The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Bridgeport Islanders have three players in COVID protocol
BRIDGEPORT — There’s still a pandemic out there, and reminders have been everywhere for the New York and Bridgeport Islanders over the past few weeks.
The parent club is just emerging from a four-day shutdown that had eight players in COVID-19 protocol at one point.
And with six AHL teams in some form of shutdown, the league rearranged 14 games on Wednesday, including three Islanders games: Bridgeport will host Utica on Saturday instead of Providence, which is managing its own outbreak.
Bridgeport general manager Chris Lamoriello said Wednesday afternoon that the AHL Islanders had three players in the protocol.
“There are lots of things going on at both levels,” Lamoriello said. “We’re not in any type of shutdown. We’re managing a number of situations both on and off the ice.”
Lamoriello declined to discuss names or further details.
“We’re taking every precaution not only for them but for everyone else,” Lamoriello said, adding that the team, the league and others involved have cooperated well to do that.
Providence was in Bridgeport on Friday. The Bruins’ coaches were wearing masks behind the bench to start that game; Bridgeport coach Brent Thompson, assistant Rick Kowalsky and the rest of the Bridgeport bench staff donned face coverings by the third period.
“Just wanted to be a little cautious,” Thompson said.
“We saw they were wearing them and said, ehh, we’d better put them on.”
In the preseason, New York general manager Lou Lamoriello said that the entire organization, players and staff, had been vaccinated against COVID-19 except for defenseman Bode Wilde, who was assigned to a team in Sweden soon after.
“We’ve just got to be cautious,” Bridgeport captain Seth Helgeson said. “It’s still there. It’s still what the world’s going through. As a team, we’ve got to continue to be safe and be cautious . ... (and) continue to try to be as normal as we can be.”
The state announced 1,093 new COVID-19 positive cases on Wednesday. The total for the past seven days is over 6,000 for the first time since April.
With no game between last Saturday and this Saturday, Bridgeport didn’t practice on Tuesday, partly for an extra day of rest and partly to let the situation settle.
“We’re trying to follow the protocols and always aware of players’ health. For me it’s just a day to day operation,” Thompson said.
Bridgeport has seven players on NHL recall. Some could be back soon; five of the NHL Islanders’ eight players in COVID protocol had returned to the ice by the time the team returned to practice on Wednesday.
Providence, Hershey, Hartford, Springfield and Rochester “will be following enhanced protocols at the direction of team medical staff and the AHL,” the league’s release said. Bakersfield also had a game postponed earlier this week.
The AHL moved Saturday’s scheduled Bridgeport game against Providence to Dec. 15. Utica had been scheduled to play in Hartford on Saturday (and in Providence on Sunday) but will come to Bridgeport instead. To move that game, which was originally set for March 19, Syracuse will come to Bridgeport that night instead of March 18.