Hockey is fast and fun. Players skate on ice while whacking a slippery round puck into the goal. But they get tired fast, too. So hockey players play only for a couple of minutes at a time, taking turns. Well, a group of 20 hockey players just set a world record playing hockey for 261 hours straight! They took turns playing, eating and sleeping for 11 days. One team scored 3,490 goals to the other team’s 3,397 – but everyone walked away a winner!
Wee ones: Hockey is played with a puck, which from the top looks like a circle. Find 4 circle-shaped things in the room you’re in.
Little kids: If there have been 7 goals scored in a hockey game, is the game tied? How can you tell? Bonus: There are 20 players on a hockey team. If there are 12 forwards and 6 defenders and the rest of those 20 players are goalies, how many are goalies?
Big kids: How many more hours would the 261-hour long game need to have been played to run for 11 complete 24-hour days? Bonus: Do you think any player in this game scored 100 goals or more? Why or why not?
Answers:
Wee ones: Items might include edges of cups and plates, watches and clocks, even tiny holes for sneaker laces.
Little kids: No, because an odd number of goals cannot be split equally between 2 teams. Bonus: 2 players are goalies, because 12 + 6 = 18, and 20 – 18 = 2.
Big kids: Just 3 more hours – 240 hours is 10 days, plus 24 more makes 264, 3 more than 261. Bonus: Yes, it’s more than likely, because 3,000 goals divided among 20 players is 150 goals per player on average – and goalies don’t (usually) score!
