'World's Longest Hockey Game' players battle extreme cold in Canada

Feb. 9 (UPI) -- A group of players attempting the Guinness World Record for the world's longest hockey game in Canada said they are contending with temperatures of minus 58 degrees.

The participants in the World's Longest Hockey Game in Strathcona County, Alberta, said they began Feb. 4 and are aiming to play until 6 a.m. on Feb. 15, when the game will have lasted for 252 consecutive hours.

The players said the extreme cold has added some extra challenges to the already demanding test of endurance.

"The first shot I took, my goalie stick just exploded. Other than that, we've gone through dozens of pucks. They keep shattering. There's shrapnel of pucks all over the place," player Andrew Buchanan told FortSaskOnline.

He said players have also found the furnaces in their trailers are breaking down due to the extreme cold.

The players, who each take 6-8 hour shifts on the ice before resting, are aiming to raise about $1.2 million for cancer research.

"Cancer is our number one killer in the fire service, so I'm here in honor of a few friends that have recently passed away," Buchanan, a Strathcona firefighter, told CTV News. "Its time to make a change, so that's why I'm here. The cold is nothing and what our co workers go through is way worse than this."