The 11 Day Power Play surges on at Buffalo RiverWorks this week, as Thursday marks Day 5 of the event for players and staff members involved.
As of Wednesday afternoon, more than $1.87 million has been raised for cancer research supporting organizations such as Roswell Park, Oishei Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Program, Make-A-Wish and Camp Good Days. The fundraising goal for the 2021 event is set at $2 million, adding to the more than $5 million the event has raised since 2017.
The 2021 event features the "Frozen 40", which consists of 40 players taking part in a continuous hockey game that stretches the entire 11 days en route to breaking a Guinness World Record for the longest hockey game played. This year's 11 Day Power Play goes "back to its roots" after the original event in 2017 featured 40 players who broke the Guinness World Record playing at Harborcenter.
So how are the players holding up through the first handful of days at RiverWorks? According to Amy Lesakowski - co-founder of the 11 Day Power Play along with her husband, Mike - the group is holding its own.
"The players are doing amazing and spirits are up. They've been very supportive of each other," Lesakowski said on Wednesday. "Day 3, Day 4 are probably the most difficult days for them. We have a few injuries, but they're trucking through. [One player has] a broken hand, [but] he's still playing. They're determined to get through this event."
"Holding up pretty well," said WKBW-TV chief meteorologist Aaron Mentkowski, who happens to be one of the "Frozen 40" players in this year's event. "I tell you, Day 4 is definitely difficult. Every body part hurts; A lot of ibuprofen today."
"It's still competitive hockey, but Day 4, from what I've heard from the veterans, it's kind of like delirious. You kind of lose what day [it is], track of time. You knew it was going to be a physical and mental grind, that's why it's a world record - no one else has done it - and you can see why."
The 2021 11 Day Power Play presents its own challenge for everyone involved in the event. While this year's event is not being played in negative-30 degree weather in February, as it was in February of 2020 in Alberta, Canada, it is an adjustment playing outdoors, in part due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Today is a little bit warmer, but the last couple of days, especially in the middle of the night, were really extremely cold," Lesakowski said. "We're expecting a snow storm, apparently, on Monday and Tuesday, so we're preparing for that as well."
So how did Lesakowski and the rest of the 11 Day staff who put together this year's event comply to potentially break a world record during a pandemic?
"We moved our living space to these 14 bedrooms so that we could break our players up to prevent a spread, if potentially there was a COVID case," she explained. "Guinness had to exempt us from being rinkside, so we are inside of RiverWorks on the second floor, but we have video cameras and constantly recording any movement through entrances and exits. Those movements are generally myself, my event manager, and our assistant Nate working around these 40 players. So far, so good. They've not had any specific problems with our paperwork or video footage, so we look like we're going to get this record and we're just praying that's what happens."
What else does the 11 Day staff have to do in order to comply with Guinness to be considered world record holders?
"Guinness has standard requirements for winning the world's longest hockey game. One of them is to follow all NHL rules, so we had to go from two [referees] on the ice at all times in 2017 to four refs on the ice at all times," Lesakowski said. "We wouldn't be able to do this without all these volunteers that are coming in and out, and we have two witnesses in the scorebox at all times, as well. 24 hours a day, 11 days straight, documenting what they're seeing, keeping score. Our event manager, Sara Schumacher is uploading all of the documentation at 2:30 a.m. EST every day, along with all the video footage to prove to them that this game is never stopped, we're following NHL rules.
"On the very last day, the 24th, Guinness will be here. Their judge is named Claire, and she is looking at all of our work over the last 10 days. On Day 11, she's here for eight hours, with her eyes only on this game to really determine at 6 p.m. EST whether or not we are going to win this record. She will either present us with a plaque congratulating us or not, so this is a hockey game, but this is also to prove to Guinness that this game has never stopped."
While the process of breaking a Guinness World Record seems like jumping through a lot of hoops, the main goal for the staff and players remains the same: Raise as much money as possible for cancer research.
"Nothing can prepare you [for this]," Mentkowski said. "We've trained for a long time, but the sleep depravation and just being hungry and sore, and knowing you're not going to be able to heal until after this is over. But we all have the same goal. I wouldn't trade it for anything. The 40 of us are just really digging deep and having a blast supporting everyone, and it's just an amazing group working all towards the same goal of raising money for cancer research and all those different causes here in Western New York."
Through the opening four days, the support for everyone involved in the 11 Day Power Play has come from everywhere. This includes some high profile people in the Buffalo sports world, including Hockey Hall of Famer Dominik Hasek, new Buffalo Sabres forward Alex Tuch, and Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen.
"That this year has been truly incredible," Lesakowski said of the celebrity guest appearances. "Here we have Dominik Hasek on the first day; we didn't even know he was going to be here. He came through, he toured the living space. Then we get Alex Tuch on Monday, cheering on the players, walking through the living space to really see what these players are going through. And then most recently [on Tuesday], Josh Allen. I mean, him and Brittany came in, went right to the bench high-fiving the players. It's a huge deal for them, especially on Day 3. It's the most difficult day. So it's just another example of Buffalo and how awesome it is."
"I think the fun has been that we have not known that they are coming. That's a surprise to even us, as organizers. There wasn't any invite, it was basically anybody can come on down, and here we get three celebrities that really wanted to support the players."
As some high profile names are making appearances at RiverWorks, all are welcome to stop by through the next several days to support the players on the ice, and also help contribute to the cause off the ice.
"So when you come down to RiverWorks, you can make signs, you can fill out a 'Wall of Hope' puck that will go right on the glass for the players to see who they're playing for, who they're playing in memory of or in support of," Lesakowski said. "This is a hockey game, but we're here to fight cancer and we really want to get more people down here. The players really need it, so come on down, make a sign and cheer them on."
You can learn more about the 11 Day Power Play and make a donation to the cause at www.11daypowerplay.com.