Bay Area Thunder Comes From Behind to Win Over Foley

By Jim Mickiewicz

January 21, 2023         Gladwin, Michigan Page 1 of 2.

The opening period of Foley United’s game against the Bay Area Thunder (BAT) looked like a BAT power play even though both teams were even handed. That did not last. Momentum shifted several times in the game, with Foley playing their best in the first two periods. 

The wheels fell off Foley’s wagon in the third period, and the team went down to a 5 – 3 loss to BAT. The game was played Saturday afternoon at the Gladwin Ice Arena as part of the Bay Area Thunder Hockey Showcase.

“We can’t put three good periods together,” recounted Foley Head Coach Dave Williamson. “I thought period one, period two was our best hockey of the year. We were doing everything the right way, supporting each other, moving the puck, boxing out the front of the net, clogging-up the middle. Third period shows up and the light switch went off… It all fell apart in the third period.”

The game’s first goal came four minutes into the first period. Foley was on the penalty kill when the play shifted to the BAT end of the ice. Foley’s Collin Buchanan got a blistering shot off from the top of the circle that beat BAT goalie Trenton Reid. 

Foley had an early lead 1 – 0 on Buchanan’s short-handed goal.

With the goal came a shift in momentum. Prior to the goal, BAT had the edge in the play. After it, Foley held that edge. Confidence is important and Foley got a big shot of it with the opening goal.

At 7:25 of the first period, Foley took their second penalty of the game. It took the BAT 15 seconds to convert the man advantage to a goal. Gage Burgeson scored to tie the game at one.

The game’s second goal came two minutes later when BAT’s Landyn Bridgewater picked Foley’s pocket just outside of Foley’s blue line. He got the puck up to Carter Nutt who made it 2 – 1 for BAT.

Instead of getting down, Foley played some of their best hockey after the second BAT goal. Foley had good zone time in the BAT end resulting in shots and scoring opportunities. 

One of those opportunities started in Foley’s end with Buchanan passing the puck up to Tyler Dempsey who was charging up the right side into BAT’s zone. He was dragging a BAT defenseman with him. Dempsey saw that Foley’s Brendan Carnaghi was in the clear and closing in on net on the left side. Dempsey executed the perfect pass to Carnaghi’s stick and – bingo – the game was tied at two with 45 seconds left in the first period. It was a picture-perfect play.

With the game tied at two, the second period was a hard fought give and take. Mid-game, BAT came close to a goal only to be followed immediately by a break-away by Foley’s Dempsey. Neither play resulted in a goal.

But the next play did result in Foley’s third goal of the game. It looked remarkably like Foley’s second goal. Foley’s Derek Townsend cleared his zone with a pass-up to Remy Stalcup charging up the side of 

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the ice. His pass went cross ice to an open Dempsey who buried it. Another picture-perfect goal. The lead went to Foley 3 – 2.

“Beautiful goals today. A lot of tic-tac-toe, two on ones, beautiful goals,” said Williamson.

Foley had the lead going into the third period, but the third period proved to be a disaster for the team. BAT scored three unanswered goals, all even-handed. 

Two and a half minutes into the period, BAT’s Sid Suchodolski went hi corner over the trapper to tie the game at three. A minute later, BAT’s Vance LaCourt picked-up a rebound in front of the Foley net, moved right to left, and tucked the puck in the net. That gave BAT a 4 – 3 lead and the eventual game winning goal.

With five minutes left, BAT’s Jacob Stark found himself in a two-on-one going into the Foley zone. Instead of dishing the puck off, he took the shot that became BAT’s fifth goal.  

That’s where the scoring ended. BAT skated off with a 5 – 3 win. 

When presented with the thought that Foley has not been getting blown-out of games, Williamson replied, “We do just enough to hang around… I’m speechless on how things turned out. Heartfelt first two periods, exciting, and just the third period, it’s just been our bug-a-boo.”

Nathan Hewson was in net for Foley. “I’m not going to blame the goal tending,” an upset Williamson said. “The goal tending made the saves to keep us in the game. There were times we got caught standing around in front of our net, and all five guys looking at the puck going in our net. That’s unacceptable.”

Foley’s next game is Friday against Ann Arbor’s Father Gabriel Richard as part of the CHSL Showcase. The game is at Ann Arbor’s Ice Cube. The puck drops at 5pm.

Final thought from Coach Williamson: “It would have been to come-up here 150 miles and at least get a 50-50. The boys aren’t happy. I’m sure they’re not.  The end of the game, penalties hurt us, penalties hurt us, penalties hurt us… We’ll watch video on Wednesday. Make the adjustments and see where we go from there.”

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Foley Drops a Close One to Tawas

By Jim Mickiewicz

January 20, 2023           Gladwin, Michigan Page 1 of 2.

The 150 mile trip up to Gladwin may have taken something out of Foley United’s pep in the first period of the game against Tawas Friday night. The game was part of the Bay Area Thunder Showcase played at the Gladwin Community Arena. Foley went down 2 – 0 to Tawas in the opening period. That was enough to ensure a Tawas win 3 – 1.

Foley looked out of sync in the first period, recovered in the second period, and played their best period in the third. 

According to Foley Head Coach Dave Williamson, “If we played a better first period, we clamped down, we gave up a goal late in the first period, and that was the bug-boo… But as a team, the first period, we did not start on time. We got to the rink early, but just a little too much loosy-goosy before the game.”

Tawas got the first penalty at nine minutes into the opening period. Foley could not convert and was tagged with a minor penalty of its own with 30 seconds left in the Tawas penalty. With one second left in the four on four play from the penalties, Tawas’ Kyle Indreica scored the game’s first goal.

Not only did Tawas get the goal, but because the goal was scored with one second left in even – four on four – play, Tawas went on to enjoy a minute and a half of power play time. Foley killed the penalty.

With 26 seconds left in the first period, while Foley was on a power play, Tawas managed a hot shot on Nathan Hewson in Foley’s net. Hewson made the save, but the puck oozed through his pads and stopped behind him, about a foot out of the net. Two Foley players standing by Hewson did not see the puck, but Tawas’ Sean Bernard did and popped the puck into the open net. It would stand-up as the game winner.

The first period ended with a 2 – 0 Tawas lead.

Foley’s play stiffened in the second period. In the first two minutes of play, both teams exchanged solid scoring opportunities. “The second period, third period was a good high school game,’ said Williamson. ”Back and forth, up and down. Our (goal) tender Parker (Stalcup) played lights out as he always does. MVP of the game as far as I’m, concerned.”

With 5:27 left in the second period, Tawas’ goalie Ethan Wood made an acrobatic save on a fast Foley shot. The puck shot straight up in the air like a pop-up in baseball. It was just an indication that Foley was playing harder and getting good scoring opportunities.

Those chances paid-off with 3:37 left in the period when Collin Buchanan got the puck up to Keegan Adams in the Tawas zone. Adams pushed his way past the Tawas defender and snapped-off a clear shot that beat Wood. 

“Keegan (Adams), he got some second line scoring. It was nice. Leave some of the pressure off the first line,” per Williamson.

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The second period ended with a 2 – 1 Tawas lead. It was down to a one-shot game and Foley was in it. Helping things out for Foley, Tawas was called for a holding minor penalty at the end of the period. Foley would begin the third period with a fresh sheet of ice and a full two-minute power play.  

