Officials say it's unclear whether illness being experienced by some players and staff members is H1N1

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by dwayne tingley
times & transcript staff

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Moncton Wildcats head coach Danny Flynn spent most of yesterday wrapped in toasty blankets and only getting out of bed a couple of times. He figures about half his players were doing the same thing.

The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League team has been sideswiped by the flu. It was forced to postpone Sunday afternoon's game, scheduled for the Moncton Coliseum, against the Montreal Juniors after the flu and injuries left the team with just 11 healthy players.

Two of the Wildcats are showing symptoms of the H1N1 virus, but it is unclear whether they have it. Medical test results on those players should be known today.

General manager Bill Schurman said doctors have told the Wildcats to treat the players as if they have the H1N1 virus so they have been quarantined and told to stay home for at least five to seven days. The team has not released the names of the players.

Meanwhile, Flynn said he was feeling a little better yesterday than the day before, but he was still light-headed with a fever and chills. Some of the sick players were also showing signs of improvement while others appeared to be getting worse.

"From what I hear, it's going to be two or three days before the fever and sick feeling go away," Flynn said in a telephone interview.

"We're not going to practise for a couple of days to give all of the kids time away from the rink and the dressing room," he said. "We're also going to give the room a good cleaning. It will be sanitized and ready for their return."

Wildcats are scheduled to play the Val d'Or Foreurs on Thursday and the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies on Friday at the Coliseum.

Schurman said the team is planning to play those games, but a decision will be made today after officials check on the health of the sick players and see updated medical reports. Wildcats are also planning to reschedule their game against Montreal for a date in early January, when the Juniors are in the Maritimes for another road trip.

Fans who had tickets for Sunday's game can hold them and use them for the January game, return them to the team for a full refund or exchange them for a ticket to another game.

Wildcats were given vaccines for both the seasonal flu and the H1N1 last week. "We practiced Saturday night and everyone seemed fine," Flynn said. "On Sunday, I started getting calls, one-by-one, and players were telling me they could not play because they were sick.

"It didn't take long to realize we were going to be short of players. We didn't have enough players to play the game so we informed the league and the league acted quickly to postpone the game on Sunday afternoon."

League rules stipulate the team must have 16 players, including two goaltenders, to play a game. The illness came so quickly, the Wildcats could not find enough players to fill out its roster.

"We're doing all we can to help the sick players," Schurman said. "These players are away from home and while they are here, we are entrusted with their care. We have to treat them as if they are our own kids."