PHOTO BY ALENA KUZUB
Michael Tortorise, wife Jen and daughters Mackenzie and Addison spend time together on Wednesday.
By BRIDGET TURCOTTE
LYNN — When U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer Michael Tortorise attended Tuesday night’s Flyers-Bruins game in Philadelphia, he never expected to be named a Hometown Hero.
The Flyers Hometown Hero program recognizes people who are serving or have recently served in the armed forces.
Tortorise returned from a 10-month deployment earlier this month. He spent time in Djibouti, Africa and Kenya working with Special Operations and Naval Special Warfare. His cousin Vincent Ferraro, who interns with the Flyers, arranged for him and his wife Jen to go to Tuesday’s hockey game.
“He is a huge Flyers fan,” Jen said. “We have a rivalry because I’m a huge Bruins fan. My boss always gives us tickets to see Bruins-Flyers games in Boston but we’d never been to one on his turf before.”
ALSO: Saugus is getting ready for Santa
Originally from New Jersey, Tortorise, a Lynn police officer, is in the Navy Reserves and stationed in Newport, R.I. He lives in Lynn with his wife and two daughters, Mackenzie, 3, and Addison, 2.
Ferraro approached the couple in their seats during the game and told Michael there was someone he wanted him to meet. He led him to Bob Kelly, a former NHL player for the Flyers and Washington Capitals.
Starstruck, Tortorise didn’t realize there was more to the surprise until he read his name on the back of the jersey Kelly handed him.
“I was pretty surprised by all of it,” he said. “It was amazing to see how much planning went into it. It was nice to see how much the military is appreciated. It was just a great experience.”
Each Hometown Hero recipient is given two tickets to a regular season game and a personalized Flyers military jersey presentation on the scoreboard.
And for the icing on the cake, the Flyers beat the Bruins, 3-2, after a nine-round shootout.
Bridget Turcotte can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @BridgetTurcotte.