Things got better for Foley. Forty-five seconds into the third period, Tawas was tagged with a second minor penalty giving Foley a 2-man advantage for 1:15. The sad thing is Foley could not bag a goal on the penalties.

With that, ‘mighty mo’ – momentum – swung over to Tawas. Tawas was encouraged by their penalty kill.

Both teams played hard throughout the third period, Foley to tie the game, and Tawas to get that extra insurance goal, without success. Then, Foley was given a break. Tawas got a penalty with 2:44 left in the period. Foley Coach Williamson called a time out and laid out plans for the attack. The face-off would be in the Tawas end.

With the extra man, Foley had the upper hand in the play, but did not score. The clock was ticking down. With 2:10 left in the period, Tawas got a second penalty creating another 2-man advantage for Foley. Like the prior 2-man advantage, the puck went everywhere except in the Tawas net.

The first penalty expired. With a little over a minute left in the period, Foley pulled Hewson for an extra attacker. Back to two extra Foley attackers, but now, the Foley net was empty – wide open. The puck went everywhere, but in the Tawas net. With 1 second left, it went in the open Foley net. Gage Maxfield got the credit for the Tawas goal, firing from center ice. 

“We had opportunities late in the game - five on three – we couldn’t connect,” said Williamson. “Collin (Buchannan) and (Tyler) Dempsey had a fantastic scoring chance. I don’t know how the puck didn’t go in. But that’s just the bounce.”

Foley’s play improved throughout the game. It was entertaining for the fans in the stands, and Foley almost pulled it off. Almost…

Some call-outs from Williamson for the game, “Guys who stood-out were Remy Stalcup. I thought (Aiden) Corrado, that was probably his best game of the year. But I need everybody on board, not just one or two guys… Have to stay out of the box, especially our older boys who are our leaders on the team. I need them on the ice to score goals or prevent goals.”

Foley’s next game will be Saturday afternoon as part of the Bay Area Thunder Showcase. Foley will play the host, Bay Area Thunder. 

Final thought from the coach, “I thought the second and third period was a real good game… We’ll regroup. We’ll do fine tomorrow. I think this is a good learning tool, teaching tool. We’ll come out tomorrow and see what we can do.”

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Foley comes-Up with a Solid Win Over Port Huron

By Jim Mickiewicz

January 16, 2023          Mt. Clemens, Michigan Page 1 of 2.

Nobody knows for sure where the monkey went. One thing for sure, it’s off the back of the Foley United hockey team. After suffering through a multi-game losing streak going back to December, Foley put together a complete game in all aspects of the sport against Port Huron United Monday morning at Mt. Clemens Arena. Foley skated-off with a 5 – 2 win. The game was part of the MAC Showcase.

Within the first minute of the game, Foley’s Captain, Tyler Dempsey, got free for a clear break-away on Port Huron goalie Austin Trudeau. Trudeau made the save, but the play was a sign of good things to come for Dempsey in the game.

Special teams were firing on all cylinders for Foley. At 12:22 into the first period, Foley’s D-man Collin Buchanan took a shot from his office on the blue line. He scored the game’s first goal - on the power play – to give Foley a 1 – 0 lead. There was plenty of action in front of the Port Huron goalie obscuring the shot. Brendan Carnaghi and Derek Townsend assisted.

The first period ended with a narrow one goal lead for Foley.

Foley struck early, one minute into the second period for its second goal. Foley’s Dempsey took the puck from behind the Port Huron net, skated it around the board to the goalie’s left and fired a shot off. Buchanan was jamming the Port Huron net, dragging a defenseman along with him. The puck found the back of the net for Dempsey’s first goal of the game. He would go on to score two more.

The assists went to Remy Stalcup and Collin Buchanan. Foley stretched its lead to 2 – 0.

Port Huron’s first goal would come a minute and a half later. Port Huron’s Brendan Hofer passed the puck up through the neutral zone initiating a foot race for it between a Foley defenseman and Port Huron’s Jordan Dehn. Dehn won the race and skated in for a clear shot on Foley’s Parker Stalcup in net. The shot beat Stalcup. The goal narrowed Foley’s lead to 2 – 1.

Foley would open its lead back up to two goals at 9:57 in the second period. Port Huron was short-handed and Foley took advantage. With traffic in front of the Port Huron net, Remy Stalcup skated in with the puck from the boards to the goalie’s left. He let a hot shot go and scored. Buchanan, who was moved up to the first line from defense, assisted on the power play goal. 

The scoring in the second period would close out with a Foley 3 – 1 lead, but there were still scoring chances left.

With 6:28 left in the period, Foley’s Dempsey had another break away on the Port Huron net like he had early in the first period. No goal. 

At 4:27 in the period, Foley had a rare three on one scoring opportunity. No goal was scored.

Port Huron also showed that it could score on a power play in the third period. Foley was tagged with two consecutive penalties, and that proved to be one too many. At 8:10 in the period, just 13 seconds 

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after Foley was called on its second penalty in the period, Port Huron narrowed the Foley lead to one. Jax Demil scored making it a narrow 3 – 2 lead for Foley.

Foley’s Dempsey put the game out of reach with his next two goals, completing his three-goal hat-trick for the game.

With 6:09 left in the third period, and on the power play, Dempsey skated in from the goalie’s right and scored. Carnaghi got the sole assist. Foley had a 4 – 2 lead.

Late in the period, Dempsey was skating into the Port Huron zone with one Port Huron defenseman to beat for a clear shot. Dempsey bounced the puck off the boards, skated around the defenseman, passing the puck to himself in the clear. The rest was easy, or at least Dempsey made it look easy, scoring Foley’s fifth goal. Remy Stalcup made the pass for the assist.

The goal also closed out scoring in the game with a Foley 5 – 2 win.

Dempsey described his goals after the game. “The first one, I just turned around, just threw it at the net, and just happened to go close-in. I was just trying to get it to Collin (Buchanan) out in front, and it ended-up going in. The goalie couldn’t see it because Collin was screening. Then my second one, I was able to skate in, find a lane, and put it to the right side of the net, because there was traffic in front. The third one, Remy (Stalcup) gave it to me, chipped it around the D-man, and just went top left on the goalie.”

Dempsey was awarded the MAC Showcase’s Play-of-the-Game for Foley. Port Huron goalie, Austin Trudeau, was awarded the Player-of-the-Game for Port Huron.

Dempsey also highlighted Foley’s strengths in the game. “I think our biggest thing was out break-outs were really good today, and then most importantly, our power play was really good today. It’s been really good the past two games. The majority of our goals are coming from our power play.

“Our penalty kill was really good, and I think that was a huge part of it, too. Our special teams were really on today, and our break-outs were really good, picking our heads up, making good passes, finding open lanes, making shots on the goalie.”

Foley’s next games will be in Gladwin on Friday evening and Saturday afternoon as part of Bay Area Thunder Tournament. Friday at 8:00pm, Foley will play Tawas. Saturday at 2:00pm, Foley will face-off against the Bay Area Thunder. Both games will be at the Gladwin Arena.

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Back-to-Back Over-Time Games Do Not End Well for Foley

By Jim Mickiewicz

January 14, 2023                Royal Oak, Michigan Page 1 of 2.

