Springfield, MA– The Springfield Thunderbirds have announced a final count of 2,793 teddy bears and stuffed animals collected in Saturday's inaugural Thunderbirds Teddy Bear Toss, presented by Teddy Bear Pools & Spas.

 

Sena Acolatse scored the first ever T-Birds Teddy Bear goal just 1:50 into the first period, the fastest goal to start a game in Thunderbirds team history. The MassMutual Center crowd of 4,812 responded with the cavalcade of bears being chucked onto the ice sheet in Springfield.

 

Following Saturday's game and the count, the collected teddy bears and other stuffed animals will be hand-delivered by Thunderbirds players and staff to a plethora of charitable organizations in the Pioneer Valley for the purpose of providing gifts to underprivileged children at holiday time.

 

"We were very pleased with the response from our wonderful fan base for our first Teddy Bear Toss," said Thunderbirds Executive Vice President Nathan Costa. "We are very excited to build this bigger and make the Teddy Bear Toss an annual tradition in Springfield, where we not only provide our fans with a unique game night experience, but also be able to give back to those that are less fortunate around the holidays."

 

"On behalf of Teddy Bear Pools and Spas, I am so thankful that we had the opportunity to partner with the Thunderbirds on this venture," said Ted Hebert, Owner of Teddy Bear Pools and Spas, as well as Part-Owner of the Thunderbirds. "The synergy between the Teddy Bear Toss and Teddy Bear Pools and Spas made too much sense, and I am thoroughly pleased at the generosity of the Springfield community in providing these gifts to underprivileged children at the holidays. This season is all about giving, and this was a tremendous showing of heart from our city."

 

The Thunderbirds play each of their next three games on the road this week before returning home for a holiday-themed game on Friday, Dec. 16 at 7:05 p.m.  ET against the Binghamton Senators. Fans are encouraged to wear their best ugly sweaters on that evening. Don't have one? No sweat, Thunderbirds ugly sweaters are available right now via www.SpringfieldThunderbirds.com or at the Thunderbirds' merchandise stand on game nights.