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Varsity Wootton Game Preview

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The Upper Montgomery Lightning takes on their new archrival Wootton on Friday night in a rematch of a game three weeks ago won by the Patriots 3-1. The game will be a tall task for Upper Montgomery as Wootton’s fast break style of play puts an enormous amount of pressure on the opposition. The Patriots have scored fourteen, ten, thirteen, and eight goals in their other four games against teams in the Montgomery Hockey Conference. Upper Montgomery’s excellent defensive performance held Wootton down and the Lightning only allowed three goals, which was 8.25 goals fewer than Wootton’s average so far this season. Upper Montgomery has started the 2024 -2025 high school hockey season in fine fashion with a 3-1-1 conference record (3-2-1 overall) coming off their last game, a 7-4 decision over Richard Montgomery two weeks ago.

Once again Upper Montgomery will not be at full strength as last season’s leading returning scorer Nathan Cassel continues to recover from an upper body injury. He will likely return after the Thanksgiving holiday. With this season’s leading scorer Owen Robbins (6GP, 7G, 3A) also missing the Wootton contest as he is out-of-town with his external travel team, the young Lightning will be severe underdogs in this game. Further adding to the drama surrounding this budding rivalry is that before this season Upper Montgomery had won the last three meetings between the teams after never having beaten Wootton in its first fourteen years of existence. Wootton will be looking for revenge and to assert its dominance after the Lightning’s 9-1 destruction of the Patriots in last year’s Montgomery Hockey Conference Varsity Tournament championship game. The game will be a contrast in styles as Upper Montgomery will look to suffocate the game defensively to keep the high powered Patriots offensive obstructed for as much of the game as is possible.

Upper Montgomery’s goaltender, 16U AA Ilan Shterenberg has been sound this season with a 3-2-1 record, a 3.80 goals against average, and an .895 save percentage. Shterenberg will need to be exceptionally sharp against the Patriots to steal the game. He will face continuous pressure and a high shot volume with the offensive advantage that the Patriots will possess. He will again be backed up by Lower A ninth grade netminder Porter Stutsrim-Lyons. Stutsrim-Lyons is 3-1-2 on the season, with a 1.64 goals against average, and a .939 save percentage playing for Lightning junior varsity. He also has authored two shutouts.

In net for Wootton will be sophomore 16U Upper A goalie Kevin Yu. The Lightning have faced Yu twice already this season, in game one of the home and home varsity series, and then when the Lightning junior varsity fell in overtime to Wootton’s junior varsity squad. Yu is a very solid netminder although he was pierced for seven goals by Richard Montgomery last Friday evening. He carries a 5-0 record, a 3.20 goals against average, and an .822 save percentage. He will be looking to bounce from last week’s shaky performance and help Wootton secure a victory over the Lightning. Wootton’s opposition has not fired many shots on net averaging only eighteen shots on goal per game as Wootton’s opponents have been overwhelmed by the Patriots offensive firepower and time of puck possession. Wootton outshot Upper Montgomery 52-26 in the first game doubling up on the Lightning.

On defense, the Lightning will be tested. The Lightning’s most experience defender junior 16U AA Brady Berkhammer (6GP, 2G, 5A) will pair with ninth grade defender Matt Rivera and senior Patrick Sell. Anticipate that 16U Lower A defender Miles Wendland (5GP, 3A) will skate with senior Cole Howerton. Howerton played the best game of his career last time out against Richard Montgomery.

Wootton’s most explosive skater is 18U AA senior defender Sam Hosier. Hosier is a lock to be one of the two defenders on the Montgomery Hockey Conference All-Conference first team at the conclusion of the season. He may also be voted an all state defender as well. Hosier leads Wootton in scoring (5GP, 19G, 6A). He is second in all of the Maryland Student Hockey League in points produced and he is third in goals scored. In the earlier meeting between the programs, Hosier scored two of Wootton’s three goals. Hosier plays as a rover more than a defender. He will be all over the ice during the game focusing on pushing the puck up ice and generating offensive chances. Wootton has other capable defenders aside from just Hosier. Junior Nicholas Chung has experience to help lead younger defenders, sophomore 16U AAA Jaina Kronforst, ninth grade 14U Upper A Isaac Greene, and 14U Lower A Nathan Tian. The Wootton defensive corps is mobile and will cause problems for the Lightning forwards on transitions up the ice.

Offensively, Upper Montgomery will be challenged to keep pace with the Patriots. With Cassel and Robbins out of the lineup, junior forward Philip Shkeda (5GP, 4G, 5A) and senior center Henry Honacki (6GP, 4G, 2A) will be relied upon to provide the bulk of the team’s offensive production. Honacki scored Upper Montgomery’s only goal in the earlier meeting against the Patriots.

Sophomore 16U Lower A Aiden Zheng is averaging a point a game (6GP, 2G, 4A) and seems more comfortable at the varsity level this season. He had two point games against both BCC and Rockville / Magruder to start the season. Senior Josh Nadler is getting his legs under him after finally returning to the lineup recently. Both Zheng and Nadler will play heavy minutes in Friday’s game. Sophomore newcomer Jake Hudson has five assists in four games and is coming off of a three assist outing versus Richard Montgomery. Ninth grade 14U Lower A forward Siddy Bhasin will have an opportunity to showcase his talents for the program he will play for next season after he transfers to Wootton. Hudson and Bhasin are two of the top three scorers for the Lightning junior varsity with seven points each.

Wootton has a dynamic duo of forwards in juniors 18U AA Justin Heller (5GP, 5G, 3A) and 16U Upper A Owen Goozh (4GP, 4G, 4A). Senior 18U AA Nathan Tai is a hulking monster who played defense in prior seasons. He has been moved to forward this year and he has scored consistently (5GP, 8G, 5A). Sophomore 16U Upper A Nathan Geeng has (5GP, 4G, 2A). Sophomore 16U AA Michael Klimantov has (5GP, 4G, 3A). Ninth grade 14U AAA forward Evan Batbold has not played very much this season, but if he suits up for Friday’s game it gives Wootton an additional offensive threat that Upper Montgomery will need to contain. With this much offensive potential and Wootton’s aggressive offensive style of play, Upper Montgomery will be under duress the entire game. The Lightning will need to cleanly and constantly clear the defensive zone without getting hemmed in for long periods of play.

The 2024 – 2025 season has started out well for Upper Montgomery. Once thought of as a season of growth and development for the green and gold’s younger student athletes, the year is quickly turning into an opportunity to compete now.  If the Lightning are competitive with third ranked Wootton while playing with such a depleted lineup, it may be a springboard for the second half of the season. After Thanksgiving break, the competition increases and the intensity revs up as teams gear up for the end of season and playoff seeding. Headed into Friday’s tilt with high powered Wootton, the Lightning are off to their best start to a season in years. Let’s hope the outcome of Friday’s game does not diminish the team’s psyche and that good things are in store for the program after the Thanksgiving holiday break.

#UML, #Bleed Green, #Go Bolts!

Lightning Storms Through Blair Blazers

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The Upper Montgomery Lightning junior varsity stormed through the Blair Blazers on Friday evening winning in convincing fashion after a slow start to the game. Like a building storm, the Lightning grew in strength as the game wore on unleashing a torrent of goals in the second and third periods to coast to a 9-0 victory over the winless Blazers. With a varsity game later on in the evening, the Upper Montgomery coaches were able to sit certain students for the entire third period to help rest the students who would be playing two games in the same night.

Upper Montgomery looked lackluster to begin the game. Maybe the students were concerned with expending too much energy with another game to come. Maybe the students thought that they could just show up and beat Blair because of their 0-5-1 record entering the game. Whatever the case, the opening fifteen minutes of play were certainly not up to Upper Montgomery’s standards. Six minutes into the game, Upper Montgomery ninth grade forward Max Israfilbek was whistled for an interference penalty. Upper Montgomery easily killed the two minute minor penalty without allowing Blair to set up in the offensive zone with puck possession.

At the five and a half minute mark, Blair defender Nicholas Legault was assessed an interference minor giving the Lightning their first power play of the evening. Lightning ninth grade defender Matt Rivera took the puck around the back of the Upper Montgomery net in the defensive zone from left to right. He traveled up the left wing boards to neutral ice. The puck was then dumped into the Blair defensive zone. A poor Blair clearing attempt off the right wing boards was intercepted by Israfilbek who threw the puck into open space in the left wing corner. Lightning senior center AJ Marks was first to the puck. He centered the puck toward the slot area. The puck clipped off a Blair defender’s stick to Upper Montgomery sophomore forward Aiden Zheng camped out in the low slot. Zheng fired a backhander towards the net that found its way through Blazers goalie Ethan Hedberg’s five hole. It was Zheng’s third goal of the season and the Lightning’s second powerplay goal of the year. The goal put Upper Montgomery in front finishing off a languid first period that ended with each team firing seven shots on goal.

Upper Montgomery’s struggles continued at the beginning of the second period. Although displaying more intensity and urgency, the efforts did not immediately translate into increasing the Lightning’s one goal lead. Two minutes into the period Israfilbek was back in the penalty box, this time for hooking. While shorthanded, Upper Montgomery had the better of the offensive chances, but kept shooting the puck wide of the net which yielded no results. Two minutes after the teams returned to even strength, Upper Montgomery began asserting its dominance.

