An astonishing showing of around 200 spectators packed the house at the Smithfield Municipal Ice Rink to watch 38 rostered players face off in a memorial hockey game to commemorate and honor Lance Cpl. Daniel J. Harvey Jr., a former marine and hockey player who lost his life to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The game, hosted by the Johnston/North Providence (JNP) high school hockey team raised over $5,000 for PTSD research and treatment.
Like Harvey himself, all participating players were alumni of JNP Hockey, or played for either school before the two teams merged. The teams were split into either Team Dan or Team Harvey. Team Dan wore Johnston white with blue trim, and was coached by Jason Marsland, Ronald Perry and Chris Castiglione. Team Harvey wore North Providence blue with gold trim, and was coached by Fred, Steve and Frederick “Pops” Morrison.
Before the game, the event started with a touching speech from Jason Marsland, one of Dan Harvey’s former high school hockey coaches. Marsland was sure to thank the community in the speech, saying, “Let me begin by saying that the unwavering support from the community has been nothing short of amazing. I am truly humbled to see so many of you here today. From the bottom of my heart, I sincerely want to thank all who have taken the time to join us and for the many charitable contributions that have been made on Danny’s behalf.” Marsland went on to thank the players, Harvey’s family and friends, the JNP Hockey Parents Associations, Kaleigh Motta, Billy Scullion, Damon Ascenzi and Christine Gibau for their contributions to the event.
Marsland then touched upon the purpose of the event itself, saying, “With that said, we all know why we are here today. Both to remember Dan and also raise awareness for the unfortunate mental awareness that is PTSD - one that claims 22 veterans’ lives every single day. But - instead of mourning or lamenting Danny’s passing, I would like to use today to celebrate his life. Because, more than being a former player of mine, Daniel Harvey was a great friend and amazing person, something I am sure many of you here can attest to. He was genuine, charismatic, funny, hard working and just about any other positive adjective you can think of. More than anything, I remember Dan the most for putting a smile on my face... he always left me smiling.”
After further acknowledging Daniel Harvey’s impact on his life and the community, Marsland concluded with this, “So, what I would ask of you today, is in order to celebrate Dan’s life, take a few minutes... and really just acknowledge those around you who have had an impact in your life. Maybe even reach out to them and say thank you or leave them a message letting them know how much they mean to you. By doing this, we can take a small victory from today and move toward positively impacting the world and celebrating Dan in a productive way. A way that I am sure he would support. After all, it would put a smile on his face.”
Following the speech, Daniel Harvey’s mother, Debbie Fairman, was invited to the ice for the ceremonial puck drop between Justin Harvey, her son and younger brother of Dan Harvey, and Damon Ascenzi, a longtime friend and teammate of Dan Harvey’s. Both players then participated in the game itself.
Following the national anthem, the game began, and what a game it was. Both teams put on a good show as Team Dan won by a score of 7-4. Team Harvey started strong with back-to-back goals, taking an early 2-0 lead. Then, out of nowhere, Team Dan came roaring back with six unanswered goals of its own. But Team Harvey would later swing momentum its way in the third period, scoring two more goals to bring the score to 6-4, allowing it to pull its goalie and apply tremendous offensive pressure up until the very end, when Justin Harvey, Daniel Harvey’s younger brother, sealed the 7-4 victory for Team Dan with an empty net goal, his second goal of the game. It was a fitting end to an emotional game.
Damon Ascenzi, who scored two goals and an assist for Team Dan, was very happy with the quality of the game and the generosity of both the Johnston and North Providence communities. “It was a lot more competitive than I thought it was going to be and I really think that the amount of people that showed up made it that way for the players,” said Ascenzi, a friend and teammate of Dan Harvey’s. “It was awesome putting the jersey on again, but it was the reason why we were putting it on that made it so special. The community has been nothing short of amazing. They were a huge help in ticket sales and participating in the raffles at the game. It just goes to show how loved and admired Danny was in both towns.”
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