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Sports
Chandra Colvin
Updated:

Duluth police recover most Mankato West hockey sticks

U.S. Pond Hockey Championships on Lake Nokomis in Minneapolis
A bank of snow serves as a stand for hockey sticks during the 2020 U.S. Pond Hockey Championships at Lake Nokomis in Minneapolis.
Kerem Yücel for MPR News File

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There are worse things than losing a hockey game.

For the Mankato West boy's team, it was getting their team's sticks stolen while at a Heritage Hockey Classic tournament in Duluth.

The incident happened on Friday night. The sticks were stolen from the team's bus while the players and coaches were sleeping. The missing sticks caused the team's Saturday night game against Anoka to be postponed.

Duluth police officer Mattie Hjelseth told MPR News that an officer located a man walking on East Third Street with a few of the hockey sticks around 10:50 p.m. Saturday. The man told officers he found the items behind the Chum nonprofit building. The police department is making arrangements to return the items to their rightful owners.

Duluth police arrested a man Monday in connection with the theft. His charges are pending. The investigation is still ongoing.

On Sunday afternoon, Mankato West Hockey posted on X that many of the sticks have been recovered, but they are unsure about their condition. The posted thanked Duluth police “for their prompt investigation and continuing it.”

Chaun Cox was a coach in the Mankato area for years and now has a son on the team. He says overcoming adversity is an important life skill.

“They were obviously frustrated and disappointed,” Cox said. “As they've been able to go through this, they've had to face adversity before and that's why you play sports.”

A GoFundMe has been created to raise $15,000 for new gear for the team. As of 3 p.m. Sunday, the fundraiser has raised more than $4,000.

Hockey sticks can cost up to $450 each, Cox says each player typically has two.