The Upper Montgomery Lightning junior varsity returns to action on Saturday, December 17th facing off against Northwest/Quince Orchard. Game time is 11:30 am at Laurel Ice Gardens.
Upper Montgomery enters the game having played better over the past few games. The team cannot be overconfident thinking the drubbing of Churchill means they are a really good team. Churchill’s junior varsity team is terrible and using that game as a measuring stick is not appropriate. Upper Montgomery needs to continue to play better and gain important conference standings points to finish the regular season with the best possible seeding heading into the junior varsity season ending conference playoff tournament. Playing well with momentum and confidence heading into the playoffs will provide the foundation for a deep playoff run.
As has been said many times this season, quite simply, Upper Montgomery needed to score more and generate more offensive chances. Against Churchill this was not a problem. The coaching staff told several of the skaters not to shoot the puck after the score got out of hand at the end of the first period. Upper Montgomery was never threatened during the game, stepping off the gas early in the 12-2 beat down of the Bulldogs. All but two student athletes in the lineup scored at least a point in the game. The score could have been much worse if not for the sportsmanship of Upper Montgomery.
TJ Gottesman leads the team with twelve points (6GP, 4G, 8A). He is averaging two points a game. His three goal, two assist, five point effort against Churchill set a program record for points in a junior varsity game. Henry Honacki leads the junior varsity in goals with five (7GP, 5G, 3A). Stephen Shkeda is the only other skater averaging at least a point a game (6GP, 2G, 4A). Against Churchill, Cole Howerton, Adam Levine, and Josh Nadler had multiple point games. It is hoped that their performances will carry forward into the upcoming games against Northwest/Quince Orchard and Rockville.
In goal, Landon Bernard will return to the net after a game off. He will be looking to build off of his best performance of the season. Last week he played superb in the junior varsity’s loss to top ranked Walter Johnson, stopping 37 of 39 shots and almost single handedly stealing a win for the Lightning. He stopped five breakaways throughout the game. The only two goals he gave up were also on breakaway chances. Bernard has been solid in net this season and provides the Lightning with a decided advantage in goal.
Northwest/Quince Orchard will counter with either Ryan Stillwell or Joseph Dean in net. Northwest/Quince Orchard has played only two junior varsity games so far this season, while Upper Montgomery has played seven. The Jaguars losses were to the two top ranked junior varsity teams, Walter Johnson and Richard Montgomery. Stillwell has a 4.91 GAA and a .786 save percentage. Contract those statistics with Bernard’s performance, 2.80 GAA and a .889 save percentage.
Offensively, the Jaguars have scored only one goal in their two games. However, their roster is comprised of student athletes that also play for the varsity teams. Therefore, Northwest/Quince Orchard has the ability to compete and win if the Lightning take them lightly. After dominating the Bulldogs, Upper Montgomery needs to build off that victory and play well again this week. The team needs wins of any kind, any way. Saturday’s contest will tell us a lot about the growth of the team over the past month and how the season is likely to turn out.