • Bruce County March Break activities at libraries and museums cancelled
  • all public schools closed for an additional two weeks following March Break
  • The Thames Valley District School Board is also closing all buildings, child care centres and cancelling other classes
  • London police are not accepting in-person record check applications or in-person Freedom of Information requests

Please be sure to check that any event you’re attended is still a go. Updates on city-run facilities can be found on the City of London website.

The Middlesex-London Health Unit issued a statement saying Friday marks a turning point in the COVID-19 response in Canada.

“Containment efforts – where public health isolates cases and contacts with the goal of preventing community spread – will continue, but they are likely to only slow the onset of a local outbreak. The goal now is to prevent as many poor outcomes as possible.”

Health officials say halting mass gatherings – such as the cancellation of major sporting events – dramatically reduces the number of events where one person could potentially infect many others, but add that Ontario is not yet at the stage where all mass gatherings must be cancelled.

Meanwhile, London police say they are actively monitoring the situation, and will be restricting or modifying only some non-emergency services.

People are asked to avoid visits to police headquarters unless necessary, and be aware that visits or calls for non-emergency police attendance will involve screening questions related to COVID-19.

The London Transit Commission says additional cleaning of its bus fleet will be taking place on a nightly basis starting this weekend.

No positive COVID-19 tests in Huron-Perth

Fourteen people in Huron and Perth counties have been tested for COVID-19, but no one has tested positive.

The Huron-Perth Health Unit is asking residents to be more vigilant in their measures to keep the virus at bay, however.

They are recommending all gatherings of 250 people or more be postponed or cancelled, but say that does not apply to workplaces, yet.

The newly formed health unit is also recommending people postpone all non-essential travel outside of Canada, including to the United States.

Anyone who does travel outside Canada is asked to monitor their own symptoms for 14 days following their return. Children returning to Canada are being told to stay home for 14 days, to stop any potential spread of the virus.

The Huron-Perth Health Unit says they’ve been very busy this week, and are adding staff to deal with the influx of calls for COVID-19 information.

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Allen on trade to Devils from Habs: 'Sometimes you've got to be a little bit selfish' – Yahoo Canada Sports

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Jake Allen loved being a member of the Montreal Canadiens.

The hockey-mad market, the crackling Bell Centre on a Saturday night, the Original Six franchise’s iconic logo.

The 33-year-old goaltender is also realistic.

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With the Canadiens still in full rebuild mode — and two young netminders in Sam Montembeault and Cayden Primeau ready for more playing time — Allen could see the writing on the wall.

Desperate for help in their own crease, the New Jersey Devils asked Montreal about the veteran’s availability. But the team, general manager Tom Fitzgerald told reporters earlier this month, was initially on Allen’s no-trade list.

There wasn’t anything the Fredericton product disliked about the organization or city. The Devils simply appeared to have their crease set for years to come.

But when the club that finished with 112 points and made the second round of the playoffs in 2022-23 was badly hampered by poor play from Vitek Vanecek, Nico Daws and Akira Schmid — each netminder owned save percentages below .900 — the Devils circled back.

And Allen had changed his tune.

“Loved my time as a Hab,” he said of pulling on Montreal’s red, white and blue threads. “I always will cherish that. Put on probably the most special jersey in hockey, in my books. But you realize in your career, it doesn’t last forever.

“You’ve got to make decisions sometimes.”

Allen, who is signed through next season, eventually agreed to a deal that sent him to New Jersey ahead of the NHL’s March 8 trade deadline for a conditional third-round pick at the 2025 draft.

Apart from playing meaningful hockey on a team trying to claw its way back into the Eastern Conference playoff race, the swap gave him more runway to get his family settled in a new city instead of waiting to see what this summer’s crowded goalie market might bring.

“Sometimes you’ve got to be a little bit selfish,” said Allen, a Stanley Cup champion with the St. Louis Blues in 2019. “Look yourself in the mirror and wonder what’s best for you and your family.”

He’s been really good for his new team.

Allen was lights out in Tuesday’s first period against the Toronto Maple Leafs, making an eye-popping 25 saves in what would turn into New Jersey’s 6-3 victory.

So far he’s 4-2-0 with a .925 save percentage and a 2.51 goals against average in six starts for the Devils, who sit five points back of the East’s second wild-card spot.

“A real pro,” said interim head coach Travis Green.

Allen is a combined 10-14-3 in 2023-24 with a .900 save percentage and a 3.39 GAA. Across his 11 seasons with St. Louis, Montreal and now New Jersey, he’s 193-164-41 with a .908 save percentage and 2.75 GAA.

