ALLENTOWN, Pa. - It’s safe to declare the Lehigh Valley Phantoms’ annual teddy bear toss a roaring success.
And then some.
The hockey team held its eighth annual teddy bear toss during Saturday night’s game against the Providence Bruins at the PPL Center.
- The Phantoms' teddy bear toss benefits Valley Youth House
- Fans hurl plush animals onto the ice when the Phantoms score their first goal
- More than 8,000 toys were collected Saturday
When right wing Cooper Marody scored a goal in the second period, the teddy bears came flying. Thousands of them.
Actually, 8,480 to be exact, according to the Phantoms. The teams cleared the ice as the plush animals rained down.
“It took just under 15 minutes (to clean up the ice),” said Richard Lintker, vice president of ticketing and marketing for the PPL Center and the Phantoms. “We kind of let the moment happen for about a minute or so and let fans enjoy it.”
"We had one teddy bear that was close to 5-feet tall and weighed about 50 pounds.”Richard Lintker, vice president of ticketing and marketing
Under the promotion, folks are encouraged to bring a stuffed animal to the game. When a Phantoms player scores the team’s first goal, fans are expected to heave the toys over the Plexiglas boards and onto the ice surface.
The Phantoms then donate the stuffed animals to Valley Youth House, which runs a shelter, transitional housing and several other programs for young people.
“We love doing it during the holiday season,” Lintker said. “They distribute them to kids in need around the entire Lehigh Valley — a lot of them around Christmastime, but then they distribute them as it goes into the new year, too.”
The teddy bears come in all shapes and sizes. Some people bring one or two. Others bring trash bags filled with stuffed animals. There are bears, dinosaurs, unicorns — you name it.
“It’s a variety,” Lintker said. “We had a 10-foot long caterpillar. We had one teddy bear that was close to 5-feet tall and weighed about 50 pounds.”
The final count is in! Thank you to our amazing Phans for their donations 🐻 #OurValleyOurHome pic.twitter.com/54wlUugl9U
— Lehigh Valley Phantoms (@LVPhantoms) December 19, 2022
Phantoms staff counted the collection and delivered it Monday to Valley Youth House. They used three dump trucks and a box truck for the delivery, Lintker said.
Marody and defenseman Adam Ginning, who assisted on the goal, helped make the delivery Monday. The Bruins defeated the Phantoms 2-1 in overtime.
The Phantoms will be back at it Wednesday night at the PPL Center against the Hershey Bears, then play again at home next Wednesday, Dec. 28, and on New Year’s Eve Saturday, Dec. 31.
Since starting the promotion in their first season in Allentown in 2014-15, the Phantoms have distributed more than 45,000 teddy bears, Lintker said.
Saturday’s toss might not even be the Phatoms’ biggest spectacle this month. Lintker said the team is planning to drop a giant hockey puck outside the PPL Center on New Year’s Eve, as part of a New Year’s celebration being planned with the Downtown Allentown Business Alliance and the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce.
