Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN/WGR 550) - The puck is down for the annual 11 Day Power Play celebration that will see an astonishing 2,300 players lacing up the skates between June 21 and July 1 at Harborcenter in Downtown Buffalo.
The seventh 11 Day Power Play is expected to be the largest event yet, which has co-founder Amy Lesakowski very much looking forward to the coming days ahead.
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"We're ready to go. We've got the locker rooms set up, we've got food here for all the players, and it'll be 11 days of hockey to fight cancer," said Lesakowski just after opening faceoff for the event on Wednesday.
Wednesday was not just the opening day of the event, but the opening ceremonies took place in the evening with Sabres play-by-play man Dan Dunleavy, DJ Jickster from 97 Rock, and Allan Davis from WGR Sports Radio 550 hosting the festivities.
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However, the prep work for the 11 Day Power Play got started well in advance of Wednesday's opening faceoff.
"We moved in last Thursday. It does take us a good four-to-five days to get organized," Lesakowski said. "We could not do this without 300 volunteers who come in-and-out daily to help us. We are a grassroots organization with a very small staff, so without the Buffalo community coming to support us, we could never do this."
While the total of volunteers helping out this year totals just under 300 people, Lesakowski is happy to say a lot of the volunteers return every year without needing to do much recruitment
"Our community really cares, and they enjoy it," Lesakowski said. "They're volunteering for a person or more who've been battling cancer or they've lost. This event is not only important to our players, it's important to our volunteers and our spectators as well."
One of the volunteers who returns time-and-time again to help out for the event is Heather Pusateri, who has worked her way up the ladder to becoming one of the lead volunteers.
"The first couple years, I was in the evenings, the couple years after that, I was in super early in the morning, like first shift. This year, I'm in at 9 a.m. quite a bit," said Pusateri on Wednesday.
Not only does Pusateri enjoy her time volunteering for the 11 Day Power Play, she also has a close connection to the yearly event with her working at Roswell Park, one of the main beneficiaries of donations from the event.
"Everybody has literally been touched by cancer. Whether it's someone you know, a family member, it's several family members for me. I've lost a few friends along the way to cancer. It's super important that we raise this money, help fund research for cancer," Pusateri said. "This money directly impacts what's going on at Roswell. What we can do there, what kind of different research activities take place at Roswell. I like that I can work there, and then come here and also help fund that research."
While this is her seventh year volunteering at the 11 Day Power Play, Pusateri says she can never get enough of being part of a great cause in the community.
"I've also gone through two pregnancies here, waddling around behind the merchandise table. Now that they're getting a little bit older, I bring my kids here to watch the closing ceremonies. It's actually inspired my four-year-old to want to take skating lessons, so I'm hoping to see him on the ice someday. But it's something that I look forward to it every year," she said. "My husband accommodates his schedule, my parents accommodate theirs so that I can be here every year."
Pusateri has even done enough to drag some family members into the fray to also become volunteers for the event.
"I've dragged both of my parents and my sister into volunteering, so it's nice seeing them also taking interest to help doing something that I wholeheartedly support and love, and look forward to every year," Pusateri said.
Among the 2,300 players taking part in the 2023 11 Day Power Play is Chuck Panepinto, who was among the several playing in the opening shift of the event on the ice at Harborcenter. He's been taking part in the 11 Day for six of the seven years, and says it was an accident how he even came upon the event.
"We originally started it because we're hockey people, and then we got to know the Lesakowskis, got to know the program, and realized how much good it does in the community," said Panepinto on Wednesday after his shift. "Our group, we play with friends and family for both teams. Everyone's been affected by cancer, so it's an easy go for us. I get to play with my sons, friends and family. Every year, unfortunately, that list gets bigger, and it's just a great cause and a great program to be part of."
When Panepinto was presented the schedule of shifts for the 2023 event and noticed his team was set to take part in the first skate, he admitted it was something he took to heart.
"We were really honored to be the first group. I don't know how many other folks have been part of it since the beginning, but we felt it was a real honor," Panepinto said. "Out of the 30-some guys that played today, probably half of them have been with us for all six years. It was a real pleasure."
