COVID shuffles the hockey deck

 On the eve of the Capital District High School Hockey playoffs, a COVID-19 breakout has forced LaSalle Institute, the #3 seed in the South division, out of the tournament.

We reached out to coach Tim Flanigan earlier tonight, and have yet to receive a response, which suggests that Flanigan might in fact have been infected himself. We don't know that, of course, and we hope to have an update in the next 24 hours.

LaSalle's withdrawing from the tournament shuffles the deck, and that's literally the case.

The winless Capital District Jets, the #4 seed in the South, will still play the top seed in the North, Shenendehowa, tomorrow afternoon. LaSalle's departure opens the door for Albany Academy (1-9 overall), which leapfrogs past the Jets into the #3 seed in the South. Dave Rider's Cadets will play Adirondack. The Rivermen have moved into the #2 seed in the North, bumping Saratoga to #3.

Saratoga, which was originally going to host LaSalle, fell from 2 to 3 over the weekend, and now will be on the road, as they'll face South division champion Bethlehem, the defending league champions. Now, this doesn't make a whit of sense. CBA, the #2 seed in the South, will host Burnt Hills, which dropped from 3 to 4 in the North.

Rightfully, the matchups would be like this:

S4 CD Jets @ N1 Shen.

S3 Albany Academy @ N2 Adirondack.

N3 Saratoga @ S2 CBA.

N4 Burnt Hills @ S1 Bethlehem.

We'll see if things change in the next 12 hours.