Rating past stars
Senior and university players in the spotlight today
I wrote about top defencemen in the 1960s and 1970s that played at the Charlottetown Forum last week and I had plenty of feedback from Florida, Moncton, Saint John, N.B., and the Island. So, this morning let’s take a look at some of the top forwards who played here, including local and visiting teams.
Buck Whitlock of Sandys Royals was an old man but was still playing and starring in the 1960s, solidifying his reputation as the greatest goal-scorer in Maritime hockey history. Buck, Angie Carroll and either Alf Flanagan or Fred Burke formed the big line that dominated Island senior hockey in the 1960s.
Moncton’s Oscar Gaudet and Phil Doiron, Amherst’s scorer Alain (Boom Boom) Caron and Jacques Allard, New Glasgow Rangers star and Charlottetown-born Sammy Gregory plus flashy Simon Nolet had their best days in the early 1960s while playing with Maritime teams in the Allan Cup trail.
In the years before NHL expansion in 1970, P.E.I. senior teams faced the difficult task of getting out of the Maritimes, especially with the popularity of the semi-pro Nova Scotia Senior Hockey League. The Amherst Ramblers were the dominant Maritime team at that time, but their task of beating the top senior clubs in Quebec was a difficult one.
DEFENCEMEN
Looking back at the defencemen, and excluding those who played in the NHL like Bobby Stewart and Adam McQuaid, Peter Williams and Gordie Gallant of the 1969 Islanders would have to be regarded among the best defencemen ever to play out of Charlottetown on a regular basis.
Williams had the size, speed and shot, while Gallant was all heart and the type of defender you’d want guarding a one-goal lead later in the game. I'll look at the goalies next week.
UNIVERSITY
The 1960s university ranks also had rugged Darryl Pollock, who also played with the 1961 champion Moncton Beavers, and, of course, all-star Vince Mulligan, who also played with the 1961 Beavers junior squad. Pollock and Mulligan were standouts for the Maritime champion 1965 Saint Dunstan’s University (SDU) Saints led by MVP Bill MacMillan. Paul MacWilliams played just one season with the Saints, but the converted defenceman earned all-Canadian honours in 1967. Another who had a bright pro future in front of him was Dennis Affleck (1969), who was a standout for Saint Dunstan’s. The St. Louis Blues wanted to send him to their AHL club but Dennis, who was a diamond in the rough, opted for a career in the RCMP.
Wilf MacDonald, who earned first-team all-Canadian honours, gets my nod as the best defenceman to ever play at the university. He was the athlete of the year at UPEI in 1978 and 1979 and led a parade of top local defencemen like Terry Mckenna, Mike Ready, Don Brown, Borden’s Garth Arsenault, under-rated Larry Arsenault and Mike Devine. This era also produced such standouts as Brian Ostrowski, Darwin McCutcheon, Wayne MacPhee, Steve Fulton, Bob Moffat, Kevin Skilliter and John Copple.
HARNESS RACING
Standardbred Canada has released its blueprint for return of racing and apparently, it has been sent it to provincial governments, which host harness racing, for consideration.
While there is no racing in North America, Standardbred Owners Association of New York president Joe Faraldo has sent a letter to the state gaming commission requesting the use of Goshen Historic Track for qualifiers. There are no wagering facilities at Goshen, it is a large area where social distancing will not be an issue and, more importantly, it will get horses ready when racing resumes most likely first at The Meadowlands and then New York tracks.
Ohio is also rumoured to be near getting approval for qualifiers. It is one state that started social distancing and restricting movement early and racing could start there soon.
As for Ontario, Mohawk, which is out in the country so to speak, has a large paddock and barn area, which would be ideal for live racing, but with no fans. Let’s hope we can control and contain the virus, so some form of racing can get underway in the very near future.