Sgarbossa, Smallman Power Bears to 5-1 Teddy Bear Toss Win Over Bruins

Mike Sgarbossa scored to ignite the GIANT Teddy Bear Toss to establish a new ice hockey world-record count of 102,343 as the Hershey Bears (21-10-3-0) rolled to a 5-1 victory over the Providence Bruins (17-12-3-1) on Sunday evening at GIANT Center, as the club continued its 2024-25 season, presented by Penn State Health.

On Sunday, January 5, 2025, the Giant Center 2025 Teddy Bear Toss Night, the Hershey Bears vs the Providence Bruins. The Bears beat the Bruins by a score of 5-1.

Sgarbossa netted his fifth of the season at 14:45 of the first period to tie the game at 1-1 and prompt the sellout crowd of 10,514 to throw their teddy bears and stuffed animals onto the ice. The veteran forward – in his seventh year with the Bears organization – celebrated his first Teddy Bear Toss goal after previously assisting on Teddy Bear Toss goals for the club in 2018 and 2019.

BOX SCORE

NOTABLES:

Providence’s Max Jones struck just 1:20 into the game to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.
A shot from Hershey’s Chase Priskie struck the crossbar at 12:29, prompting a small launch of Bears to the ice; a review confirmed the official’s ruling of no goal on the play.
Pierrick Dube assisted on Sgarbossa’s goal, recording his 100th career AHL point.
The Bears scored their fastest pair of goals of the season at 6:02 (Matt Strome) and 6:32 (Grant Cruikshank) of the second period. Defenseman Hardy Haman Aktell assisted on both goals.
Dalton Smith’s assist on Strome’s goal marked his first point as a Bear.
Spencer Smallman potted a pair of goals, striking at 15:16 of the second period, and at 10:16 of the third period. It was his first multi-goal game as a Bear and it marked the fourth time in his AHL career he has tallied a pair of goals.
Smallman’s second goal came on the power play, giving Hershey goals on the man-advantage in two straight games. After going 1-for-32 on the power play in December, the Bears are 2-for-11 through two games in January.
Netminder Clay Stevenson stopped 18 shots to earn the win in goal. He has allowed just one goal in three of his past four starts.
The Bears finished the season series with a perfect 4-0-0-0 record versus Providence.
The stuffed animals collected as part of the GIANT Teddy Bear Toss will now be donated to over 35 local charities as part of the club’s Hershey Bears Cares program.
The GIANT Teddy Bear Toss has collected 566,450 teddy bears since its inception in 2001.

SHOTS: HER 33, PRO 19

GOALTENDING: HER – Clay Stevenson, 18-for-19; PRO – Brandon Bussi, 28-for-33

POWER PLAY: HER – 1-for-5; PRO – 0-for-4

THEY SAID IT:

Bears head coach Todd Nelson on the day’s festivities and outcome:
“It was a very good day. Obviously with the Teddy Bear Toss, it worked out pretty well where we scored with about five minutes left in the first and then, you know what, we played a solid game today. This is one of our more complete games we played all year. Special teams were good, we were good defensively, and we produced some offense and I think everybody contributed.”

Nelson on his players’ excitement to play in the Teddy Bear Toss game:
“I think the guys were excited. The crowd was electric at the start of the game, everybody’s anticipating when that goal was gonna happen and [Priskie’s shot] went off the crossbar and it was a bit premature in the one end, but the guys were excited to play it. It was a good atmosphere and it was just a great event. 102-plus [bears]…that’s pretty amazing.”

Nelson on the play of Spencer Smallman:
“The last 19, 20 games, he’s really cranked it up a notch. He’s played everywhere in the lineup from third-line right wing to first-line centerman. When Sgarbossa was hurt, we didn’t have Lappy. He was a very versatile player. Plays on the penalty hill, plays on the power play, got rewarded with a couple goals. He’s really elevated his game. He’s playing really good hockey for us right now. And you know, it’s nice to have a guy with that versatility where you can throw him anywhere in your lineup and he contributes.”

Mike Sgarbossa on the feeling of scoring the Teddy Bear Toss goal, relayed to FOX43 sports director Todd Sadowski following the goal:
“I mean, it’s my first time I’ve scored in seven years [here], so that was fun. But with the kids, it’s super exciting and it’s just a great time […] I think you’re extra motivated. The energy’s high, obviously there’s a lot of people in the building so you can feed off of that. But we try and kind of prepare as if it’s another game. You don’t want to get your emotions too high.”

Spencer Smallman on the feelings of experiencing his first Teddy Bear Toss with Hershey:
“It was so cool. Just seeing them rain down. Just when you think they’re all out there, you’re not even halfway done. They just keep coming and coming. You can see the stacks of teddy bears on the other side of the glass that didn’t make it all the way over, and that pile was almost as tall as the glass. So it was incredible.”

With Bears match report

On Sunday, January 5, 2025, the Giant Center 2025 Teddy Bear Toss Night, the Hershey Bears vs the Providence Bruins. The Bears beat the Bruins by a score of 5-1.