Blair carried the puck into the Upper Montgomery defensive zone. A shot from the right faceoff circle was blocked by Lightning sophomore defender Miles Wendland. The puck was then fired around the Upper Montgomery net from right to left. Zheng stole the puck at the right point and took off up ice on a breakaway. Coming down the left wing side of the ice Zheng cut toward the net. He faked to his backhand and slid the puck past Hedberg’s right leg pad for the unassisted goal.

Seventeen seconds later, Upper Montgomery had broken the game open. The Blair defense cleared the defensive zone to center ice. The puck was picked up by Upper Montgomery senior defender Cole Howerton. Howerton carried the puck into the Blair defensive zone into the right corner. He curled up and sent a centering pass to sophomore forward Jake Hudson in the high slot. Hudson immediately fired a wrist shot that beat Hedberg five hole. For Hudson, it was his team leading fifth goal of the season.

Upper Montgomery was now in front 3-0 and had firm control of the game. With three minutes remaining in the second period, the lead became 4-0 when Lightning sophomore varsity goalie, Ilan Shterenberg scored his second goal of the season. At times, Shterenberg skates out and plays forward in junior varsity games. The puck was picked up in the neutral zone by Marks. He entered the offensive zone in the middle of the ice. His hard wrist shot from distance was saved by Hedberg who made a really nice save with an extended right leg pad. The puck caromed to Shtereberg who shot while falling down. The Blair defense stopped Shterenberg’s shot and cleared the puck to the left point where it was kept in the offensive zone by Lightning sophomore defender Avery Evans. Evans sent a spinning pass over to the right wing boards to Marks. Marks stickhandled the puck and fired a wrist shot on net that hit Hedberg in the chest protector. The rebound shot out to the left side of the goal where it was captured by Shterenberg at the left side boards. He passed to Howerton in the mid slot along the left side of the ice and cut to the net. Using his backhand, Howerton found Shterenberg with a return give and go pass. From the bottom of the left faceoff circle, Shterenberg roofed a backhand shot high far side above Hedberg’s glove hand.

Fifteen seconds later the Lightning scored again to increase the lead to five. Off the neutral zone faceoff, Blair shot the puck to the Upper Montgomery defensive blue line. Evans collected the puck along the left wing boards at her defensive blue line. She sent an indirect pass off the boards to neutral ice for Zheng. Zheng skated into the puck with speed and entered the Blair offensive zone. Because of his speed, he skated wide past the Blair defender and cut to the front of the net. He easily wrapped a forehand shot around Hedberg’s left leg pad to effectively end the competitive portion of the game. It was a hat-trick for Zheng and tied him with Hudson for the team lead in goals with five.

With eight seconds left in the middle period, Howerton would complete the five goal explosion. Marks had the puck behind the Upper Montgomery goal. He fired an outlet pass to Zheng along the right wing boards. Zheng skated the puck out of the defensive zone up the middle of the ice. Nearing the Blair defensive zone he angled to the left side of the ice. Zheng pulled up at the left faceoff circle and fired at the net. His wrist shot went wide high to the short side. Howerton came down from the right point to gather the puck. He fired on net from the bottom right edge of the right faceoff circle. His bad angle shot hit the inside of Hedberg’s right leg pad and shot through the goalie’s five hole. Shots on goal in the second period were slanted toward Upper Montgomery with twelve to only five for Blair.

With Upper Montgomery holding a six goal lead entering the third period, the game was concluded with running clock. Upper Montgomery’s coaching staff pulled several student athletes to provide an even longer period of rest. Several other students were shifted from offense to defense to limit the potential of Upper Montgomery being accused of running up the score.

Two minutes into the period, Lightning ninth grade defender Lillian Robbins, playing forward, was called for a hooking penalty. Upper Montgomery easily killed off Blair’s powerplay without letting up a shot on goal. After Robbins exited the penalty box she helped set up Upper Montgomery’s seventh goal. The Lightning cleared the puck down ice. Hedberg pushed the puck to the left of the net behind the goal. The Blair defense came back and overskated the puck. Robbins pushed the puck to Shterenberg in the right corner. Shterenberg fired a cross ice pass back to Evans at the left point. Evans fired a left handed wrist shot that traveled through traffic at the net. The puck went past Hedberg’s arm and body seven hole to the glove side as the goalie reacted very late to the shot.

As the clocked clicked under two minutes remaining Marks scored to go along with his three assists on the night. From a defensive zone faceoff to the right of Upper Montgomery ninth grade netminder Porter Stutsrim-Lyons, Marks won the faceoff to Hudson in the right defensive corner. Hudson banked the puck up the right wing boards where it was kept in at the point by the Blair defense. Robbins poked the puck past the defense into the neutral zone. Marks was waiting for the puck behind the Blair defense. He went in alone on a breakaway from the red line in. He made a quick forehand backhand move putting his shoulders into the deke. The move completely faked out Hedberg and Marks had no difficult sliding the puck into the empty net.

With fifteen seconds remaining in the game, Marks finished off the scoring with his fourth goal of the season. A Blazers forward dashed to the front of the Upper Montgomery net with the puck. Stutsrim-Lyons poke checked the puck free into the slot area. Lightning ninth grade defender Matt Rivera slung the puck out of the high danger area to the left wing boards. Marks picked up the puck while fending off a Blair defender. Marks skated the puck up ice into the neutral zone and then into the Blair defensive zone. He cut to the middle of the high slot and fired a wrist shot against the grain low past Hedberg’s right leg pad to complete the scoring.

The Lightning junior varsity now enters a short period without upcoming games on a high note with the shutout victory and advancing their record to 3-1-2 on the season. With a few remaining games in the regular season the team is primed to compete against all teams in the county. The Lightning are very much looking forward to winning their first junior varsity playoff game in three seasons when the playoffs kick off in mid-January. A few weeks of practice for the Lightning to get ready for some non-conference action and then the final regular season conference game against high powered Whitman.

Game Notes:

  • The Lightning badly outshot the Blazers 27 to 14 for the game after each team fired seven shots on goal in the opening period of play.
  • Lightning ninth grader netminder Porter Stutsrim-Lyons stopped fourteen shots on goal for his second career shutout. Stutsrim-Lyons lowed his goals against average to 1.64 and raised his save percentage to .939.
  • Upper Montgomery’s varsity goalie, Ilan Shterenberg, skated out and scored his second career high school goal. He also added an assist.
  • Upper Montgomery senior forward AJ Marks had a career high five point game with two goals and three assists.
  • Lightning sophomore forward Aiden Zheng had his first career junior varsity hat-trick to go along with a hat-trick he produced last season in the Montgomery Hockey Conference Varsity Playoff Tournament quarterfinals versus Northwest / Quince Orchard.
  • Lightning defender Avery Evans scored her first goal of the season and added an assist.
  • Upper Montgomery’s junior varsity team is scheduled to return to action on Friday, November 15th against the Oakdale Bears in a non-conference game. However, with the ice situation at Skate Frederick the game may need to be postponed and/or moved to a different ice rink. Game time is currently set for 8:55 pm at Skate Frederick.

Three Stars of the Game:

First Star—Aiden Zheng—Upper Montgomery Forward—3 Goals, 1 Assist
Second Star—Cole Howerton—Upper Montgomery Defense—1Goal, 2 Assists
Third Star—AJ Marks—Upper Montgomery Forward—2 Goals, 3 Assists

Varsity Richard Montgomery Game Preview

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The Upper Montgomery Lightning are eager to return to the ice and conference play after a dud of a performance on Tuesday afternoon against the high powered Urbana Hawks. The Lightning did not show very well in losing 7-0 to the top ranked team in the Monocacy Valley Conference. Up this Friday night is a game against the Richard Montgomery Rockets, a team that is 0-3 on the season and which has given up at least six goals in each game. Game time is 9:45 pm at the Rockville Ice Arena. Upper Montgomery will be looking to get back on track after losing two straight games. The Lightning skate into the contest with a 2-2-1 record on the season and 2-1-1 in conference play. A win over Richard Montgomery would push Upper Montgomery’s conference record to 3-1-1.

In both the loss to Wootton and the tie versus Rockville / Magruder, Upper Montgomery played better than they did in both of their wins, 4-3 over BCC and 7-3 over Northwest / Quince Orchard. Last Friday’s 3-1 loss to Wootton showed the young Lightning roster what it takes to compete with one of the top four teams in the county rankings. Upper Montgomery’s defense was solid and the Lightning generated several good chances that they just could not punch over the goal line. The team will be seeking to significantly limit the number of shots on goal given up after sophomore Ilan Shterenberg made 49 saves against the Patriots. Upper Montgomery will need to bring full intensity and jump out to an early lead against the Rockets. At times, the Lightning have made it a habit of playing down to the level of their competition. Richard Montgomery is in a rebuilding season and they are not very talented compared with previous years. In its first three games to open the season, Richard Montgomery has lost to Rockville / Magruder, BCC, and lowly Northwest / Quince Orchard.

