Issue link: https://read.uberflip.com/i/1064942
JANUARY 2019 USAHOCKEYMAGAZINE.COM // 41 O ne of the game's most colorful time- honored traditions comes when fans celebrate a player scoring a third goal of the game by tossing their hats on the ice in honor of the 'hat trick.' While the scene creates quite a spectacle with the ice littered with caps of various s h a p e s, s i z e s a n d c o l o r s, i t m a y p a l e i n comparison to another toss brought on by the puck finding the back of the net. In the 25 years since its i n c e pt i o n , t h e Te d d y B e a r Toss has become one of the greatest holiday promotions in all of sports. All it takes is one goal by the home team t o s e t o f f a n e x p l o s i o n o f goodwill as cute and cuddly stuffed animals rain down from the rafters and crash to the ice where waiting atten- dants attempt to scoop them up with all the futility of using a coffee cup to bail water from a leaking boat. Once they are corralled, team officials whisk them away to be distributed to deserv- ing boys and girls through toy drives and at local children's hospitals. The Hershey Bears recently made headlines on Dec. 2 when Riley Barber's goal unleashed a world record barrage of teddy bears. The AHL affiliate of the Washington Capitals collected 34,798 toys, surpassing the previous 28,815 record posted by the Calgary Hitmen in 2015. The surreal scene of a Teddy Bear Toss first took place 25 years ago when the Kamloops Blazers of the Western Hockey League exe- cuted the initial event back on Dec. 5, 1993. A quarter century later, the scene lives on through- out the hockey world, with t e a m s f r o m t h e m i n o r l e a g u e s, c o l l e g i a t e r a n k s and Junior leagues on both sides of the border all par- ticipating in the stunning spectacle designed to collect toys to be dispersed over the holiday season. T h e A m e r i c a n H o c k e y League has 25 teams participating in the promotion this season, while the ECHL's involvement is equally as impressive. All 17 clubs in the United States Hockey League take part, while the college circuit has more than 20 Div. I schools joining the cause. By Jeff Carpenter FLY BONUS DIGITAL CONTENT Shane Gersich (bottom) jumps into a pile of teddy bears during the record- setting teddy bear toss during a Hershey Bears game on Dec. 2. "It was cool to see all the guys out there helping to pick up the teddy bears for a great cause." —Case McCarthy