The Upper Montgomery Lightning junior varsity advanced to the Montgomery Hockey Conference junior varsity championship game with a dominating 6-2 win over Rockville/Blair on Wednesday. The Lightning will play undefeated and highly favored Richard Montgomery tomorrow afternoon at Laurel Ice Gardens. Game time is early at 4:15 pm.
After falling behind early on a fluky goal, the Lightning roared back with a complete team effort. Six different student athletes scored goals and only three student athletes had more than one point; Joshua Miller with one goal and two assists, Adam Levine with one goal and one assist, and Patrick Sell setting an Upper Montgomery program record with four assists.
Levine started the onslaught with a wrist shot from the lower portion of the left wing faceoff circle. Three minutes later James Hyman tapped in a rebound that snuck behind Rockville/Blair netminder Sean Connelly. Just before the end of the period Brandon Bernard followed with a wrist shot from the top of the slot that beat Connelly high stick side. With the majority of play in the offensive zone, at the end of the first period the Lightning had a 3-1 advantage and were outshooting Rockville/Blair 10-2.
Upper Montgomery extended the lead to 4-1 early in the second period when Bradley Cupples knocked in a rebound off of a Joshua Miller semi-breakaway. For the rest of the second period, the Lightning played responsible defensive hockey. Landon Bernard did not face many high quality scoring chances throughout the entire game.
After an early Rockville/Blair goal to start the third period, the Lightning caught a break as Patrick Sell’s wrist shot from the point hit TJ Gottesman in the back. Somehow, the puck tricked over Gottesman’s shoulder and into the net to provide Upper Montgomery some breathing room with nine minutes left in the game. A late goal by Joshua Miller provided the final margin of victory in a game that showcased how well the junior varsity progressed from the beginning of the season. Tomorrow, the biggest challenge awaits the team in the championship game, finding a way to conquer the Richard Montgomery Rockets who have outscored their opponents 53-12 on the season on the way to their 10-0 undefeated record.