Upper Montgomery’s starting goaltender, 16U AA Ilan Shterenberg has been really good so far this season with a 2-2-1 record, a 3.75 goals against average, and a .897 save percentage. He made 49 saves, many of them on high quality chances, in the Lightning’s 3-1 loss last Friday to Wootton. Shterenberg has been sharp early this season and is a significant reason why the Lightning have gotten off to a quicker start this season than in past campaigns.

In net for Richard Montgomery will be either ninth grade goalie Brent Schoenebeck who stopped 15 of 20 shots in the game against Northwest / Quince Orchard (.750 save percentage and 5.23 goals against average) or sophomore Liam Parkinson (.732 save percentage and 7.50 goals against average) who suited up for the Rockets against Rockville and BCC. If Richard Montgomery continues their goalie rotation, it will be Schoenebeck’s turn. Both goalies are 16U Lower A netminders and are playing behind a very shallow and inexperienced defense.

On defense, the Lightning will have most of their starting defenders available for the game. Junior 16U AA Brady Berkhammer (5GP, 2G, 4A) coming off of a career high four point game against Northwest / Quince Orchard) will pair with ninth grade 14U AA defender Lillian Robbins. Sophomore 16U Lower A defender Miles Wendland (4GP, 3A) and senior Cole Howerton, both of whom were held out of the lineup against Urbana for roster management considerations will return for the game against the Rockets. Senior Patrick Sell who scored his first career varsity high school goal in the game against Northwest / Quince Orchard will also be involved in the defensive rotation.

Richard Montgomery’s defense consists of 16U Lower A Brody Evans and juniors Ryan Jones and Samir Wang. Both Jones and Wang played for the Rockets junior varsity team that loss to Upper Montgomery’s junior varsity 8-0 in a non-competitive game to open the season. The Rockets defense is very thin. As Richard Montgomery can’t play with only three defenders, look for forwards to slide back and play shifts on defense. It shouldn’t matter. Upper Montgomery should be able to pressure the Rockets defense into regular turnovers and have their way in and around the crease area.

Offensively, Upper Montgomery will continue to be challenged for the next several weeks. With high scoring senior forward Nathan Cassel out of the lineup, junior forward Philip Shkeda (5GP, 2G, 3A) and senior center Henry Honacki (4GP, 4G, 2A) will be relied upon to provide the bulk of the team’s offensive production. With Upper Montgomery playing 16U AAA Owen Robbins (5GP, 3G, 2A) at center this season, the junior has flourished scoring a hat-trick against BCC. Sophomore 16U Lower A Aiden Zheng (5GP, 1G, 4A) had two point games against both BCC and Rockville / Magruder to start the season. Senior Josh Nadler finally returned to the lineup against Wootton after missing the first three games of the season while he was out of the country.

Both Zheng and Nadler will play heavy minutes with the varsity this season and both will need to increase their offensive output. Nadler is the junior varsity’s all-time leading goal scorer with 20 career junior varsity goals. Joining them on the varsity roster are forwards TJ Gottesman, the junior varsity’s career points leader with 32 points (and who scored his first career varsity goal against Northwest / Quince Orchard), sophomore newcomer Jake Hudson (two assists in his first varsity game), and ninth grade 14U Lower A forward Siddy Bhasin. AJ Marks and his big frame will get a look in varsity competition as well. Other junior varsity student athletes may get called up as the season progresses when the core of the varsity squad is missing due to out-of-town external travel team conflicts.

Richard Montgomery has one forward of note, senior Tom Stone. Stone played for several years at the AA travel level. Thus far this season he has scored five goals in three games (3GP, 5G, 3A). Sophomore hard edged Bennett Parisi has been the beneficiary of Stone’s offensive explosion. He has tallied four assists to lead the Rockets in helpers. The rest of the Rockets have three or fewer points with Henry Wang and Caleb Liu putting up more production than the other forwards that will be utilized by Richard Montgomery. To overpower the Rockets, Upper Montgomery will need to consistently get the puck in deep, forecheck hard, and make the Rockets go the length of the ice to generate scoring chances. All of the Lightning defenders will need to be aware of where Stone is at all times. Shutting him down will be the key to keeping the Rockets off the scoreboard.

The 2024 – 2025 season has started out well for Upper Montgomery. Once thought of as a season of growth and development for the green and gold’s younger student athletes, the year is quickly turning into an opportunity to compete right away.  The Lightning will continue to face top competition over the middle portion of the season. Playing those high quality teams will help prepare Upper Montgomery for the end of season county playoffs. A good start to the season is nice, but the Lightning can’t let up now. More wins are needed with a prime opportunity to take advantage of a down Richard Montgomery program on Friday. A big win over the Rockets would set the tone before a week off.

#Back on Track, #UML Victories, #Bleed Green, #Go Bolts!

Varsity Urbana Game Preview

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After Friday evening’s hard luck loss to rival Wootton, the Upper Montgomery Lightning step out of conference to take on the top team from Frederick County. At the top of the Monocacy Valley Conference standings is Urbana. Upper Montgomery looks to exact revenge on the Hawks when the two teams faceoff on Tuesday afternoon, election day, at 3:10 pm, taking advantage of the day off from school for both school systems. Expect this year’s matchup to unfold similar to last season’s tilt. Urbana will play a physical brand of hockey and will take the body on Upper Montgomery skaters at every opportunity. If prior form holds, Upper Montgomery should be given a fair amount of powerplay opportunities in the game. A twist on this year’s matchup is that Urbana has not played or practiced in over two weeks as their home ice rink, Skate Frederick has experienced technical difficulties and the ice surface has been unavailable. Thus, Tuesday’s game has been moved to Rockville Ice Arena.

Upper Montgomery skates in to the contest with a 2-1-1 record to begin the season. In both the loss and the tie, Upper Montgomery has played better than they have in both of their wins. Friday’s 3-1 loss to Wootton showed the young Lightning roster what it takes to compete with one of the top four teams in the county rankings. Upper Montgomery’s defense was solid and the Lightning generated chances that they just could not punch over the goal line. The team will be seeking to significantly limit the number of shots on goal given up after sophomore Ilan Shterenberg made 49 saves against the Patriots. Urbana rolls into the contest having won both of their early season games against Frederick County 4-2 and Washington County 7-0.

Upper Montgomery’s starting goaltender, 16U AA Ilan Shterenberg has been really good so far this season with a 2-1-1 record, a 3.21 goals against average, and a .907 save percentage. He made 49 saves, many of them on high quality chances, in the Lightning’s 3-1 loss to Wootton. Shterenberg will need to be exceptionally sharp against the Hawks in order for Upper Montgomery to prevail. He will once again be backed up by ninth grade netminder Porter Stutsrim-Lyons.  Stutsrim-Lyons plays for the Caps Academy 14U Lower A external travel team and he has started off his high school career strongly playing for the junior varsity. Stutsrim-Lyons is 3-1-2 on the season with a 1.64 goals against average and a .939 save percentage including two shutouts. Stutsrim-Lyons saw his first varsity action earlier in the week at the end of the Northwest / Quince Orchard game where he played well in the third period.

In net for Urbana will be sophomore 16U Upper A goalie Mason Sebold. In his first outing of the season Sebold gave up two goals against Frederick County while making 23 saves. The Lightning have the better goaltender in the matchup and will need to exploit any weakness in Sebold game. Backing up Sebold will be junior Chloe Hanson. Hanson faced the Lightning in last season’s game playing the final two periods in Urbana’s 5-2 victory. She stopped thirteen of the fourteen shots she faced and was very solid during the outing.

On defense, the Lightning will once again be piecemealing the defensive pairings. Junior 16U AA Brady Berkhammer (4GP, 2G, 4A) coming off of a career high four point game against Northwest / Quince Orchard) will pair with ninth grade defender Matt Rivera and sophomore Avery Evans. Ninth grade AA defender Lillian Robbins will skate with senior Patrick Sell. Sell scored his first career varsity high school goal in the game against Northwest / Quince Orchard. Sophomore 16U Lower A defender Miles Wendland (4GP, 3A) and senior Cole Howerton will be held out of the game for roster management considerations.

Urbana’s defense consists of several young but experienced sophomore defenders. The most accomplished of whom is Robert Radtke who plays for the Philadelphia Junior Flyers 16U travel team. He is joined on the blue line by Zi Yang Wang, who plays for the Frederick Freeze 16U travel team. Joining those two defensive stalwarts are Michael Dye, Daniel Summers, and Mason Garmon. Mainly because of their strong defensive play, the Hawks have given up only two goals total on the season in their two games.

Offensively, Upper Montgomery will continue to be challenged for the next several weeks. With high scoring senior forward Nathan Cassel out of the lineup, junior forward Philip Shkeda (3GP, 2G, 3A) and senior center Henry Honacki (4GP, 4G, 2A) will be relied upon to provide the bulk of the team’s offensive production. With Upper Montgomery playing 16U AAA Owen Robbins (4GP, 3G, 2A) at center this season, the junior has flourished scoring a hat-trick against BCC. Sophomore 16U Lower A Aiden Zheng (4GP, 1G, 4A) had two point games against both BCC and Rockville / Magruder to start the season. Senior Josh Nadler finally returned to the lineup against Wootton after missing the first three games of the season while he was out of the country.

