ALLENTOWN, Pa. – It was teddy bear madness inside the PPL Center in Allentown Saturday night.
“It is always my favorite thing to do,” said Morgan Dudinski.
Thousands of stuffed animals made their way to the ice for the Phantoms annual teddy bear toss.
Dudinski said she was not going to miss this game.
“I think it’s one of the greatest charities that we can collectively do for people who are in need. Honestly, it’s one of my favorite things about hockey,” said Dudinski.
All of the teddy bears are going to the Valley Youth House and will be given to children in need this holiday season.
“It’s so great to see the community come together, throw some teddy bears for a great cause,” said Lindsay Fly.
Fly was among the thousands of people helping the team try to beat last season’s record of around 12,000 stuffed animals.
“This is our favorite game of the year. We absolutely love it,” said Fly.
She threw teddy bears alongside Addi and Gina Gaglione.
“It’s an amazing opportunity to bring individuals from all ages- young, old. You get to see everyone here, bring the community together and to really start and instill something about how giving back is so important not just during this time of the year, but throughout the year,” said Gina Gaglione.
Phantoms vice president of sales and marketing Jordan Cannon said the game is marked on the calendar each year.
“I mean, it’s great. I mean from our ownership Rob and Jim Brooks are really community-focused and I think you know over the last couple of weeks we’ve been in the community a lot,” said Cannon.
It is a tradition of giving back.
“It feels great. It’s about the Christmas spirit. It’s about making sure that people get to have a great holiday season all around honestly,” said Dudinski.