Pictured are members of the Beaver Club and participants in the 11 Day PowerPlay over the summer.

The Fredonia Beaver Club, with help from the Beaver Club hockey team, was proud to support the 11 Day PowerPlay. This year’s team raised $14,731 and when combined with our opponent, Greenpac Mill, over $20,000 was raised in the three-hour “community shift.”

After more than 250 consecutive hours of hockey and $1.7 million raised for cancer research and patient support, this year’s 11 Day Power Play officially wrapped. “It’s an 11-day continuous hockey game, every three hours, teams come in and out,” Mike Lesakowski said.

“It’s amazing how much this has grown,” Amy Lesakowski said. “We now have almost 3,000 participants.”

The 11 Day PowerPlay, led by Fredonia State grad Lesakowski and his wife, has raised over $12 million since its inception in 2017. All funds go to support cancer research and support for families in the battle through the Make A Wish foundation, Camp Good Days, and Roswell Park/Oishei Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorder Program.

Teams play a three-hour game, “or community shift” and raise money through fundraisers and donations. Beaver Club hockey captain Greg Krauza stated, “We entered a team in 2018, the first year of community shifts, and have raised over $60,000 in support. The Beaver Club and all the players on our team do so much for the community but this one is personal.”

Krauza continued, “I am proud and thankful for the great group of players who donate their money, time and energy as they gut out a three hour shift. We love hockey and hate cancer so this is the opportunity to use our passions to make a difference.”

This year Beaver Club hockey had three players, Krauza, Mike Formanowicz and Tim Biddle receive the PowerPlayer designation for individually raising over $1,100.

Beaver Club President Dave George said “We support our community in so many ways. We all have a connection with the battle against cancer. Our support of this event helps those in the battle and their families as well as providing funds to research how to end this horrid disease.” The Beaver Club, located on Prospect Street in Fredonia, was established in 1937 and has been supporting village and area causes from the beginning.

The 11 Day Power Play, Inc. was founded by Lesakowski and his wife in 2016. Eight years earlier, she was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer. But thanks to Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, she had a successful outcome. In 2013, Mike Lesakowski’s mother was diagnosed with lung cancer, and she succumbed to her disease. These events inspired Mike and Amy to want to give back in a big way to the organization that saved Amy’s life.