Always Beware When There Are Bears

The concept was a pleasant, make-the-world-a-better-place one; after the first goal scored by the Minnesota-Duluth hockey team, fans were to throw teddy bears on the ice. The bears would then be collected and given to needy children (in lieu of food, apparently). But then it all went wrong.

A few errant bears were tossed onto the ice after Drew Akins scored to put the Bulldogs up 2-0. In accordance with NCAA rules, an announcement was made over the PA that the Bulldogs would be penalized if anything else was thrown on the ice. When Duluth scored their third goal, to make the score 3-0, two more bears were thrown on the ice, and the Bulldogs were assessed a two-minute penalty. The Bulldogs almost escaped unscathed, but Bemidji's Travis Winter scored a powerplay goal with 9 seconds remaining on the penalty, to make the score 3-1. The goal seemed meaningless at the time, but Bemidji came back to tie the game at 5, and eventually win in overtime.

We love the idea that extra teddy bears, meant to help those stuffed fluffy animal-starved children, might have cost a team a victory. In fact, we heretofore endorse the concept of teddy bears being thrown at all major sporting events. Heck, if Philadelphia fans did this, we'd find them downright lovable.

Dogs Done In By Own Promotion [Western College Hockey]