Greyhounds game against Sudbury postponed due to COVID (update)

The Soo Greyhounds have an unexpected day off from game action on Wednesday.

On Tuesday afternoon, the Ontario Hockey League announced the suspension of team activities for the Sudbury Wolves after 12 players tested positive for COVID-19.

The news means Wednesday’s scheduled game between the Greyhounds at Wolves at the GFL Memorial Gardens has been postponed.

It’s one of three games postponed as a result and includes a home-and-home set for the Wolves scheduled for this weekend.

The games are the first this season to be postponed due to COVID-19.

“The league has done a good job,” Greyhounds general manager Kyle Raftis said Tuesday afternoon. “There’s always going to be some cases here and there, no different than the regular population. With everybody being vaccinated, you hope that it’s just mild symptoms or asymptomatic. All the kids have been doing a great job. Even with us going across the border and getting tested a lot over the last little bit, they’ve been really diligent on that side of it. It’s a good reminder that we have to stay that way.”

Raftis said that, while a testing schedule isn’t in place, players have been tested regularly.

“For us, we haven’t really been doing too much regular (testing) because every time we’ve been going across the border, we’re testing before we leave,” Raftis said. “On our last trip, we tested twice on that weekend and sometimes there’s random testing when you’re coming back through so there are some guys that are tested multiple times in a week.”

Raftis added that the Greyhounds schedule when it comes to how road trips have been set “we’re basically getting tested (at least) once a week.”

In a release, the league office confirmed that all 12 players “are currently asymptomatic of exhibiting mild symptoms.”

A specific timeline hasn’t been set for when the Wolves will be able to return to team activities and further games could be affected beyond the three already postponed.

The Greyhounds are scheduled to return to action on Friday night at home against the Guelph Storm.