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Hockey store closing, robbed

LAKE PLACID — As if it wasn’t hard enough that Lake Placid Hockey Depot is closing its doors, the business was burglarized Thursday night.

Owner David Hay said he showed up to work around 7:45 a.m. Friday and found the glass to his business’ front door had been shattered. Lake Placid Hockey Depot is located at 2663 Main St., across from the Olympic Speedskating Oval.

“We have security cameras, so we could see what happened,” Hay said. “It was one person. They smashed out the window just before midnight. They came in and shopped around for about half an hour, then left with a bunch of stuff.”

Hay said the perpetrator came back around 3 a.m., took more merchandise, dropped it out a window, left for about eight minutes and then came back one more time.

“We’re working with the police department,” Hay said. “They’ve got all my security camera footage. It was definitely the same person, but it was difficult to make them out. They did leave some blood from, I guess, breaking the window.”

Sgt. Chuck Dobson, the Lake Placid Police Department’s assistant chief, said the investigation is ongoing and that officers are following several leads.

Hay said the thief waked off with vintage NHL and other hockey team jerseys, skates, hockey sticks, clothes, protective equipment and a New York Rangers Stanley Cup banner that was signed by stars Mark Messier and Mike Richter, the latter of whom has a house in Lake Placid.

“We’re guessing it’s about $4,000 or $5,000 worth of stuff,” Hay said. “We’re working with our insurance company on it.”

The break-in comes a week after Hay announced the pending closure of the store. He said it’s shutting down for multiple reasons, including a loss of business to online merchants and a loss of $50,000 to $60,000 in business that the store used to get from Northwood School, a boarding school in Lake Placid that is reportedly now buying hockey gear from a business in Vermont.

Hay added that he’s also closing it down to be closer to his wife and two young kids, who still live in New Jersey. He moved to Lake Placid five years ago from New Jersey to launch this business.

“We tried to relocate up here, but for my wife it was just too difficult with the job market up here being what it is,” he said. “I’ve been driving up here every weekend for four years.”

Hay said the closure will affect two or three employees as well as himself. It also means the Olympic village, the site of the 1980 “Miracle on Ice” and a host for youth and adult hockey tournaments that draw thousands of people, will be without a dedicated hockey store.

“We have such a vibrant hockey community,” Hay said. “Our customers, who don’t buy online, will have to drive Plattsburgh or Albany if somebody can’t come in and fill the void. We’ve developed close relationships with a lot of local families. I know people are upset about it.

“This was my dream, and not to be able to make it work anymore is not an easy thing to come to terms with.”

Lake Placid Hockey Depot will be open regular hours until the end of next week. After that, it will be open on weekends in May before closing down for good.

Staff Writer Ben Gocker contributed to this report.

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