Legacy Hull Techs score for fallen colleagues

On the left, PO1 Marc Buzzi of Team Howlett and CPO2 Josh Barnes get set for the opening puck drop by referee CPO2 Yves Ouellet. Photo by Peter Mallett, Lookout

Peter Mallett, Staff Writer ~

Members of the former Hull Technician trade recently gathered for a charity hockey game, fittingly dedicated to the memory of two former co-workers who loved to play hockey.

Approximately 20 sailors gathered for their 5th annual fundraiser on Dec. 6 at Wurtele Arena. It was played in honor of former Hull Tech Instructor, Chief Petty Officer First Class Mike Howlett, and former Hull Tech Petty Officer Second Class Joe Lescene.

The beneficiary of the $135 funds raised for this year’s game will go to help to pay for an Autism support dog for the four-year-old daughter of Leading Seaman David Howe, from HMCS Ottawa.

When the final buzzer sounded Team Howlett defeated Team Lescene 7 to 5.  But the final score didn’t really matter for the players involved said Leading Seaman Steven Parizeau, a Fire Instructor at Naval Fleet School (Pacific) Damage Control Division.

“Playing this game was a good way to help another Hull Tech in need just in time for the holidays and also to remember the legacies of two Hull Techs who are no longer with us,” said LS Parizeau.

CPO1 Howlett of Stephenville, Nfld., was an ardent Edmonton Oilers fans. He loved the game of hockey so much that he once had a ball hockey court built in a field next to his place of work, Colwood’s Damage Control building. His students and co-workers first organized the memorial game in memory of CPO1 Howlett back in 2014. CPO1 Howlett succumbed to pancreatic cancer in March 2010.

This year organizers of the game decided to remember the legacy of PO2 Lescene. He grew up in the Greater Toronto Area and was a devoted fan of the Toronto Maple Leafs fan. PO2 Lescene played competitively for the base hockey team, the Tritons. He was killed after a fall from a cliff during a family vacation in Oregon in September 2017.