Ice hockey fans break 'teddy bear toss' world record in annual charity event

Ice hockey fans flooded an arena in Pennsylvania with 45,000 stuffed toys in an annual "Teddy Bear Toss".

American Hockey League team The Hershey Bears collect cuddly toys as part of a regular charity event at the end of each season.

Fans beat the 11-time Calder Cup Champion's record, donating over 10,000 more teddy bears than last year.

The Hershey Teddy Bear Toss donations are shared among 40 local charities in collaboration with local charity Community Aid and TV channel abc27 News.

The charities include the American Cancer Society, Milton Hershey School, Cocoa Packs (an association that supplies food assistance for local schoolchildren), and Vista School which provides special education and therapeutic services to autistic children.

And it looks like the brief interruption to Sunday night's game helped the team out.

The Hershey Bears went on to beat their opponents, the Hartford Wolfpack, 4-3 in extra time after the cuddly chaos was cleared up.