WESTVILLE – The Danny Dorrington Memorial Hockey Tournament returns this weekend after a one-year absence.
The annual high school tournament, hosted by the NRHS Nighthawks, begins Friday morning, with all games being played at Westville rink. The ’Hawks play twice on Friday: at 3:15 p.m. against Dalbrae and 7:15 p.m. against the NNEC Gryphons.
The Gryphons see their first tournament action earlier Friday, a 1:30 p.m. contest against SAERC.
Mike MacGillivray, who shares the Nighthawks’ captaincy with Parker Hickey, said the players at NRHS look forward to this tournament every season.
“It’s our home tournament and we’ll have all the people from our school coming out,” he said during a break from a team practice on Wednesday afternoon.
“We didn’t get to play this last year and it’s great that it’s back – especially getting to do it in my Grade 12 year. I hated missing it (in 2017).”
This will be the 11th time the Danny Dorrington Memorial has been played – it was cancelled a year ago due to the Nova Scotia Teachers Union’s work-to-rule stance.
Danny Dorrington played a prominent role in Pictou County sports for years before he passed away in 2002 at age 69.
“He was a fixture at the Westville rink for most of his life,” said his son Colin Dorrington, who now manages the same rink.
Not long after NRHS opened, then-principal Preston Lockhart approached Dorrington’s widow Julia and asked for permission to attach her late husband’s name to the tournament.
“We were very pleased when Preston called us. We were honoured, and we try to support it as much as we can,” Colin Dorrington said.
Schedule for the 2018 Danny Dorrington Memorial Hockey Tournament
FRIDAY
11:45 a.m.: Dartmouth vs. East Hants
1:30 p.m.: SAERC vs. NNEC
3:15 p.m.: NRHS vs. Dalbrae
5 p.m.: SAERC vs. East Hants
6:45 p.m.: Opening Ceremonies
7:15 p.m.: NRHS vs. NNEC
9 p.m.: Dalbrae vs. Dartmouth
SATURDAY
10 a.m.: NRHS vs. SAERC
11:45 a.m.: East Hants vs. Dalbrae
1:30 p.m.: NNEC vs. Dartmouth
6 p.m.: Crossover (#1 vs. #4)
7:45 p.m.: Crossover (#2 vs. #3)
SUNDAY:
1 p.m.: Championship Game