Foley United went down to its second overtime loss in a row. St. Marys Catholic Central came from behind to skate away with a 4 – 3 win Saturday afternoon at Lindell Arena. 

It was a hard fought and disappointing loss for the Foley squad. After leading 3 – 2 until late in the second period, Foley United gave-up a goal with less than a minute left in the second period to St. Marys Catholic Central (SMCC) to tie the game at three. The third period was scoreless. SMCC then won the game on over-time.

“It’s tough. It’s tough,” said Foley Head Coach Dave Williamson. “It isn’t for lack of effort. It’s just, you know, we made some mistakes. We’ll look at video on Wednesday. There’s a lot to digest in today’s game. I thought our first period wasn’t our best period of the year. But the boys know that.”

SMCC carried the play in the first period. The SMCC squad had 6 shots on Nathan Hewson in the Foley net before Foley got its shot on Pete Provost in the SMCC cage. Foley looked sluggish, missing passes, and giving SMCC free play through the neutral zone. The only goal in the first period went to SMCC’s Nick Rakoczy half-way through the period.

The play in the second period was much tighter. SMCC was called for three penalties in the period and Foley’s Collin Buchanan scored a power-play goal on each one. It was Buchanan’s second hat trick this season. 

SMCC was called for tripping at 13:20 of the second period. Thirty-six seconds later, Buchanan netted his first goal, assisted by Remy Stalcup and Derek Townsend. The game was tied at 1.

Foley took the next penalty, also for tripping, at 9:34 in the second period, and SMCC’s Dan Nuebauer capitalized on their power play. The lead went back to SMCC, 2 – 1.

That lead was fleeting. Just 17 seconds into SMCC’s roughing penalty called at mid-period, Buchanan got his second goal of the game. Brandan Carnaghi and Tyler Dempsey assisted. The game was back to a tie, 2 goals apiece.

It took just 6 seconds after SMCC was called for its third penalty of the period for Buchanan to capitalize with his third goal scored at 4:25 in the period. Carnaghi and Stalcup shared the assists. Foley was back in the lead 3 – 2.

To celebrate Buchanan’s goal, the Foley game announcer tagged Buchanan as “Collin ‘the canon’ Buchanan” when announcing his third goal. Buchanan is tied for second place on the team with Remy Stalcup with nine goals each so far this season.

Foley would go on to kill a late roughing penalty in the second period, but gave-up an even-handed goal with just 58 seconds left in the second period. Jason Hawkins was the SMCC goal scorer. At the end of the second period, the game was tied at 3.

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The teams played to a stalemate in the third period. For the second game in a row, Foley moved into sudden-death overtime. And for the second game in a row, it did not end well for Foley.

Foley outshot SMCC in over-time for the first time in the game, 5 – 2. But goals are what matters, and SMCC found the back of Foley’s net a minute and fifty seconds into overtime. It was over. SMCC skated-off with the 4 – 3 win.

“The last goal looked like we got caught flat footed back in our end,” observed Williamson. “As a team, back in our D zone, we getting better but we’re not where we need to be.”

Nathan Hewson faced 37 shots in Foley’s net. Pete Provost stopped 25 of the 28 Foley shots that he faced. “I thought both goaltenders had extremely good games,” said Williamson. “Nathan made some big saves.”

Foley has Sunday off, and then faces Port Huron in the MAC Tournament Monday morning at 9:00am. That game will be at Mt. Clemens Arena.

Last thought from Coach Williamson: “Every time we got a power-play tonight, I think we were 3 for 4. Which is nice. The power-play came together… We had chances. We had chances on both lines… We create your own chances, your own opportunities.”

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Divine Child Wins in Over-Time Over Foley United

By Jim Mickiewicz

January 12, 2023         Taylor, Michigan Page 1 of 2.

Bishop Foley United mounted a much-improved power play in Thursday’s 3 – 2 overtime loss to Divine Child. Foley had five power-play opportunities in the game and scored on one. The game winning goal for Divine Child (DC) was also scored short-handed, on a Foley power-play, in overtime. The game was played at the Taylor Sportsplex.

Foley played a tough game overall against the favored DC. Parker Stalcup faced 41 DC shots in Foley’s net. Stalcup made a number of great saves, including several break-aways and point-blank shots on him. Colin Tomaszycki in DC’s net faced 21 Foley shots, a number of those were top-drawer scoring opportunities. 

All three DC goals were scored by DC’s Braeden McNamara. McNamara had the only goal of the first period. The shot came about 10 feet inside the Foley blue line from the right face-off circle.

Forty seconds into the second period, Foley’s Captain, Tyler Dempsey, scored on a snapshot, using a DC player as a screen on the shot. Collin Buchanan assisted. The game was now tied at one. The goal added an extra breath of confidence to Foley in a game that was supposed to be all Divine Child.

DC’s McNamara put his team back on top with his second goal scored with just over a minute left in the second period.

Foley did not fold. Foley had a power-play early in the third period – a carry-over from a call made late in the second period. Foley took advantage of the extra man and carried the play to DC, repeatedly testing Tomasztcki, who was up to the task. The scored remained 2 – 1 for Divine Child.

The next penalty went to Foley. The team killed it off. 

The next penalty went to DC, and it would cost them. The interference call on DC happened with 7:43 left in the third period. With ten seconds left in the penalty, Foley’s Dempsey scored in an open net with DC’s Tomaszycki down and out of the play on the far side of the net. Derek Townsend and Collin Buchanan were the set-up men on the goal.

“The tying goal, we jammed the net as the boys made that extra pass,” observed Foley Head Coach Dave Williamson. “Let’s jam the front of the net, and low and behold, man, there’s a bouncing puck, and once again, Dempsey tucked it in.”

With the game tied at 2 and 1:23 left in the third period, DC was tagged with an interference penalty. This was a break for Foley, but DC dug in and forced the game into sudden death overtime. 

Overtime was all DC. They got control of the puck at the opening face-off, skated up the wing into Foley’s end, and kept control. You could not tell who had the power-play. (It was Foley). DC’s McNamara took a pass-out to the high slot and let a hot shot rip from his stick that found the back of the Foley net.  The whole sequence took just 18 seconds.

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From Williamson’s perspective “That last goal, the winning goal, the puck from the point, it hits something out front, redirected, and that’s the breaks. We didn’t get out there. We didn’t make any effort to block the shot, so, that hurts.”

Divine Child won 3 – 2, but they knew they were in hockey game that didn’t go by the script. Foley was motivated and came within an eyelash of pulling off the upset.

“I like the attitude today,” said Williamson. “Seniors had a good attitude, and the younger boys feed off of that. DC is a proud program. They’ve been top-10, top-20 in the state of Michigan many years. They’re going through a rebuild so we matched-up very nice with them.

“We didn’t take any needless penalties today, so that was huge. We didn’t chase. We tried to box things out in front of the net, and when we did that, we created turn-overs. Our big guns - Dempsey,  Buchanan, and Carnaghi – they were big factors tonight. Our goaltender (Stalcup), once again, was lights out.”

Foley’s next game is Saturday afternoon at 3:00pm at Lindell Arena against Monroe St. Mary’s Catholic Central.