Both Zheng and Nadler will play heavy minutes with the varsity this season and both will need to increase their offensive output. Nadler is the junior varsity’s all-time leading goal scorer with 20 career junior varsity goals. Joining them on the varsity roster are forwards TJ Gottesman, the junior varsity’s career points leader with 32 points (and who scored his first career varsity goal against Northwest / Quince Orchard), sophomore newcomer Jake Hudson (two assists in his first varsity game), and ninth grade 14U Lower A forward Siddy Bhasin. AJ Marks and his big frame will get a look in varsity competition as well. Other junior varsity student athletes may get called up as the season progresses when the core of the varsity squad is missing due to out-of-town external travel team conflicts.

Urbana has some dynamic forwards in their lineup. Junior 16U AA Matthew Elam-Browning leads the Hawks in scoring with (2GP, 4G, 3A). He is closely followed by junior 16U AA Zachary Thayer (2GP, 3G, 4A). Last season, Thayer lit up the Frederick County high school hockey scene with (19GP, 19G, 23A). Elam-Browning’s younger brother Andrew has three assists in the two games. Speedy forward Alexander Cheeves has scored twice. Controlling these four talented forwards will be crucial to Upper Montgomery’s success on Tuesday. With this much offensive potential, Upper Montgomery will be unable to take any shifts off and will need to clear the defensive zone continuously. If the Lightning get hemmed in defensively for long periods of play, Urbana will surely capitalize. Upper Montgomery chip outs off the boards and full length icing clears to slow the pace of play will be frequent occurrences.

The 2024 – 2025 season has started out well for Upper Montgomery. Once thought of as a season of growth and development for the green and gold’s younger student athletes, the year is quickly turning into an opportunity to compete right away.  The Lightning will continue to face top competition over the middle portion of the season and that will only help Upper Montgomery prepare for the end of season county playoffs. A good start to the season is nice, but the Lightning can’t let up now. A statement win over Urbana would be a nice springboard into resuming conference play later in the week.

#UML, #Bleed Green, #Go Bolts!

Varsity Wootton Game Preview

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The Upper Montgomery Lightning takes on their new archrival, Wootton on Friday night with each team vying for supremacy of division two of the Montgomery Hockey Conference. The game will be a tall task for Upper Montgomery as Wootton is averaging twelve goals per game so far this season. With Upper Montgomery missing last season’s leading returning scorer Nathan Cassel for some length of time as he deals with an upper body injury, the young Lightning will be sizeable underdogs in this game. Further adding to the drama surrounding this game is that Upper Montgomery has won the last three meetings between the teams after never having beaten Wootton in its first fourteen years of existence. Wootton will be looking for revenge after the Lightning’s 9-1 destruction of the Patriots in last year’s Montgomery Hockey Conference Varsity Tournament championship game.

Upper Montgomery has started the 2024 -2025 high school hockey season in fine fashion with a 2-0-1 record coming off of yesterday’s 7-3 victory over Northwest / Quince Orchard. Wootton destroyed that same Northwest / Quince Orchard team 14-0 on opening night and followed up with a 10-4 victory over BCC. Upper Montgomery also beat BCC, but only by a score of 4-3 to open the season. The game will be a contrast in styles as Upper Montgomery will look to suffocate the game defensively to keep the high powered Patriots offensive dynamo that is piling up the goals early in the season from controlling the pace of the game.

Upper Montgomery’s goaltender, 16U AA Ilan Shterenberg was really good in the season opening win over BCC. Shterenberg made 31 saves, with a .912 save percentage, and he did not give up a goal while the Lightning were at even strength. BCC scored two powerplay goals and their last goal with the goalie pulled for an extra attacker. Against Rockville / Magruder Shterenberg was busy once again making 30 saves including some outstanding saves to deny Rockville / Magruder likely goals. Three goals that went in were the direct result of Upper Montgomery defensive zone turnovers. Shterenberg will need to be exceptionally sharp against the Patriots, and if Upper Montgomery prevails, it will likely be because Shterenberg stole the show. He will again be backed up by ninth grade netminder Porter Stutsrim-Lyons.  Stutsrim-Lyons plays for the Caps Academy 14U Lower A external travel team and he has started off his high school career strongly playing for the junior varsity. Stutsrim-Lyons is 2-1-2 on the season with a 1.96 goals against average and a .933 save percentage. He began his high school career with a shutout of Richard Montgomery and followed up that performance with a career high and junior varsity program record 47 saves against Wootton. Yesterday, Stutsrim-Lyons got his first taste of varsity action playing well in the third period against Northwest / Quince Orchard.

In net for Wootton will be sophomore 16U Upper A goalie Kevin Yu. The Lightning have faced Yu twice before, in the aforementioned Montgomery Hockey Conference Varsity Tournament championship game and earlier this season when Yu was backstopping the Wootton junior varsity team. He is a very solid netminder and it will be tough for Upper Montgomery to get many pucks past him. At the varsity level he sports a 2-0 record so far this season with a 2.00 goals against average and an .846 save percentage. Wootton’s opposition has not fired many shots on net as they have been overwhelmed by the Patriots offensive firepower.

On defense, the Lightning will have a full compliment of their defense available for the game. The Lightning’s most experience defender junior 16U AA Brady Berkhammer (two goals yesterday versus Northwest / Quince Orchard) will pair with ninth grade defender Lillian Robbins. Anticipate that 16U Lower A defender Miles Wendland (2GP, 3A) will skate with senior Cole Howerton. Ninth grade defender Matt Rivera may see some game action. Depth defenders Patrick Sell and Avery Evans may or may not play much depending upon score and circumstance.

Wootton’s most explosive skater is 18U AA senior defender Sam Hosier. Hosier is just about a lock to be one of the two defenders on the Montgomery Hockey Conference All-Conference first team at the conclusion of the season. He may also be voted an all state defender as well. Through two games, Hosier leads Wootton in scoring with eight goals and four assists. Hosier plays as a rover and he will be all over the ice during the game. Wootton has other capable defenders as well. Junior Nicholas Chung has experience to help lead younger defenders ninth grade 14U Upper A Isaac Greene and 14U Lower A Nathan Tian. The Wootton defensive corps is mobile and will cause problems for the Lightning forwards on transitions up the ice.

Offensively, Upper Montgomery will be challenged for the next several weeks. With Cassel out of the lineup, junior forward Philip Shkeda and senior center Henry Honacki will be relied upon to provide the bulk of the team’s offensive production. With Upper Montgomery playing 16U AAA Owen Robbins at center this season, the junior has flourished scoring a hat-trick against BCC. Sophomore 16U Lower A Aiden Zheng had two point games against both BCC and Rockville / Magruder to start the season. Senior Josh Nadler finally returns to the lineup tonight against Wootton after missing the first three games of the season while he was out of the country.

Both Zheng and Nadler will play heavy minutes with the varsity this season and both will need to increase their offensive output. Nadler is the junior varsity’s all-time leading goal scorer with 20 career junior varsity goals. Joining them on the varsity roster are forwards TJ Gottesman, the junior varsity’s career points leader with 32 points (and who scored his first career varsity goal yesterday against Northwest / Quince Orchard), sophomore newcomer Jake Hudson (two assists in his first varsity game), and ninth grade 14U Lower A forward Siddy Bhasin. Bhasin and Hudson currently lead the junior varsity in scoring so far this season. AJ Marks and his big frame will get a look in varsity competition as well. Other junior varsity student athletes may get called up as the season progresses when the core of the varsity squad is missing due to out-of-town external travel team game conflicts.

Wootton has a dynamic duo of forwards in junior 18U AA Justin Heller and 16U Upper A Owen Goozh. Heller has two goals on the season and Goozh has three. Senior 18U AA Nathan Tai, a hulking monster who has played defense in prior seasons, has been moved to forward and he has scored five goals in the first two games. Sophomore 16U Upper A Nathan Geeng has scored three times. Michael Klimantov 16U AA has scored twice. AAA forwards Evan Batbold and Jaina Kronforst have not yet played for the Patriots making their lineup even deeper and stronger. With this much offensive potential, Upper Montgomery will be unable to take any shifts off and will need to clear the zone continuously without getting hemmed in defensively for long periods of play.

The 2024 – 2025 season has started out well for Upper Montgomery. Once thought of as a season of growth and development for the green and gold’s younger student athletes, the year is quickly turning into an opportunity to compete right away.  If the Lightning are competitive with fourth ranked Wootton, the season would take a leap forward and prove that Upper Montgomery can compete with every team in the county. Headed into Friday’s late night tilt with high powered Wootton, the Lightning are off to their best start to a season in years. Let’s hope that a scary good day after Halloween performance is in store for Upper Montgomery!

#UML, #Bleed Green, #Go Bolts!

Last Second Goal Rescues Tie for Rockville / Magruder

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The Upper Montgomery Lightning and the Rockville / Magruder Rams are so evenly matched that the teams have played into overtime in their last two meetings. The game prior to the two overtime tilts was decided by a last minute goal. Friday night’s matchup between the two programs was high on drama and was very entertaining to watch. Both coaching staff were not happy with some of the sloppy play and turnovers committed by their team which directly led to goals scored by the opposition. Both coaching staffs were not pleased with the subpar officiating in the game. In the end, Cameron Gifford scored with 1.3 seconds remaining in regulation to force overtime and the Rams salvaged a 5-5 tie with Upper Montgomery. Gifford’s goal came with Rockville / Magruder skating with an extra attacker after having pulled their goalie. The teams then played a scoreless five minute overtime period.

