The Upper Montgomery Lightning junior varsity had gone almost two full regular seasons without a loss prior to Friday night’s contest versus BCC. For a long time it appeared as if the long undefeated streak of sixteen games (12-0-4) would remain intact. Several late costly miscues doomed the Lightning as they fell to the Barons by a score of 4-3 at Cabin John Ice Rink. The loss brings Upper Montgomery’s record on the season to 1-1-1, squarely in the middle of the conference standings.
The first period was chaotic with a lack of positionally sound hockey being played by both teams. Scramble hockey and puck chasing would be apt descriptions of the style of play. As both teams utilized many younger ninth graders and sophomores in their lineup it was understandable especially in an early season matchup with all programs not having had many practices or games yet. But, it did make for some disjointed hockey. Both goalies, Porter Stutsrim-Lyons for the Lightning and fellow ninth grade netminder Blake Schoenebeck for the Barons played well making timely saves when counted upon.
BCC was awarded the first powerplay of the game when Upper Montgomery ninth grade forward Max Israfilbek was called for a roughing minor mid way through the opening period. BCC maintained pressure in the Lightning offensive zone pinning the Lightning penalty killers and forcing turnovers that were kept in the offensive zone. It was not until thirty seconds remained in the powerplay that Upper Montgomery was able to ice the puck to relieve the pressure. While the Lightning were shorthanded, Stutsrim-Lyons made two nice positionally sound saves to thwart the Barons.
With three and a half minutes remaining in the first period, Upper Montgomery jumped out in front. Two poor BCC defensive zone clears were kept in the offensive end by Lightning sophomore defender Avery Evans. The second one leading directly to Upper Montgomery’s opening goal. The first bad clear was kept in at the left point by Evans. Her wrist shot through traffic was saved by Schoenebeck’s goalie stick. The puck bounced to the right side of the net where Upper Montgomery ninth grade forward Siddy Bhasin shot from a bad angle. Schoenebeck made a save with his chest with the puck winding up behind the BCC net. Bhasin took the puck around the net from right to left. His pass to the slot was deflected by the Barons defense over to the left corner. Under pressure from Bhasin, the BCC defender was not able to get enough behind the attempted defensive clear. Evans kept the puck in at the left point once again. Her second wrist shot was deflected by Bhasin into the slot where the puck hit a BCC defender’s skate and came right back to him. From six feet in front of the net with Schoenebeck on the move to follow the puck headed to the right side of the ice, Bhasin had all kinds of open net near side to easily deposit the puck. Shots on goal in the opening period were BCC with ten and Upper Montgomery with nine.
Upper Montgomery again played hard during the second period. The game began to have the feel of last year’s undefeated Lightning performances. Defensive clears coupled with timely scoring. The Lightning were once again shorthanded when junior forward Jason Woodman was called for a checking from behind penalty. In addition to the minor penalty, Woodman was assessed the automatic ten minute misconduct penalty that comes with a check from behind. Upper Montgomery faired much better on the second BCC powerplay keeping the Barons’ offensive chances from the outside and clearing the defensive zone on several occasions.
Two minutes after BCC’s second powerplay ended, the Barons were right back on the extra skater advantage. This time, Lightning defender and senior captain Cole Howerton was called for cross checking when he stood up an attacking Barons forward entering the Upper Montgomery defensive zone. The officials believed that Howerton had raised his arms to deliver a hit toward the onrushing BCC skater. It was an iffy or borderline penalty call and the Upper Montgomery coaching staff was not fond of the minor penalty determination. No damage was done as Upper Montgomery extended their season plus penalty killing streak to 36 consecutive opponents powerplays.
As the clocked ticked down to a minute and a half remaining in the second period, BCC converted on a three on two rush up ice to even the score at one. BCC forward Julia Reitz led the rush up the center of the ice. As she entered the Upper Montgomery defensive zone she sent a pass to the right wing to fellow forward Samuel Lane. From the top of the right faceoff circle, Lane fired a cross ice pass to the back left goal post. The pass was right on the money for Ramin Jacobs and he extended his stick to deflect a backhand tap up and over the extended right leg pad of Stutsrim-Lyons from inside the goal crease circle.
