Eleven days, a world record, and a whole lot of heart
BUFFALO, N.Y. – For those involved in the 2021 11 Day Power Play, Thanksgiving held special meaning this year. The 11-day hockey game met both of its goals: The event exceeded its fundraising goal, raising $2.1 million dollars to organizations that help families dealing with cancer, and the Frozen 40 – the players themselves – secured the Guinness World Record for the longest continuous hockey game. They beat the old record, setting the new one at 252 hours and 50 seconds.
The dedication of the folks who make up the 11 Day Power Play is matched only by our team members, whose commitment to this charitable event mirrored the Frozen 40 every step of the way. Excelsior Orthopaedics was not only the presenting sponsor, but we also provided our staff behind the scenes. For six months leading up to the event, several team members dedicated their time to helping the Frozen 40 get physically ready for the 11-day challenge.
During the 11 Day Power Play itself, many more Excelsior team members – trainers, therapists, dietitians, and doctors – were stationed at the event, 24/7, to ensure the needs of the players were met and to keep them able to safely play hockey. It is hard to measure the effort, selflessness, and emotion so many people poured in to the 11 Day Power Play to make it a success, but we CAN quantify some of the ways in which our people were hard at work. Over the course of those 252 hours and 50 seconds, 32 certified athletic trainers, six therapists, one dietitian, and doctors make up the manpower we had on-scene at Buffalo Riverworks. Together, they provided more than 800 recovery treatments. And when it comes to supplies, these team members used:
- 440 rolls of taping products
- 40 yards of cover roll
- 500+ heel and lace pads
- 288 Band-Aids
- 528 blister gel pads/squares
- 250-300 donut pads
- 100-150 bags of ice
To those who came down to support us and cheer on the team, thank you. To those who donated money, thank you. And to the team members who partook in the event, making direct impacts on the successful outcome of the event, thank you isn’t enough. You embodied the Excelsior Orthopaedics’ spirit of BLEED BLUE! Congratulations to all who were involved!
