Carlos Matthews, only Black player on one of Evanston's first hockey teams in the 60s, connects with one of today's trailblazers after seeing himself in our report

WHEELING, Ill. (CBS) -- During Black History Month, we introduced you to a young hockey player from Evanston named Ari Sushinski, who is the first Black girl ever to make the Evanston Hockey boys' varsity team.

That story reached a very special man in Wheeling - who was watching our report, and was surprised to find himself as a part of it.

CBS 2's Jackie Kostek brought the trailblazers together Friday.

"I was sitting here watching Black History Month, and all of a sudden, it went through Ari's story," said Carlos Matthews.

And while Matthews watched Kostek's report on Ari, guess what happened.

"All of a sudden, I look - 'That's my picture! That's me!'" he said.

The now 71-year-old saw himself as 12-year-old on screen. He was only Black player on one of Evanston's first hockey teams in the 1960s.

"The friends I had around me - that's what they played, and that's what I did," Matthews said. "I always was able to have people around me that did the same things that I did - and they played hockey."

Matthews knew even then that not many Black kids played hockey. Willie O'Ree had broken the NHL's color barrier just a few years before.

But Matthews says he never experienced racism when playing.

"The guys that were all in that picture with me, we were all the same - and they loved me, I loved them, and they knew I was good," Matthews said.

However. Matthews says he was never as good as the girl he saw on screen last week. Ari Sushinski has blazed her own trail this season as the first Black girl to ever make an Evanston boys' varsity team - something she did as a freshman.

"You're the first, and I'm the first, but we will not be the last," Matthews told Sushinski in a conversation over the Zoom.

"It's absolutely amazing to be able to talk to you," Sushinski replied.

"I saw you, and I know you got it. And you keep going, and once you get to first-round choice, you're going to be a one in a million - the first Black woman," Matthews told Sushinski. "Not only that - the best!"

"Being able to see what the future can bring us and seeing how many other Black girls and boys are going to be able to play hockey in Evanston, or anywhere really, that's really exciting to know," Sushinski said.

Words of encouragement and admiration from one trailblazer to another...

Matthews: "Keep getting stronger, keep skating harder and keep checking 'em."

Sushinski: "I will. I definitely will."

Matthews told Kostek he played just about every sport in high school, and went on to earn a full-ride scholarship to play football at the University of Kansas. Matthews made it to the NFL briefly, before a career-ending injury.