The Upper Montgomery Lightning dominated Churchill 6-1 on Tuesday afternoon to claim the second seed in the upcoming Montgomery Hockey Conference junior varsity playoff tournament. The victory was the third in a row for the Lightning and coincides with the team’s improved defensive play. The Lightning have given up only four total goals combined over the past three games. Upper Montgomery now awaits the winner of a first round playoff matchup between Northwest and Churchill to determine who will face the Lightning in the quarterfinal round of the junior varsity playoffs. It is anticipated that Northwest will advance and the quarterfinal clash will be a rematch of a game played just last week won by Upper Montgomery 3-1.
Upper Montgomery got off to a sluggish start in this game. It may have been the late morning / early afternoon start time. Or, the talent level of the Bulldogs may have contributed to the sleepy start. But, once they got in gear, the Lightning were in complete charge of the game. Cole Howerton scored his first high school goal with two minutes remaining in the first period to jump start the Lightning. Brandon Bernard won a faceoff from the left faceoff circle to the left wing boards. James Hyman won the puck battle, spun and passed the puck cross ice to Andrew Gean at the right point. Gean in turn sent the puck over to his defensive partner. Howerton fired the puck through a bunch of bodies into the top right corner of the net past Bulldogs goalie Cameron Shure.
Penalties at the end of the first period to Churchill forward Ben Sperling for slashing and then high sticking to Upper Montgomery center Josh Nadler off the ensuing offensive zone faceoff left both teams playing four on four hockey for almost two full minutes. The Lightning capitalized with the extra open ice taking advantage 40 seconds into the second period. Brandon Bernard’s shot from the right faceoff circle went wide. The puck caromed around and Patrick Sell hustled to keep the puck in the offensive zone. He collected himself and fired a low wrist shot toward the net. Standing in front of the blue paint directly in front of the net Joshua Miller outmuscled the defense and adeptly deflected the puck five hole on Shure to give the Lightning a two goal lead.
On the very next shift, Bradley Cupples retrieved the puck behind the Lightning net and rushed up ice on his own. He entered the Churchill defensive zone and let fly a wrist shot from the high slot that beat Shure glove side to provide Upper Montgomery a comfortable lead which allowed the team to begin playing more freely. Three minutes after Cupples’ goal, the Lightning would put the game away for good. Howerton let loose with another wrist shot from the point. Shure made the stick save but could not control the rebound. It bounced into the lower portion of the right faceoff circle. Adarsh Nair was first to the puck and he slung a wrist shot past Shure, again on the glove side, to put Upper Montgomery up 4-0.
A minute and a half after Nair’s goal, the Lightning lost focus and intensity. A Churchill rush up ice was non-threatening. The initial shot was blocked, and the puck found Sperling alone in the high slot. He wasted no time and fired the puck past Landon Bernard for the Bulldogs lone goal of the game. After two periods of play, Upper Montgomery held a 15 to 7 shots on goal margin and had full control of play throughout the game.
The third period had the feel of a scrimmage. The referees attempted to keep the game close by calling six penalties on the Lightning over the final twelve minutes of play. While Churchill used the extra skater advantage to fire eleven shots on Landon Bernard, the Lightning again controlled play in the period even while shorthanded. The team finished an impressive eight for eight on the penalty kill, an area that the team has been terrific at all season. The only two goals of the period were shorthanded goals scored by Upper Montgomery.
First, it was Josh Nadler who picked off a pass at the defensive zone blue line and raced up ice past the Churchill defense. He faked backhand and then tucked the puck into the wide open net on his forehand. Then, with just under one minute left in the game, while on a five on three penalty kill, Joshua Miller hit Cupples with a pass up the middle of the ice. Cupples also faked out Shure with a nifty backhand to forehand maneuver before depositing the puck behind Shure for the final margin of victory.
Game Notes:
- The Lightning outshot Churchill 22-18 despite the amount of time spent penalty killing.
- The Lightning junior varsity have won three games in a row for the first time all season.
- The Lightning killed off all eight Bulldogs powerplays and are now 39 for 43 on the season, 90.7%.
- Landon Bernard has stopped 59 of the last 63 shots he has faced for a save percentage of .936%.
- The Lightning now have a ten day break prior to the start of the junior varsity playoffs on Friday night, February 11th hosting the winner of Northwest and Churchill at 9:15 pm at Cabin John Ice Rink.
Three Stars of the Game:
First Star—Bradley Cupples—Upper Montgomery Defense—2 Goals
Second Star—Cole Howerton—Upper Montgomery Defense—1 Goal, 1 Assist
Third Star—Joshua Miller—Upper Montgomery Forward—1 Goal, 1 Assist