Dunstan Carroll

Dunstan & Genetta with the grandkids

When it comes to building championship calibre teams coaches and general managers look not only toward talent on the ice but also character, leadership and devotion to not only making the team but making the team better. Being a good team-mate is a vital component. Being self-aware as opposed to self-absorbed.
Another part of the equation is an athlete’s track record. Picking someone who has had success not only i an terms of goals and assists but playing with other good players who have enjoyed some measure of success.
All of those characteristics can be found in Dunstan Carroll of Charlottetown who would not only help lead his minor hockey teams to championships but also at the Junior, NCAA and senior hockey level from the mid 1970’s to the mid ‘80’s.
Another factor is good genes. Dunstan came from a hockey family headed by his father, Angus who was an extremely talented player in the 1940’s through the 50’s and 60’s. Angie was scouted by the Montreal Canadiens and played in junior hockey with the Baby Habs in junior. Later he became an outstanding senior player and coach. You can see a lot of the dad in the son. Dunstan inherited a work ethic that would lead to success in life both on and off the ice.
Dustan’s leadership abilities made him a prime candidate for team captain during his minor hockey days and later with the Sherwood-Parkdale Metros and North Dakota Fighting Sioux in college.

Angie Carroll never pushed his son to play hockey knowing full well as a player the highs and lows involved in the game through his own career. Dunstan loved the game and morning until night as a youngster showing the passion was just as strong in him as it was with his father.
The two would get to enjoy one of those hockey highs with the Metros with Angie as coach and Dunstan as the captain of the Atlantic and Eastern Champs in 1979.

Getting Started

It wasn’t easy. Dusty, born developed rheumatoid arthritis at age eight and couldn’t walk and missed a year of school. It also hurt his “ I was always a smaller kid growing up and got sick a few times,” he recalls. “I played and skated on the outdoor rink at Parkdale School. I could see the rink from our house and remember looking out the front window to see if Mr. Wheatley was flooding.”
His dad saw him skate a lot and about age five he noticed he had an natural stride.
Angie encouraged him to go over and take the puck from an opponent by skating hard while also learning puck control once he got it.

“My Dad never really wanted me to play hockey and felt school was more important. I knew as long as I took care of school he would allow me to play.”

Dunstan’s mother Betty also played a major role as a “hockey mom” who drove him to practice as young minor player and later provided him with ca when he was old enough to drive. That got him to practices and games. Betty also made sure he ate well. Her role was of great importance since Angie was always on the road playing or coaching. She did a lot of hard work raising six children including Dusty.

“Mom was always supportive in whatever I did. With Dad gone most weekends coaching senior hockey, I had to walk a lot to practices but fathers of teammates picked me up quite a lot.”

The battle with rheumatoid arthritis affected his skating once he returned to the ice and his natural stride became a “labour” stride.
Pills he was taking for his pain caused him to develop stomach problems which meant missing more time from school and hockey. He got strong again and began playing and practiced with a pee wee team coached by Dennis Clow.
In November that season he developed hepatitis which laid him up for another three months.
Things did begin to change for the better when Stonepark Intermediate School Phys. Ed. teacher Vernon Frizzell started coaching the Sherwood-Parkdale Rural Minor Hockey Bantam team.

“ Vern gave me new confidence and a hunger to get better.”

Dusty made his first all-star team in his first year under Coach Frizzell. He also got some ice time in practice with Sandy’s Charlottetown Royals, a senior team coached by his father.
The Sherwood Bantams played off Island teams from New Brunswick and Nova Scotia including a Cole Harbour team from Nova Scotia that had up and coming star Moochie Friesen. They played at the Sherwood Sportsplex on Maple Avenue (which became the Cody Banks Arena). Dusty’s teammates included Paul Bernard, twins Doug and Dave Currie, David Ellis, Callie MacPhail, and Brian Thompson who would play vitals roles in future Junior “A” seasons.
Vernon Frizzell passed away in 2024. He dedicated much of his life to hockey and helping many youngsters to develop.

The Colonels, Generals & Eagles

Dunstan began four seasons in Jr. A hockey with the Charlottetown Colonels in 1975-76 as a talented 16 year old rookie centre who played on the fourth line on a powerful team that included future NHL star Rick Vaive, a 42 goal scorer and others like record setting 61 goal scorer Ray Dunn, Paul Gormley, Rory Beck and Kevin Murphy.

