Longest Hockey Game Ever Raises Nearly $2 Million for Cancer Research

The world’s longest hockey game ever has finally ended.

Final score: 2,649-2,528.

The contest took place on a rural, outdoor rink north of the border and it was so cold at one point that the hockey pucks made of galvanized rubber were shattering. But even that couldn’t stop a group of hockey enthusiasts from staying on the ice to raise money for cancer research.

A group of 40 people took turns playing for 24 hours a day in Edmonton, Alberta in Canada for a game that began on Feb. 4 and concluded on Monday, Feb. 15 at 6 a.m. for a grand total of 252 hours, or 10 and a half days of continuous hockey to set a new Guinness World Record.

Edmonton winters are not for the faint of heart with an average temperature of about 19 °F but the weather during the game was absolutely brutal at times and reached as low as -40 °F. Skate blades cracked and pieces of equipment began to fall off because the glue stopped working at those literal bone-chilling temperatures.

Even in those conditions, the game is a labor of love for all those involved. In addition to the players, there were 572 volunteer shifts for those who helped work the event. The final tally of money raised came to $1,840,000 for cancer research at the University of Alberta. Simply amazing.

The event’s Facebook page succinctly summed up the incredible undertaking, “Real people. Real impact. Real Lives saved”.

Couldn’t have said it better.