Pro hockey playoffs are unlike any other in sports. There are games virtually every other day with no time to heal, travel at odd hours on cramped buses, and bruises that keep adding up. Everyone plays hurt, many with injuries that will require surgery after the season.

Now add to that the tension and outright fear of facing an overtime period in a do-or-die Game 7.

That's what the Komets' support staff faced Monday night in Game 7 of the Turner Cup Finals, and the work they did during the three overtime intermissions helped the Komets win the championship. Here's a little of what it was like:

After giving up the game-tying goal with 52.2 seconds left in regulation, the players are ticked off coming into the locker room. A few angry remarks are quickly shut down.

“Be quiet, we're not talking about the last goal,” veteran Komets center Colin Chaulk says. “It's over, and that's it. Focus on what's ahead.”

Equipment manager Mark “Bones” Bradtmueller and trainer Shawn Dundon make sure everyone has sports drinks and Pedialyte waiting in their stalls. Bradtmueller said the Komets will drink more than 200 quarts of water during the game, trying to stay hydrated.

That water comes out as sweat, and the humidity in the locker room goes up dramatically with 18 dripping, worked-up players moving around. Bradtmueller throws a load of towels and T-shirts into the dryer in his workroom. There's no time to wash them first.

“You rinse them off and throw a few dryer sheets in there to get the smell out,” Bradtmueller says. “After the first overtime, you're reusing what you started the game with.”

Several players estimate they'll lose 10 pounds during a game like this, and three or four change T-shirts every intermission, hoping a dry shirt compared to a wet one will give them a little extra speed. Bradtmueller and assistant Andy Desmond also turn on the hairdryers for the players' gloves and some of their skates.

Dundon has a bucket of ice available by a player's stall to ease the pain from a blocked shot, and the team doctor is also available if a player has any questions or needs stitches. Dundon, who was on the ice more during the game than the Zamboni because of injuries, also hands out several ice bags. One player has a bad slash on his arm, one a hip pointer and another a sore hip flexor.

“There are so many injuries the guys are playing with right now, it's just unreal,” Komets center Terry Marchant says. “It will all come out over the next few weeks. Nobody knows anything right now, but there were a lot of guys who are hurt and bleeding.”

Some players yell for food, so Bradtmueller hands them a candy bar for quick energy. Dundon sends Gary Ruch to the supermarket for bananas before the third overtime starts, but the store is closed.

“You have to have a strong mind,” Chaulk says. “You can't think about the cramping, the sore legs and muscles or the fatigue. If you do, it's a sign of weakness.”

The locker room mood is critical, and Bradtmueller and Dundon's attitudes are a large part of that. The last thing players need are distractions for items that aren't available immediately.

“You're basically playing an extra hockey game and then some, so your body starts to give out,” Dundon says. “You've got to try to help the guys as best you can, be there for whatever they might need and just do what you can.”

Bradtmueller also checks with players to make sure their skates are sharp and their sticks are not flimsy.

“There's nothing that we don't normally do during the regular season,” Bradtmueller says. “We got 56 wins, so obviously we were doing something right. We just carry that over to the playoffs.”

Dundon and Bradtmueller are playoff veterans who have been on championship teams before. They know what to listen to and what to ignore. They are vital parts of the team.

“I think experience pays off,” Dundon says. “It can determine how fast you can get somebody back out on the ice and how confident you are in your decisions. If you are not confident about your decisions, the player is not going to be, either.”

They are doing all this work while the players talk about the game, and then coach Al Sims walks back into the room near the end of the intermission. The coach preaches positive, looking every player in the eye.

“We are out-chancing them, outshooting them,” Sims says. “The better team is going to win, so don't worry. Just persevere, stay in it. We are going to win the game.”

And when they finally do, Bradtmueller and Dundon take part in the celebration. No one needs ice for bruises.

“It was just for the beer,” Dundon says, his shirt and hair plastered by sweat and champagne. “Nothing hurts when you win.”

They just have to clean up when the party finally ends.