It’s been another record-breaking year for the Edmonton Oil Kings Teddy Bear Toss in support of 630 CHED Santas Anonymous.
Oil Kings player Nicholas Bowman scored the goal that sent the bears flying in front of a sold out crowd, while the Oil Kings were down 2-0 to the Kamloops Blazers with six minutes and 22 seconds left in the second period.
“It’s pretty exciting,” said Bowman on the ice after dodging bears. “It’s nice to see everyone contributing and it’s for a great cause.”
More people than ever before took in the teddy bear game with attendance sitting at 18,102. The organization also broke the record for number of teddy bears donated, when 13,942 flew onto the ice.
The bears and other stuffed characters were taken off the ice, packed into a truck and sent over to Santas Depot. There, they will be put into Christmas hampers to be delivered next week.
“This is absolutely fantastic and overwhelming” 630 CHED Santas Anonymous executive director, Lana Nordlund said. “To be able to have something Christmas morning, it just means the world to these families.”
READ MORE: Spirit of giving comes full circle for Santas Anonymous recipients
The event started with less than 5,000 fans, and 1,000 stuffed animals, now it’s grown exponentially.
Last year a record number of toys were collected when Tyler Robertson scored the first goal of the game, three minutes and 11 seconds into the first period on a power play. The goal sent 12,566 teddy bears flying onto the ice.
The players also wore special Teddy Bear Toss jerseys, which will be auctioned off. Proceeds will also go towards Santas Anonymous. In 2015, the jersey auctions raised nearly $20,000.
With files from Caley Ramsay.
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