St. Lawrence coach tests positive for COVID-19, withdraws from NCAA men's hockey tournament
The St. Lawrence University men's hockey team announced their withdrawal from the men's hockey NCAA tournament due to their head coach testing positive for COVID-19 on Sunday, one day after winning their conference tournament.
Saints coach Brent Brekke announced he had tested positive for the virus in a statement released by the school Sunday night.
"The roller coaster of emotions in the last 24 hours for everyone is unimaginable. Last night we are holding the trophy above our heads and today we are shaking our heads in disbelief that the season is over. This hurts," Brekke said in the statement.
The team, which entered the Eastern College Athletic Conference men's hockey tournament at 4-8-3, defeated Colgate in the semifinals and knocked off regular-season champion Quinnipiac in the title game Saturday night to secure the conference's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.
The win gave St. Lawrence its first NCAA Tournament berth since 2007 and first league title since 2001.
The tournament is scheduled to begin on Friday and Saturday, which conflicted with New York and NCAA quarantine guidelines, and made St. Lawrence unable to accept a tournament spot. Runner-up Quinnipiac will take the conference's automatic birth.
Contact Jordan Mendoza at jamendoza@usatoday.com or on Twitter @jord_mendoza.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: St. Lawrence coach tests positive for COVID-19, no NCAA Tournament
