‘Incredibly proud of Buffalo’: 11 Day Power Play eclipses $10 million raised for cancer research

On Thursday, the ninth day of the 11 Day Power Play Community Shift at LECOM Harborcenter, the founders of the charity round-the-clock hockey game were a little stressed. They were still short of the $10 million cumulative fundraising goal for the annual tournament started in 2017, and believed it was possible by Saturday’s final shift.

About 3 p.m., the score of the game, in which dozens of teams complete three-hour shifts, was knotted 1,111 to 1,111. Amy Lesakowski snapped a photo of the scoreboard, as did her staff member Sara Schumacher. About an hour later, the 11 Day Power Play eclipsed the $10 million mark two days before this year’s event ended, after a surge of giving.

“Whenever we ask people to rally, they always do,” Mike Lesakowski said. “That’s kind of what we do around here, the people in the community. I think that’s one of the coolest parts of having this event in Buffalo. People are so generous and come together.”

“It’s as if someone was watching over us,” said Amy Lesakowski, the executive director of the annual event. “We’re incredibly proud of Buffalo.”