"Most hockey games last a couple of hours. This week, a playoff game between a pair of 12-and-under girls hockey teams in Minnesota took three days. On Monday night, the Cottage Grove Wolfpack and St. Paul Saints met in a District 8 postseason matchup. With the score tied at 1-1 after the customary three 15-minute periods, the game went to overtime ... and that's when things began to go off the rails."
"Tuesday came. Overtime periods 7, 8, 9 and 10 were played. But after an hour, another team needed the ice, and neither team had broken through. The teams headed home once more. Now a dilemma loomed: with the winner of the game, whoever it might be, needing to play Thursday in the next round, there had to be a winner Wednesday night no matter what."
"Enter an on-the-fly rule change. It was decided Wednesday that an 11th overtime would be played that night, in a traditional 5-on-5 format. Then, if there was no winner, the ensuing 12th overtime would go to a 3-on-3 format, looking to open up the ice a little more. And if the score were still knotted after a 12th period, a shootout would decide"
Two 12-and-under girls teams, Cottage Grove Wolfpack and St. Paul Saints, played a District 8 postseason game in Minnesota that stretched across three days. The contest was tied 1-1 after three 15-minute periods and remained deadlocked through ten 10-minute overtime sessions played across Monday and Tuesday, with play paused each night due to ice availability and scheduling. With the next-round game scheduled for Thursday, organizers implemented an on-the-fly plan: play an 11th overtime 5-on-5 on Wednesday, then a 12th overtime 3-on-3 if needed, and a shootout if still tied. The extended play forced scheduling and format adjustments.
Read at ESPN.com
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