Hershey Bears

Premature Teddy Bear Toss Ends Hershey Game, Breaks Record

Dylan McIlrath and Vincent Iorio get lost in a pile of teddy bears. (Caps Outsider)

HERSHEY, Pa. — The Hershey Bears and fans looked to break their own world record Sunday as fans threw stuffed animals onto the ice for charity. As usual, they broke the record again, this time with 67,309 plush items, far more than last year’s 52,341.

Typically, the teddy bears are thrown onto the ice after the home team scores their first goal. One problem, the Bridgeport Islanders shut out the Bears and won, 2-0. It was the first time the Bears didn’t score in the 21-year history of the game.

Because the Bears hadn’t scored so late in the game, fans were instructed not to throw them on the ice if the Bears scored, which would have caused too long of a delay to finish the game. Fans booed, and a few teddy bears hit the ice at the time. The Bears were warned that they would receive a delay of game penalty.

A few minutes later, a play was blown dead with 5.4 seconds left and chaos ensued as fans started tossing the stuffed animals onto the ice.

Hershey play-by-play broadcaster Zack Fisch called the all but official penalty likely the “longest delay of game penalty in history.”

The final seconds of the game were not played, but the call was recorded in the official scorebook.

Hershey had chances to score throughout the game, but couldn’t solve Islanders goalie Jakub Skarek, who came in with a save percentage of .882.

“It was just one of those nights it seemed for everyone,” Hershey captain Dylan McIlrath said. “Some guys had grade-a chances and missed the net. Or goalie made a big save.”

When the teddy bears started coming onto the ice, McIlrath was one of the first players to treat it like any other teddy bear toss, despite the result and the frustrations from the game. He recognized that in the end, it’s not about the team.

“At the end of the day, it’s still a great thing,” McIlrath said. “All the people throwing the bears at the end of the day it’s for the kids. That’s what it’s all about.

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Brandon Alter

Brandon Alter covers all three teams in the Washington Capitals Organization. He graduated from the University of South Carolina in May of 2021.

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