WCTV Captures Spectacular Drew Foley Title Game Save

The save was so big that even Wilmington High School boys hockey players and coaches thought it was in the net. A week later it's still hard to fathom just how Drew Foley plucked the puck out of the air and made a game-altering save, even when watching the video.

Wilmington Community Television recently posted a YouTube video of the save from last Sunday's 4-0 state championship win for the Wildcats, the team's second straight title victory over Franklin.

To reset the scene: It was a scorless game with 8:43 left in the first period and Foley made the initial save on a Panther shot. The puck got lost in a crowd of skaters, bounced off of Anthony Castellano's skate and found its way to the stick of a Franklin skater who was less than five feet in front of Foley with a wide open net.

The shooter ripped the puck on net. Franklin's student section celebrated, seemingly taking a 1-0 lead. But then Foley casually flipped the puck out of his glove, like it was yet another routine save.

“All I saw was the kid shoot it and I just waved my glove at it. More luck than skill,” said Foley with a smile. “It gave us a boost of confidence, and a few minutes later we put one in the back of the net.”

With new life and a tie game instead of a 1-0 deficit, Wilmington began to tilt the ice and eventually scored the game's first goal with 1:27 to go before intermission. The score remained that way until the third period when the champs scored three times to take control of the game and eventually win a second straight Division 2 crown.

"Unreal save. I thought for sure we were going to be down 1-0, and then I saw him pull it out of his glove and I was like 'are you kidding me?,'" said forward Brendan McDonough. "Everyone thought it was in."

After the game, head coach Steve Scanlon was still blown away by the save.

“I thought it was in to be honest,” said Scanlon. “Then next thing I know (Foley) is waving it around like he had it the whole time. He’s been a rock for us the whole year. We can have bad lulls in the game, and he’s there to save us.”

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