One goal precipitated more than 25,000 teddy bears to rain down on the Scotiabank Saddledome ice on Sunday night.
The Calgary Hitmen of the Western Hockey League hosted their 19th annual Teddy Bear Toss game, and the tradition unsurprisingly lived up to its billing once again. With more than 17,000 fans packing the stadium to partake in the great cause, the crowd was ready to throw its stuffed animals on the ice after the Hitmen scored their first goal, as is customary.
The eager fans had to hang on to their teddies for a while, though, as forward Pavel Padakin didn’t light the lamp until the 3:42 mark of the second period, setting off the barrage of stuffed animals. Padakin also triggered the special scene in last season’s game.
The official count of teddy bears thrown on the ice came in at 25,591, and the team will distribute them to various charities. Hitmen players will also visit the Alberta Children’s Hospital on the day after the game to personally hand out the bears to patients.
Check out the avalanche of stuffed animals in the video below.
