The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) has cancelled the remainder of the 2022 World Junior Hockey Championship.

This is reportedly due to the rising cases of Covid-19 positive test results, and the increasing spread of the Omicron variant.

This tournament, which was being hosted in Edmonton and Red deer, Alberta, has allowed 4 days of games take place.

But, with the recent increase in infections and positive test results on the Russia, Czechia and the United States teams, the IIHF has made the difficult decision to cancel the rest of the scheduled games.

After the Czechia-Finland game was forfeited, the IIHF announced that referees and linesmen would have to wear masks during games until further notice. Though, masks were not enough for this tournament to continue.

The cancellation comes after IIHF’s decision late last week to cancel all events that started in January, including the women’s under-18 world championship, which is a decision that was heavily criticized.

This cancellation also marks the end of the tournament for three Kamloops Blazer, Dylan Garand, Logan Stankoven, and Marko Stacha.

Garand and Stankoven were playing on Team Canada, while Stacha was on Team Slovakia.

All three Blazers are expected back in Kamloops, likely by tomorrow.