Author: Joey Ciaramitaro

This past Friday night, June 1, six teams came in from a beautiful sunny day to play in one of three games with and against friends at the Dorothy Talbot rink.  But this was more than just getting together for what could be the final skate of the 2011-2012 hockey season.  Each player paid to play in a friendly competition so they could memorialize Aran Patrican, who passed away suddenly from a heart infection in January – two weeks following the birthday of Thomas, his one year old son.  The night was a wonderful experience and such a success that we raised $2,620 for the growth fund set up to benefit his son’s education, the Thomas Patrican Scholarship Fund (http://www.thomaspatricantrust.com/Donation_Information.html).

This event brought together those who knew Aran, a decorated officer with the Gloucester Police Department, having skated with and against him during his lifelong hockey career – from youth hockey, through GHS and various teams in the Gloucester Industrial Hockey League, summer leagues, on the ponds, pick-up games, etc. – and friends of his friends.  Some of the guys who skated had the distinct honor of also being coached by him.  Additionally, we had a strong, albeit small (only 2 this year), contingent of women hockey players.

The games were competitive, but especially focused on having a fun time.  This carried from the locker rooms to the on-ice action then afterwards at Espresso’s.  The level of camaraderie that exists within the hockey community is rivaled by few other groups.  This was in evidence all night long and has been expressed to me by everyone with whom I have spoken since.  Whether breaking down a play from one of the games, retelling any number of Aran-centric stories — writ large because his presence always made it so, laughing, or commiserating; the night was special.  Emotions ran the gamut when the discussion turned to reflection.  Being granted the opportunity to catch up and hang out with old friends and teammates is a luxury that tends to fall by the wayside as life continues on and we grow out of some circles while new responsibilities and commitments crowd them out, necessarily.  So it was in this spirit that the event, highlighted by the culmination of so many positive elements, drew sincere appreciation by those who participated.

Special thanks go out to every single person who contributed to this event.  A few individuals deserve to be recognized by name because they ensured that this first annual Aran Patrican Friendship Skate lived up to its potential – which it did in spades.  Rusty Harnish, aside from refereeing the first game, helped oversee coordination of the event with Paul "Vuda" Genovese, Barry Clifford, Jimmy Marr, and Rob Bouchie.  Kim Philbrook and Eric Russell donated their time and officiating expertise to the cause by refereeing for the night.  And, obviously, we couldn’t have done this without the teams involved:  Vuda and Barry (Old Timers) vs. Doc Cunningham and Doug Grimes (JP Truckers), Doc Twombly and Mike Hale (Monday Night Crew) vs. Bob Cooper and Frank Souza (Diggers), and Doc T. and Mike H. (MNC II) vs. Tony Frontiero, Jr. and Tony "The Legend" Frontiero (Road Kill).  And, also, for the Gloucester Police Department – though we had a limited number of players from the force this year, they provided Doc Twombly with a uniform that he hung below the scoreboard to represent the spirit of Aran.

We look forward to the second annual Aran Patrican Friendship Skate which will take place in about a year.  Planning this event for 2013 will be done with more lead time than we had this year so we will be able to include many of the individuals and teams that couldn’t attend this year. 

We will also be organizing a similar fund-raising event in August.  The Patrican Brothers Memorial Golf Invitational "Classic" will memorialize both Aran and Ryan Patrican to support the Thomas Patrican Scholarship Fund.  Details on this event to follow.

The Aran Patrican Friendship Skate 2012 organizers
Back row (L to R):  Rusty Harnish, JD Perry
Front row (L to R):  Jimmy Marr, Paul “Vuda” Genovese, Barry Clifford, Rob Bouchie
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Old Timers
Back row (L to R):  Jim Douglass, Carl Wall, Dominic Sanfilippo, Darren Marques, Sean Cranston, Fred Parisi, Jimmy Marr, Connor Cranston, Tim Marques, Jake Dube
Front row (L to R):  JD Perry, Barry Clifford, Paul “Vuda” Genovese, Bob Marshall,  Dirk Wierbicky, and not pictured Rob Bouchie
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JP Truckers
Back row (L to R):  Darrell Seppala, Steve Cahill, Doug Grimes, Marc Cunningham, Chris O’Brien, Nick Novello
Front row (L to R):  Pete Sutera, Jack Russ, Dana MacDonald, Steve Militello and not pictured Steve MacDonald, Kevin Riley
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Doc Twombly’s Monday Night Crew
Back row (L to R):  Sean Keefe, Tom Callahan, Tad White, Nick Parisi, Mike Hale, Nate "bubba" Levie, Andrew Marques, Dave Smyth
Front row (L to R):  Doc Twombly, Jeff Towne, Myriam Callahan, Chris Seely, Ben Levie, Pete Smyth, Tiffany Bichrest
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Diggers
Back row (L to R):  Jerry Ciaramitaro, Brian Horne, Jason Thibodeau , Mike Muniz, Robie Mac Laughlin, Bob Cooper
Front row (L to R):  Frank Souza, Sean Lyons, Jim Muniz, John Collins and not pictured Kevin Fitzpatrick 
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Doc Twombly’s Monday Night Crew II
Back row (L to R):  Tad White, Tom Callahan, Chris Seely, Mike Hale, Dave Smyth, Andrew Kirkaldy, Andrew Marques, Tiffany Bichrest, Myriam Callahan, Nate "bubba" Levie
Front row (L to R):  Doc Twombly, Jeff Towne, Pete Smyth, Nick Parisi, Sean Keefe, Ben Levie
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Road Kill
Back row (L to R):  Chad Movalli, Dave Collins, Adam Brown, Jason Harrington, Tyler Philbrook, McKenzie Quinn, Steve Philbrook, Rob Parsons
Front row (L to R):  Anthony Cusamano, Tony Frontiero Jr, Tony Frontiero Sr
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Rusty Harnish
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Eric Russell and Kim Philbrook
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Aran Patrican, Braeden Perry during 2011 Stanley Cup Championship series

Click below for the slideshow of pictures from JD Perry-