The Storhamar Dragons players Christian Bull (28), Mikael Zettergren (91) and Magnus Eikrem Haugen (16) celebrate Joakim Jensen (21) who scored the game-winning goal in the longest playoff game ever.
photo: Fredrik Olastuen
A playoff quarter-final game of the top Norwegian men’s league broke the overtime record set in the NHL in 1936. Storhamar Hockey needed 11 periods, eight overtime periods, to beat Sparta Sarpsborg 2-1. The game time was 217:14 – a new world record breaking the old one that took 176:30.
The score line on the website of Storhamar Hockey looks like this:
Storhamar – Sparta Sarpsborg 2-1 8OT (0-0, 1-0, 0-1, 0-0, 0-0, 0-0, 0-0, 0-0, 0-0, 0-0, 1-0)
Erik de la Rose, the elder brother of Swedish NHLer Jacob de la Rose, opened the scoring for the home team in the middle frame.
When Henrik Knold tied it up for the visiting team 2:20 into the third period, the 5,526 fans in Hamar didn’t know yet how much hockey they’d get for their money. Those who stayed until the very end basically got three-and-a-half hockey games for the price of one.
The teams went scoreless in seven overtime periods. At 17:14 of the eight overtime period eventually Joakim Jensen beat Sarpsborg goalie Samuel Ward with a shot from the right face-off circle for the home team’s game-winner and ended a game for the record books.
The Storhamar players left the bench and celebrated their victory in the eternal battle like they had won the championship. Their slogan “Vi gir oss aldri” (We never give up) became true, literally.
Here’s the shot-on-goal recap: 95-93 (9-2, 7-8, 8-10, 8-6, 10-14, 10-8, 4-7, 12-11, 7-11, 11-9, 7-7)
The score line on the website of Storhamar Hockey looks like this:
Storhamar – Sparta Sarpsborg 2-1 8OT (0-0, 1-0, 0-1, 0-0, 0-0, 0-0, 0-0, 0-0, 0-0, 0-0, 1-0)
Erik de la Rose, the elder brother of Swedish NHLer Jacob de la Rose, opened the scoring for the home team in the middle frame.
When Henrik Knold tied it up for the visiting team 2:20 into the third period, the 5,526 fans in Hamar didn’t know yet how much hockey they’d get for their money. Those who stayed until the very end basically got three-and-a-half hockey games for the price of one.
The teams went scoreless in seven overtime periods. At 17:14 of the eight overtime period eventually Joakim Jensen beat Sarpsborg goalie Samuel Ward with a shot from the right face-off circle for the home team’s game-winner and ended a game for the record books.
The Storhamar players left the bench and celebrated their victory in the eternal battle like they had won the championship. Their slogan “Vi gir oss aldri” (We never give up) became true, literally.
Here’s the shot-on-goal recap: 95-93 (9-2, 7-8, 8-10, 8-6, 10-14, 10-8, 4-7, 12-11, 7-11, 11-9, 7-7)
The game ended after 217:14 played. Including stoppage and intermissions the game took eight-and-a-half hours. It started on Sunday, 12 March at 18:00 in the evening and ended late night at 2:30. The Sparta Sarpsborg players yet had to get home buy bus and arrived at 6:15 in the morning. Many of the players are semi-pro and would have a day job or school today. “I cannot imagine they are going there,” Sparta Sarpsborg manager Daniel Bjornberg told vg.no.
Jensen was happy to score the game-winner and end the world-record game. “It was good. It was in any case the longest [game] I’ve ever had. It’s close to 3am. It will be good to get home and lie down,” the 29-year-old forward told TV2. “I had cramps in both thighs since the fifth period but I reckon that I’m not the only one who is tired. There was a lot of pizza and pasta. We ate one to three meals during the game.”
There won’t be too much time to relax though. Thanks to the win Storhamar leads the best-of-seven quarter-final series 3-2 but it continues already tomorrow in Sarpsborg.
Longest hockey games in history:
1. 2017, Norway, Storhamar Hockey vs. Sparta Sarpsborg, 217:14
2. 1936, NHL, Detroit Red Wings vs. Montreal Maroons, 176:30
3. 2008, Germany, Kolner Haie vs. Adler Mannheim, 168:16
4. 2015, Belarus, Yunost Minsk vs. HK Gomel, 165:11
Jensen was happy to score the game-winner and end the world-record game. “It was good. It was in any case the longest [game] I’ve ever had. It’s close to 3am. It will be good to get home and lie down,” the 29-year-old forward told TV2. “I had cramps in both thighs since the fifth period but I reckon that I’m not the only one who is tired. There was a lot of pizza and pasta. We ate one to three meals during the game.”
There won’t be too much time to relax though. Thanks to the win Storhamar leads the best-of-seven quarter-final series 3-2 but it continues already tomorrow in Sarpsborg.
Longest hockey games in history:
1. 2017, Norway, Storhamar Hockey vs. Sparta Sarpsborg, 217:14
2. 1936, NHL, Detroit Red Wings vs. Montreal Maroons, 176:30
3. 2008, Germany, Kolner Haie vs. Adler Mannheim, 168:16
4. 2015, Belarus, Yunost Minsk vs. HK Gomel, 165:11