The Hershey Bears defeated the Hartford Wolf Pack 5-0 during Saturday's matchup, but it was the first goal that was most memorable.
Axel Jonsson-Fjallby's goal set off the annual Teddy Bear Toss for the Washington Capitals' AHL affiliate in which fans throw stuffed teddy bears onto the ice. There was a lengthy delay as players on the Bears dove into the piles of stuffed animals in celebration.
It ended up being a world-record celebration, as fans threw 52,341 stuffed animals onto the ice:
Chris Mautner of Penn Live noted the previous record was 45,650 from the 2019 Teddy Bear Toss game.
The annual tradition calls for fans to bring the stuffed animals to the game and throw them onto the ice after the Bears' first goal. They are then collected and donated to local organizations.
Former AHL coach Clark Donatelli has been indicted on four counts of sexual assault for allegedly touching the breast and vagina of Erin Skalde, the wife of Donatelli's former assistant coach Jarrod Skalde, in 2018, per Katie Strang of The Athletic.
At the time, Donatelli was head coach of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, an AHL affiliate for the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The indictment was issued by a Rhode Island grand jury in July, but he wasn't arraigned until Nov. 10 after he returned to the United States from Germany, where he had been coaching.
The report was filed by Erin Skalde, who has consented to be identified.
Skalde reportedly told the police that "Donatelli grabbed her breast and shoved his hand down her pants while Skalde, her husband and Donatelli went out together following a road game against the Providence Bruins," per Strang.
Skalde had also told Penguins officials of the alleged assault in June 2019, leading to Donatelli's departure from the organization. A lawsuit against the team also alleged the coach was a "serial harasser" who assaulted "numerous women."
The Penguins reached an undisclosed settlement with Erin and Jarrod Skalde last week.
"We are pleased to announce the resolution of the matter involving Erin Skalde and the Pittsburgh Penguins organization, which has come to a satisfactory conclusion for all parties involved," Erin Skalde’s attorneys, Gina A. DeBoni and Jason J. Friedl, said in a statement Tuesday. "We appreciate the collaboration the team has shown in acknowledging the concerns of our client."
Donatelli was released on a $10,000 bond and is scheduled for a pre-trial hearing in December.
The American Hockey League has created a path for women to one day officiate in the NHL.
Ten women are on the roster to officiate AHL contests during the 2021-22 season, the league told ESPN's Emily Kaplan. Katie Guay will get the first assignment, refereeing Saturday's matchup between the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
The women have officiating experience across all levels, including the Olympics and World Championships, in men's and women's college hockey and in NHL prospect tournaments.
In addition to Guay, Kelly Cook, Samantha Hiller, Jacqueline Zee Howard, Elizabeth Mantha, Amanda Tassoni and Laura White will appear as AHL referees this season. Alexandra Clarke, Kendall Hanley and Kirsten Welsh will serve as lineswomen.
"It's time," AHL President Scott Howson told ESPN. "We're a development league, so it's time to give these women a chance and let them advance their careers. I think it's great for our fans to see it. The example that these women are setting for young women all over the world is that sports is wide-open for everybody really at all positions."
The AHL's announcement of women officiating games during the 2021-22 season comes as no surprise. TSN's Darren Dreger reported last month that it was "very likely" women would be refereeing games this year.
Guay grew up playing hockey in Western Massachusetts and went on to play Division I hockey at Brown University. She got into officiating when her college career was over and told Sports Illustrated Kids in a 2019 interview that she wished she began refereeing games sooner.
There is no timeline for an AHL official to be promoted to the NHL, according to Kaplan.
The American Hockey League canceled the remainder of its 2019-20 season and the Calder Cup Playoffs Monday due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“After a lengthy review process, the American Hockey League has determined that the resumption and completion of the 2019-20 season is not feasible in light of current conditions," AHL
President David Andrews said in a statement. "The League’s operational focus has turned toward actively preparing for the 2020-21 season.
"We are very grateful to the National Hockey League and its teams for their support and leadership in navigating through the challenges faced over the past two months. The AHL continues to place paramount importance on the health and safety of our players, officials, staff and fans and all of their families, and we all look forward to returning to our arenas in 2020-21.”
The AHL indefinitely suspended its season March 12 as major team sports across the country shut down due to the pandemic. This is the first time in the AHL's 84-year history no champion has been crowned.
The ECHL, one of the NHL's other minor league systems, already canceled the remainder of its season in March.
If the NHL resumes its season, it is possible some AHL players are called up as part of an expanded roster. The NHL has not given a timetable for a potential return to the ice, as it is heeding the advice of medical professionals.
Resuming the NHL season may be more difficult than MLB or the NBA given the proliferation of Canadian players. The border between Canada and the United States is currently closed.
