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Alex Limoges plays overtime hero in Bears’ 3-2 win on Teddy Bear Toss night

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Alex Limoges
📸: Ian Oland/RMNB

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The Hershey Bears defeated the Lehigh Valley Phantoms 3-2 in overtime Sunday afternoon for the Bears’ annual Teddy Bear Toss. Bears fans threw over 74,000 stuffed animals onto the ice in tonight’s game to set both a franchise and hockey record, besting their 2023 tally by more than 5,000 toys. The Bears are now 29-7-0 and remain first in the league.

Alex Limoges scored the overtime game-winning goal in front of 10,675 roaring Bears fans to give Hershey the win. Limoges’ charged towards the net attempting a breakaway with a Phantoms’ defender on his back. He lost control of the puck, but it deflected off of the defenseman’s stick and into the net, sending the sold-out Bears crowd home on a high note.

Play highlights included Bogdan Trineyev scoring the first goal of the night to–in the words of voice of the Bears Zack Fisch–“let the sweet cuddly mayhem commence!” The stuffed animals collected from the toss will be donated to over 35 local charities.

After a scoreless first period, Bogdan Trineyev found the net for the Bears to let the fans unleash the furry. Trineyev fired the puck from the deep right circle over the shoulder of the Phantom’s goaltender: the puck hit the left side of the net, and the bears went flying.

After a 50-minute break to enjoy and clean up the plush pandemonium, the Bears and Phantoms continued play with 15:45 left in the second period. Lehigh Valley returned to play hot, scoring twice in the second to send the Bears into the third down 2-1.

Mike Sgarbossa brought the Bears back even with 5:20 left in the third. After the Bears won a puck battle against the boards, Sgarbossa regained control of the loose puck at the left circle and fired it over the goaltender’s glove.

The game headed into overtime, where Limoges’ heroics sent the Hershey crowd home with a sweet, fluffy victory.

Here are the full highlights from the game:

Below is the full Bears’ press release:

BEARS CELEBRATE TEDDY BEAR TOSS WITH 3-2 OVERTIME WIN, RECORD COLLECTION

Record-setting 74,599 teddy bears and stuffed animals collected; Limoges scores for Hershey in sudden-death against Lehigh Valley

(Hershey, PA – Jan. 7, 2024) – Alex Limoges scored in sudden-death and the Hershey Bears (29-7-0-0) broke their Teddy Bear Toss hockey world record in a 3-2 overtime victory over the Lehigh Valley Phantoms (14-13-5-1) on Sunday evening in front of a standing-room crowd 10,765 at GIANT Center.

Bogdan Trineyev’s goal at 4:15 of the second period ignited the GIANT Teddy Bear Toss, in which fans sent a franchise-record 74,599 teddy bears and stuffed animals onto the ice, breaking the previous mark of 67,309 collected by Hershey during the 2023 event. Since Hershey began hosting the GIANT Teddy Bear Toss in 2001, the Bears have collected and distributed 464,107 teddy bears to children throughout Central Pennsylvania.

Hershey is now 5-1-0-0 against Lehigh Valley this season; the Bears have now played seven games beyond regulation this season, winning five in overtime and an additional two in the shootout.

The Bears reached the halfway mark of their 2023-24 season schedule atop the American Hockey League standings, and with a 16-point edge on the Providence Bruins for first place in the Atlantic Division. In addition to their 29 wins so far, the Bears’ 58 points in the standings is also the most by the club through its first 36 games of any season in its 86-year history of competition in the AHL.

BOX SCORE

Both teams played through a scoreless opening frame, with Hershey’s Mitch Gibson making five saves to Cal Petersen’s eight for Lehigh Valley.

Trineyev scored his Teddy Bear Toss goal when Chase Priskie gloved down a Phantoms clearing attempt in the neutral zone and relayed the puck back to Hardy Häman Aktell, who swept a long stretch pass ahead to Trineyev. The rookie cut to the right circle before snapping his fifth of the season past Petersen, triggering the “Sweet Cuddly Mayhem.”

After play resumed, the Phantoms tied the game at 15:45 when Jordy Bellerive grabbed his own rebound and smacked it past Gibson for an unassisted goal.

Adam Brooks then put Lehigh Valley ahead 2-1 at 17:33.

Hershey tied the game in the third period after some extended cycling in the offensive zone resulted in Mike Sgarbossa grabbing the puck at the left circle and quickly snapping it past Petersen at 14:40 for his seventh of the season. Joe Snively and Lucas Johansen picked up assists on the goal.

The Bears took the game in overtime when Priskie relayed the puck up the right boards to Ethen Frank in the neutral zone, who sent it ahead to Limoges at the Lehigh Valley blue line. As the winger drove wide, Limoges found himself tangled with the Phantoms’ Louie Belpedio, and Limoges leveraged the opposing skater’s own stick to swipe the puck into the net for the game-winner.

Shots finished 29-24 in favor of the Bears. Gibson put up a 22-for-24 effort in the win for Hershey, his second victory in the AHL this season; Petersen took the overtime loss for Lehigh Valley with a 26-for-29 effort. Hershey went 0-for-4 on the power play; the Phantoms went 0-for-3 with the man advantage.

Headline Photo: Hershey Bears / Tori Hartman

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