Falcons, Canucks games versus Caledonia get cancelled

Corvairs forfeit two games for failing to meet vaccine deadline

Failure to comply with the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League’s mandatory vaccination policy will have the Caledonia Corvairs opening the junior B regular season with a pair of losses — all before setting foot on the ice for their first meaningful game in more than 18 months.

Both the St. Catharines Falcons and the Niagara Falls Canucks were awarded two points and credit for a victory after their upcoming games against Caledonia were cancelled by the league. St. Catharines had been scheduled to open the season at home Friday against the Corvairs, while Niagara Falls was set to visit Caledonia the following night. Neither game will be rescheduled.

Instead, the Falcons’ first action in league play at Jack Gatecliff Arena will now be versus the Hamilton Kilty B’s on Friday, Oct.1. Taking place the following night at Fort Erie Leisureplex will be the Canucks’ first road game of the 50-game schedule.

Under the league’s mandatory vaccination policy, players were required to be fully vaccinated by the season opener. Two weeks are needed after the second dose before a player is deemed by the league to be fully vaccinated.

“We’ve got about five who are a week short of the second vaccine,” Corvairs vice-president Scott Miller said in an interview.

Caledonia expects to be able to have a full lineup “ready to play” next week, added Miller, also chair of the GOJHL’S board of directors.

Losing those players for the opening week of the season was enough to force the shorthanded Corvairs to stay on the sidelines for their first two games. In the past, that wouldn’t have been an issue with the team being able to summon affiliated players (APS) from minor hockey to fill holes in the lineup.

Miller said that option wasn’t available to the Golden Horseshoe Conference team this time. “We don’t have any APS currently because Caledonia Minor Hockey — that’s where we draw our APS from — hasn’t even started yet,” he said.

Other than players who were late getting their second does, everyone in the Corvairs organization, including volunteers and billet families, is fully vaccinated.

“Everyone else is ready to go,” Miller said.

Unlike teams in such centres as Guelph, Kitchener-waterloo, London, Ont., and St. Catharines, Caledonia isn’t close to a university for players to study at, either on a full- or part-time basis.

“A lot of their players are Brock University students, so they had to be vaccinated,” Miller said of the Falcons. “Ours aren’t because we don’t have a university nearby.”

The Corvairs are “disappointed” to begin defence of their 2019-20 Golden Horseshoe regular-season championship with forfeits.

“I don’t know what to say, kids are kids,” Miller said.

Under the GOJHL’S vaccination policy, all “player access personnel — players, coaches, trainers, team and league staff, officials, volunteers, billet families — were required to be fully vaccinated” by Friday’s season opener.

Members of billet families under the age of eligibility for COVID-19 vaccines are exempt.

Each of the conference’s six Niagara teams is scheduled to see action on opening weekend. On tap Friday are Hamilton

Kilty B’s at Pelham Panthers and Thorold Blackhawks at Niagara Falls.

St. Catharines visits the Fort Erie Meteors on Saturday night with Pelham visiting the Welland Jr. Canadians on Sunday for a 7:05 p.m. puck drop.