Panepinto adds he felt his team set a good tone for how the 11 Day Power Play will play out this year. This included his goalie, Nick Fyvie, playing three hours of hockey without giving up a goal.
Like Pusateri, Panepinto says taking part in the 11 Day Power Play on a yearly basis never gets old. Even though his time playing this year is already over, he says it's something he can write on the calendar as something he must be a part of in order to raise money for a good cause.
"People realize and try to help in different ways, and when you can combine hockey, it's a hockey town and the more people learned about it - I learned about it, and as soon as I heard about it, I was hooked - that seems to be what it is. As people learn about it in the hockey community, whether they're players or volunteers, it's really kind of fun to watch it grow," Panepinto said.
"The fact we're approaching $10 million over the course of the program is pretty impressive, and Mike and Amy do a wonderful job of making everybody feel welcome. They make everybody feel part of the program, and that every little bit helps. And everybody's really excited to help."
When it comes to tending to every player taking part in the 11 Day Power Play, Lesakowski explains there's plenty of preparation that goes into their shift. It's something they take a lot of pride in, and treating every player like professionals.
"They get their jerseys hung, they have their name plates, they get their snack bags, they get their magnet for their car that they can put on they're proud that they played in the 11 Day Power Play. And lots of food, lots of sports drinks, water, they get a water bottle. There's just a lot that goes on behind the scenes," Lesakowski detailed. "The rotating in-and-out, this is our seventh year, we've done two world record games, this is our fifth community shift. We're a well-oiled machine, we've made adjustments through the last few years that have really enhanced the event overall."
While the players get the treatment of professionals every year, Lesakowski says it doesn't happen without the help and support of the community.
"We always have pizza [after a shift]. La Nova came through for us again this year, so every shift gets a pizza party, ultimately. Our community's very generous," she said. "Tops Friendly Markets has been extremely supportive every year, and the amount of snacks that we have for the players, it puts a smile on their face. They're used to going and playing pickup hockey, walking in and having to bring their own supplies. Here we provide that for them, because of our community support."
And what is an 11 Day Power Play event without the great support of the fans that not only donate to support the cause, but also cheer on the players taking part in the community shifts?
"Our doors are open the entire time. Even if it's 2 a.m., our spectators and fans, and family and friends can come here and watch the game. We've got merchandise that we're selling from 6 a.m. to midnight every day, so that's available for our community," Lesakowski said. "Everyone is touched by cancer, and this event is important to our players and our volunteers. But it's also important to their family, their friends and their neighbors."
This year may be a milestone year for the 11 Day Power Play with the possibility of raising an incredible $10 million for cancer research and more over the seven years the event has taken place. As of Wednesday, more than $1.2 million has been fundraised. If the event is able to garner $1.6 million by the end of festivities on July 1, they will reach their $10 million goal.
The money that is raised to the 11 Day is critical. It's critical to four organizations," Lesakowski said.
"Roswell Park has incredible research happening, cutting edge, in our backyard. Immunotherapy is something that we support, because it is able to fight all cancers along with standard treatment, which would be chemotherapy, radiation. And it's less difficult on the body. So immunotherapy is really a focus in cancer care, and we do support that. We've been able to give Roswell Park more than $5 million in the last seven years to support their research.
"We've also been able to send more than 500 kids to camp. Kids that are affected by cancer, whether they are a cancer survivor themselves, or they're the sibling of a cancer survivor, and the kids of cancer patients. Camp Good Days needs to be supported, they provide great services. MakeAWish, we've been able to support over 200 wishes locally to our families here in Western New York, and Oishei Children's Hospital has an incredible collaboration with Roswell Park through their Blood Cancer Disorders Program."
There is still plenty of time for people to donate to the cause this year. Anyone can head to 11daypowerplay.com and click the donate button in the top right corner. You can donate to the overall campaign, or donate to a player or team that you may know playing in the 11 Day this year.
"It's important for all of us. We're all affected," Lesakowski said. "For the people that haven't been diagnosed yet, we never know. More-and-more people play in our event each year, sadly, because they are touched by cancer. We're not stopping. We're gonna continue to play until there's no one left to play for."