The South Carolina Stingrays, ECHL affiliate of the NHL's Washington Capitals and AHL's Hershey Bears, held their annual Teddy Bear Toss game on Sunday afternoon, presented by Crews Chevrolet and Crews Subaru. 4,900 fans attended the game, and they tossed 14,237 stuffed animals to the ice after Austin Magera scored the game's first goal.
The Stingrays will donate the stuffed animals to the following non-profit organizations: The Salvation Army, Lowcountry Orphan Relief, Jeans Angels, Ronald McDonald House, and Toys for Tots.
The Stingrays wore specialty chocolate and white jerseys to honor their AHL affiliate, the Hershey Bears. On January 29, 2023, Hershey Bears fans heaved 67,309 stuffed animals to the ice, setting the world record for the most stuffed animals collected during a Teddy Bear Toss game. Hershey's Vice President of Hockey Operations, Bryan Helmer, participated in the ceremonial puck drop before Sunday's game.
The specialty jerseys were auctioned off for fans to have a chance to take home their favorite player's game-worn jersey.
The Stingrays also gave away Stingrays jersey ornaments to the first 2,000 fans in attendance at Sunday's game. The ornaments, presented by Crews Chevrolet, were designed to resemble a Stingrays ugly sweater.
Sunday was one of five free parking games for the Stingrays this season.
The Stingrays are back in action on Wednesday night against the Florida Everblades. Puck drop is set for 7:30 pm at Hertz Arena.
