Christmas nearly came and went before thousands of to-be-gifted bears hit the ice Sunday at the Saddledome.

Yes … the celebration of the 30th annual Calgary Hitmen Teddy Bear Toss was delayed longer than ever with the home-town hockey heroes having troubles finding the net.

But when it finally did happen — 12:55 into the third period off the stick of veteran Ethan Moore — the goal to ignite the flurry of stuffies proved to be well worth the wait.

“It feels amazing,” said Moore, the overage player from Okotoks who skated in his final Teddy Bear Toss — a 3-2 Western Hockey League loss to the visiting Wenatchee Wild.

“That goal is just super special, and to finally get it there in the third period, it felt really good.

“I mean … the amount of joy that runs through your body, it’s pretty

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