Ross did the play-by-play and Weekes provided analysis for Penn State’s 5-1 victory against Maine on March 28 and a 3-2 overtime win against Connecticut on March 30. Penn State will face Boston University in the Frozen Four semifinals at Enterprise Center in St. Louis on Thursday (8:30 p.m. ET; ESPN2)
In addition to working the games, Ross served as a human shield of sorts for Weekes, who’s recovering from surgeries in March to repair his left knee.
“I got to be ‘Weekesy’s’ security guard, navigating him through crowds of people who wanted to hoard him and take him away on his leg,” Ross said. “I got to really guard him this week, that was my main role. Play by play was the second-hardest part.”
The Allentown Regional wasn’t the first time Weekes, who’s also an analyst for NHL Network, has worked a hockey game with another Black broadcaster. He and retired NHL defenseman P.K. Subban called the Nashville Predators’ 3-0 win against the Hurricanes for ESPN on April 6, 2023.
Weekes said that game, the Allentown Regional and Ross announcing the women’s Frozen Four semifinals and championship on with AJ Mleczko and Blake Bolden March 21-23 on the ESPN platform helps show that people of color and women play major roles in hockey, be it on the ice or in the broadcast booth.
“The more that people see the exposure, both for those people that look like us and those that don’t,” Weekes said, “it becomes more normalized, more accepted, and ultimately, something that I think just becomes very relatable and something that people can really aspire to become, which I think is important.”
Dorringtons’ hockey legacy grows
Forward Max Dorrington made his professional debut with Bridgeport, the New York Islanders AHL affiliate, in a 5-2 loss at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, the Pittsburgh Penguins’ AHL farm team, on March 23. Three days later, his younger brother, defenseman Jackson Dorrington, played his first pro game with Hartford, the New York Rangers’ AHL affiliate, in a 4-3 overtime loss at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on March 26.
The siblings from North Reading, Massachusetts, are distant cousins of the late Art Dorrington, who became the first Black player to sign an NHL contract when he joined the New York Rangers organization in 1950. Dorrington, who died on Dec. 29, 2017 at the age of 87, never reached the NHL.
“It feels great to continue on carrying on Art’s legacy,” Max Dorrington said. “It’s kind of surreal at first, but it’s now settling in a little bit. It’s definitely just added motivation every day, going to the rink and focusing on getting better so I can keep playing at this level and find more success.”
