‘Community’ is the focus for 11 Day Power Play encore

A battle was won, but the war continues. This time, they are bringing more troops. That’s the mindset as the 11 Day Power Play returns to Harbor-Center July 5-15, with the Community Shift.

Co-founded by husband/wife duo Mike and Amy Lesakowski, the 11 Day Power Play was a marathon hockey game that captured worldwide attention last summer as 40 men from Buffalo attempted to break the world’s record for the longest continuous hockey game, with the goal of raising $1 million for Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo.

The 11 Day Power Play played nonstop from June 22 to July 3 — just over 250 hours — and raised $1.2 million.

This summer, the Lesakowskis are bringing 11 Day back with a twist, as this edition opens the door for the public to strap on the skates and join in the war against cancer.

"Really, it stemmed from the positive feedback we got from the community during our original event," Mike Lesakowski said. "We had tons of people reach out to us and say, ‘I want to play a shift or I want to play on a day.’ They didn’t really understand what (11 Day) was. Obviously it went pretty well. We raised a lot of money for a good cause."