Scoring within the first two minutes of the game, the Rams got off to a fast start. Five, yes five, failed defensive zone clears by the Lightning lead to Gifford’s first goal of the evening. The last of the defensive zone failed clears along the left wing boards was kept in the zone at the right point. Upper Montgomery regained possession of the puck in the right faceoff circle. Gifford stripped the puck away from the Lightning and he fired a wrist shot from the low slot that beat Upper Montgomery goalie Ilan Shterenberg five hole for the unassisted goal.

Later in his shift, Gifford took a hooking penalty on the backcheck to put Upper Montgomery on the powerplay. While on the five on four skater advantage, Rockville / Magruder’s second best defender, 18U AA Aiden Ward was called for a boarding minor and also given the automatic ten minute misconduct penalty that comes with a boarding penalty. One might have thought that Upper Montgomery would be headed to a five on three powerplay for forty five seconds. But, no. Upper Montgomery junior center Owen Robbins, the skater who was boarded, was somehow called for a holding minor penalty while being boarded to even out the call and leave Upper Montgomery with only one extra skater on the ice. A mystery penalty on Robbins to say the least.

Upper Montgomery failed to score on powerplay opportunity number one. Then, on his next shift, Gifford was once again called for a two minute minor penalty, his second hooking penalty in three minutes. With two seconds left on the powerplay, the Lightning evened the score at one. The scoring sequence began with a faceoff in the Upper Montgomery defensive zone to the right of Shterenberg. Upper Montgomery controlled the draw with sophomore forward Aiden Zheng skating the puck up ice through the neutral zone and into the Rockville / Magruder defensive zone. He battled for possession of the puck along the left wing boards in the offensive zone. With good pressure, Zheng forced the Rams defender to quickly throw the puck up the boards to the left point where the puck was kept in the offensive zone by sophomore defender Miles Wendland. Zheng swooped in and collected the loose puck. He skated around the ice to the right side and fired on net from near the right wing boards. Rams goalie Sean Connelly made the save with his goalie pads. The puck rebounded out to the far side and directly to Lightning senior center Henry Honacki who was streaking to the net on the left side of the crease. Honacki had an easy tap in goal low along the ice past Connelly before he could react and come over to the far side of the net.

Then, it became Upper Montgomery’s turnstile to the penalty box. Robbins took as seat once again, this time for an interference minor. Upper Montgomery withstood Rockville / Magruder’s intense pressure with Shterenberg making several good saves to preserve the tie. With top end offensive talent on the ice, the Rams spent most of the two minute extra skater advantage in the Lightning’s defensive zone. After Upper Montgomery’s successful penalty kill, the teams skated five on five for only about a minute before Honacki was whistled for a hooking minor penalty. Upper Montgomery was a little better killing off this Rams powerplay until Gifford scored just after Honacki stepped out of the penalty box. Technically, not a powerplay goal, but before Honakci had any chance to enter the defense zone and re-engage in the game action.

Upper Montgomery failed to clear the defensive zone with clear possession of the puck. The Upper Montgomery forward fanned on the clearing attempt with the puck sliding over to the left wing boards. Gifford was first on the puck and he sent a pass back to Rams defender Lincoln Herrick at the left point. Herrick returned the puck down the boards to Gifford at the side wall. Gifford again passed back to Herrick at the left point. Herrick’s long range wrist shot from the left point was easily blockered aside by Shterenberg to the left corner. Gifford retrieved the puck and shielded the puck from the Upper Montgomery penalty killers. He skated in space to the top of the offensive zone near the blue line where he sent a backhand pass to the right point to 18U AAA defender Drew Pfeufer. Pfeufer sent a pass down low in the slot to Rams forward Toyin Okunseinde looking for a tip in at the top of the crease. Shterenberg made another fine save on the deflection. The puck came out into the slot where Okunseinde regained control momentarily before Rockville / Magruder senior forward Brendyn Iliff stretched out and sent a backhand pass to Gifford along the left side of the crease area. Gifford was able to extend the puck past Shterenberg’s right leg pad and send it into the net giving the Rams a 2-1 lead. The goal came with twenty seconds left in the opening period. Shots on goal in the first fifteen minutes of action were fourteen for Rockville / Magruder and nine for the Lightning.

Upper Montgomery began to adjust to the pace of play in the middle period. Even through the Rams outshot Upper Montgomery twelve to five in the second period, Upper Montgomery was able to make plays and it did not feel as if Upper Montgomery was back on their heels as much. A minute into the period, the game was again tied. From behind the goal line to the left of his own net, Honacki sent an outlet pass up the left boards to Lightning sophomore forward Jake Hudson. Hudson reached out and tipped the puck past Rockville / Magruder’s onrushing defender who was attempting to keep the puck in the offensive zone at the point. Upper Montgomery’s leading scorer from last season, senior forward Nathan Cassel read the play. He timed his move perfectly and darted between the two Rams defenders. Hudson’s poke of the puck found Cassel in stride streaking down the ice on a clear breakaway from the red line in. Cassel headed down the right side of the ice, neared Connelly in the net, faked to his forehand getting Connelly to commit to his left, and deftly slid the puck with his backhand around the goalie’s right leg to the opposite side of the net. Connelly was easily faked out by Cassel’s stickhandling move.

Three minutes later, Robbins was tackled by the side of the net by Rams defender Max Yuen. For getting tackled Robbins was assessed a matching minor penalty for holding. It was a abysmal call by the referees and nullified what should have been a clear powerplay opportunity for the Lightning and a great chance to jump back into the lead. The loud protestation from the Upper Montgomery coaching staff seemed to have an impact on the officials as they largely put away their whistles after the matching coincidental minors were handed out.

With four minutes remaining in the second period, Upper Montgomery depth forward TJ Gottesman punched a Rams defender in the head. Gottesman drew a minor penalty for head contact and an automatic ten minute misconduct penalty on the play. Twenty seconds into the Rams powerplay, Cassel struck again to give Upper Montgomery the lead. Cassel was inside his defensive blue line high in the zone. He stepped in between a cross ice pass from Rockville / Magruder’s right point defender. As the puck was on its way to the left side of the ice, Cassel gloved the puck out of mid-air and he was off to the races on another breakaway opportunity. Using almost a carbon copy move to his first breakaway goal, although Cassel did not cleanly control the puck on the transition from forehand to backhand this chance, he once again slid the puck past Connelly’s right leg pad for the shorthanded unassisted goal giving Upper Montgomery their first lead of the night at 3-2.

Inside of one minute remaining in the second period, Pfeufer really made his presence felt. He took possession of the puck in the Rockville / Magruder defensive zone. He skated all the way down ice into the left corner of the offensive zone. In the left corner, he spun around to get separation from the Upper Montgomery defense. Pfeufer then intentionally sent a backhand shot off Shterenberg to the right side of the net. Rockville / Magruder ninth grade forward Alexander Johnston was wide open at the back right post where he easily deposited the rebound into the open net to tie the game at three. It was goals in consecutive games for Johnston to begin his high school hockey career. It was also the second consecutive period that Rockville / Magruder scored in the final minute. The game was quickly turning into a back and forth classic.

The third period turned into a tale of two halves. Two minutes into the final period of regulation, Zheng again gave Upper Montgomery the lead at 4-3. Lightning ninth grade forward Siddy Bhasin had the puck on the right wing boards in his defensive zone. He found Zheng coming up the middle of the defensive zone. Zheng took control of the puck and sprinted up ice through the neutral zone and down the left side of the ice. From the top of the left faceoff circle in the offensive zone, he fired a wrist shot to the far side of the net that handcuffed Connelly who could not control the puck which beat him under his glove hand.

With nine and a half minutes left in regulation, Cassel completed his hat-trick putting Upper Montgomery ahead 5-3. Lightning junior defender Brady Berkhammer collected the puck along the left wing boards in his defensive zone. He skated toward his own goal, turned, and settled down play. He then sent the puck up the left wing boards to Hudson near the blue line. Hudson won a puck battle with the Rams defender and pushed the puck over the blue line to center ice. As the puck was approaching the Upper Montgomery offensive zone, Robbins raced forward with possession of the puck and came in on a fast developing two on one rush with Cassel. Robbins’ shot short side was saved by Connelly with the puck bouncing behind the goal. Robbins collected the puck on the right side of the net with little defensive pressure. He slid a backhand pass across the crease to Cassel which the skilled forward immediately slammed home past Connelly who was out of position too heavily focused on Robbins.

With six minutes left in the third period, Pfeufer made the game very interesting, scoring to close the margin to 5-4 in favor of the Lightning. A missed Upper Montgomery shot sprung Rockville / Magruder up ice. From the left side of the ice in the neutral zone, Herrick shot the puck into the Lightning defensive zone from just prior to the Lightning defensive blue line. The puck wound all the way around the Upper Montgomery net to the right wing boards where Pfeufer was waiting. Pfeufer skated in a semi-circle around the top of the offensive zone from the right wing boards to the left faceoff circle. Coming downhill with momentum, Pfeufer fired a low wrist shot short side on Shterenberg past the young goalie’s stick and blocker.

