World’s Longest Hockey Game ramps up $1M fundraising efforts in final weekend

Players entered the final stretch of what could be the world's longest hockey game on Friday.

Every dollar donated to support players on the ice who are skating in what they aim to be the longest hockey game ever played to raise money for cancer research and treatment.

Organizers of the World’s Longest Hockey Game will match each dollar donated, up to $100,000, from now through its conclusion on Monday at 6 p.m. to support efforts at Cross Cancer Institute.

That includes the drive to supply the Edmonton cancer centre with CAR T-Cell immunotherapy, a treatment considered one of the most promising advances in cancer care.

The fundraising goal of the game, which is slated to last a world-record 261 hours, is $1 million. As of Friday morning, $796,000 had been raised.

The institute is trying to raise $2.5 million by the fall to make the immunotherapy available in Edmonton.

Forty players who make up Team Hope and Team Cure have been skating at the outdoor rink on host and organizer Brent Saik’s property in Strathcona County near Sherwood Park since last Thursday. They have taken a combined 11,000 shots on net so far this game.

“It’s not that we created something; it’s the community that did this,” a geared-up Saik told CTV News Edmonton before dawn on Friday morning at his Saiker’s Acres. ”They’re so giving, and I’m so thankful people are supporting this.

Saik has been hosting efforts to raise money for cancer care at his property since 2003. The World’s Longest Hockey Game has raised close to $10 million for cancer charities in that time.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Nicole Lampa