How he arrived with the Colonels is a story within itself.
After playing Bantam, he expected to receive an invite to training camp with the Sherwood-Parkdale Lions Jr. A team coached by former goalie Paul Jelley. In August all of the Sherwood Bantams received an invite except Carroll who did get invited to Charlottetown’s camp which he attended. It was in an exhibition game against Sherwood where he had a couple goals and made the team.
When he got home he was greeted by the Sherwood brass led by owner Bruce Ellis, director Dr.Kent Ellis and Coach Jelley. They wanted to know why he hadn’t gone out with the Lions and he explained he didn’t receive an invite (which Jelley called an oversight). Sherwood offered him a tryout but he decided he had already made the Charlottetown final roster so he turned it down. Charlottetown took first place and swept Sherwood in the league final in four straight games. The Colonels were in the midst of a powerful dynasty in the PEI Jr. Hockey League that would reign supreme for six seasons, all championship years. 1976 marked their fourth straight title. They went on to beat the Saint John 77’s and Sydney Millionaires in the Maritime playoffs but lost Rockland Nationals in the Eastern Canadian semifinals that won four straight. Rockland from the Ottawa District went on to win the Centennial Cup coached by Bryan Murray who later coached the NHL Ottawa Senators.

Under Head Coach Gordie Whitlock, they’d win a fifth straight IJHL title in 1976-77 finishing second to first place Sherwood-Parkdale with 36 wins, 6 losses and 2 ties but just two points back. The newly named Charlottetown DB&J Generals set a league record with 331 goals for in the regular season and had the top six scorers in the top ten led by Kevin Murphy with 30 goals and 89 points. Dusty, wearing #15, was fifth in scoring 35 goals and adding 47 assists for 82 points while primarily playing on the fourth line. The Generals included future NHL star Rick Vaive and beat the Fredericton Red Wings in the Maritime finals but lost four straight games to the Pembroke Lumber Kings from Central Ontario in the Eastern Canada semifinals in the Centennial Cup playoffs.
Another name change followed for the five-time defending Island junior champs in 1977-78 when they became the Charlottetown DB&J Eagles, again under Coach Gordie Whitlock. Dusty, in his second year, switched to #11 as his jersey number. This season he would total 30 goals, 28 assists and 58 points and finished in tenth place in league scoring. The Eagles were second to the Summerside Crystals in the standings and finished 10 points back of first with 24-8-8 record in 40 games. They were 4-3-1 in interlocking games with New Brunswick teams. Charlottetown took care of third place Sherwood-Parkdale in the provincial semifinals winning all four games. The Eagles then won a sixth consecutive PEI championship after upsetting Summerside, 4-2 in the finals. Charlottetown won the Maritime semi-finals, 4-1 over Fredericton and then another five game series win facing the Nova Scotia champion Cole Harbour Colts in the finals. The Guelph Platers took the Eastern Canadian Centennial Cup finals, 4-2 against the Eagles. Guelph would go on to win the national Centennial Cup final facing off against the Prince Albert Raiders in a four game sweep.

The Metros

1978-79 saw Dusty switch team joining city rival Sherwood-Parkdale coached by Vernon Frizzell, his old Bantam coach and assistant coach George Monaghan. Carroll says he had dispute near the end of the previous season with Eagles Coach Whitlock. In hindsight he called the disagreement over “stupid stuff” and moved on and was also joined by another ex-Eagle, Kenny Flannagan. He says Whitlock and Frizzell were big influences his life and was sad to see both pass away in recent years.

“I feel it was my ego that got in the way when it comes to the dispute with the Eagles. In the offseason I spoke to Vern and he asked me to think about moving to the Metros, an idea I considered but knew it would be hard to leave my teammates. I talked to Gord but he called my bluff and didn’t think I would move over.”

Sherwood got off to a slow start. Dusty hurt his ankle in late December and missed all of January. Sherwood-Parkdale made a coaching change that saw Angie Carroll replace Frizzell as head coach which turned out to be a tremendous move as the Metros would become a Cinderella story when the post season began. Angie accepted the job but had on e on e stipulation which that the team would practice every day. The Metros lost their first game under their new coach but after that it was clear sailing. Sherwood-Parkdale (27-7-6) finished second in the regular season behind the DB&J Eagles (31-5-4) by six points.Summerside was a distant third coached by Doug MacLean, followed by West Prince and Montague.
Sherwood-Parkdale eliminated Summerside in five games in the league semifinals before meeting up with the Eagles in another showdown for the PEI Jr. League championship. The outcome would offer sweet revenge for Metros who lost the league finals a year previous. This time they would end Charlottetown’s six year reign as champs in the 6th game on a Tuesday night at the Charlottetown Forum taking the series, 4-2. Dunstan Carroll hoisted the J. Elmer Blanchard Memorial Trophy symbolic of IJHL hockey supremacy and skated around the ice as Metros fans cheered on the moment. It was the Metros first junior championship.

The Centennial Cup playoffs with Sherwood dropping Fredericton in five games and then having to go seven games to get by the Halifax Lions on a late third period goal that gave them the Callaghan Cup, named after Island hockey great Pius Callaghan who contributed for years as an administrator in the Maritime Amateur Hockey Association.
The next stop was Prince Albert Saskatchewan where the Metros would face the defending Canadian Jr. A champion Guelph Platers and the hometown Raiders in a new round-robin style tournament.