Superior Upper Montgomery defense over the next five and a half minutes stifled the Rams. There were tremendous efforts to clear the defensive zone with Upper Montgomery stacking the blue line and making it hard on Rockville / Magruder to penetrate into the offensive zone and generate good scoring chances. Upper Montgomery iced the puck with 42 seconds left and again with 35 seconds remaining. The last faceoff was in the Upper Montgomery defensive zone to the left of Sheterenberg. There was a puck battle along the left wing boards with Robbins stuffing the puck along the left wing boards. He was pushed over and fell near the puck keeping the Rams from grabbing possession. All the while the clock ticked under ten seconds. With five seconds remaining in the game, Berkhammer had the puck in the left corner. His clearing attempt to seal the victory was intercepted by Iliff at the blue line. With three seconds remaining Iliff skated in towards the goal where he lost possession of the puck when he encountered traffic. Cassel and Gifford were standing close by. The loose puck was at Gifford’s feet. He sent a wrist shot towards the net with four bodies standing between him and Shterenberg. The puck found its way through each of the four skaters without hitting any of them. It flew low past a completely screened Shterenberg’s right side, past his leg pad with 1.3 seconds remaining in the third period. The goal set off a wild celebration on the Rams bench and salvaged the game for Rockville / Magruder.

Overtime was all about puck possession. For minutes at a time Rockville / Magruder possessed the puck with Pfeufer, Iliff, and Okunseinde out on the ice together. Although holding on to the puck, that trio did not create superior offensive chances with all of the open ice. Upper Montgomery used Berkhammer, Cassel, and Robbins to counter the Rams and Cassel had the two best chances of the overtime period. Both of his clean looks ramped up high and had Connelly ducking as the puck twice sailed over the crossbar high with a lot of empty net available. At the buzzer sounded to end the game each team seamed content with the outcome of the game. Upper Montgomery was pleased to have tied a team higher in the country rankings although feeling as if they should have won the game. Rockville / Magruder was thrilled to have scored so late to salvage the tie and come away from the game with standings points.

Game Notes:

  • Rockville / Magruder outshot Upper Montgomery 36-22 for the game, including twelve to five in the second period.
  • Lightning senior forward Nathan Cassel scored a hat-trick.
  • Lightning senior center Henry Honacki and sophomore forward Aiden Zheng each scored a goal and dished out an assist for two point games. For Zheng it was his second consecutive two point game.
  • Upper Montgomery sophomore forward Jake Hudson had two assists in his first career high school varsity game.
  • Lightning ninth grade forward Siddy Bhasin contributed an assist for his first career high school varsity point.
  • Upper Montgomery scored on the powerplay for the second consecutive game. It has been a welcome change from last season when the Lightning miss-fired on their first 46 extra skater advantages, not scoring on the powerplay until the final game of the regular season against Bullis.
  • Upper Montgomery returns to action on Thursday, Halloween evening to face off against Northwest / Quince Orchard. Game time is 7:00 pm at Rockville Ice Arena. The Lightning then play the following evening against the high powered Wootton Patriots. Game time on Friday is late night, a 10:00 pm start.

Three Stars of the Game:

First Star—Cameron Gifford—Rockville / Magruder Forward—3 Goals
Second Star—Nathan Cassel—Upper Montgomery Forward—3 Goals
Third Star—Drew Pfeufer—Rockville / Magruder Defense—1 Goal, 1 Assist

Varsity Northwest / Quince Orchard Game Preview

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The Upper Montgomery Lightning varsity is looking to continue its strong start to begin the 2024 -2025 high school hockey season when the team returns to action on Thursday evening to face Northwest / Quince Orchard on Halloween. Game time is 7:00 pm at Rockville Ice Arena. Upper Montgomery has begun the season with an impressive victory over BCC, the first ever in program history, followed up by playing Rockville / Magruder to a tie this past Friday night. Upper Montgomery had the Rockville / Magruder game until giving up the game tying goal with 1.3 seconds remaining in regulation. The Lightning will be looking to make the game against Northwest / Quince Orchard a Halloween massacre as Upper Montgomery will be the far more talented team on the ice.

Northwest / Quince Orchard enters the game on a high, having secured a major upset of Richard Montgomery this past Friday night. Some prognostications had Northwest / Quince Orchard going winless this season and not being competitive in any game. Kudos to the Northwest / Quince Orchard student athletes for snagging a victory, scoring with 1:12 remaining in the game to break a four all tie and then finishing off the game into the empty net. Upper Montgomery faced Northwest / Quince Orchard only one time last season and the Lightning trounced Northwest / Quince Orchard 14-1 in the quarterfinal round of the Montgomery Hockey Conference Varsity Playoff Tournament.

Upper Montgomery’s goaltender, 16U AA Ilan Shterenberg was really good in the win win over BCC. Shterenberg made 31 saves, with a .912 save percentage, and did not give up a goal while the Lightning were at even strength. BCC scored two powerplay goals and a goal with the goalie pulled for an extra attacker. Against Rockville / Magruder Shterenberg was busy once again making 30 saves including some outstanding saves to deny Rockville / Magruder likely goals. Three goals that went in were the direct result of Upper Montgomery defensive zone turnovers. He will again be backed up by ninth grade netminder Porter Stutsrim-Lyons.  Stutsrim-Lyons plays for the Caps Academy 14U Lower A external travel team and has started off his high school career strongly playing for the junior varsity. Stutsrim-Lyons is 2-1-2 on the season with a 1.96 goals against average and a .933 save percentage. He began his high school career with a shutout of Richard Montgomery and followed up that performance with a career high and junior varsity program record 47 saves against Wootton.

In net for Northwest / Quince Orchard is likely to be ninth grade netminder Sean Wyatt. In securing the victory over Richard Montgomery, Wyatt made 47 saves while giving up only four goals for a .922 save percentage. Northwest / Quince Orchard senior goalie Joseph Dean played in the opener and surrendered fourteen goals to Wootton. If somehow there is rotation in place and the game against Upper Montgomery is Dean’s game, that would be a bonus for the Lightning. If the two netminders split the game, that would also be a boon for Upper Montgomery. Either way, for the third straight game, Upper Montgomery will again have a big advantage in net with Shterenberg.

On defense, the Lightning should finally have most of their defense available for a game. The Lightning’s most experience defender junior 16U AA Brady Berkhammer will pair with either ninth grade defender Lillian Robbins or senior stay at home defender Patrick Sell. Anticipate that 16U Lower A Miles Wendland (2GP, 3A) will skate with senior Cole Howerton. Ninth grade defender Matt Rivera will see regular action and he will play with either Robbins or Sell, depending upon matchups. With the loss of so many experienced skaters off last season’s roster, almost every skater in the program is likely to see some playing time on the varsity this season. Rivera and Sell look to be in line to dress out for this game. Sophomore Avery Evans would also play if she is available on Thursday evening.

Northwest / Quince Orchard has two reasonably competent defenders in senior 18U Upper A Drew Blurton and junior 18U AA Roman Martin. After those two, there is a massive drop off in talent to the rest of the Northwest / Quince Orchard defenders. Anticipate that Northwest / Quince Orchard’s two stud defenders will play with each other on the powerplay and at any crucial moments in the game. But, they will likely be split with other defenders for most of the game in an attempt to keep at least one of them on the ice at all times. Look for Upper Montgomery to take advantage of the less experienced defense and overload to that side of the ice on offensive zone entries.

Offensively, Upper Montgomery returns its second and third leading scorers from a season ago. Senior 18U AA forward Nathan Cassel (15GP, 11G, 18A) and junior forward Philip Shkeda (20GP, 13G, 12A). This duo will be relied upon to lead Upper Montgomery offensively and they both will need to produce just like last year after loosing their center for the past two seasons, Chris Hassett to graduation. Cassel has an opportunity score enough goals (14) or hand out enough assists (11) to qualify for induction into the Maryland Student Hockey League Hall of Fame. He led the Lightning offensively with a hat-trick including two breakaway goals in the tie versus Rockville / Magruder. With Upper Montgomery playing Owen Robbins at center this season, the junior has flourished scoring a hat-trick against BCC. Senior center, Henry Honacki 18U Upper A (21GP, 7G, 8A) elevated his game last year and if he can increase his scoring production it will help supplement Cassel, Shkeda, and Robbins. With Shkeda returning to the lineup after missing the Rockville / Magruder game while he was out of town, Upper Montgomery should be at full strength offensively.

After these four students, there is a drop off in production to sophomore 16U Lower A Aiden Zheng (9GP, 3G, 5A) last year and who has contributed (2GP, 1G, 3A) this season. Senior Josh Nadler (13GP, 4A) last year returns to the lineup against Northwest / Quince Orchard after missing the first two games of the season while he was out of the country. Both Zheng and Nadler will play heavy minutes with the varsity this season and both will need to increase their offensive output. Nadler is the junior varsity’s all-time leading goal scorer with 20 career junior varsity goals. Joining them on the varsity roster are forwards TJ Gottesman, the junior varsity’s career points leader with 32 points, sophomore newcomer Jake Hudson (two assists in his first varsity game), and ninth grade 14U Lower A forward Siddy Bhasin. Bhasin and Hudson currently lead the junior varsity in scoring so far this season. AJ Marks and his big frame will get a look in varsity competition as well. Other junior varsity student athletes may get called up as the season progresses when the core of the varsity squad is missing due to external travel team out-of-town game conflicts.

