World Juniors: USA forfeits game to Switzerland due to multiple COVID-19 cases

The United States forfeited Tuesday’s world junior championship game against Switzerland after two of its players tested positive for COVID-19 and were placed in quarantine, along with the rest of Team USA.

Switzerland won the game 1-0 as a result of the forfeit.

The two players haven’t been identified and the team’s quarantine status will be re-evaluated ahead of its next game against Sweden on Wednesday.

This was always going to be one of the risks of playing a major tournament outside of a bubble with the Omicron variant leading to an ascending number of COVID-19 cases throughout December across basically every pro and amateur sports entity.

In a move that seemed resoundingly hypocritical, the IIHF canceled the upcoming women’s U18 tournament under the guise of player safety but allowed for the men’s competition to continue, with the medal round scheduled for January per usual. There are still 19 games remaining in the tournament.

As it stands, the United States, Switzerland and Russia all hold 1-1 records with three points each, while Sweden sits atop Group B with a 2-0 record and six points.

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