Renata Fast and Team Canada have tried to turn the disruption of their delayed game against Finland into a positive, taking advantage of the extra time to settle in and practice.Jamie Squire/Getty Images
After the spread of norovirus shook up the women’s Olympic hockey tournament this week, players on Team Canada say they have been trying to use the disruption to their advantage.
The postponement of Canada’s opening game against Finland Thursday, after the virus tore through the Finnish dressing room, has forced the squad to quickly recalibrate.
While most of their rivals have already seen Olympic action, Canada was instead waiting on the sidelines for the first few days. Healthy but with no games to play, the squad drew up a new strategy: a nighttime practice, team bonding at the athletes village, and acclimatizing themselves to the Milan time zone became their new priorities.
“We got to use that opportunity that night as an extra time to practice and kind of get into a sleep routine here because we have some later games throughout the tournament,” said Canadian forward Jennifer Gardiner, who is making her Olympic debut in Milan.
“Just taking every single disadvantage and using that to our advantage,” she said.
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The team has stayed upbeat amid the upheaval, Gardiner said.
“I think it is what you make of it. If you talk about it and let it kind of creep in, it’s going to create noise for the group and everything, but I think our team specifically is just kind of playing with the cards that we’re dealt,” she said.
The outbreak within Finland’s roster left the team seriously depleted earlier this week, with as few as 10 of their 23 players able to practice, while the remaining 13 were recovering from the illness or in isolation.
The situation also forced the Swiss team to pull out of the opening ceremony Friday night after one of its players tested positive. Swiss officials then placed the whole team in isolation to prevent further spread.
There is optimism that after a Swiss women's hockey player tested positive for the norovirus that the outbreak may be contained, as Finnish players have begun to get back on the ice after their roster was ravaged by the illness.Bruce Bennett/Getty Images
Believing the situation is now contained, Finland and Switzerland resumed their schedule Saturday, with Finland playing the U.S. and the Swiss facing Canada.
“No other player showed any symptoms,” Flavia Tschumi, spokesperson for the Swiss Ice Hockey Federation said in an email. The team’s chief medical officer, Hanspeter Betschart, said the incubation period for the illness had passed, and there were no concerns about playing, assuming no new cases develop.
Norovirus is a highly contagious form of stomach flu that spreads in crowded, contained spaces, such as cruise ships, and the illness can last several days, weakening those affected. However, outbreaks can be brought under control by isolating those who test positive and employing stricter hygiene measures, such as extensive hand washing and avoiding touching the face and mouth.
Though the situation is considered an outbreak within the Finland dressing room, Olympic Games executive director Christophe Dubi tried to play down the matter Saturday, saying he disagreed with the characterization. He suggested it affected five athletes.
Finland played with a full bench, including 20 skaters and two goalies, Saturday against the United States.
The situation is an unexpected headache at the Olympics, shuffling schedules and raising fears that it could disrupt both the women’s and men’s hockey tournaments, among other events, if it were to worsen. Dozens of NHL players representing Canada, the United States, Sweden, Finland and other countries began arriving in Milan this weekend.
Doctors representing all 10 countries in the women’s tournament have been in close communication with each other, Canadian Olympic Committee officials said.
Teams have also agreed not to shake hands after games without wearing their hockey gloves. After Germany beat Japan the two teams saluted fans in the arena rather than forming a handshake line.
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Gardiner said Team Canada doctors have instructed the team to heighten their precautionary measures, including avoiding crowded areas of the athletes’ village.
“We trust our team staff and what they’re telling us, just to the extent of extra hand washing, masking if it feels necessary, and just putting ourselves in the best situations,” Gardiner said.
“Obviously there’s thousands of athletes, staff, volunteers that are being brought into one space and sharing many common areas. ... But I think even when we first got here our team staff prepped us and warned us that things like this could happen just with the amount of travel that people had to do.”
Canadian forward Blayre Turnbull, an assistant captain, said doctors briefed the squad about the Swiss situation on Saturday morning and were comfortable that the risk from playing Saturday would be manageable.
Team Canada's players have tried to take advantage of the extra time that their game delay has given them. That led to some lighter moments in a practice earlier this week.Jamie Squire/Getty Images
Turnbull said it was good to have a nighttime practice after the Finland game was postponed, since it helped the team get used to the time difference in Italy.
“It was honestly really good that we had that practice because we’re not used to getting on the ice that late at night. I personally didn’t feel great on the ice, so now I know kind of how I can adjust some things during my day,” she said.
“Obviously it sucks that our game was postponed and that Finland was sick, but getting the chance to practice at that hour, I think it will help me and a lot of other players.”
Several of Canada’s veterans also played on the 2022 Olympic team in Beijing, where the pandemic required heightened health measures. Goaltender Ann-Renée Desbiens said that experience has informed how Canada travels at the Olympics, even before the norovirus situation began.
“Even before knowing that, we made sure as a team that we were really respectful, we were washing our hands, taking care of each other, protecting each other,” Desbiens said. “So I guess that hasn’t changed now that there’s something kind of spreading around the teams. But it’s been contained so far, so we’re pretty happy about that.”
With files from The Associated Press