The Chilliwack Chiefs had their weekend cut in half by COVID.
Chilliwack’s Saturday home game versus Coquitlam was cancelled by the BCHL after a Surrey Eagles played tested positive for the virus.
Surrey was the Chiefs’ opponent on Friday.
“The League office received notice this morning (Saturday) that one member of the Surrey Eagles has tested positive for COVID-19,” said a website post at bchl.ca. “We immediately reached out to our Provincial Health Office (PHO) for direction as per our accepted plan and they have responded that Fraser Health will contact the team.
“At this point, the athlete has been placed in a 14-day quarantine and all other players and team personnel have been tested and we are awaiting results.”
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The name of the player wasn’t revealed, but odds are pretty good he shared the ice with Chilliwack’s players during Friday’s match.
The teams also met twice the previous weekend.
“We’re all healthy right now,” said Chiefs hockey boss Brian Maloney Saturday night. “I’ve shut everyone down until we hear some results back from Surrey. The whole team has been tested. If they are all negative, we’ll resume. If not I’ll send our whole organization to get tested, and everyone has been told to self-isolate until further notice.”
In a followup text Monday morning, Maloney said his team was hoping to resume activities Tuesday.
On the ice, the Chiefs fell 3-0 in that Friday nighter at the Chilliwack Coliseum. Tio D’Addario, Holden Cardinal and Mark Hillier scored for the visitors. The first two popped pucks past Chiefs goalie Mathieu Caron and the third was into an empty net in the final minute.
Thomas Scarfone stopped all 27 shots he saw for the shutout, earning first-star honours. Cardinal was the second star and Caron the third.
If Chilliwack is back in action this weekend, it’ll be a light one, with just one game on the schedule.
The Chiefs are due to hit the road Friday night for a game in Coquitlam at the Poirier Sports and Leisure Centre.
Puck drop at 7 p.m.
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