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Legen.........wait for it.............dary

Sioux Falls Stampede co-captain Pat Tiesling helped lead his team to a surprising Clark Cup championship last weekend, but after the game, Tiesling had his eye on a different type of record.

Former NHL player Shjon Podein is said to have set a record when he decided to wear his full equipment for 25 hours after he won the Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche in 2001. It’s not really an official record, but everyone recognizes that it’s probably a record, because anyone who has smelled sweaty hockey equipment before can’t imagine anyone staying in it longer.

Podein is a Rochester, Minnesota native and has always been an active, and friendly guy in the hockey community. Tiesling had had the opportunity to train with Podein on a couple of occasions and they had become acquaintances. After the championship game, Tiesling called Podein from the locker room and told him that he was going to break Podein’s record, and wear his equipment for 26 hours after his victory. Those around Tiesling thought he was joking.

While his teammates undressed and showered, Tiesling was busy taping hockey socks to his skates so that he didn’t ruin his skate blades. From there, he got on the team bus with his teammates for the 5 hour trip from Waterloo, Iowa to Sioux Falls, South Dakota. I’m not sure who had to sit next to him on the ride home, but I feel sorry for whoever it was.

Once he arrived back in Sioux Falls, Tiesling went to sleep for the night. The next morning, Tiesling gave a few interviews about the Clark Cup victory. That evening, Sioux Falls was scheduled to have their team banquet. About 500 Sioux Falls fans showed up for the banquet. Tiesling, being a team captain, had to give a short speech that evening, which he did, still in full equipment which he had been wearing for almost a day.

At about 11:30 the next night, Tiesling was getting ready to hit the shower when he got a call on his cell phone. The call came from Shjon Podein, who was calling to check in and see if his record had in fact been broken. After Tiesling told him that he had made it, Podein spent a while talking with him about hockey, and winning championships.

So Tiesling is now the record holder for longest time spent in equipment after winning a championship. I’d also hope he at least came close to the record for longest post-game shower. I think it’s a valuable lesson to all the kids out there that you can achieve greatness, or at least, notoriety, if you put your mind to it.