Erie Otters Temporarily Suspend Hockey Activities Amid COVID-19 Spike

The rampant rise of COVID-19 cases in hockey is not only impacting the NHL. 

Hockey's junior ranks have been ravaged by the virus in their own right, with the OHL announcing that the Erie Otters have temporarily suspended all hockey activities after 13 players tested positive for COVID-19 in the league's latest round of testing. 

Along with the closing of facilities, the Otters' upcoming games on Dec. 17 versus the Guelph Storm, and Dec. 18 versus the Kitchener Rangers have been postponed, as a result. 

While this news is certainly dour, it's not entirely "doom and gloom". 

The OHL has a vaccine mandate that is enforced league-wide, one which required that all players and staff members to be fully vaccinated prior to the start of the regular season. Needless to say, the vaccine is crucial in lessening the symptoms and spread of the virus in those who have contracted it. One can only imagine how much worse this outbreak could have been for those impacted if they were unvaccinated. 

Details regarding make-up dates for the postponed games have yet to be determined.