Seven additional members of the Vancouver Canucks were added to the NHL’s COVID Protocols list on Saturday, bringing the team’s total to 14 players.
Forwards Travis Boyd, Jayce Hawryluk, Bo Horvat, Tyler Motte and Brandon Sutter, defenceman Tyler Myers, as well as goaltender Thatcher Demko were the latest players added to the list.
Defencemen Alexander Edler and Quinn Hughes, forwards Zack MacEwen and Antoine Roussel, and goaltender Braden Holtby entered the league’s protocols Friday, based on testing and ongoing contact-tracing. Another player from Vancouver’s taxi squad, whose name has not been disclosed, was added to the list, too.
At least one member of the coaching staff, who has not been publicly identified at this time, tested positive for the virus and was also added to the list Friday.
They joined Adam Gaudette and Travis Hamonic, who entered the health-and-safety protocols earlier this week, prompting the postponement of Wednesday’s game against the Calgary Flames just before the opening faceoff.
A person being on the COVID-19 protocol list does not necessarily mean they received a positive test result for the novel coronavirus, and could stem from them being in close contact with someone who did receive a positive result.
The NHL had already postponed four Canucks games due to the outbreak, which is now not only the largest for a Canadian NHL team at one time this season but is also among the largest any professional North American sports team has faced.
It is not presently known if additional postponements will be necessary. Bill Daly, the NHL’s deputy commissioner, told Sportsnet in an email on Friday there had been “no consideration” given to shortening the Canucks’ season by reducing the number of games they’ll play after emerging from their shutdown.
The Canucks are next scheduled to play on April 8 against the Flames. Vancouver cannot return to practice before April 6. Dates for their rescheduled games have not yet been announced.
The Montreal Canadiens were the first North Division team to have their season paused by the novel coronavirus. Two Canadiens players, Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Joel Armia, were added to the league’s COVID Protocol List on March 23, which prompted the league to postpone four of the team’s games. Montreal was able to return to practice on March 29.
Following these latest alterations to the Canucks’ schedule, eight games in the North Division have now been postponed this season, all since March 22.
A total of 50 games have been postponed league-wide since the NHL season began in January, with 45 of those postponements stemming from health-and-safety protocols. The other five were due to weather-related issues.
In light of the postponements, the NHL regular-season schedule was extended and is currently set to conclude on May 11, as opposed to the original end date of May 8.
OTTAWA – American receiver Justin Hardy will miss the Ottawa Redblacks’ regular-season finale Friday.
Hardy, who leads the CFL in receptions (97) and is second in receiving yards (1,343), was listed off Ottawa’s depth chart Thursday. Hardy was named Wednesday as the Redblacks’ nominee for the league’s outstanding player award.
American Andrew Miller will start in Hardy’s place.
Ottawa (8-7-1) concludes its regular season hosting the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (7-10). The Redblacks have already clinched third in the East and will visit the Toronto Argonauts (10-7) in the division semifinal Nov. 2.
Hamilton has been eliminated from playoff contention.
Incumbent Dru Brown is listed as Ottawa’s starting quarterback.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 24, 2024.
BOLOGNA, Italy (AP) — AC Milan’s weekend match at Bologna in Italy’s top soccer league has been postponed, Bologna officials announced Thursday following extensive flooding in the central Italian city.
The Serie A match had been scheduled for Saturday.
Bologna is the capital of the Emilia-Romagna region, large parts of which have been hard hit by torrential rains and bad weather for days.
The game was not immediately rescheduled.
“Following the flood that affected Bologna, intense work is underway to clean up the situation,” the city of Bologna said while announcing the game postponement on X.
BASEL, Switzerland – Canada’s Denis Shapovalov advanced to the quarterfinals of the Swiss Indoors tennis tournament with a 6-3, 7-6 (4) win over Roberto Bautista Agut on Thursday.
Shapovalov used a strong service game to overcome the Spanish veteran for the win at the ATP 500 event in just under one hour 40 minutes.
The 25-year-old from Richmond Hill, Ont., fired 18 aces, including one to set up match point in the second-set tiebreaker, and won 79 per cent of first-serves and 63 per cent of second-serve points.
Shapovalov, a former top-10 player on the ATP Tour, entered this year’s Swiss Indoors ranked 95th and will appear in just his second quarterfinal of the season.
He improved to 3-0 against Bautista Agut, who he beat in July en route to a quarterfinal appearance in Washington.
Shapovalov will next face the winner of a match scheduled for later Thursday between defending champion Felix Auger-Aliassime of Montreal and France’s Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 24, 2024.
