February 4, 1982
The clock showed 8 minutes left when the referee screeched his whistle and scooped up the puck. “That’s it,” he barked. “Game’s over.” He had seen enough brutality. It was not that Upper Moreland was high-sticking, spearing, boarding, hooking, or elbowing Upper Dublin. It was scoring relentlessly. When the butchery ended on Jan. 12, the score was 24-2, and center Bill Paliscak had tallied 10 goals, a Suburban Hockey League record, and six assists. “Before the game, our coach told us to try and hold it to two ‘touchdowns,'” recalled Paliscak, a rugged 5-foot, 10-inch senior. “But one of their players gave one of our guys a cheap shot – he speared him in the stomach-and we kind of ran it up.”The Bears played Roxborough on Thursday, and someone asked Paliscak if he was shooting for another 10 goals. “No,” he said. “Ten assists.” He managed only three in a 22-1 victory, but he compensated by hammering in 11 goals on 14 shots. He broke his own record, led the league with 36 goals in 13 games, and gained The Inquirer’s Suburban Athlete of the Week honor. Granted, Upper Dublin and Roxborough are not exactly power-houses, so what can Paliscak do against a good hockey club? “Back in December, we were playing Bishop Eustace,” coach Paul Gilligan said. “We’re down, 7- 2, in the third period, and Bill comes over and says, ‘No way I’m losing this game.” “I just looked at him. I couldn’t believe he was saying that. There we are, down five goals to a team that can really skate, and he keeps saying, ‘I’m not going to lose it.’ “All of a sudden, we get three goals in 27 seconds.
A few minutes later, we get two more goals in 36 seconds. We win the game, 9-7, and Bill ends up with one goal and eight assists.” This is the first year for hockey at Upper Moreland, and there are only eight skaters and two goalies. “I get a rest every so often,” Paliscak said with a laugh, “like after a quadruple shift. “A couple of guys were sick during the Thanksgiving tournament and we were down to five skaters. We couldn’t get off the ice, and we still beat them both games.”
The original
