Bruins collect cuddly cousins: NAHL hockey club donates toys to the Austin Salvation Army
Published 10:35 am Saturday, December 16, 2017
- A large stuffed bear sits in the stands during the Bruins, Wilderness game Friday night, waiting for the Teddy Bear Toss. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com
Teddy bears — and stuffed horses, and pigs and cows — all rained down on the Austin Bruins hockey team Friday.
And no one could have been happier.
The Bruins once again hosted a Teddy Bear Toss during its face-off with the Minnesota Wilderness NAHL and their fans were generous.
The Austin Bruins’ Travis Kothenbeutel skates past thrown teddy bears on the ice following the end of the Bruins’ game against the Wilderness Friday night.
Photo by Jess Tuttle/JLT Photography”
Fans brought new and gently-used stuffed animals and pitched them into the rink where they were collected by the players. Fans had to wait until the end of the game, however, to throw the bears as the Wilderness won 3-0.
The collected toys were donated to the Austin Salvation Army.
“It is something a lot of hockey teams do,” said Mike Keeley of the Bruins. “It
has become a tradition with us, too.”
Last year, he said, two bins-worth of animals were collected for the donation.
“Our fans are always responsive” to the needs of the community, he said.
The effort was again sponsored by Hometown Broadcasting/Power 96 Radio.
