The National Women's Hockey League suspended play of its season Wednesday after several positive COVID-19 tests, cutting off the two-week season just short of reaching the Isobel Cup Final that was scheduled for Friday.

In a statement announcing the decision, the NWHL wrote the league and the Olympic Regional Development Authority, which helped to put on the bubble in Lake Placid, agreed to suspend the season after the new positive tests.

Speaking to reporters in a press conference, NWHL commissioner Tyler Tumminia said that when she started to get test results last night, the COVID-19 numbers in the bubble were not trending in the right direction.

"Our actual numbers, per se, were not alarming in comparison to the scope of other... sports leagues," she said. "However, if you project a number that was going to happen, it doesn't make sense for us [to continue]."

Tumminia said the main concern was the safety of the players and staff.

The decision came after two teams, the Metropolitan Riveters and the Connecticut Whale, had already dropped out of the bubble.

Anya Packer, executive director of the NWHL player's association, said there's an extensive amount of contact tracing.

"So at this point we're investigating internally," she said. "Right now what we're trying to do is make sure our athletes are safe and go back to insure that we've figured out where there might have been a chink in the armor."

Teams began arriving to Lake Placid two days before games were scheduled to beging, leading to some questions on if there should have been a longer quarantine period before play started. But that may not have been possible given the realities of the NWHL, where players have to work while still playing a professional sport.

"I think hindsight is always 20/20 in everthing that anyone does here," Packer said. "I think we can all look at the situation and say that. But for us and for the [player's association] specifically, we regularly advocate for our athletes to have the function to work as well as play. We aren't yet in that position where they're full-time athletes. We're all focused on the same thing — we're definitely fighting for that goal. But when we looked at our season, to increase the amount of support that we could give our athletes, it does make it a little bit more challenging with the resources that we have."

Although they league didn't provide dates for a resumption or specifics about play, Tumminia made it clear that the NWHL sees this as a suspension of the season and not an outright cancellation.

She also saw the season as a whole as a positive.

"I actually see it as a success. I was 12 hours away from history," she said, referencing the planned national broadcast of the semi-finals and Isobel Cup Final on NBC Sports Network. "I mean, I gotta tell you, it's really just frustarting and breaks my heart. But overall, I really, truly believe that this is successful. We saw a lot of hard work and grit. I'm very proud of where we got to this point."

The suspension is another tough bump for the Boston Pride, who never got to play in the Isobel Cup Final last year as the coronavirus pandemic began to worsen.

Although they didn't have anyone available at the press conference, the team released a short statement on Twitter.

According to The Boston Globe, Pride head coach Paul Mara and five others in the Pride organization tested positive.

It's been a rocky weeks for the NWHL. It's had teams drop out, got in a skirmish with Barstool Sports and now has had to stop its season whole because of the pandemic.

But the NWHL also announced major partnerships, like its one with Discover, and saw a notable amount of interest in games during the bubble.

But with the coronavirus still raging, every step forward for a league can feel like another two back — no matter what league is playing.