The Metros lost both games to Prince Albert, 7-2 and 8-6 but defeated Guelph 6-5 and 5-4 to advance to play the Raiders in the final. Danny Revell scored both game winning goals. The sweep of the Platers gave them the Hewitt-Dudley Memorial Trophy as Eastern Canadian champions.
The final game was a thriller to the end before 4,000 fans. The Metros fell behind 2-0 but true to form they clawed their way back to tie the game 2-2 in the second. They went ahead 3-2 in the third but with four minutes left, the Raiders tied it up and forced a 10 minute overtime period (which was to be played to completion). Prince Albert scored a go ahead goal with 1.40 left in OT and iced the game with an empty netter as the Metros pulled their goalie and went with a sixth attacker.

It was over.
But what a journey for the Metros who came so close to the first national hockey championship in PEI hockey history. Dunstan was named the Centennial Cup Most Valuable Player and a first team all-star for the tournament.
A huge reception was held at the Sherwood Sportsplex on the Metros return home to PEI. No doubt the Metros captain would have traded his MVP recognition for the Cup.
But what a season!

North Dakota....NCAA

During the summer in the off season, Dunstan was named Parade Marshal for the 1979 Gold Cup Parade in Charlottetown during Old Home Week in August. Pius Callaghan the parade committee chair couldn’t have been happier.
The Sherwood-Parkdale Metros MVP and team captain was recruited by the University of North Dakota based in Grand Forks and joined the NCAA Division 1 Fighting Sioux in the fall of 1979 just months after playing in the Centennial Cup. St. F.X. In Antigonish, Nova Scotia under coach Jim Cahoon recruited him prior to the Centennial Cup. His Uncle Tim Carroll was teaching at the university, so he thought might be a good fit.
Cahoon called him and said it would be great if he stayed in the Maritimes but if he were to pick a U.S. School North Dakota would be great as he had played there.
So the decision was made.
Dusty would spend the next four years at the university and continued his success that began in Junior. He spent two of those years as team captain.

“Going there was a big adjustment. It was my first time away from PEI and I became home sick. But the experience was unbelievable and playing before 8,000 fans every night and practicing three to four hours a day was great. Small town but hockey was the big thing.”

In the 1979-80 season in his freshman year he played in 39 games and accounted for 8 goals and 11 assists for 19 points.
He replaced Olympic bound Dave Christian at centre while he was away. North Dakota played both the USA and Canada Olympic teams in exhibition games.The Fighting Sioux were coming off a season where they made but lost in the Frozen Four Finals. But they won it all in Dusty’s freshman season stopping Northern Michigan, 5-2 in Providence, Rhode Island. Doug Smail, who later signed with the Winnipeg Jets, scored four times. Another team member was defenseman Craig Ludwig who would join the Montreal Canadiens. Dusty became the first Prince Edward Islander to play on an NCAA Division 1 championship team.
The following season, in 1980-81 he improved to 14 goals, 20 assists and 34 points in 38 games.

Dusty had 19 goals, 12 assists and 31 points playing in 46 games 1981-82. He wore #9 for UND.
1982 marked the 35th anniversary of the NCAA national championship in hockey.

North Dakota, coached by John “Gino” Gasparini, finished with a 35-12 won-lost record reaching the finals for a 9th time. North Dakota had a strong 20-5 record at home plus an 11-6 record in away games and 5-1 on neutral ice. The Fighting Sioux were 19-7 facing conference rivals.
They would meet the Wisconsin Badgers in the championship game in March, 1982. North Dakota went 3-1 facing them in regular season play but would lose two in the playoffs to the Badgers, 9-0 and 3-1.
UND swept the quarterfinals from Clarkson, 5-1 and 2-1 and they dropped Northeastern, 6-2 in the semifinal.
That set up the NCAA championship final on March 26th, 1982 in Providence, Rhode Island led by Phil Sykes with a hat-trick and an assist took home the championship in a 5-2 victory.
It was the second national title for Coach Gino in three years and also marked the second time in three years and also a second for Carroll.

As a footnote, Phil Sykes went on for a 10 year career in the NHL with the Los Angeles Kings and Winnipeg Jets. He had 79 goals and 519 points in 456 games.
He and Dusty shared the Clifford “Fido” Purpur award in 1982 named after the North Dakota great which goes to the UND player who demonstrates hard work, determination and being a creator of excitement on the ice. They have been friends since their college days.Team mates on the 1981-82 team included future NHLers James Patrick, Dave Tippett and Dave Donnelly.

