The Ottawa 67’s held its annual teddy bear toss on Sunday when facing the Barrie Colts, but the charitable gesture descended into chaos as several fights broke out on the ice.
Fans arrived at TD Place Arena with old teddy bears ready to donate, and were told that the teddy bear toss would commence once Ottawa scored its first goal on Sunday. It took until midway through the second period for Luca Pinelli to put Ottawa on the board, but tensions were high after his one-timer found the net.
As fans started launching their teddy bears, players from both hockey teams began brawling on the ice, some fighting while being targeted by soft toys. Both Ontario Hockey League teams were then sent to the locker rooms briefly while the teddy bears were collected from the ice, and the game resumed.
One fan told CTV News after the game: “That would be a first. This is a first for me. My second year for the teddy toss, but the fisticuffs, we didn’t need that.”
While the brawl certainly made for a memorable teddy toss, footage of the incident has since gone viral on social media with Canadian fans embracing their unique hockey culture. “Hockey is the greatest sport on earth,” one fan wrote on X.
“Nowhere else in society would you have people bare-knuckle brawling while being pelted with teddy bears, that’s hockey baby,” another added. “This is the funniest line brawl I have ever seen. The fact the fans keep throwing the teddy bears despite all the fights is what gets me,” one supporter wrote.
Along with donating hundreds of teddy bears, fans at TD Place Arena also bought new bears from charity vendors in order to give back ahead of the festive period. The proceeds all went towards the Children’s Miracle Network, which helps sick kids at the CHEO Hospital in Ottawa.
The toss was all triggered by Pinelli’s goal in the second period, which was his 21st of the season. The 19-year-old is third in the goalscorer standings, and is on 37 points for the season in just 26 OHL games.
His goal wasn’t enough as it canceled out Cole Beaudoin’s opener for the Colts, before Grayson Tiller scored the winning goal for Barrie in the third period. It’s been a frustrating season for Ottawa, who is ninth in the Eastern Conference and only ahead of the Peterborough Petes, who have won just five of 29 games this year.
The Colts are flying at the top of the Eastern Conference, winning 20 of their 28 games played. While Barrie may not be as offensive as some of its OHL rivals, the Colts have the best defensive record in the league.
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