The coach’s last thought: “I’m not disappointed in the boys at all. We came from behind. Tied the game up, a good momentum swing, and I expect nothing but the same for Saturday against CC – St Marys. I’m real happy with the outcome and the effort and the hustle. We just need to correct a few things and we will.”

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Power Play Problems Costs Foley a Game

By Jim Mickiewicz

January 10, 2023      Westland, Michigan Page 1 of 2.

     Tuesday night’s hockey game against New Boston Huron had something for everybody, except a win for Foley United which went down to a 2 – 0 loss. The game was played at Westland’s Mike Modano Arena.

     There were solid scoring chances for both teams, along with spectacular saves by the goalies, especially Parker Stalcup who was in Foley’s net. There were give-aways and mistakes by both teams, but that’s the game of hockey. There were hard body checks including a breathtaking mid-ice hit in the third period.

     What happened? A New Boston player had the misfortune of plowing into Foley’s biggest defenseman, Collin Buchanan, at center ice. The result: Buchanan executed a perfect hip-check. The New Boston player somersaulted over Buchanan’s back, went air-born and landed on his backend. At any level of hockey, this is a rare and eyepopping play worthy of the WWF.

     What cost Foley the game was its special teams play. 

     New Boston got called for the first four penalties in the game, and five out of the first six penalties. Foley could not convert on any of them. The first period ended scoreless.

     Foley Head Coach Dave Williamson took note of team’s power play, “It’s something we’ll have to address tomorrow in practice. I think what’s hurting us right now: I think our break-out is fine. It’s just we’re rushing the set-up, and we’re not looking at what they’re giving us on their penalty kill. We gain the zone and we’re bum-rushing the net, instead of holding back and see what they’re giving us.”

     New Boston did convert on their third penalty which happened early in the second period. 

     Although Foley’s Brendan Carnaghi had a wicked shot on Logan Moran in New Boston’s net, Foley’s powerplay overall looked flat. Other than Carnaghi’s shot, New Boston had the best scoring chances during it. 

     A Foley turnover in their end put the puck on New Boston’s Kenny Gribble’s stick. Gribble dished it off to linemate Harry Dembowski who placed a seeing-eye shot over Stalcup’s stick side. The shorthanded goal gave New Boston a 1 – 0  lead, and ultimately, the game winning goal.

     New Boston’s fourth penalty, late in the second period, almost ended-up with another shortie. The Foley defense, coming from behind the Foley net with the puck, blind-passed the puck across the front of the net. A New Boston player was the only player in front of the net and intercepted the pass. He had a great shot, wide open on Stalcup. Stalcup stoned him. 

     The second period ended with a 1 – 0 New Boston lead. 

     Two minutes into the third period, New Boston put the game farther out of reach for Foley when New Boston’s Dembowski, floating out in front of the Foley net, got the puck and punched it home. New Boston now had a 2 – 0 lead.

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     From the player bench side of the ice, you could hear “they’re getting tired” from the New Boston bench referring to Foley’s short bench. 

     From Williamson’s viewpoint, Foley was compounding the short bench situation with their style of play. 

“When you chase, I call it dumb hockey, is tiring hockey,” said Williamson. “It’s always more tiring to chase. You’d rather be chased than chasing. If you’re going to chase, you need to get right up in the guy and get right in his chest, and make him go through you. And what we do is chase, and then we turn, and that just comes with experience. We have a lot of freshmen and this is all new to them.”

     Foley and New Boston traded overlapping penalties in the third period. It was Foley’s first minor and New Boston’s fifth penalty. Neither team scored.

     Stalcup continued to make the plays that kept Foley in the game, including a stop on a clear break-away with less than two minutes left in the third period.

     Foley’s Tyler Dempsey led his team’s offense with at least three great scoring chances, including two shots off the goalpost. The clangs sounded like a San Francisco trolley’s bell.

     Foley’s Parker Stalcup faced 23 New Boston shots in net. New Boston’s Logan Moran saved all 32 Foley shots that he faced. 

         “There were some stand-outs today.” Here’s Williamson’s call-outs for the game. “I really like Brian Noe. I think he’s really stepped-up. I like Caesar Soma. I thought CJ played an outstanding game. Nice little stick touches. He’s a small guy but he’s really smart with the stick, and I like his game. He’s going to be a good player in three years when he’s a senior… Parker ( Stalcup), our goalie, he was lights out. I feel bad for the guy, you know. It happens. And he’s only a sophomore. He was lights out tonight… Our second line played well tonight.”

      Foley United is looking for its first win in the new year, and will have that chance Thursday night at the Taylor Sportsplex when they face-off against Divine Child. Game time is 7:00pm.

     The Coach’s final thought: “Lost a few games here, and everyone’s pressing. Everyone wants to get us some numbers on the board. So we’re trying to press. When you lose, all those little things are magnified, and there are things we have to work on tomorrow. And we see it.”

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Farmington United Prevails over Foley United

By Jim Mickiewicz

December 21, 2022             Farmington Hills, Michigan Page 1 of 2.

“Our first period has to be our best period,” according to Foley United Coach Leo Ortel. That’s just not how the first period went for Foley Wednesday night. The team lost to Farmington United by a 2 – 0 score at Farmington Hills Arena. It was the second game in a row that Foley had a sluggish first period.

Farmington United presented Foley with a style of play that the team has not seen this season. 

Farmington United was fast, close checking – especially stick checking, with hard body checks. Foley’s Brian Noe was the first victim of one of those checks early in the first period. He had to head to the bench, cutting his on-ice shift short. Noe made it back on the ice for his next shift.

Play was controlled by Farmington in the opening period. Foley had a hard time just clearing their zone from the pressure they faced from Farmington. Farmington had the upper hand in shots on goal. Foley’s Parker Stalcup in net had to make a series of nice saves to keep his team in the game.

Farmington’s Owen Sims finally broke through Stalcup’s defensive wall with 10:43 left in the first period. He skated in, dragging a Foley defenseman, skated around the back of the net, curled around the front of the net ten feet from the crease and let one shot go. Stalcup made the save, but the rebound went back to Sims and straight into the net. The shot beat Stalcup over his trapper.

With 6:20 remaining in the first period, Sims struck again for Farmington’s second goal. Foley tried clearing the puck from their defensive zone, but continued to have problems exiting the zone. The puck was intercepted at the blue line by Farmington. Their player snapped a pass to a Farmington player on Stalcup’s trapper side. He sent it cross-crease to Sims who was standing on the doorstep of the net. Stalcup did not stand a chance. 

No question – Farmington was in-charge in all facets of the game in the opening period. But that changed in the second and third periods. Farmington still had an edge in the overall play, but Foley made a real game of it.

So, what did Coach Ortel and Coach John Cynowa tell the players at the first intermission to turn things around?

“In between the first and the second,” said Ortel, “(we) went around the locker room and we talked to each guy, and we talked about ways they could improve themselves for the second period. Really to be honest with you, every single guy got called out for something that they weren’t doing, something they could have been doing better. And the big difference in the second period was people took that to heart. All the players, they took that to heart and made a few more plays, didn’t make as many turn-overs. It comes down to personal accountability, and I think that each guy held themselves accountable, which is why we played a better second and third period.”

Shots on the Farmington net became a reality in periods two and three. Farmington’s Landon Wiesner in net had to keep his team in the game. Wiesner had to stop three clear break aways by Foley. 

