Still waiting for Grand Final dates

22 March 2021 Agidel, playoffs

The delayed conclusion to the Women’s Hockey League season will now take place some time after the Women’s World Championship. A statement from the WHL on Monday confirmed that there will not be time to complete the series in the gap between Agidel’s players emerging from quarantine and the start of the pre-tournament camps for the competing national teams.

The KRS Vanke Rays were due to start the final series against Agidel back on March 13, and the best-of-five series was scheduled to finish no later than this weekend. However, shortly before the opening game, several Agidel players tested positive for COVID-19. Subsequently PCR tests confirmed the initial diagnoses, and the Ufa team had to enter quarantine. As a result, the games were postponed.

Now, although Agidel’s players will soon be able to come out of isolation, the various national teams preparing to contest the World Championship in Nova Scotia between May 6-16 are planning their pre-tournament camps. As a result, there will not be time to enable both teams to prepare for and contest the season’s biggest games before our international players are released to join their countries. International call-ups affect both teams, with the Dragons and their opponents having prospective national team players from Russia, USA, Canada, Finland and the Czech Republic on their rosters.

The Women’s Hockey League, in consultation with the Rays, Agidel and all other stakeholders, will decide on a new schedule for the final. Those dates will be announced in due course.