CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Monsters' success on the ice went well beyond just a 2-0 victory over the Laval Rocket. The AHL club celebrated its annual Teddy Bear Toss in franchise record-breaking fashion on Saturday.
Following a 1st period goal by Luca Pinelli, a sea of stuffed animals rained down on the ice at Rocket Arena. A Monsters crowd of 16,248, the largest regular season attendance for the team since 2019, contributed a grand total of 30,164 stuffed toys that will be donated to local organizations in Northeast Ohio.
“It’s a really cool spectacle,” Monsters head coach Trent Vogelhuber said after the win. “That was an awesome crowd, the fans looked like they enjoyed it. Kids and families get to enjoy it.”
TOSS THOSE BEARS!!! 🧸🧸🧸
— Mason Horodyski (@MasonHorodyski) December 20, 2025
Check out the view from the ice after Luca Pinelli's Teddy Bear toss goal for @monstershockey at Rocket Arena @WEWS @TheAHL pic.twitter.com/ZAUEgdhIM0
Sgt. Robert Cummings of the Greater Cleveland RTA Police Department helps with distributing the stuffed animals to those in need.
“This event is one of the things that helps us the most throughout the year,” Cummings said. “When we come to the Teddy Bear Toss, and we do all that work helping getting all those bears off the ice, which is a humongous help for the community, we use those for all the events that we do throughout the year.”
Cummings made sure to credit the selflessness of the Monsters' fan base during the holiday season. “The fact that the fans are the ones who give all of these teddy bears away, they just shows how much heart that our fans and our community have,” Cummings said.
