This past Saturday, Dec. 16, against Vermont, the Long Island University Sharks men’s ice hockey team hosted their first-ever Teddy bear toss.
EAST MEADOW, NY -- Around the holidays, finding a way to give back to your community is one of the best things you can do.
This past Saturday, Dec. 16, against Vermont, the Long Island University Sharks men's ice hockey team hosted their first-ever Teddy bear toss, asking fans to bring new stuffed toys to be donated to the Cohen Children's Medical Center.
Following the first LIU goal, the Northwell crowd was to toss their new gifts onto the ice.
While the LIU goal scorer wouldn't impact the tremendous generosity of the crowd, captain Jack Quinn spoke about the anticipation that comes with a Teddy bear toss game.
"There's a little extra incentive. Everyone wants to score that goal to get the Teddy bears thrown on the ice," Quinn told The Hockey News. "It's fun. It's great to see the community come out and support us, and they give us a lot of energy when we see a lot of people up in the stands."
With 6:42 to play in the second period with LIU trailing Vermont 1-0, junior forward Chirs Pappas scored on the backhand for his fourth of the season as the Bears came flying over the boards:
With the focus on tying the score, Pappas completely forgot about the Teddy bears.
"I actually didn't really realize that," Pappas told The Hockey News. "I didn't put two and two together. It's pretty special. It's for a good cause."
As fans cheered, the LIU players soaked in the atmosphere.
"Yeah, it was awesome. It's like it's raining Teddy bears," LIU captain Jack Quinn told THN. "It's a great thing that we get to do around the holiday season. This was the first year that we've done it, and it was a great success.
"You saw how many Teddy bears were on the ice. So, to be able to make a kid's Christmas. It was great to be able to supply that to the community."
After LIU enjoyed the 'Raining of the Teddy,' the players scooped up the bears and toys, which were then packaged into bags for delivery to the boys and girls at the children's hospital.
Coach Bretty Riley shared his thoughts on how the Sharks can make an impact with the Teddy bear toss.
"That was obviously really cool. We try and use our platform to give back in a lot of different ways," Riley said. "So that was a great experience, great atmosphere, great for the fans, and pleased in that regard that we were able to use this game to do something great."
