January 22, 2013. A charity event called Soft Hockey was held at Uralvagonzavod Scientific & Production Corporation’s Ice Sports Palace. The match played by Sputnik team (sponsored by the corporation) was attended by supporters who brought along some soft toys for the children living in the orphanages of Nizhniy Tagil, so, at the final whistle, they threw these onto the ice, the corporation’s press service reports.

The match with the Tver hockey club was prolonged with an overtime, and Denis Guriev got a bullet in the fourth minute of the overtime period. The Sputnik forward snatched at the opportunity, so as soon as the winning puck hit the gates, a shower of plush toys burst onto the arena.

According to the company’s press release, the ice was covered with a multi-colored carpet of toys. Some people just brought one toy, while others had bagfuls of stuffed animals with them. Even those who do not normally attend hockey matches but heard about the special event handed the toys over to their supporter friends so that they could throw the toys onto the ice. A large-scale toys donation opportunity was also coordinated at Nizhniy Tagil State Socio-Pedagogical Academy, where two bags of plush toys were collected by students.