Community rallies around Mankato hockey team after their sticks were stolen
MANKATO, Minn. — A Mankato hockey team found themselves in a sticky situation over the weekend when someone stole their equipment from their team bus at a tournament.
The Mankato West Scarlets were gearing up for their last game in the Heritage Holiday Classic tournament in Duluth when they discovered their hockey sticks and extra equipment bag were missing Saturday morning.
"We were all kind of in a panic, like 'did somebody forget to grab them? Where are they?'" player Brodie Cox said.
After contacting Duluth police, they learned that the gear had been stolen from their bus. It was parked at a hotel near the tournament center.
"A lot of guys on our team had custom sticks, like custom colored and personalized to them so that kind of sucks to lose them," player Jakobe Tosch said.
Many players have two or more sticks, costing several hundred dollars each.
"How do we handle, you know, families coming off Christmas having to replace $600 to $900 worth of sticks, you know, in a day, effectively," coach Nate Olsen said.
Without their sticks, the team had to forfeit their final game. But with practices and more games around the corner, the community stepped up to help. A Gofundme was created and within just a couple days, it had raised nearly $6,000.
"It sounded as though they were going to need sticks in a in a real quick, hurry," said Play It Again Sports Co-owner Steve Eckers.
Play It Again Sports in Mankato opened their doors for the team to purchase sticks at a discount.
"We're just trying to do the right thing. It was fun. Probably more more people standing in that stick section than we've ever had at one time," Eckers said.
Player Grady Schmidt said they were grateful the store offered to help.
"It was super exciting and just made us all happy. It felt like Christmas again honestly," he said.
According to Duluth police, later that Saturday night, a patrolling officer saw a man walking with a few of the stolen items. Police said the man told them he had found the items behind the nonprofit, CHUM. Police recovered most of the items and made the arrest of a 23-year-old man on Monday.
Coach Olsen said they found most of the sticks, and they appear to be in good condition, though the extra equipment bag remains missing. Despite the hurdle, the team is starting the new year with a renewed sense of gratitude.
"It was really cool actually to see how quickly it spread and how many people cared and the support we got was kind of crazy," Tosch said.
Despite their tournament troubles, the team still looks forward to playing in Duluth again and thanks police for their hard work.