As the second period wound down, Upper Montgomery was presented with their only powerplay opportunity of the game. Jacobs was called for a two minute minor penalty for interference with one minute remaining in the period. Upper Montgomery failed to convert leaving the score tied at one at the conclusion of the second period, a frame in which the Lightning were outshot nine to three and BCC had the territorial advantage due to the consecutive middle of the period powerplays.
The third period is one that the Lightning would like to play all over again. Upper Montgomery failed to convert on the back half of the carryover powerplay opportunity. Then, Lightning senior defender Patrick Sell took a tripping penalty after getting his stick caught underneath a BCC forward’s skates. Seven seconds later the Barons were in the lead and Upper Montgomery’s long penalty killing streak was finished. Off of the faceoff in the left faceoff circle fronting Stutsrim-Lyons, BCC center Ryan Duffy won the draw cleanly back to the left point to defender David High. With Upper Montgomery’s AJ Marks backing down into a tight box to protect the goal, High skated in several steps to the top of the left faceoff circle where he fired a rising wrist shot near side. Inadvertently, Marks had perfectly screened Stutsrim-Lyons and High’s shot went over his right shoulder. Stutsrim-Lyons never moved and never saw the shot.
BCC’s lead lasted ninety seconds before the Lightning had tied the game back up at two. Lightning ninth grade defender Luke Hudson skating toward his own goal sent the puck around the net from right to left to his defensive partner sophomore Miles Wendland. Wendland dug the puck out from the boards and sent a backhand pitch continuing the puck up the right wing boards to Bhasin just inside his defensive blue line. Bhasin turned and sent a zone breakout pass to Lightning sophomore forward Jake Hudson coming up the center of the ice. Hudson skated down the left wing and pulled up a few feet after entering the offensive zone. He let loose with a long range wrist shot that went along the ice and got past Schoenebeck’s left leg pad just inside the far right goal post. Hudson’s goal tied him with Bhasin for the team lead with three.
For the next three and a half minutes the teams traded offensive chances, the most back and forth the game had been up until that point in time. A Lightning outlet pass found junior forward Jason Woodman skating down the center of the ice toward the offensive zone. Two BCC defenders applied pressure as Woodman headed up the ice. As the puck traveled down the ice ahead of the skaters, Schoenebeck came out to play the puck away from Woodman. Woodman did his best to avoid Schoenebeck but did brush into him on the way past. BCC forward Nicholas Mencher took exception to the contact on his goalie and cross checked Woodman in the back while he was prone on the ice. Completely out of character, Woodman rolled over and kicked out his skate toward Mencher making contact with his midsection.
Woodman was assessed a five minute major penalty for kicking and a game misconduct. Adding the two penalties in addition to the two penalties Woodman took at the beginning of the second period Woodman was assessed a second game misconduct for accumulating four penalties in a game. With USA Hockey’s emphasis on skate safety and now requiring all student athletes playing in youth leagues to mandate the wearing of neck guards as a safety measure, it is anticipated that Woodman will receive a multiple game supplemental disciplinary suspension from the Montgomery Hockey Conference.
After Mencher’s two minute minor penalty expired, the Barons were on to their fifth powerplay of the evening. A major penalty allows a team to score as many goals with the extra skater as they can and if the team with the major powerplay does score, they remain on the powerplay. The penalized skater is not permitted to return to the ice until the full five minutes of the penalty have expired. Upper Montgomery did a fine job killing off the first two minutes of the remainder of the powerplay. Then, for the second consecutive shorthanded situation, the Lightning gave up a powerplay goal.
