The Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) has postponed the fifth and deciding game of a playoff series between the Minnesota Frost and Montreal Victoire in Laval, Quebec, due to a mysterious health concern.
Illness Limited to Montreal
As reported by The Associated Press, the illness is confined to Montreal. Crucially, the PWHL stated that the illness is not consistent with hantavirus, the rodent-borne disease that has recently made headlines after several Canadian citizens were linked to a deadly outbreak aboard an Antarctic cruise ship. No Canadian cases of hantavirus have been confirmed in relation to that cruise ship.
Game Status Uncertain
It was not immediately clear when the game will now take place, though the league expects to provide an update within the next day. The decision was made following consultation with medical personnel and in accordance with the league's commitment to the health and wellbeing of players, fans, staff, and all those involved in the competition, the PWHL said.
The winner of this series will face the Ottawa Charge in the Walter Cup Final after they defeated the Boston Fleet in the other first-round matchup. Minnesota won the title in each of the league's first two years of existence and is aiming for a three-peat.
Series Background
The regular-season champion Victoire and third-seeded Frost have alternated wins, splitting each of their two games at home, including Montreal's 1-0 triple-overtime win in Game 2. The Frost forced Game 5 with a 3-1 win at Minnesota on Friday night. The teams flew together by charter to Minnesota for Games 3 and 4 but traveled back to Montreal separately on Saturday.
The PWHL earlier set Games 3 and 4 of the best-of-five final at Ottawa for May 18 and May 20. It was not clear if those dates would be affected by the postponement.
Hantavirus Outbreak Context
The last remaining passengers of the cruise ship hit by the hantavirus outbreak disembarked Monday and boarded flights to more than 20 countries to enter quarantine. A French woman was the latest to be confirmed as infected, while an American is suspected of infection after initial testing. Passengers began flying home aboard military and government planes Sunday after the MV Hondius anchored in the Canary Islands. Personnel in full-body protective gear and breathing masks escorted the travelers from ship to shore in Tenerife, an effort that concluded Monday.
Three cruise ship passengers have died, and six people with confirmed or suspected cases of hantavirus are being quarantined, according to the World Health Organization. The lab results of the American who tested positive were inconclusive, WHO spokesperson Sarah Tyler said Monday. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus assured that the risk is low and this is not another COVID-19.
Ottawa Charge Advance
Meanwhile, the Ottawa Charge are returning to the Walter Cup Final for a second straight season after Michela Cava scored at 1:12 of the second overtime to lead Ottawa to a 4-3 win over the Boston Fleet, winning the best-of-five PWHL semifinal series in four games. Ottawa lost last year's final to the Frost. The Charge will meet the winner of the Montreal Victoire-Frost series.
