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NAHL Pauses Its Campaign Until Further Notice

Jamestown’s Zach Brydges skates up the ice during a North American Hockey League game at Northwest Arena earlier this season. P-J file photo by Chad Ecklof

The Jamestown Rebels’ season may be over.

The North American Hockey League announced Thursday that effective immediately all 2019-20 NAHL regular-season games have been paused until further notice due to the COVID-19 virus and outbreak.

“This is an unprecedented time and situation. First and foremost, we want to be sure we are doing what is best for the hockey community: players, teams, fans, and officials,” said Mark Frankenfeld, NAHL commissioner. “In the past 24 hours, it became clear that we needed to follow a path that was consistent with what has transpired in the hockey world, particularly with our partners at USA Hockey, the NCAA, the NHL and the USHL.

“We will continue to monitor the situation daily with everyone involved and we understand that given the current landscape, things could change at any moment,” Frankenfeld added. “Our No. 1 goal is to resume play as soon as possible, but only when it is safe for all of the parties involved. The NAHL Board of Governors will reconvene on a conference call on Friday to discuss further action.”

The Rebels were set to host the Maryland Black Bears at Northwest Arena on Friday and Saturday. Jamestown was then supposed to play at the New Jersey Titans on March 20-21 before their final series of the regular season at Northwest Arena on April 3-4 against the Johnstown Tomahawks.

“In compliance with the North American Hockey League, the Jamestown Rebels have officially suspended regular-season play until further notice due to potential COVID-19 concerns,” the Rebels said in a prepared statement. “This includes the cancellation of the home games previously scheduled to be played Friday, March 13 and Saturday, March 14 at Northwest Arena. The Rebels organization would like to thank our fans and partners for their continued support.”

Local youth hockey teams were also affected by concerns surrounding the virus.

The Jamestown Lakers were scheduled to play in the New York State Amateur Hockey Association Tier III championships next weekend in the Buffalo area. The town of Amherst was already limiting crowds at Northtowns Center, but once USA Hockey canceled its national championships, the state organization did the same with next weekend’s tournament.

Jamestown was also scheduled to play in the Rochester Rumble this weekend, but in association with USA Hockey’s decision, organizers decided to cancel that event.

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