Marathon hockey game set to break world record

A hockey game being played in Lorette has an unusual goal: what matters isn't winning, it's just finishing the game.

Organizers hope 40 players will play 36 straight hours of hockey this weekend – enough to get into the Guiness Book of World Records for the longest hockey game ever played.

The game started early Friday morning.

"It's a faster pace than we thought," says event volunteer Jim Hardy on Friday. "I think lot of the guys might have forgot they've got to go 36 hours."

The game is very official, with a record keeper eyeing the ice at all times. There are also two cameras in the rink taping the game, to prove to the folks at Guiness that they actually did it.

• Event raises money for new arena •

The 40 players are split into two teams. They get a 20-minute break every hour. The intermission is clearly a welcome res, especially for some of the veteran players.

With no shortage of healthy food on hand – and massage therapists to deal with the inevitable injuries –l; the players say they're pretty sure they can do it.

But it certainly won't be easy.

"Between 21:00 and 2:00 and 7:00 or 8:00 a.m., that's when the body normally wants to shut down,"says John Messner, who is also organizing the game. "It's going to be hard. It'll be important to keep warm and dry and drink lots of fluids."

Each team is expected to score more than 200 goals in the game; they're also hoping to score some money – the event is also a fundraiser to build a new arena for the community.

After 72 consecutive periods of hockey, the players say they'll have earned it.

The game continues in Lorette until 7:00 p.m. Saturday night.