In 1982-83, Carroll was into his fourth and final year as a senior where he had 18 goals, 17 assists and 35 points in 33 games. The Fighting Sioux went 21-13-2.
Wisconsin won the championship hosted in Grand Forks, 6-2 over Harvard.

Back Home With The Islanders

Championship seasons seemed to follow Dusty everywhere. 1983-84 would see a new chapter begin for the Island star and back home where it all began.
This time he joined forces with the senior team in Charlottetown, the Islanders at his old stomping grounds at the Forum and would help the local team to its second Hardy Cup national Intermediate title in four years.
The 1980-81Charlottetown Islanders coached by Angie Carroll swept the Hardy Cup Canadian Intermediate championship in Manitoba facing the Winnipeg North End Flyers in a rough and tough fought series that gave PEI its first national hockey title. The final game saw the Isles prevail, 6-4.

Three seasons later Dunstan joined the 1983-84 version of the Islanders who would give PEI their second Hardy Cup title.
Errol Thompson and Jamie Kennedy coached Charlottetown which was made up of a variety of former junior and college stars.
Dusty wore #7 and waa joined by former Metros players Danny Revell and Callie MacPhail.

It wouldn’t be an easy run...far from it. Hardly anyone expected the Islanders to advance to the Hardy Cup final but the team proved a lot of people wrong.
First off they only played two exhibition games prior to a matchup with New Brunswick Senior League champion Riverview Trappers. The Trappers protested from the start and said the Islanders shouldn’t be allowed to play as they had not competed in a league during the regular season. The CAHA refused to accept the protest and threw out another boardroom protest at the end of the series which Riverview lost. The issue behind it was the Trappers suggesting the Islanders had too many import players. Again the CAHA wouldn’t uphold the protest.
It should be noted the New Brunswick Senior League voted the Islanders out of the loop only two seasons previous.
Next came the Timmins North Stars from Ontario in a series that was played at the Charlottetown Forum and won by the Islanders, 3-1.
The Islanders made it to the Hardy Cup final facing the Moose Jaw Generals from Saskatchewan with all games at the Forum.

After losing the opener, the two teams engaged in a pregame brawl prior to Game 2. The Isles won 7-3 inspired by the fisticuffs before the game even began. It turned to be the turning point as Charlottetown won 3-0, 6-1 and 3-0 in the final three games.
Goalie Kirk Firlotte who came from the St. Thomas Tommies was named the series MVP.
12 players from the 1981 champs were on the ‘84 Isles along with newcomers like Dunstan.
Moose Jaw would avenge the loss by beating the Islanders 4-0 in the 1985 final out west.
The Hardy Cup was awarded for several years before it was retired in 1990 and found a place in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Mixing Business & Hockey & The Grandkids

Dusty has kept involved in hockey at the recreation level and also coaching in the minor ranks.
He is part of the board of directors after the Charlottetown Major Midget AAA team, the Pride, was taken over by new ownership and renamed the Charlottetown Bulk Carrier Knights in 2018.
He has remained lifelong friends with hockey lifers like Norman Beck, Steve Vaive, Jeff Hannam and Gerry Moore.
He and his wife Genetta, an Island girl, were married in August, 1984. They have three sons and eight grandchildren who are involved in sport. The couple also have been involved in successful businesses.

Genetta explains their business venture.
“We opened Marks Work Wearhouse in 1987 in Charlottetown ( as the youngest franchisees in Canada) and moved and opened a Moncton franchise in 1988, followed by Saint John, Truro, Dieppe and Summerside and then a cresting company called Maritime Cresting Company. We’ve had thousands of employees over 30 years of which many we are proud to have nurtured and mentored and proud of each of them and their journey. When we sold we had 129 employees. We moved back to PEI in 2018 after selling the stores back to Marks but we keep a home in New Brunswick as our boys and grandkids remain in there and spend our summers on the Island.”

Angus Carroll passed away in September, 2007 at the age of 71. He passed many of the qualities we see in Dunstan. Hard worker. Student of the game. Talent. And a lifelong love affair with the game of hockey. Mom Betty also played a big in raising young Dunstan was a dominant influence on the kind of man he became. Angie and his brother Dick were two of the best senior hockey players in the province in the 50’s through the 70’s. Dunstan kept the family name alive in hockey circles all across PEI and the Maritimes following in their footsteps. Not many get a chance to play in five championships in five years starting with the Sherwood Bantams in 1975 followed by four Jr. A titles with thee Colonels, General, Eagles and Metros. Each one of those Junior teams played in the Eastern Canadian playoffs and the Metros made it to he Centennial Cup final.
That was followed by two NCAA championships with North Dakota in the early 80’s and a Hardy Cup with the Islanders in 1984. The Islanders also made it back to the Hardy Cup finals in 1985.

Dusty Carroll is a true Island champion.