Oct 29, 2009 - 04:20 AM

By Chris Hall

PORT PERRY -- Carl Fitzgerald is calling for an unsportsmanlike penalty after a rag-tag team of long-time shinny players had hundreds in cash stolen from them while playing a game at the Scugog Arena last week.

According to Mr. Fitzgerald, someone at the Scugog Community Recreation Centre entered their dressing room on Pad 1 on Oct. 21 and grabbed somewhere between $1,500 and $2,000 while rifling through the pockets and wallets of the players.

The door, he stressed, was "absolutely" locked while the players were on the ice during their weekly 4 to 4:50 p.m. time slot. As a group, the shinny enthusiasts have been playing for close to 30 years during that timeframe, said Mr. Fitzgerald.

"They took all of our money and then locked the door again," said the retired Durham police officer.

Mr. Fitzgerald speculates the culprit must have been familiar with the arena and what time the players -- a group of middle-aged and older recreational players, some retired police officers and firefighters -- took to the ice each week.

"They must have known who we were and when we'd be on the ice and that we had cash," he said. "We've had the same 4 o'clock ice-time for hockey for eternity."

Since the theft, arrangements have been made to have the locks changed on all the dressing rooms on both ice pads, said Jamey Moore, Scugog's manager of parks and facilities.

"I don't know if someone got hold of the key or what," he said. "But I always tell user groups to never, ever take valuables into the locker room or, if they do, to bring them to the bench."

Thefts from the community centres like the arena are cyclical and no arena complex is immune to them, Mr. Moore continued. Just this past summer it's believed that kids broke into the Scugog community centre, he added.

"Unfortunately, it's part of our business sometimes," he said.

Mr. Moore said he apologized to the players and officers with the Durham police force have been contacted.

He also pointed out that signs are posted in dressing rooms warning users not to leave valuables unattended.

"We secure the place as best as possible, but if they want to break in, they'll break in," said Mr. Moore. "I can understand the guys' frustration and we try our best to prevent it, but they target us."