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Keegan Adams was the first Foley player to challenge Wiesner in the second period. His break-away failed to net a goal.

Foley’s scoring leader, Tyler Dempsey, followed Adams with two more break aways on Wiesner. Wiesner slammed the door shut on the scoring chances.

Foley was able to put pressure on the Farmington net in the second and third period, and cutdown on scoring chances on the Foley net. Stalcup still had to make some spectacular saves to keep it a 2 – 0 Farmington lead.

“I think (Stalcup) saw at least 40 shots tonight,” said Ortel. “Parker (Stalcup), for a sophomore, is really an outstanding goalie. It’s exciting to see what he does in net… He kept us in it the entire night.”

Foley now heads into the Christmas break. The team’s next game is Friday, January 6th against Livonia Franklin at Lindell Arena. Game time is 7:00pm

Final thought from Coach Ortel: “We were right there. That game was within reach. And if we buried a couple more of those pucks, we’re tied, and we go play overtime.”

Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year!

##

Foley United Drops a Lopsided Game to Walled Lake Western

By Jim Mickiewicz

December 17, 2022        Brighton, Michigan 1 of 2 Pages.

Five out of the first nine hockey games for Foley United were competitive, decided by one goal. The game against Walled Lake Western (WLW) on Saturday evening was not one of them. WLW controlled the game, dominated the flow, and outscored Foley United by a final 9 – 1 score. The game was played at Kensington Valley Arena in Brighton.

The first period was the most competitive for Foley on the scoreboard. Early on the first period, with the action pinned in the Foley end, WLW’s Nate Cohen took three unchallenged strides towards the Foley net from the blue line, took a wrist shot, and netted the game’s first goal.

Foley tied the game with 11:45 left in the period when Foley’s Aiden Corrado passed the puck through center ice to a wide-open Tyler Dempsey. Dempsey skated in, penalty shot style, and buried the puck in the net. It was Dempsey’s 13th goal of the season, and Foley’s only goal in the game.

Being even in the scoring did not last very long. One minute later, WLW broke the tie on a goal from Joey Sines. This would stand-up as the game winning goal.

Slowing down the WLW players was a challenge for Foley. They had a talent for slipping out of body checks and breaking free. Their ability to maneuver on the ice led to a nightmare for Foley goalie Parker Stalcup. Nine goals got by Stalcup, but he stopped 40 or more additional shots taken at him. The shots were like snowflakes in a blizzard. The exact number is unknown. Shots-on-goal were not kept at the scorer’s table.

“They (WLW) were hard on the puck. They didn’t quit. They outworked us,” concluded Foley Head Coach Dave Williamson. “Bottom line. They didn’t turn the puck over. I could say, you know, different factors, but I mean, we have to play harder than we play… We have to be smarter with the puck. We can’t take any teams lightly… We just have to play harder. (We) just did not execute.”

From a 2 – 1 lead in the first period, WLW added four goals in the second period to take a 6 – 1 lead over Foley. One of the goals was scored on the power play. Foley had two penalties in the period, and in the game.

WLW enjoyed a five-goal lead over Foley going into the third period. They were close to hitting an eight-goal lead invoking high school’s mercy rule to end the game. 

Foley’s defense stiffened early in the third period. The team looked like they would survive the period. WLW did not add to their lead until there was 11:24 left in the period. It was now 7 – 1.

Just a minute later, WLW expanded the lead to 8 – 1. 

“Walled Lake (Western) is a good team,” said Williamson. “They came out. Beat us to the puck. They didn’t turn the puck over. Everybody on that team, they hustled.”

The eight-goal differential would not be hit until there was just 53 seconds left in the third period. Foley could not hold-off the tide of WLWS offense. The game ended with 53 seconds left in regulation. WLW took a 9 – 1 win.

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Seven different Walled Lake Western players scored goals in the game. Nate Cohen and Ian Gaffney both had a pair of goals. Single goals were netted by Joey Sines, Adam Wisner, Cody Galin, Dillon Anderson, and Mason Schmitt.

Foley next game is also the last before the Christmas break. It is Wednesday, December 21 against Farmington United at Farmington Hills Arena. Game time is 7:30pm.

Final thought from Coach Williamson, “We’re going to take lumps. But I didn’t expect the lumps to be this hard. I just didn’t expect it. (We got to) regroup. A new year’s coming.”

## 

Foley United Sweeps Both Games This Weekend with a Win over St. Marys Catholic Central

By Jim Mickiewicz

December 10, 2022     Trenton, Michigan Page 1 of 2.

Scores can be misleading. They are the most important statistic in any game, in any sport. It is the score that, in the end, matters the most. But the score says nothing about the flow of the game.

Here’s a good example.

Bishop Foley United was leading St. Mary’s Catholic Central (SMCC) by a 7 – 1 score with 6:26 left in the third period. Foley went on to win the game 7 – 3. So, on paper it looks like Foley dominated SMCC on the ice.

That was not the case.

The game was a hard-fought back-and-forth contest. If anything, SMCC held an edge in offense, mounting 46 shots in the game on Foley’s Nathan Hewson in net. Only 3 went in. Hewson’s play in net resulted in a .934 saves percentage. 

“Nathan played goal today. He gave us a chance to win” said Foley Head Coach Dave Williamson. “He made the easy saves look easy, and he made the hard ones look easy. I thought he did outstanding out there.”

Foley hit SMCC’s net with 25 shots and netted 7 goals.

Foley’s 7 – 1 lead in the third period led to a rare move on the part of SMCC. They pulled their goalie for an extra attacker with 6:26 left in the final period. Foley had a wide-open net to shoot at for – in hockey – an eternity. But to get those shots, you need puck control. Overwhelmingly, SMCC maintained puck control thanks to the extra skater.

“They (SMCC) came out hard. And we told the boys to be ready for that,” said Williamson about SMCC in the third period. “Teams do that. When they’re down and we’re in their building… I thought St. Mary’s played a very good physical up-and-down game. They gave us fits. They outshot us two-to-one.” 

The extra skater also led to SMCC scoring two unanswered goals late in the third period. It was now 7 – 3 with 2:53 in the third period. And the SMCC net remained empty. The likelihood of scoring an additional four goals in the remaining time was highly unlikely. But SMCC had nothing to lose. And you never know the outcome until you try it.

Foley helped SMCC with a minor penalty call with 1:29 left in the period. The penalty did allow Foley to clear the puck down the ice without an icing call. Before that, Foley did get control of the puck on several occasions creating the chance for a long shot at SMCC’s empty net. Each shot went wide of the net and resulted in a long icing call, with the puck coming back to a face-off deep in the Foley zone.

Foley killed the penalty. The game ended with a Foley win 7 – 3. The game was played Saturday afternoon at Trenton’s Kennedy Arena. Foley won both games they played this weekend.  

Eight different Foley players took part in the scoring fest. 

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Foley’s Remy Stalcup scored a three-goal hat trick, including the team’s first goal of the game. His second goal was short-handed. He also had two assists, for a 5-point day. 

“Remy from what I saw got the one (short-handed) goal,” commented Williamson. “That was a beautiful set-up. Good puck movement. We need to do more of that five-on-five.”

