CIS University Cup hockey game goes 5 hours in quadruple overtime

If the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men's hockey team seemed a little sluggish at practice on Friday, they had a good reason for it.

On Thursday, the team played in a quarterfinal game at the CIS University Cup in Halifax that stretched into a fourth overtime period.

"It was pretty intense. When you make it to seven periods in a game, tensions are going to be pretty high," said left-winger Parker Thomas.

126-minutes of hockey

The players played hockey for more than 126 minutes before Thomas scored for a 3-2 win over the Carleton Ravens.

"I'm just glad I could finish it and get some guys some rest," said the second-year player.

The game started at 4 p.m. and took more than five hours to complete, delaying the other quarterfinal game scheduled to start at 8 p.m. The St. F.X. X-Men didn't take the ice to play the University of Alberta until after 10 p.m. 

Playing a full 60-minute hockey game alone is taxing enough, and players were worn out by the fourth overtime period, Thomas said.

"I'm sure you could tell watching the game. The pace got much slower," he said.

And the pain only got worse once the game ended and they made it to the locker room.

"A lot of guys were cramping up, couldn't move," said Thomas.

Players hit the cold tubs to help fuel their recovery for their next game, which is a semi-final on Saturday.

Record-setting game

The game set a record for length in national championship tournament history, eclipsing a 2002 game that featured an extra 43:17 of extra play. Thursday's game had 66:11 of overtime play.

Thomas says he and his teammates all agreed on one thing.

"We'll be telling our kids about this one," he said.