Imagine how satisfying it will feel for 40 players near Edmonton who will finally unlace their skates Monday after 10 straight days of hockey.

Participants in the World's Longest Hockey Game are nearing the finish line of their goal to break the Guinness World Record. When the event wraps up on Monday afternoon at an outdoor rink in Sherwood Park, Alta., the game will have lasted 250 hours.

The previous record was set by a group of southern Alberta players who iced a team for 246 hours and two minutes three years ago.

But the goal isn’t just to break the world record, the team is hoping to raise $1 million for the Alberta Cancer Foundation. The money is being collected to help the Cross Cancer Institute in Edmonton purchase a new PET/MRI Scanner.

As of Sunday night, the event has raised more than $550,000, according to fundraiser’s website.

"I know it's really important for the players to reach that million-dollar mark by the end of the game tomorrow, so we are looking for the community to continue to support them," said Bobbi Wolbeck, associate director at the Alberta Cancer Foundation, told CTV Edmonton.

This year's game has featured some appearances from current and past NHL players.

Former Edmonton Oiler's defenceman Janne Niinimaa was one of the 40 players to lace up his skates for the cause. The 39-year-old flew in from his home in Finland to participate.

On Wednesday, another former Oiler defenceman, Marty McSorley, dropped by the event to show his support.

And on Friday, injured Oilers star Taylor Hall was on hand to sign autographs.

The group has hosted record-breaking games before. In 2003, organizer Brent Saik put together a 40-person squad in memory of his father, who died of cancer.

The game lasted 80 hours and raised $150,000.

Two years later, Saik organized another game in honour of his wife. She was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma when the couple were planning for 2003 game, and died later that year.

The World's Longest Hockey Game has raised more than $2.1 million from four previous record-breaking games, including the first one in 2003.

This year, to keep players fresh, they typically stayed on the ice for four-hour shifts and rested for eight hours. Players also had the option to sleep in on-site trailers.

With files from CTV Edmonton