Captain Tyler Dempsey netted a pair of goals and had one assist for 3 points. New comer Caesar Soma scored his first high school goal, and padded that with 2 assists – 3 points. 

“The star of the game is CJ Caesar (Soma),” praised Williamson. “He’s a freshman playing defense. I thought he looked outstanding out there, especially on the power play. He’s calm. He looks as cool as a cucumber out there. He doesn’t panic when has to make a play. He not afraid to get his nose dirty. He knows when to pinch and when not to pinch, a very good defenseman. We’re very lucky, very blessed to have him… All four of our defensemen are very good.”

Derek Townsend scored Foley’s seventh goal in the game and had two assists for 3 points. Brian Noe, Keegan Adams, and Collin Buchanan also had assists.

SMCC’s goals were scored by Will Craiger who had the first SMCC goal early in the third period. Jack Lisker and Riley DeSarbo scored solo goals after SMCC pulled their goalie.

In addition to playing a good part of the third period without a goalie, another interesting, seldom seen thing, happened. You won’t see it on any score sheet. During the second intermission when the Zamboni was making its first pass around the dasher boards, it plowed into the open Zamboni gate. Other a loud crashing noise, loud enough to get fans to look-up from their cellphones, no damage was done to either the Zamboni or the gate. 

Foley’s next game is Friday, December 16th against Port Huron at Lindell Arena. Game time is 7:00pm.

Final comment about the game from Coach Williamson: “It was good. Good for the boys. Good for their confidence… All-and-all, at the end of the day, I’m happy the boys got two W’s (wins) in 24 hours.”

##

Foley Earns an Over-Time Win Over the North Oakland Eagles

By Jim Mickiewicz  

December 9, 2022 Royal Oak, Michigan Page 1 of 2.

It took overtime for Bishop Foley United to earn a 3 – 2 victory over the North Oakland Eagles. This was Foley’s third overtime game out of six regular season games played. Foley’s overall record is now two wins to four losses. Both of Foley’s wins came in overtime. The game was played Friday evening on Foley’s home ice at Lindell Arena in Royal Oak.

“That was not a pretty win. That was an ugly win,” said Bishop Foley Head Coach Dave Williamson. “A lot of missed assignments today. A lot of puck turnovers. Just as we were as flat as flat can be.   We are flat as that hockey puck. Collin Buchanan, and (Tyler) Dempsey drove the bus today. They put the team on their back. Dempsey scored two and Collin got the first one.”

Foley was listless in the first period, and for most of the game. Parker Stalcup in Foley’s net kept his team in the game. He faced 14 North Oakland shots in the first period while Foley landed only 3 shots on Augustin Villajuan in the North Oakland net. 

By the end of regulation, Stalcup stopped 35 out of the 37 shots he faced for an impressive .946 save percentage. He turned away all 3 shots he faced in the overtime period.

“Stalcup was the player of the game,” said Williamson. Foley’s goalies have been key players in almost every game this season. 

Despite North Oakland dominating play in the first period, the period ended in a scoreless tie.

The second period went the same way as the first period. North Oakland killed off a minor penalty 3 minutes into the period, dominated play, and opened scoring in the game at 9:01. Max Smithier got the unassisted goal.

“As a team we got to play better,” Williamson reflected. “A lot of missed assignments in the D zone. Painful, painful…”

North Oakland opened the door for Foley with a pair of overlapping minor penalties in the period. The first call was an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on North Oakland, followed by a bench minor for too many men on the ice. This gave Foley a two man advantage for almost a minute. But nothing came of the two man advantage.

It was the bench minor penalty that cost North Oakland. With 18 seconds left in the penalty, Foley’s Collin Buchanan tied the game on the power play. Derek Townsend got the assist.

The second period ended tied at a goal apiece. Foley had no penalties in the second period. Those would come in the third period.

In the third period, North Oakland opened the scoring again. Two minutes into the period, Zachary Majewski made it 2 – 1 with an assist going to Evan Gaeschke. 

The teams traded minor penalties in the period. Foley disposed of two minors and North Oakland one minor without any goals being scored.

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The second Foley penalty came with just 2:59 left in the third period. That made pulling the goalie for an extra attacker impossible. Things were looking bleak for Foley. When the team got back to full strength – no goal was scored - there was 58 seconds left in the period.

That was 44 seconds more than Tyler Dempsey needed to tie the game for Foley. He scored on a set-up from Buchanan to force an 8-minute sudden death over-time period.

Foley found its game in over-time. The team placed 6 shots on the North Oakland net in just six minutes of play. It took almost the first two full periods of play for Foley to place that many shots on the North Oakland net. 

Foley’s defense stiffened, allowing only 5 shots on their net in over-time, a big improvement over the 14 shots allowed in the opening period.

Then, what looked like the kiss of hockey death happened to Foley. With 3:25 left in over-time, Foley was called for a minor penalty for interference.

Sometimes, just sometimes, the hockey gods smile on the team that has worked hard but struggled. Tonight, that team was Foley. Foley’s Dempsey got the puck in the neutral zone, worked past the North Oakland defense and made no mistake. He buried the game winning goal, short-handed, with 2:01 left in overtime. It was his second goal of the game, and came unassisted.

Williamson said, “I will say in overtime, when the puck got on Dempsey’s stick, and we were short-handed, I was already stepping off the bench because I knew he was going to put it in. He just, he has that fire, that inner fire. That’s why he wears the C. He does everything the right way.”

Final thought from the Coach: “Every game, win or lose, is a learning experience. Today was a big learning lesson.”

Foley’s next game is Saturday at noon versus St. Mary’s Catholic Central. The game will be played at Trenton’s Kennedy Arena.

##

Tawas Nets a Win From Bishop Foley United

By Jim Mickiewicz

December 3, 2022 Royal Oak, Michigan 1 of 2 Pages.

Tawas earned its first win of the hockey season at Lindell Arena on Saturday afternoon with a 5 – 1 victory over Bishop Foley United. It was Tawas’ fourth game of the season, and Foley’s fifth. Foley’s record now stands at 1 – 4.

“Close checking game. It was a good game,” said Foley Head Coach Dave Williamson. “Right from the face-off, it was a good head-to-head.” 

Foley opened the scoring three minutes into the first period. Remy Stalcup got his sixth goal of the season on a set-up from Tyler Dempsey. For Dempsey, it was his eleventh point of the season. The goal also would be Foley’s only tally for the game.

Foley killed-off a roughing penalty 9:15 into the game while Tawas controlled the flow of the play in the period. Tawas outshot Foley 15 to 5 in the period. That level of pummeling on the Foley net had to eventually pay-off for Tawas, and it did with 4:51 left in the period. Tawas’ Charlie Schnettler tied the game at one-all with an even-handed goal.

“(Tawas) did a good job jamming our net. Absolutely,” reflected Williamson. ”And then what happened, (our) wingers got all sucked down into there, too, because they’re trying to help, and when the puck was out at the point, we’re a day late on getting out to the point and block that shot.”

Both teams successfully fought through minor penalties early in the second period. Foley was able to more successfully hit the Tawas net in the second period getting seven shots on the Tawas net. Tawas was held to 8 shots.

The bad news for Foley: one of those eight shots found the back of the Foley net while the two teams were playing 4-on-4. Tawas’ Gage Maxfield scored with 8:25 left in the period to make it a 2 – 1 game for Tawas. It would stand as the game winning goal.

