The pandemic storm that continues to rage is forcing the Western Hockey League to think quickly on its feet.
The 14-day quarantine shutdown of the Kelowna Rockets earlier this week due to an outbreak of the virus that affected six Rockets players and two staff members has prompted some last-minute changes to the WHL schedule.
One of those changes is the Prince George Cougars will play the Vancouver Giants in Kamloops Sunday at 6 p.m. That game was supposed to happen Wednesday in the Kamloops hub but the game was postponed as a precaution.
The Cougars will also play on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. in Kamloops against the Victoria Royals. The Cougars defeated the Royals 5-3 for their first win of the season Monday in Kelowna.
Two games next week on the Cougars’ original schedule have been postponed, including a meeting with the Giants Thursday in Kamloops and a Saturday, April 10 encounter with the Rockets in Kelowna.
The Rockets suspended all team activities Tuesday just before their scheduled game against Kamloops. Assuming the Rockets pass their COVID-19 protocols after their two-week quarantine, their next game will be on Saturday, April 17 in Kamloops against the Cougars.
For more schedule updates, check the WHL website at whl.ca.
LOOSE PUCKS: The Cougars should have defenceman Hudson Thornton in the lineup Sunday to play the Giants in his first WHL game. Thornton, 17, was the Cats’ second-round, 33rd overall pick in the 2018 WHL bantam draft. The Winnipeg native signed with the Cougars in February but has had difficulty obtaining his release from the Fargo Force of the USHL and he arrived in Kamloops on Sunday. He had two goals and two assists in 22 games with Fargo this season. Thornton played in the BCHL last season for the Chilliwack Chiefs and had six goals and 17 points in 54 games… The WHL has yet to rule on disciplinary action on Cougars winger Craig Armstrong, after he went knee-on-knee in an open-ice collision with Kamloops Blazers left winger Fraser Minten six minutes into the third period in Thursday’s game in Kamloops. Armstrong was assessed a major penalty for kneeing and a game misconduct. Minten was injured on the play and Armstrong is facing a suspension…. Cats backup goalie Tyler Brennan’s commitment to join Canada’s national team in the IIHF U-18 world championship in Texas, April 26-May 5, will result in his leaving the Cougars for the rest of the season late next week. The WHL season ends May 12 and Brennan would not be able to rejoin his teammates due to COVID protocols which require 14-day quarantines for international travelers returning to Canada. Ty Young, a 16-year-old rookie from Coaldale, Alta., will take Brennan spot on the Cougar bench. Young was an eighth-round bantam pick of the Cougars in 2019. Young played this and last season for the Lethbridge Hurricanes U-18 team in the Alberta Midget Triple A Hockey League.
