Police investigate burglary at USA Hockey headquarters

A burglar destroyed championship trophies and office equipment overnight at USA Hockey offices in Colorado Springs, causing more than $100,000 in damage.

Colorado Springs police are investigating the burglary at the organization’s offices on the 1700 block of Bob Johnson Drive, Lt. Howard Black said.

Minimal information about the break-in was available Tuesday, Black said, and the investigation is ongoing. No suspects are in custody. He could not provide information on what kind of damage occurred or whether anything was missing.

“They’re still doing inventory,” he said.

Dave Fischer, chief spokesman for USA Hockey, said the burglar destroyed computers, copiers and display cases. The display cases held trophies and other memorabilia from USA Hockey.

Autographed photos of the 1980 U.S. “Miracle on Ice” hockey team that won a gold medal at the 1980 Olympics were not destroyed, Fischer said.

“For the most part, they survived the vandalism OK,” Fischer said. “Certainly, some trophies have seen some better days.”

The break-in appears to be solely a case of vandalism, and it doesn’t appear anything is missing, Fischer said. Employees discovered the mess when they arrived to work around 6:30 a.m., he said.

The burglary also caused some of the hockey association’s member support services to be out of commission for a while, Fischer said.

“You put it in perspective with what happened in Las Vegas and all the hurricanes and we’re just fine,” he said. “We’ll get it put back together and we’ll be OK.”

USA Hockey serves as the governing body for the sport in the U.S. and is an official representative on the U.S. Olympic Committee. It is responsible for selecting and training the U.S. men’s and women’s teams, and it also promotes the sport on all levels from youth hockey to adult leagues.