On Saturday, the IIHF announced that they've cancelled multiple exhibition games scheduled for the next several days. This is due to the extended quarantine period for the German and Swedish teams following the news of their positive COVID-19 tests.
Germany is currently in quarantine until December 24th with eight players testing positive, while Sweden will be in quarantine until December 21st with two members of the coaching staff testing positive. Both teams will no longer play any exhibition games before the puck drops on the tournament on Christmas Day.
With the announcement of games being cancelled, the IIHF released an updated pre-tournament schedule, which will begin on December 22nd. Each of the eight teams not in quarantine will play one warm-up game.
December 22nd will see Switzerland take on Austria at 6 pm ET/4 pm MT (local time), and Finland battle the USA at 9:30 pm ET/7:30 pm MT. On December 23rd, Canada will play their rivals, Russia, at 6 pm ET/4 pm MT, and Slovakia will face the Czech Republic at 9:30 pm ET/7:30 pm MT.
IIHF cancels six World Juniors pre-competition games. MORE: https://t.co/JiWUwoOQv0 pic.twitter.com/1z2szlA3kz— TSN (@TSN_Sports) December 19, 2020
The tournament will get underway as mentioned on Christmas Day with a triple-header featuring Switzerland vs Slovakia, Germany vs Finland, and Russia vs the USA.
