- The Washington Times - Monday, December 3, 2018

The Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League broke the world record for most teddy bears collected in a teddy bear toss Sunday, as 34,798 stuffed bears flew from the rafters onto the ice at the Giant Center.

The Bears are the top minor-league affiliate of the Washington Capitals.

Lest you think the teddy bear toss has to do with Hershey’s team nickname, it is actually a tradition in minor league hockey around the holiday season. Fans brought teddy bears to the game and threw them onto the ice after Hershey scored its first goal. The team collected them and will donate them to more than 30 charitable organizations, according to NHL.com.

Capitals prospect Riley Barber got on the board first for Hershey. Watch how his goal triggered the celebration here:

Nathan Walker, who won the Stanley Cup with the Capitals last June, had one very big donation of his own.

The previous record mark was reportedly 28,815 bears collected by the Calgary Hitmen of Canada’s WHL in 2015. Hershey’s new record eclipsed that by almost 6,000 and will be very difficult to break.

• Adam Zielonka can be reached at azielonka@washingtontimes.com.

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