$300 in Hockey Gear Is Stolen From Lockers

Leaving no signs of forced entry, burglars found their way into the women's hockey team's locker room in Bright Hockey Center on Monday and made off with equipment valued at over $300 while the team took the day off.

The theft was discovered only one day before the women's away game against Dartmouth last night; it sent the team scrambling to replace several missing aluminum hockey sticks and a pair of gloves.

"I don't know what I'm going to do, to tell you the truth," Co-captain Winkie Mleczko '95, who lost her regular and backup sticks in the theft, said yesterday.

Although team equipment manager Chet Stone attributed the thefts to team memRTL1/4' carelessness in locking the equipment room doors, several players cited long-time security breaches at Bright.

"[There are] supposedly 150 keys floating around," said team member Lauren M. Turner '97.

Recalling a number of smaller thefts "throughout the past two years," Holly Leitzes '96 described the women's locker room as anything but secure.

"A lot of people have access to the locker room," she said. "The theft makes us feels really vulnerable."

After searching supply rooms and calling local hockey equipment stores, the team's managers were able to outfit the women in time for their 7:30 p.m. game.

But for forward A.J. Mleczko '97, the new equipment just wasn't the same.

"We can replace some of the stuff, but it's really tough not having your own equipment," she said.

"It's pretty scary," said Turner. "Say we walk in tomorrow and our skates are stolen. That's not just something you can replace."

The theft is currently under investigation by the Harvard Police Department.

The women's hockey team will play its next game this Saturday against the University of New Hampshire.