The Storhamar Dragons beat the Sparta Warriors, 2-1, early this morning in the Norwegian League playoffs in Norway, in what is believed to be the longest official game in hockey history.

Joakim Jensen ended the game with a goal in the eighth overtime, more than 8 1/2 hours after the game started. After the game, Jensen said he been dealing with cramping in his leg since the fifth overtime and was looking forward to going home and going to bed.

Storhamar outshot Sparta 96-93 in the game, which started at 6 p.m. local time on Sunday and ended at 2:32 a.m. the next morning.

Players will not have long to recover. It was only game five of a best-of-seven series between Storhamar and Sparta, and only a quarter-final matchup. The Dragons lead the series three games to two. The two teams meet again on Tuesday evening.

The longest NHL game went to six overtimes. That was in the 1936 Stanley Cup finals. Mud Bruneteau's goal gave the Detroit Red Wings a 1-0 victory over the Montreal Maroons.