Northwest / Quince Orchard has only one offensive scorer of note, junior 16U AA center Ethan Custudio. He scored four times and assisted on the other two goals scored in Northwest / Quince Orchard’s game against Richard Montgomery. The key to limiting Northwest / Quince Orchard is to stop Custudio as Upper Montgomery did last season in the playoff game. If Upper Montgomery handles Custudio, it will be a long, long night and the rout will be on.

The 2024 – 2025 season has started out well for Upper Montgomery. Once thought of as a season of growth and development for the green and gold’s younger student athletes, the year is quickly turning into an opportunity to compete right away.  If the Lightning can smoke Northwest / Quince Orchard, the team will be off to a 2-0-1 start to the campaign leading into Friday’s late night tilt with high powered Wootton. Let’s hope that a scary good Halloween performance is in store for Upper Montgomery!

# Halloween Massacre, #UML, #Bleed Green, #Go Bolts!

Junior Varsity Blair Game Preview

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On Friday, the Upper Montgomery Lightning junior varsity plays against the Blair Blazers. Game time is 6:30 pm at Cabin John Ice Rink. As with last week’s schedule, the Upper Montgomery varsity plays at 10:00 pm that same evening. With a varsity game later in the evening, the coaching staff will be utilizing roster management tactics to make sure that students playing heavy minutes later in the evening in the varsity game are well rested. With the Blazers off to an 0-4 start to the season and being outscored 32-2, the game against Upper Montgomery will be a miss match. The Blazers have two additional games this week prior to the game against Upper Montgomery and seemingly could be 0-6 by game time.

In goal for the Lightning junior varsity will again be ninth grade netminder Porter Stutsrim-Lyons.  Stutsrim-Lyons plays for the Caps Academy 14U lower A external travel team. He has begun his high school career in excellent style with a 2-1-2 record, a miniscule 1.96 goals against average, and an eye popping .933 save percentage. If Stutsrim-Lyons maintains his current save percentage it would break the junior varsity program record set last season by Ilan Shterenberg (.927). The Blazers will play Crispin Mpoy in goal. Mpoy is playing behind an overmatched roster of skaters in front of him.

On defense the Lightning will sit their more experienced defenders. Anticipate that Cole Howerton and Miles Wendland will not play against the Blazers. Patrick Sell will likely skate with Avery Evans as the top defensive pair. Matt Rivera and Luke Hudson will skate together for much of the game as well. Lillian Robbins will be worked in some but not play regularly as the team will likely rest her for the varsity game later in the evening. Defensively, the Blazers will be hoping to stay out of running clock for as long as possible.

On offense, the Lightning will likely rest Jake Hudson and Aiden Zheng. Anticipate that leading scorer, ninth grade forward Siddy Bhasin (4GP, 3G, 4A) will play along with senior AJ Marks. Rounding out the forward rotation will be sophomore Mason Jagoz, and ninth grade forwards Decklin Hughes and Max Israfilbek. Jackson Schickler remains out with an upper body injury and Jason Woodman is continuing to serve his suspension.

Friday’s game is definitely a miss match and one that should advance the Lightning record to 3-1-2 on the season. It will be a hard game on everyone and should be a day after Halloween destruction. If somehow this game is relatively close, Upper Montgomery will use some of the students that are anticipated to be rested for the game.

#Day After Destruction, #UML, #Bleed Green, #Go Bolts!

Lightning Smothers DC Stars Continues Strong Play

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The Upper Montgomery Lightning junior varsity entered Friday evening’s game against the DC Stars knowing that several of the student athletes would also be playing later that night in the varsity game. It was going to be a balance of effort and energy expenditure versus holding back and conserving that energy for later that night. The Lightning used a strong defensive effort to smother the DC Stars with Upper Montgomery controlling play for long stretches of action leading to a 4-1 victory and improving the junior varsity’s record to 2-1-2 on the season.

A quick start for the Lightning allowed the team to settle in and activate the defense first approach. Just over a minute into the game, Lightning senior defender and alternate captain Patrick Sell scored his first goal of the season. The strike came after a poor clear by the Stars defense. Upper Montgomery had rushed up ice pushing offensively. A missed pass left the puck deep in the right corner of the Stars defensive zone. The attempted defensive zone clear was a weak one and Sell stepped in from his right point position. He cut off the puck just beyond the tops of the faceoff circles, five feet inside the blue line. Sell changed his body position so he could fire off a long range wrist shot. Sell’s rising shot traveled through traffic and beat DC Stars netminder Liam Parkinson high over his glove hand to the right side of the net.

The early 1-0 deficit seemed to rattle the Stars. The Stars pushed forward offensively falling into the defensive shell established by the Lightning who were comfortable simply chipping the puck out of their defensive end of the ice. When the forwards reached center ice, the puck was dumped in and the Stars were forced to turn and chase after the puck. The Upper Montgomery coaches kept the shift times short trying to keep the skaters as fresh as possible. There was not very much action in the first period which suited the Lightning just fine as they were in the lead. Shots on goal for the first period were low, the DC Stars fired seven non-threatening shots at Upper Montgomery ninth grade goalie Porter Stutsrim-Lyons and the Lightning put only five pucks on Parkinson.

The second period also saw a quick Lightning goal which extended the lead. Stars forward Callum Cochran was called for roughing thirteen seconds into the period sending Upper Montgomery to the powerplay. The Lightning’s first powerplay unit struggled to gain possession of the puck in the offensive zone. After a DC Stars full length of the ice clear, Upper Montgomery finally entered the offensive zone with puck possession. Eventually, the puck was in the left corner where sophomore forward Jake Hudson had control of the puck. An aggressive move by the Stars defense knocked the puck loose up the left wing boards towards the left point. Lightning ninth grade defender Matt Rivera moved in and kept the puck in the zone. He fired a snap shot from the outside edge at the top of the left faceoff circle. Lightning senior forward AJ Marks deflected the shot from just in front of Parkinson who was still able to make a stick save on the play. The rebound eluded Parkinson’s control and went to the right side of the goal where Upper Montgomery ninth grade defender/forward Luke Hudson was standing all alone. Hudson slammed home the rebound for the powerplay marker and his first career high school goal.

Up 2-0, Upper Montgomery continued to hang back and protect the lead. The DC Stars pushed harder looking to get back in the game. Every time the Stars had a good opportunity, Stutsrim-Lyons was there to shut the door. With under three minutes left in the second period Upper Montgomery would extend the lead. From a faceoff outside the DC Stars blue line along the left wing side of the ice, Lightning ninth grade center Decklin Hughes won the faceoff left to Jake Hudson along the left wing boards. Hudson cut toward the middle of the ice and entered the offensive zone. He crossed to the right side of the ice clearing the Stars defender in the right faceoff circle. His wrist shot went wide of the goal short side. The puck circled around to the left point where it was kept in the zone at the left point by Lightning sophomore defender Avery Evans. Evans shoveled the puck forward with her backhand. The puck clanked off a skate and caromed into the slot where it was picked up by Hudson. Hudson took two strides and fired a wrist shot that went seven hole on Parkinson below his glove and into the net for his fourth goal of the season.

On the next shift after Hudson’s goal, Lightning senior defender and team captain Cole Howerton was assessed a checking from behind penalty. The two minute minor automatically comes with a ten minute misconduct penalty. Utilizing only four defenders to start the game, the Lightning coaches got creative on the back line with both Luke and Jake Hudson coming back to take shifts on defense to help the team out. The DC Stars failed to convert on the powerplay which expired just as the period was ending. Shots on goal in the second period were twelve for the DC Stars giving them nineteen through two periods of play and Upper Montgomery countering with five for a two period total of ten, three of which got past Parkinson.

Thirty seconds into the final period, the Lightning were back on the penalty kill when Rivera was called for a phantom high sticking minor penalty. As with the Stars earlier powerplay opportunity, this one went awry as well as the Stars missed the net on several quality scoring chances. Upper Montgomery was awarded a powerplay soon after Rivera’s penalty ended when the Stars were called for too many skaters on the ice. Upper Montgomery used good judgement while on the powerplay with one defender back in the neutral zone at all times to prevent the Stars from a shorthanded opportunity and any chance to get back into the game.

Five minutes into the final period, Lightning varsity netminder Ilan Shterenberg, skating out in the junior varsity game, scored his first career high school goal. The Stars cleared the puck the length of the ice to relieve pressure. Rivera was first back and he corralled the puck picking it up inside his defensive zone. He curled around the net from left to right and headed back up ice with a head of steam. Rivera skated the puck out of the defensive zone down the right wing through neutral ice. Entering the offensive zone he skated wide around the Stars defender and then cut to the net. As he entered the crease area he fired a shot that was stopped by Parkinson’s blocker. The puck fell to the ice where Shterenberg was standing by the left side of the net. Shterenberg chipped the puck into the air and over Parkinson who was coming over to the far post.

