*Interview and article originally from March 2020
Everyday life has changed vastly over the last month. With the coronavirus pandemic, many are stuck in their homes, businesses are closed, facemasks are needed just to go to the grocery store. Almost everything has been affected in some way. Sports are no exception.
Since the National Basketball Association became the first major sports league to suspend their season on March 11th, the rest quickly followed. The NHL, MLB, and all NCAA sports.
For the NCAA, March and April usually mean playoffs. For college basketball, it’s March Madness and for ice hockey, it’s the Men’s Ice Hockey Tournament followed by the Frozen Four. Both cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
While it was extremely upsetting for fans to accept the circumstances forced on to the NCAA, it was just as tough on the players. Especially, when they saw professional leagues one-by-one postpone their season causing a lot of uncertainty for their season.
Ohio State University goaltender Ryan Snowden was one of the many players competing for the NCAA Men’s Hockey National Championship when the league decided to cancel the rest of the tournament in early March.
Snowden, a freshman at Ohio State University, and the tenth-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes were getting ready to take on the University of Michigan Wolverines when the news that the rest of the season was being cancelled.
“We were in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament and getting ready to play Michigan at Nationwide Arena. After sweeping Wisconsin were feeling really good headed into the semifinals.”
It was an unprecedented move by the NCAA who had to cancel the Division 1 Men’s Ice Hockey Tournament for the first time in its 72 years of existence.
“The team was starting to assume the worst when the professional leagues were canceling their seasons. On the Thursday before our semifinal game we got called into the rink and had a meeting with the whole staff, just informing us of the situation. Then an hour later we were called back to the rink and were told the season was done. It was kind of expected but that didn’t take away the shock factor.”
For student-athletes like Snowden, it was a tough pill to swallow after a long season where the team had clawed its way to a top ten ranking in the country and looked poised for a deep playoff run.
“I think the weirdest part of it all was how it happened,” Snowden remarked. “When the NCAA decided we were going to stop our season I was in shock. I really didn’t know how to react. I just went home and then packed up my stuff and went home for the semester and never really acknowledged what has just happened.”
With players usually playing only four seasons before graduating, the cancellation of one of those seasons is especially tough and the idea of a fifth-year eligibility for student-athletes has been tossed around but is supposedly still up in the air.
“As far as I know the NCAA has not provided a 5th year option to any hockey schools. I heard it was an option at first but that has since changed. I heard they are giving 5th year options to all the spring sports.”
While the eight seniors on the Ohio State roster will have to wait and see if the NCAA hands out a fifth-year eligibility, the rest of the team faces the challenge of how they will move forward and approach this extended offseason.
“The pandemic really hurts the offseason routine I have. Usually I am supposed to be in Columbus for May and work out as a team all month and then we skate when ice is available. This pandemic isn’t allowing us to go back and do these team workouts.”
Residing in Chester County, Pennsylvania which is scheduled to be on lockdown through May 8th, Snowden is left with little options in regard to training.
“With no public to private gyms being open, it’s hard to get into a solid gym routine even though we have a program provided by our trainer.”
Making the situation even more difficult is the unpredictability of the COVID-19 pandemic timeline. While the status of the pandemic remains fluid, it calls into question the status of the 2020-2021 season for NCAA fall sports which begin in mid-October.
“The only thing I have heard about next year being affected is through rumors on social media. Saying next season could be delayed or shortened due to the Coronavirus.”
All in all, it’s an unfortunate situation for everyone, players and sports fans. As their only option is just to wait and hope that come October, players will be back on the ice, stadiums will be filled, and normalcy will be restored to the sports world.
Featured Image: OhioStateBuckeyes.com
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