The Canadians won a “hidden match” against the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) hockey players. Arriving on the ice an hour late, both teams, coaches and referees wore KN95 masks.
These did not prevent the players from securing their third consecutive victory, beating the ROC by a score of 6-1.
Few details were provided on the reason for wearing the mask and the delay. Four hours after the scheduled start of the match, the International Ice Hockey Federation said on Twitter that the decision was made “out of caution and concern for the health and safety of the players”, without specifying which team did not meet the required sanitary measures.
“With limited information, our team has reached an agreement with the ROC to delay the start of today’s match, explained in a communicated Gina Kingsbury, General Manager of Women’s Hockey for Hockey Canada. It was also agreed that, out of an abundance of caution, all players would wear a mask for the game. »
Missing negative tests
Striker Emily Clark, who presented “an inconclusive test before the start of the match” according to Gina Kingsbury, was placed in solitary confinement just after the warm-up.
The Russians had spent two days in self-isolation when they arrived in Beijing last week, due to a coronavirus outbreak within the team. They played last night a third consecutive game understaffed.
Before the third period, both teams received the necessary negative results, Ms Kingsbury said. The ROC and on-ice officials removed their masks, but the Canadians wore theirs until the final siren.
“We were just told when we got back on the ice that [les résultats des tests des joueuses russes] were negative and that they were not going to play with masks, said Canadian forward Natalie Spooner. “We were like, ‘Well, we had them for the first two periods, why not just keep them? We were already on the rink, so we kept them and went with them. »
During their Olympic preparation, the Canadians got used to playing with procedural masks, but not with KN95s. “We’ve always worn the blues before,” Spooner added. [Les KN95] are actually much better. It’s just a little harder to see the puck well. »
“If Canadian women can, you can”
If the mask did not seem to bother the players, it did react well away from the Olympic bubble. In Belgium and France, in particular, the media relayed the story of this “surrealist scene”.
On Twitter, users highlighted the victory of the masked athletes, and took the opportunity to criticize the opponents of this health measure, who often complain of breathing difficulties.
“After watching the Canadian women’s hockey team beat the Russians 6-1 while wearing N95 masks, I think it’s safe to say that the anti-mask ‘freedom advocates’ stationed in Ottawa no longer really of relevance,” wrote on Twitter Matthew Ferron, professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Montreal.
An opinion shared by Jeff Courteau. Not a scientist, this Twitter user who describes himself as “dad, hunter, sportsman”, believes that “if Canadian women can beat the Russians in hockey by wearing an N95 mask for the whole game, you too can wear a ti mask to get your booze at the SAQ and your king cans at the convenience store. »
On the other side, the People’s Party of Canada of the riding of Pierrefonds-Dollard rather considered the measure as “pure #Propaganda of the #ChinaCommunistParty”, wondering “how the Canadian Olympic Committee and Hockey Canada can accept such absurdity which goes against the basic recommendations of the World Health Organization”.
Team Canada will now face the United States tonight at 11:10 p.m. Montreal time for first place in Group A.
With The Canadian Press.
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