Halfway through the third period the Stars got on the board. An Upper Montgomery defensive clear up the left wing boards was intercepted by DC Stars forward Eli Schwartz. Schwartz fired on goal from the boards at a bad angle. Stutsrim-Lyons made the save and directed the rebound out to the wide side of the offensive zone. Unfortunately, the puck went directly to Cochran who had the entire net to shoot at. From the inside edge of the left circle he fired past Stutsrim-Lyons’ stick and into the net.

On the very next shift, Stutsrim-Lyons made a sprawling save with his right arm on a fantastic look by the Stars keeping the game at 4-1. Likely showing frustration at how the game had gone, Cochran took a roughing penalty behind the Lightning net. With the lead and the extra skater, Upper Montgomery used that two minutes to continue to eat clock and prevent the Stars from generating offensive chances. One more good pad save by the Lightning’s goalie late in the game kept the three goal bulge. It became just a matter of time until the Lightning skaters could rejoice around their goalie after getting back into the win column after a three game stretch of a loss and two ties.

Game Notes:

  • The DC Stars outshot the Lightning 26 to 18 for the game, but many of their shots were from distance that just rolled in on Upper Montgomery goalie Porter Stutsrim-Lyons.
  • The Lightning finally scored a powerplay goal ending a four game skid to open the season.
  • Upper Montgomery’s varsity goalie, Ilan Shterenberg, skated out and scored his first career high school goal.
  • Ninth grade defender Luke Hudson scored his first career high school goal on the powerplay.
  • With his 25 save effort, Porter Stutsrim-Lyons increased his save percentage to .933. If his pace holds throughout the rest of the season, it would be a new Upper Montgomery junior varsity program record.
  • In only giving up one goal to the Stars, Porter Stutsrim-Lyons lowed his goals against average to 1.96.
  • Jake Hudson scored his team leading fourth goal of the season.
  • Upper Montgomery’s junior varsity team returns to action next Friday against the worst team in the league. The Blair Blazers are having tough time of it this season. Anticipate that the Lightning will rest certain student athletes in preparation for the varsity game later that same evening. Game time is at 6:30 pm at Cabin John Ice Rink.

Three Stars of the Game:

First Star—Patrick Sell—Upper Montgomery Defense—Goal
Second Star—Matt Rivera—Upper Montgomery Defense—2 Assists
Third Star—Decklin Hughes—Upper Montgomery Center—Assist

Varsity Rockville / Magruder Game Preview

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The Upper Montgomery Lightning varsity returns to action on Friday night to face the Rockville / Magruder Rams in a game of unbeaten programs. Continuing an early season theme for the Lightning, game time is late night, 10:00 pm at Cabin John Ice Rink. Upper Montgomery successfully kicked of its 2024 – 2025 regular season campaign with the program’s first ever victory over BCC, 4-3. The Rockville / Magruder Rams began the season easing to a 6-2 win over Richard Montgomery. Historically, games between the two programs have been extremely close. Upper Montgomery defeated the Rams 5-4 on Nathan Cassel’s goal in overtime to close out the Montgomery Hockey Conference regular season last winter. The team’s prior meeting was a 3-2 decision in favor of Rockville / Magruder with the game winning goal scored in the final minute of regulation. This game will likely be decided by the presence of Rockville / Magruder senior defender Drew Pfeufer. Pfeufer (10GP, 18G, 9A) last season will be the most talented student athlete on the ice if he plays. The big question will be if he is in town or out-of-town with his AAA external travel team, Team Maryland.

Upper Montgomery’s goaltender, 16U AA Ilan Shterenberg was really good in last week’s win over BCC. Shterenberg made 31 saves, with a .912 save percentage, and did not give up a goal while the Lightning were at even strength. BCC scored two powerplay goals and a goal with the goalie pulled for an extra attacker. Shterenberg will need to be sharp once again for the Lightning to be competitive against the Rams. He will be backed up by ninth grade netminder Porter Stutsrim-Lyons.  Stutsrim-Lyons plays for the Caps Academy 14U Lower A external travel team and has started off his high school career strongly playing for the junior varsity. Stutsrim-Lyons is 1-1-2 on the season with a 2.18 goals against average and a .927 save percentage. He began his high school career with a shutout of Richard Montgomery and followed up that performance with a career high and junior varsity program record 47 saves against Wootton.

In net for Rockville / Magruder will be senior Sean Connelly. Connelly had an impressive outing against the Rockets last week stopping 27 of 29 shots. Last season, Connelly backstopped the Rams to the seventh seed in the county rankings. He has experience playing at the varsity level and is a steady, unspectacular netminder. Upper Montgomery has an advantage in net with Shterenberg.

On defense, the Lightning have most of their backline returning with the exception of junior defender Andrew Botti who chose not to play high school hockey during his season year of high school. Returning are top rising juniors, rugged defensive defender 16U AAA Owen Robbins (14GP, 3A) and smooth skating cool customer 16U AA Brady Berkhammer (21GP, 1G, 12A). They will be joined in the regular defensive rotation by sophomore 16U Lower A Miles Wendland (18GP, 6A) and senior Cole Howerton. Anticipate the Lightning defense to be more offensive minded this season after the defenders scored only five goals in 91 total defensive games played last year. In the season opener, the defense contributed four assists with Wendland involved in two of the scoring plays. Rounding out the defensive corps will be a rotation of junior varsity call ups; 14U AA Lillian Robbins, 14U Lower A Matt Rivera, Patrick Sell, Luke Hudson, and 19U AA Avery Evans. With the loss of so many experienced skaters off last season’s roster, almost every skater in the program is likely to see some some playing for the varsity this season. Rivera and Sell look to be in line to dress out for this game.

With Pfeufer alone the Rams are all set on defense. They will also deploy tough customer senior Aiden Ward, an 18U AA wide body defender who hits like a mack truck. Juniors Max Yuen, 16U Lower A and Lincoln Herrick are entering their third season of varsity competition and they will provide excellent depth on defense. Ninth grade defender 16U Lower A Lukas Aagaard and Senior Calder Wilcox will see game action this week against the Lightning as well. The Rams defense will be much more experienced than what Upper Montgomery faced last week against BCC.

Offensively, Upper Montgomery returns its second and third leading scorers from a season ago. Senior 18U AA forward Nathan Cassel (15GP, 11G, 18A) and junior forward Philip Shkeda (20GP, 13G, 12A). This duo will be relied upon to lead Upper Montgomery offensively and they both will need to produce just like last year after loosing their center for the past two seasons, Chris Hassett to graduation. Cassel has an opportunity score enough goals (17) or hand out enough assists (11) to qualify for induction into the Maryland Student Hockey League Hall of Fame. Senior center, Henry Honacki 18U Upper A (21GP, 7G, 8A) elevated his game last year and if he can increase his scoring production it will help supplement Cassel and Shkeda. With Shkeda missing the game while he is out of town, anticipate that Owen Robbins will again play center this week coming off his career best hat-trick plus an assist performance against the Barons.

After these three students, there is a drop off in production to sophomore 16U Lower A Aiden Zheng (9GP, 3G, 5A) who contributed two assists last time out, and senior Josh Nadler (13GP, 4A). Both Zheng and Nadler will play heavy minutes with the varsity this season and both will need to increase their offensive output. Nadler is the junior varsity’s all-time leading goal scorer with 20 career junior varsity goals. He will miss the game on Friday as he is currently out of the country. Joining them on the varsity roster are forwards; TJ Gottesman, the junior varsity’s career points leader with 32 points, sophomore newcomer Jake Hudson, and ninth grade 14U Lower A forward Siddy Bhasin. Bhasin and Hudson currently lead the junior varsity in scoring so far this season. AJ Marks and his big frame will get a look in varsity competition as well. Other junior varsity student athletes may get called up as the season progresses when the core of the varsity squad is missing due to external travel team out-of-town game conflicts.

The Rams top returning forward scorer is senior Brendyn Iliff (14GP, 7G, 12A). He scored in the Rams’ season opener and he will play plenty with junior Toyin Okunseinde (13GP, 4G, 3A) who scored twice versus the Rockets. Cameron Gifford, a 14U AAA skater, chipped in with two assists in his first varsity game. Rowen Pierson and Ryan Hurley, two 16U Lower A sophomores with a full year of varsity experience last season will be teamed up on the second line. Ninth grade 14U AA Alexander Johnston scored in his first career high school game against Richard Montgomery. Upper Montgomery will have to contend with these talented skaters while at the same time being hyper aware of where Pfeufer is at all times.

The 2024 – 2025 season will be one of growth and development for the green and gold’s younger student athletes.  It should be exciting and rewarding as the younger skaters grow and blossom. How quickly the team develops the defensive habits necessary to lead the program forward will determine if the Lightning can again challenge the upper echelon varsity teams in the county.  Or, is the team simply too young to compete right now this season.  Friday night will give us some additional answers against another quality opponent. Come along for the ride, (if you can stay up that late). It should be an entertaining and close contest between two evenly matched squads.

#UML, #Bleed Green, #Go Bolts!