PUCK DROPS ON HOCKEY MARATHON

For Mike Lesakowski and 39 of his hockeyplaying friends, it’s game on. And on and on and on. From the opening faceoff Thursday night to the final whistle set for the morning of July 3, the group of mostly 40-something Buffalonians will be on the ice playing one continuous game spanning 11 days — or 251 hours, to be exact. Their goal is to raise US$1 million for cancer research and break the Guinness World Record mark of 250 hours, three minutes, 20 seconds set during an outdoor game in Alberta in 2015. Teams will be split into groups of about seven players (five skaters, a goalie and a spare), with each playing four-hour shifts. Aside from countless aching bones and worn-out skates, Lesakowski projects there will be more than 4,000 goals scored. And with referees and linesmen on hand they will have official scorekeepers logging stats, as required by Guinness.