Outdoor hockey players in Alberta break records, raise $1.8M for cancer research

SHERWOOD PARK, Alta. — The world’s longest hockey game has broken multiple records this year.

Forty people took turns playing hockey on an outdoor rink 24 hours a day, seven days a week since Feb. 4 to raise $1.5 million for cancer research at the University of Alberta.

They hit the 252-hour goal around 6 a.m. Monday and will break their own Guinness World Record.

Organizers said on the event’s Facebook page that they have raised a record $1.84 million so far.

“The final score of the game was 2,649 to 2,528 for Team Hope,” said the post. “But the real winners? Cancer patients at the Cross Cancer Institute.”

The game was played on a rural property near Sherwood Park, Alta., during an extreme cold weather warning that persisted for much of the last 10 days.

Pucks were shattering as players passed them along the boards, skate blades broke in half, pieces of masks fell off as glue let go and goalie pads cracked in the bitter cold.

Temperatures dropped to between -40 C and -55 C with the wind chill at times.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Feb. 15, 2021.

The Canadian Press