COVID-19 shuts down two QMJHL teams

QUEBEC CITY — Rising numbers of COVID-19 cases in Quebec's two major city centres forced two QMJHL teams to shut down on Monday for the rest of October.

The Quebec Remparts and Blainville-Boisbriand Armada have postponed October games on orders from the Quebec government. All team sports in Quebec's ‘red zone' were shut down for the month.

The Armada and Remparts will miss eight games each. There is no word on whether those games will be rescheduled.

The 10 other Quebec-based teams will continue to play hockey. The six teams in the Maritimes will also continue as usual.

The league issued a statement Monday afternoon questioning the government's ruling.

“Following the Quebec government's announcement to prohibit the practice of sports in the designated red zones, the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League is very disappointed in this decision.

“The conduct of our activities has been above reproach since the start of training camps at the end of August. The return to play protocol was approved and applauded by public health officials in Quebec and by the three Maritime-based provinces in which the league operates. It has been hailed as thorough and effective. The league would like to congratulate the players and team staffs for its flawless execution.

“Over the course of the next few days, we will share with Quebec public health officials additional measures which will render the BlainvilleBoisbriand Armada's and Quebec Remparts' bubbles even more secure. We hope that these new directives will be well-received by Quebec's health agency. The QMJHL is convinced that these additional measures will go above and beyond what is required to protect our players, staffs and officials and enable all of our teams to continue playing.”