Philadelphia Wings forward Cory Vitarelli added to NLL protocol list
Cory Vitarelli (Photo: Kate Frese)
Just days after moving previously sidelined stars Corey Small & Alex Crepinsek from protocol to their active roster, the Philadelphia Wings have been forced to place forward Cory Vitarelli in protocol as well.
Vitarelli officially becomes the eighth player this season to be placed on the NLL COVID-19 protocol list. Teammates Small & Crepinsek are the only two who have been moved from protocol back to their team’s active roster.
It’s expected that many if not all players who had been placed in protocol prior to today will be activated before their team’s next regular season game. Players currently still in protocol include: Jeff Teat (Dec. 10), Cory Highfield (Dec. 12), Mitch Wilde (Dec. 17), Tom Schreiber (Dec. 18), Carter McKenzie (Dec. 29), and now Vitarelli. San Diego Seals General Manager & Head Coach, Pat Merrill, is also presently in protocol.
Due to player confidentiality and privacy, the league or its teams do not disclose the specifics about why an individual is in COVID-19 protocol.
A week after postponing three Week 5 games due to do the pandemic, the National Lacrosse League today confirmed that they do plan on proceeding with their upcoming Week 6 schedule, which features six games with a total of twelve teams. Only the Halifax Thunderbirds and Teat’s New York Riptide will not be competing this weekend. The two teams were schedule to play against one another in Halifax on January 8th, but due to new tighter restrictions put in place by the province of Nova Scotia, the Thunderbirds were forced to move that home date to February 4th. Currently, the only Canadian club not dealing with increased restrictions for indoor gatherings are the Saskatchewan Rush. US-based NLL clubs also appear to be under little to almost no government-mandated scrutiny in comparison to most franchises north of the border.
Friday’s game between the Colorado Mammoth and Vancouver Warriors will be the first NLL game since December 18th.
Earlier this evening, NLL Commissioner Nick Sakiewicz, tweeted, “It literally takes a village to make sure we can keep things both safe and exciting. Thanks to all on our very expansive team who will get us back in the arena this weekend.The league provided the following statement to media earlier today regarding Week 6:
We have been in daily contact with our players, team officials, health authorities, and building operators, and we fully expect to return to play this weekend.
There are six games on the Week #6 schedule including:
Swarm at Wings on ESPNEWS, Saturday, January 8 at 12Noon ET
Rock at Bandits, NLL Sports Interaction Game of the Week on TSN, Saturday, January 8 at 7:30pm ET
While this remains a fluid situation, which we will keep monitoring, all indications are that our teams, players, and broadcast partners are ready to go. We again thank all of those involved in the decision process as we all collectively keep health and safety as our top priority.