Ducks players recall other long games

At the end, sometimes it’s all about the T-shirt.

Ducks defenseman Francois Beauchemin, who logged a team-high 46 minutes 29 seconds of ice time in the team’s 3-2 triple-overtime loss to Chicago in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals, skated down memory lane of playoff marathons Wednesday morning before the team departed for Chicago.

Nearly 12 years ago, he played in what was then the longest game in American Hockey League history, lasting until 14:56 of the fourth overtime during the Calder Cup Final. Michael Ryder scored to give Hamilton a 2-1 victory over Houston.

“I don’t know how many minutes I played. ... It’s funny. They made a T-shirt about it because it was the longest game in the AHL history, and we ended up losing [the series], unfortunately,” Beauchemin said. “Those are fun games to play.”

And where is that souvenir of survival?

“I still have the T-shirt at home,” he said.

The Ducks did not hit the ice Wednesday before leaving for Chicago. Beauchemin, 34, said he felt good and got plenty of sleep after the marathon outing, the second-longest game in Ducks history.

For the Blackhawks, it was the longest game in their history. Their previous mark was set in 1931 when they beat Montreal, 3-2, on April 9 in a game lasting 113:50.

“It’s pretty neat to be a part of it,” Chicago’s Andrew Shaw said Tuesday. “I just hope we don’t have any more like that.”

Chicago and the Ducks combined for 118 shots on goal, 116 hits and played for 116:12. Marcus Kruger ended it in the third overtime, scoring the winner at 11:07 p.m.

“I went to bed as soon as I got home,” Beauchemin said. “Didn’t take too long for me to fall asleep. Tough one to lose, but at the same time I think we feel good about ourselves. We had our chances, we just couldn’t capitalize on them.”

Games 3 and 4 are Thursday and Saturday in Chicago. The series will return to Anaheim for Game 5 on Monday night.

Beauchemin’s ice time was surpassed by Chicago defenseman Duncan Keith, who played 49:51.

Did Beauchemin think is was more difficult to recover mentally or physically from such an effort?

“I’ll tell you that tomorrow after I see how I feel in the game,” he said. “Maybe for some guys mentally, it’s hard, it’s tough to lose. But you’ve got to get over it. We lost one game. It could have been a 6-2 game after three periods. But it ended up a 3-2 game in the third overtime.”

Said Ducks Coach Bruce Boudreau: “You don’t think, ‘Gee, this could go into three or four overtimes.’ You never think that.”

Ducks forward Kyle Palmieri said the baton of motivation went back and forth and shifts by particular lines were able to energize the team.

The Ducks and Blackhawks were trying to stay well-fueled with snacks and fluids during the intermissions. Palmieri said the mood in the dressing room was quiet at the start of the breaks.

“There wasn’t too much talking,” he said. “But at the same time, you start ramping it up the closer it gets to getting back on the ice, there was a lot of chatter.”

Shaw’s bid to end it in double overtime with a soccer-style header was disallowed, leading the Ducks and Blackhawks to learn something new about the regulations.

“I didn’t know that was a rule until tonight,” Ducks left wing Patrick Maroon said. “So, I mean, that’s clever on his part.”

Palmieri had another overtime tale, reaching back to a youth hockey game in New Jersey.

The championship game went on and on.

“I think it went four on four, three on three, two on two, one on one,” Palmieri said. “And I remember losing, and I was out there for the one on one. That was probably the longest game before this. ... It got down to the one-on-one stage. It’s pretty much breakaway for breakaway at that point.”

He suspected that particular format was soon ditched after his experience.

So, do his parents have a video of it?

“They might,” he said. “I might have made them delete it though.”

Follow Lisa Dillman on Twitter @reallisa