After COVID 'nightmare,' Sanderson joins Team USA at Olympics

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Jake Sanderson woke up each morning in Los Angeles and checked his phone to find out his latest test result.

After testing positive for the coronavirus at USA Hockey's pre-Olympic camp, the next four results all came back the same. Finally, Sanderson began testing negative and got the five in a row he needed to travel to China.

The University of North Dakota defenseman passed his test at the airport and skated with his U.S. teammates Friday. After a longer-than-expected stay in LA, Sanderson could play against Canada on Saturday or Germany on Sunday and is ready to move past his "nightmare" and on to hockey.

"I was very disappointed and upset with all of it," Sanderson said. "Just a lot of waiting and a lot of hoping I would get here. ... It was a roller coaster and up and down emotions, but at the end I’m here, and that’s all that matters."

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Sanderson took part in one practice stateside before he tested positive for what he said was the first time. Frustration set in for the 19-year-old while the rest of the U.S. men's hockey team flew to Beijing and he waited out the clock for more than 120 hours to build up enough negative COVID-19 tests.

Physically, he felt fine. Sanderson had no symptoms, so he rode the stationary bike and worked out as much as possible. By the tail end of his time in virus protocol, he was even able to get on the ice a couple of times to keep his conditioning level up.

"It was more mentally grueling for him than physically," coach David Quinn said. "It’s been a tough stretch for him here. Any time you’re put in the situation he’s in, it’s not fun, for a variety of