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Duluth News
Estelle Timar-Wilcox

Duluth man charged in theft of high school team’s 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 | 2020

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A Duluth man is facing a felony charge after allegedly stealing $12,000 worth of hockey sticks from a high school team.

The Mankato West boys hockey team was in Duluth for a tournament last weekend. During their overnight hotel stay, they left their bag of about 40 hockey sticks in a bus storage compartment.

The next morning, the sticks were gone. The team reported the theft, and had to postpone the game.

Police arrested 23-year-old Cole Saice earlier this week, after recognizing him from security footage that showed a man taking the duffel bag of sticks out of the bus. The charges allege Saice told officers he took the bag, and later dumped it in an alley.

Police recovered the bag — containing many of the sticks — from another man who was carrying it; he told officers he had found it near a dumpster. Officers found more sticks on the ground nearby.

Saice was charged Thursday in St. Louis County District Court with aiding and abetting theft. According to the complaint, authorities believe he may have been working with another person.

Saice made his initial court appearance on Thursday and is due back in court on Jan. 27.

The Mankato West team started an online fundraiser and collected more than $5,000. Fundraiser organizers wrote on the web page that sticks can cost between $250 and $450 each. Most players carry two, making for a big cost for replacing the equipment.  

Fundraiser organizers said earlier this week that the donations covered one new stick for each player, with help from a discount offered to team members at a local sports store. Organizers wrote on the fundraiser page that most of the stolen sticks had been recovered but not yet returned to the team, because they’re being held as evidence. 

The team was able to hit the ice again Thursday for a game against Osseo, outfitted with the new sticks.