Normally, throwing anything on the ice — unless its a cap after a hat trick or an octopus in Detroit — gets you tossed from the arena. In Portland, though, it lands you on Santa’s “Nice” list.
Fans at Saturday’s Portland Winterhawks threw nearly 12,000 teddy bears onto the ice after Keoni Texeira’s second-period goal. The annual Teddy Bear Toss benefits local children’s hospitals and charities.
The Portland Winterhawks
The final count from Saturday’s Teddy Bear Toss was 11,862 stuffed animals.
The Kamloops Blazers of the Canadian Hockey League claim to have orginated the tradition in 1993-94 and it’s become a staple of minor and junior league hockey clubs for years.
The WHL’s Calgary Hitmen collected 25,921 teddy bears earlier this month, and the Hersey Bears of the AHL saw nearly 13,000 stuffed bears hit the ice. The Winterhawks, who set a franchise record of 22,392 last season, collected 11,862 on Saturday. Calgary holds the record of 26,919 teddy bears, which was set in 2009
The Oregonian
The Portland Winterhawks held their annual Teddy Bear Toss promotion during Saturday's home game against Seattle.
For Texeira, the goal was twice as nice. Not only did he trigger the teddy bear toss — fans throw them on the ice when the home team scores (if the home team doesn't score, they throw them on the ice after the game) — but it was the 16-year-old’s first goal in the WHL and sparked Portland in a 5-3 comeback win over the Seattle Thunder.
My 4 guys celebrating @Keoni_texeira Teddy bear goal and his first WHL goal @iverke @turg19 @Eprice_3 pic.twitter.com/5pdVIq4yUp
— Teresa Forni (@teresaforni) December 15, 2013
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