Off of a faceoff in the left faceoff circle in the Upper Montgomery defensive zone, the Lightning won the draw. Upper Montgomery’s clearing icing attempt up the center of the ice hit Duffy in the stomach. The puck bounded to the right wing boards where it was kept in the zone by Julia Reitz. She played the puck up the boards to Duffy on the right wing. Duffy sent the puck down low to Lane in the right corner. Lane began skating as if he was going behind the net. As he entered the goalie quadrangle behind the goal line he sent a pass out into the slot area. From within ten feet of the goal, Jacobs got off a sneaky low shot along the ice into a narrow gap between Stutsrim-Lyons’s left toe and the right goal post. The powerplay marker put BCC in front 3-2 with just less than four minutes remaining in regulation.
A minute later a crazy bounce led to BCC building a two goal cushion. The puck was shot wide of the Barons net caroming over to the left wing boards. BCC used the force of the shot to begin the defensive zone breakout up the left wing boards. Jacob Reitz passed the puck forward to Jacobs heading out of the defensive zone. Jacobs took the puck down the left wing into the offensive zone. His initial shot from the left faceoff circle was saved by Stutsrim-Lyons. The puck deflected off the Lightning goalie’s leg pads behind the net. Jacobs got to the puck first and from a 45 degree angle shot the puck into the slot from behind the goal line. The puck ricocheted off Sell’s body into the net, hockey’s version of a soccer own goal.
Trying to press forward to narrow the gap, Upper Montgomery began taking chances pressing forward. With 37 seconds remaining in the game, Stutsrim-Lyons was pulled for an additional skater, a last gasp effort by the Lightning. The move worked out very well. Wendland sent the puck around the net from the left to the right to Howerton. Howerton sent a breakout pass up the middle of the ice to Marks exiting the Upper Montgomery defensive zone. When he reached the center red line, Marks dumped the puck into the right corner of the Barons defensive zone. Bhasin reached the puck first and skated around the boards to the left corner. He sent a pass up the boards to Howerton who pinched down from the left point. Howerton dropped a backhand return pass to Bhasin along the left wing. Bhasin sent the puck into the slot where it was missed by both Marks and Jake Hudson. As the puck slid through the slot it ended up back on Howerton’s stick. From the middle of the slot he fired a wrist shot past Schoenebeck’s blocker to the left side of the net. With 26 seconds remaining, Upper Montgomery had closed the gap to 4-3. Unfortunately for the Lightning, they would not again have puck possession in the offensive zone and the program’s long sixteen game undefeated streak was no more.
Upper Montgomery will look to rebound next week against the Churchill Bulldogs. It will be interesting to see how the Lightning respond to their first regular season loss in nearly two years. The game against the Bulldogs will be difficult for Upper Montgomery as the lower levels of travel hockey have out-of-town tournaments next weekend and student athlete availability may be an issue. The Lightning may play the contest with a short bench.
Game Notes:
- Shots on goal were fairly even for the game with BCC having 27 and Upper Montgomery registering 21.
- Siddy Bhasin scored for the third game in a row to begin his high school hockey career.
- Upper Montgomery killed off the first three BCC powerplays before the program’s record setting penalty killing streak was pierced. BCC scored powerplay goals on its final two powerplays to end the Lightning’s streak at 36 consecutive shorthanded situations having been neutralized.
- The Lightning’s long undefeated streak stretching over the past three regular seasons ended. Upper Montgomery’s junior varsity program had been 12-0-4 in its prior sixteen games.
- Lightning junior forward Jason Woodman faces an upcoming multiple game suspension for his game misconduct penalty in the third period against the Barons.
- Upper Montgomery’s junior varsity team returns to action next Friday night when the Lightning face the Churchill Bulldogs. Game time is once again a late start, 10:00 pm at Cabin John Ice Rink.
Three Stars of the Game:
First Star—Ramin Jacobs—BCC Forward—3 Goals
Second Star—Siddy Bhasin—Upper Montgomery Forward—1 Goal, 2 Assists
Third Star—Porter Stutsrim-Lyons—Upper Montgomery Goalie—23 Saves