By Rory Carroll

(Reuters) -Five former players on Canada’s 2018 world junior ice hockey team, who were cleared of sexually assaulting a woman in a hotel room that year, will be barred from participating in games until at least Dec. 1 as the NHL said their conduct “fell woefully short” of league standards.

Dillon Dube, Cal Foote, Alex Formenton, Carter Hart and Michael McLeod — all members of Canada’s 2018 gold medal-winning world junior ice hockey team — will be eligible to sign NHL contracts no earlier than October 15 and return to play from December 1, the league said.

The decision follows their acquittal on charges of sexually assaulting a woman in a hotel room in London, Ontario, following a gala to celebrate the team’s victory.

The five were acquitted in July, with Superior Court

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