“Makes the saves we need to get some momentum back,” Devils captain Nico Hischier said. “If you have a solid goalie in the net, that makes your work easier.”

Allen is also 11-12 with a .924 and a 2.06 GAA all-time in the playoffs — a good sign for his new club should New Jersey manage to make the cut.

For now, though, he’s just enjoying being back in a post-season race.

“I thought this was a good opportunity to come in the rest of this year, play some games,” Allen said.

“It’s been a good start.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 28, 2024.

___

Follow @JClipperton_CP on X.

Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press

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Matthews game-time decision for Maple Leafs against Capitals with illness – NHL.com

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TORONTOAuston Matthews will be a game-time decision for the Toronto Maple Leafs against the Washington Capitals at Scotiabank Arena on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; SN1, MNMT) because of an illness.

“It’s going to be on how he feels throughout the day,” Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said.

The forward did not participate in Toronto’s morning skate. Max Domi took his place as the center on a line between Tyler Bertuzzi and Mitch Marner, a right wing recovering from a high-ankle sprain sustained March 7 and will be out the next two games.

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Matthews leads the NHL with 59 goals, one from becoming the ninth player in NHL history with at least two 60-goal seasons. He scored 60 in 73 games in 2021-22, when he won the Rocket Richard Trophy, Hart Trophy and Ted Lindsay Award. He had one goal and nine shots in 23:44 of a 6-3 loss to the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday, which extended his point streak to five games (four goals, seven assists).

He missed one game this season with illness, a 7-0 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Dec. 16.

“Of course, it’s an adjustment when your best player is out of the lineup,” Domi said, “when anybody is out of the lineup, but I think we’ve done a great job all year of guys stepping up when they have to, and we just have to continue to do that.”

Toronto defenseman Morgan Rielly will miss his second straight game with an upper-body injury.

“He just remains day to day,” Keefe said. “We’re hopeful he’s going to bounce back here. The one thing that is good is once he gets through this day or two here, it’s not going to be a lingering situation. It’s not going to be an injury that’s ongoing. Once he’s past it, he’s past it so we just need to give him some time.”

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Canucks place goalie Thatcher Demko on long-term injured list

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The Vancouver Canucks have placed all-star goalie Thatcher Demko on the long-term injured reserve list retroactively.

“It’s just cap related,” coach Rick Tocchet said after practice Wednesday. “We get some cap relief, that’s all it is.”

The 28-year-old netminder has been considered week to week since being sidelined with a lower-body injury midway through Vancouver’s 5-0 win over the Winnipeg Jets on March 9.

That injury designation hasn’t changed, Tocchet said.

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Demko boasts a 34-18-2 record this season, with a .917 save percentage, a 2.47 goals-against average and five shutouts.

Casey DeSmith has taken over the starting job for Vancouver, going 3-2-1 since Demko’s injury. He has a .899 save percentage on the season with a 2.73 goals-against average and one shutout.

The earliest Demko could be back in the Canucks’ lineup is April 6 against the Kings in Los Angeles.

He’s expected to be a key piece as Vancouver (45-19-8) prepares for its first playoff appearance since the COVID-shortened 2019-20 campaign.

Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin also announced Wednesday that the club has called up forward Arshdeep Bains from the Abbotsford Canucks of the American Hockey League.

“I’d like to see where [Bains is] at,” Tocchet said, noting he isn’t sure whether the 23-year-old winger will slot into the lineup when the Canucks host the Dallas Stars on Thursday.

WATCH | Bains makes NHL debut

 

Surrey, B.C.’s Arshdeep Bains makes Canucks debut

1 month ago

Duration 2:20

Arshdeep Bains from Surrey, B.C., has made his NHL debut with the Vancouver Canucks Tuesday night against the Colorado Avalanche. As CBC’s Joel Ballard reports, it’s been a hard-fought journey for the hometown kid to the big leagues.

Bains played five games for the NHL team in February before being sent back to Abbotsford.

“He went down, he’s done a couple of things that we like, and he’s got some speed,” Tocchet said.

Vancouver may get another forward back in the lineup Thursday.

Dakota Joshua practised in a full-contact jersey on Wednesday for the first time since suffering an upper-body injury in Vancouver’s 4-2 win over the Blackhawks in Chicago on Feb. 13.

The physical winger, who’s set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, has a career-high 26 points (13 goals, 13 assists) this season.

Sitting out injured “hasn’t been fun,” Joshua said.

“It feels like forever,” he said. “But at this point, that’s behind me and I’m moving forward.”

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