Foley got bit by the penalty bug in the third period. 

“Unfortunately, we got into penalty trouble. We’re a young team,” said Williamson. “I think we took seven or eight penalties. Mid-way through the game we had a five-minute major, which was unfortunate. That hurts the team because you got a small team number-wise. Guys are on the ice longer…”

Foley was assessed four minor penalties to just one for Tawas in the period. The team was on the penalty-kill almost non-stop from 8:41 left in the period until the game’s end. At one point, Foley was short 2-players for 18 seconds. 

The penalty-kill put Foley on defense for a large part of the third period, keeping offense down. This was again reflected in the shots on goal. Tawas got 11 pops at Peter Stalcup in Foley’s net, to just 5 shots on Etan Wood in the Tawas net.

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Adding to the angst for Foley was Kyle Indreica’s goal for Tawas with 14:07 left in the third period for a 3 – 1 Tawas lead.  Cody Primm’s goal for Tawas with 4:17 left in the game made matters even more desperate for Foley, now down 4 - 1. Both of these goals were scored even-handed.

Foley’s last penalty in the game was called with 35 seconds left in the third period. It took Tawas just 3 seconds to make it a 5 – 1 Tawas advantage on the game’s only power-play goal. Gage Maxfield notched his second goal in the game to close-out scoring.

Stalcup faced 38 shots in the Foley net. Wood had an easier night with 19 shots on the Tawas net. 

“Both goalies were the stars of the game,” observed Williamson. “Their goalie, we didn’t test him. I think we had 18 shots, which is quality. But they had 39, 38 shots on our goalie. I thought our goalie played really fantastic. He gave us a chance to win. Really, what I take away from this game was the last goal that they scored. There was a guy on our doorstep. All he had to do was touch the puck… That hurt to watching that…” 

Last thought from Coach Williamson: “(Foley player) Colin Bucannon tonight was all over the ice. Absolutely everywhere. Mostly he played defense, but he had a few shifts on forward, where his forechecking was phenomenal. This is his fourth year. He’s been with us since a freshman, and he’s an outstanding player. He drives the (team). And Dempsey, Carnaghi, they drive the (team).”

Foley’s next game is Friday, December 9th at Lindell Arena against the North Oakland Eagles. The puck drops at 7:00pm.

## 

Foley Drops the First of Two Home Games This Weekend

By Jim Mickiewicz

December 2, 2022 Royal Oak, Michigan Page 1 of 2.

Bishop Foley United lost by a 4 – 1 score to the Bay Area Thunder (BAT) Friday night. The game was closer than the final score indicates. The game was played on Foley’s home ice at Lindell Arena. 

Foley had only 12 active players on their bench, including two goalies, out of 14 rostered players. Even if all 14 players were there, Foley would still have been at a disadvantage. Bay Area Thunder had 20 on their bench.  Plus, they had three additional players that didn’t dress for the game. 

“I mentioned to the boys ‘this is how it’s going to be this year,’” said Foley Head Coach Dave Williamson. “This is your team. This is what we have to fight with. Come out strong in the first period. Let’s get a couple goals. The third period is going to be a grind.”

The first period ended in a scoreless tie. It was not for lack of effort on Foley’s part. The team just could not finish with a goal, or take advantage of the two power plays they had. 

“We had to play a good first period. Get a couple goals,” said Williamson. “We didn’t (get those goals).”

The scoring happened in the second period. 

Early in the second period, BAT’s Jacob Stark got the game’s first goal, unassisted. Foley then successfully killed a 2-minute minor penalty just 13 seconds after the goal.  With 7:33 left in the period, Foley tied the game on a break away goal from Tyler Dempsey. Foley’s Brendan Carnaghi set-up the goal with a pass through center ice to get Dempsey in the clear.

BAT broke the tie to take the lead for good just 24 seconds after Dempsey’s goal. BAT’s Tate Becker made it 2 - 1 with the eventual game winner.

BAT padded their lead to 3 – 1 with 4:28 left in the second period. Carter Nutt got the goal for his team.

“I thought (our) boys did well,” said Williamson. “But you get tired. You make mistakes. You lose a little bit of confidence… Then everyone starts pressing. It was only two to one for a while, then three to one. They got an empty netter, (to) make it four to one.”

Williamson was referring to the empty net goal scored by BAT with 1:02 left in the third period. Foley pulled their goalie with a 1:30 left in the period in an attempt to tie the game. It gave Bay Area Thunder a tempting target that they took advantage of. Prior to that goal, the period was a see-saw battle that was fought to a stalemate.

“Their goaltender was outstanding,” observed Williamson, referring to BAT’s William Gallagher in net. “He made the difficult saves. He made the easy ones. He made the hard ones look easy. He was a big body back there, too… He was the star of the game, their tender. Our boys did get shots on net, but, you know, not a lot of quality. He didn’t give up any rebounds, was the thing.”

With all the hard work and effort that the Foley players put into a hard-fought game, Williamson was complimentary to their work ethic. “I’m proud of the boys,” he said. “They didn’t quit. I got to give them 

Page 2 of 2.

profs for that… We’re a young team. We’re rebuilding, and we got a small bench. And it’s important (that) eveyone shows up. You got to buy-in that everyone depends on each other…” 

Parker Stalcup was in net for Foley and faced 30 BAT shots. Gallagher in net for BAT had to contend with 37 Foley shots.

Foley has to deal with a quick turn-around. The team faces Tawas Area Saturday afternoon at 3pm at Lindell Arena.

Final thought from the coach: “I thought we did well. (Just) not well enough.”

##

Foley Survives a Third Period Charge by New Boston United to Notch the Season’s First Win
By Jim Mickiewicz
November 18, 2022 Royal Oak, Michigan Page 1 of 2.
Bishop Foley United won its first game of the season with a 7 – 6 overtime victory over New Boston United.
Foley senior Tyler Dempsey scored the short-handed game winner at 1:02 into overtime. The goal, completing a
hat-trick for Dempsey, created a bench-clearing on-ice Foley player celebration. The game as played Friday night
on Foley’s home ice at Lindell Arena in Royal Oak.
Both teams had bright spots in the game to celebrate. For Foley, it was the OT victory, and first two periods. The
third period was all New Boston.
Goaltending started out shaky for both teams. New Boston scored on their first two shots on Foley’s net to take
an early 2 – 0 lead in the game. Not to be outdone, Foley scored the next four goals off of the first five shots on
New Boston’s net. The first period ended with Foley enjoying a 4 – 2 lead on New Boston.
Foley padded its lead with two more unanswered goals in the second period. The fifth goal was netted half-way
through the period. The sixth goal was scored with just 15 seconds left in the period. At the end of two periods,
Foley was firmly in-charge of the game with a 6 – 2 lead.
Things flipped in the third period. The third period was a bright spot for New Boston. The visitors changed
strategies in the period, as well as goaltenders.
Defensively, Brandon Powers started the game in net for New Boston and played the first two periods. Logan
Moran took over in net for New Boston in the third period. Foley’s Nathan Hewson played the entire game in
net for Foley.
New Boston made life miserable for the Foley defense by crashing the Foley net at every opportunity in the third
period. With a 6 – 2 lead, the last thing Foley wanted to do was to let New Boston back into the game. But that’s
what happened.
New Boston scored an early goal with a minute and a half into the period to make it a 6 – 3 game for Foley.
More importantly, the goal gave New Boston hope and the Mighty Mo – momentum.
A little over two minutes later, with 13:21 left in the period, New Boston closed the gap again with Tyler Oliver’s
second goal of the game. Down now by just two goals at 6 – 4, and with plenty of time left in the period, New
Boston was fired-up.
Foley head coach Dave Williamson observed, “(New Boston) changed their game attack. So we really, we had to
be on our toes defensively. It seemed like every time they crossed the blue line, they were firing pucks at our
goalie. I know they outshot us something like (33) to twenty-something… So, we ran out of gas. That’s what we
were afraid of. So we had to play a defensive style game.”
But, Foley clamped down and held the two goal lead until late in the third period. With a little over two minutes
left in the period, New Boston pulled their goalie for an extra attacker.
With the puck in Foley’s end, Foley got control of the puck and took a shot at the wide-open New Boston net.
The puck missed the target, going three feet wide, for a long icing.

