Halifax forced to reschedule date due to new Nova Scotia restrictions
(Trevor MacMillan/Halifax Thunderbirds)
The Halifax Thunderbirds have announced that their home date on January 8th against the New York Riptide has been moved to February 4th due to revamped restrictions put in place by the province of Nova Scotia.
The Thunderbirds, who were on a bye last week, next compete in Calgary against the Roughnecks on December 30th. The team is currently 2-0 after opening the 2021/22 National Lacrosse League regular season with a pair of impressive home victories against the Saskatchewan Rush and Toronto Rock.
Nova Scotia, like most of North America and abroad, are seeing soaring cases of COVID spreading. As was the case earlier during the pandemic, the province will be enforcing stricter restrictions than most other areas of the country. This includes gathering limits.
As CTV News Atlantic outlines, “Only virtual events are allowed – there are no in-person events such as festivals, special events (including receptions), sports games or tournaments, or arts and culture performances.”
(Trevor MacMillan/Halifax Thunderbirds)
In today’s announcement, Thunderbirds President and CEO, John Catalano, said, “The government of Nova Scotia has done an excellent job of keeping the province and its residents safe during this pandemic, and we will continue to follow their guidance. We would also like to thank our partners at the Scotiabank Centre, along with the NLL and the Riptide for all working together to make this change.”
So far, today’s move is the lone NLL game this season to require rescheduling, although the Rock were limited to 50% capacity (as mandated by Ontario) during last weekend’s home game in Hamilton against the Philadelphia Wings.
The same can’t be said of rosters, however, league lineups recently taking a hit due to the rapid spread of the Omicron COVID-19 variant.
Six players presently sit on the league’s COVID-19 protocol list:
Jeff Teat placed on COVID-19 protocol list (Dec. 10) Read More
Cory Highfield: Second player placed on COVID-19 protocol list (Dec. 12) Read More
Corey Small, Alex Crepinsek and Mitch Wilde added to COVID protocol list (Dec. 17) Read More
Toronto places Tom Schreiber in COVID-19 protocol (Dec. 18) Read More
For player confidentiality and privacy, the league does not disclose the specifics about why a player has been placed in COVID protocol.