The Ohio State women’s hockey team will be delayed to start the hockey season in 2020-20021. That’s because the Women’s League of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) has announced the pause in starting the season on Thursday. The move was expected but announced officially after approval by the Women’s League Board of Directors.
“From day one, our discussions have centered around providing our student-athletes safe, meaningful competition opportunities,” League Commissioner Jennifer Flowers said. “While our desire was to begin the season as scheduled, our Board and the leadership at our member institutions recognize that is not an option given the current climate.”
“Our primary focus continues to be the health, safety and wellness of our student-athletes, coaches, support staffs, officials and fans. We are actively engaged in the crafting and implementation of a return to play model that includes a new start date, addresses the diverse guidelines our member institutions are operating under and recognizes today’s ever-evolving medical and safety environments.”
“This decision comes as our member institutions, which have only recently seen students return to campus, are concentrating on fulfilling their educational mission in the current landscape. Their success in tracking and meeting those challenges, coupled with rapid advances in COVID-19 testing, provide new data that inform our efforts. The League office and membership are working tirelessly to develop protocols allowing us to safely drop the puck on our season. We look forward to announcing a start date as soon as it is reasonable to do so.”
We’ll keep you posted here at Buckeyes Wire as a start date becomes available, including a schedule that is also being worked on by league representatives.
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