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Then it happened. With 1:24 left in the period, New Boston pulled within one goal as Oliver completed his three-
goal hat-trick. From having a game well in control at the end of the second period, Foley now had a real nail-
biter.
Before Foley fans could get their nails down to nubs, New Boston tied the game with 21 seconds left in the
period. The New Boston net was empty for the extra attacker when New Boston’s Kenny Gribble scored, putting
the game into sudden-death overtime.
New Boston was on the offensive in OT when Foley took a tripping penalty in their defensive zone just 53
seconds into the period. The pressure was really on for Foley. All it would take is a single mistake…
And New Boston made it. The face-off was deep in Foley’s end. Foley got control of the puck. Foley’s Remy
Stalcup passed the puck to Tyler Dempsey who was in the just clear of New Boston’s defense. Dempsey had a
clear shot at Logan Moran in New Boston’s net. Dempsey buried it for a short-handed goal and the overtime
win. The play took just 9 seconds after the penalty call and face-off in Foley’s end. It was also the only odd-man
goal scored in the game.
Seven different Foley players participated in the scoring, including goalie Nathan Hewson who got an assist on
Dempsey’s second goal in the game. Remy Stalcup had two goals and an assist. Dempsey had three goals,
including the game winner, and an assist. Derek Townsend had a goal and an assist. Collin Buchanan had a goal
and an assist. Brendan Carnaghi led the team in assists with three. Additional solo assists went to Brian Noe, and
Keegan Adams.
New Boston’s goals were scored by Tyler Oliver, with three goals. Harry Dembowski, Bazel Wolf, and Kenny
Gibble all had solo goals.
Foley’s Nathan Hawson was in net for Foley and faced 34 shots. Referring to Hawson, Williamson said, “our
goaltender, a freshman player, he kept us in the game. He played outstanding. Right now, (the) situation is a real
good problem. We have two good goalies.”
Williamson also highlighted three additional Foley players. “(Remy Stalcup got his) first two high school goals. He
hasn’t played hockey in two years. He’s new to the team this year. He’s a pleasant nice surprise. His game is
getting there.”
In regards to Derek Townsend, Williamson said, “He’s another new player this year. Played a solid game up and
down the wing. He’s new to high school hockey also… He was rewarded tonight with his first high school goal.”
“Tyler Dempsey, he’s our captain,” continued Williamson, “This is his third year with the team. He’s captain for a
reason. He scored that goal. It’s a set play that we have that the boys created. We used it last year. We used it
two years ago. We’ve been very successful with that set play. The boys ran it tonight and we scored a shortie. It
was a beautiful goal… I’m happy for the boys.”
Brandon Powers played the first two periods in goal for New Boston and faced 24 Foley shots. Logan Moran
played the third period and overtime for New Boston in net and faced 9 Foley shots. Foley had a total of 33
shots in the game.
Foley’s next game is against Southgate Anderson at Southgate Arena, 7pm on Wednesday, November 30 th .

##

Foley United Hockey Falls to St. Claire Shores in the Season Opener

By Jim Mickiewicz
November 15, 2022 / St. Claire Shores 1 of 2 pages.
Going into the third period of Foley United’s game against St. Claire Shores, Foley trailed 7 – 0. “When
we were down seven to nothing in the third period, I thought that was our best period of hockey,” said
Foley Head Coach Dave Williamson. “We played as a team.”
This was the opening game of the season for both teams. It was played Tuesday night at St. Claire Shores
arena. St. Claire Shores won the game 8 – 0.
Foley went down 2 – 0 in the first period. Foley was barraged by 5 more unanswered goals by St. Claire
Shores (SCS) in the second period. Some of these goals – ‘wounds’ - were self-inflicted.
In the first period, SCS’ first goal came on a cross crease pass to an SCS player who was uncovered in the
crease. The SCS second goal came off a pass from a Foley player’s stick from behind his net. It was a
blind pass in front of the Foley net. An SCS player intercepted the pass and had an easy scoring shot.
SCS’ fifth goal was helped by a bad line change by Foley that left two Foley defensemen covering a five
man charge into the Foley zone in the second period.
None of the goals in the game could be faulted on Foley goalie Parker Stalcup. Despite the score, Stalcup
was easily Foley’s best player on the ice.
“Our goaltending is solid. We saw that in the scrimmage, and we saw that tonight. He saved us. He made
some big saves,” said Williamson, referring to Stalcup. “We’re very fortunate to have the goaltending
that we have.” Between the SCS and Foley goaltending, Stalcup had the heaviest workload in the game.
He faced a bevy of shots, many coming from the doorstep of the net.
The third period looked bleak for Foley. Down 7 – 0, and on a penalty kill to start the period, Foley’s back
was against the wall. Foley killed the penalty and did not take any additional minor penalties in the
period.
SCS gave Foley a chance to close the gap in scoring by taking two minor penalties in the third period.
But like the six minors that SCS took in the first two periods, Foley could not convert the man advantage
into a goal.
It took until 2:16 left in the third period for SCS to score the game ending 8 th goal. SCS scored two goals
in the first period, five in the second, and just one in the third period.
“At the end of the day, we have to compete,” said Williamson. “We have to work hard. When we don’t
do that, we’re not giving ourselves a chance… We’re just not doing the right things… You got to
compete.”
Williamson did see some good in the team’s first outing. “Our Captain, (Tyler) Dempsey, and then
(Brendan) Carnaghi and (Collin) Buchanan, they wear the A’s. They did a real good job on the backend
tonight.”

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Foley graduated a dozen seniors out of 20 players last season. This year, the team is much smaller in
numbers, size, younger, and experience. Like teams in the pros, this is a rebuilding year.
So what’s next? According to Williamson, “Right now, we only had one PK (penalty kill) unit and one
power play unit. We haven’t had a chance to develop anybody yet. So, the next two days at practice
we’ll address it… We’re asking a lot of our seniors, a lot of ice time. It’s a big gut check for them.”
Williamson’s final thought on the game, “We lost as a team.”
Foley’s next game is at home at the John Lindell Arena in Royal Oak Friday against New Boston United.
Game time is 7:00pm on the west rink.

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