Photo courtesy Brett Cullen

Prince George, B.C. – It’s one of the most fun nights of the year and it returns this evening – the Prince George Cougars Teddy Bear Toss game.

This evening the Cats welcome U.S. rivals the Seattle Thunderbirds to town and first and foremost they’ve got revenge on their minds.

“We owe them a little payback for them knocking us out of the playoffs so quickly last year,” says business v-p Andy Beesley. “And I can tell you our boys are going to be fired up to get a win.”

If you do plan on coming out, he recommends getting your tickets early.

“We are expecting a very big crowd, ticket sales are absolutely flying out the window and as always, we are pleading with fans, especially in this cold weather, to please get your tickets early because the last thing we want is for people standing out in the cold in a big long lineup as well as having people being disappointed because they can’t get tickets.”

And speaking of the cold, Beesley says the Cougars would appreciate it greatly if their fans brought something other than teddy bears to throw out on the ice after Prince George scores its first goal.

“This is perfect timing with the cold weather to emphasize that while teddy bears are great and we encourage people to bring them, it would be really wonderful if they would consider bringing hats, mittens, toques, socks, that sort of thing to help less fortunate people who are really unable to provide these types of things to themselves in these cold winter months.”

He says everything thrown on to the ice will be distributed to various agencies throughout the city.

Colby McAuley scored the Teddy Bear Toss goal last season on route to the Cougars convincing 8-2 win over the Victoria Royals.