Author: chucklevine

Entering Friday night’s contest against the Rockville/Magruder Rams, the Upper Montgomery Lightning were in need of another signature victory to cement their playoff positioning. The Rams were in the exact same position making Friday evening’s contest an intriguing matchup with both programs battling for the all important sixth seed in the upcoming Montgomery Hockey Conference playoff tournament. Finishing sixth in the league standings meant avoiding both top seeds Churchill and Walter Johnson in the playoffs.

The game contained thrilling action with both teams having success at times and both teams feeling as if the referees were way too involved in the game. In fact, it was an incredibly poorly officiated game. In the end, hours after the game began, Upper Montgomery prevailed in overtime 5-4. The overtime tally set off a sizeable celebration with the Lightning squad surrounding forward Nathan Cassel after his goal sealed Upper Montgomery’s all important victory.

The game got off to an inauspicious start for Upper Montgomery. On the very first shift of the game, Lightning co-captain, senior center Chris Hassett, the team’s leading scorer, was sent to the penalty box for cross checking forty seconds into the first period. The early penalty put the forward and defensive line pairings out of sequence right from the beginning of the game. It took nearly the entire first period to get the full team into game action. Thankfully for the Lightning, the penalty killers did the job and kept the game scoreless. Two minutes after Hassett’s penalty expired, Upper Montgomery defender Andrew Botti laid a big open ice hit on a Rams forwards. The hit was likely a penalty, but the referees called the hit head contact. Botti’s check was nowhere near the opponent’s head. It was just a big hit. The difference in the penalty call (interference versus head contact) was that after the two minute minor penalty expired, Botti had to serve an additional ten minutes as head contact penalties come with an automatic ten minute misconduct penalty. Upper Montgomery would be without its top defender for twelve minutes of game action.

With Botti’s two minute minor nearing its conclusion, the Rams would break out in front. After an Upper Montgomery full ice clear, Rams goalie Sean Connelly stopped the puck behind his net. Connelly left the puck for the Rams most talented skater, defender Drew Pfeufer. From the right side of his net, Pfeufer threw a long stretch pass up ice for Rams forward Lukas Gold. Gold took control of the pass between the red line and the Upper Montgomery defensive blue line. Upon entering the offensive zone, he skated to the inner edge of the right faceoff circle. Gold then fired a wrist shot far side on Upper Montgomery senior goalie Landon Bernard. The puck eluded Bernard flying high over his blocker before settling into the top of the net.

A minute and a half later, Lightning forward Brandon Bernard was called for tripping. Upper Montgomery was back on the penalty kill for the third time in the first eight minutes of the game. Then, while the Rams were on the powerplay, Gold was called for roughing, a very marginal call. The Upper Montgomery bench chirped at the referees for the apparent make up call, and Upper Montgomery drew an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty which kept the Rams on the powerplay. With all of the chaos going on, Upper Montgomery’s penalty killers finished off both the five on four and then the four on three penalty kills. After Bernard returned to the ice, Pfeufer took over while the teams were skating four on four.

Off of a faceoff in the right faceoff circle in the Lightning’s defensive zone, Upper Montgomery won the draw. The Lightning defense rimmed the puck around the boards behind the net. Pfeufer rushed over to the left point and was just able to keep the puck in the offensive zone at the blue line. With full possession of the puck he moved around the Upper Montgomery defense and shot short side high at Bernard from the lower left faceoff circle. Bernard had little chance as the puck whizzed past him high blocker side to put Rockville/Magruder up two to zero.

On the next shift, Pfeufer was called for his own head contact penalty. Another questionable penalty decision from the referees. The Lightning had a major opportunity to get back into the game. Not only did Upper Montgomery have a powerplay, but Pfeufer would not be available for the penalty kill nor the next ten minutes of the game due to his misconduct portion of the penalty. As it has all season long, the Lightning frittered away another extra skater advantage to remain zero for the season on the powerplay. The first period came to a frustrating conclusion for Upper Montgomery with the team having spent much of the period on the penalty kill and then playing with mixed up line combinations coming out of penalty killing action. Rockville/Magruder outshot the Lightning nine to seven in the opening fifteen minutes of play.

The Upper Montgomery Lightning were mad with how the opening period played out. The team began to channel their frustrations in the correct manner. On the very first shift of the second period, only fifteen seconds into the middle fame, Upper Montgomery defiantly responded. Lightning senior co-captain, Hunter Cameron, who had shifted back to play defense with Botti still in the penalty box, had the puck at his own defensive blue line. He sent a pass up to Hassett at center ice. Hassett kicked the puck over to Lightning forward Philip Shkeda who entered the Rockville/Magruder defensive zone. Shkeda then returned the puck to Hassett stationed at the left side of the slot. Hassett fired a forehand shot across his body off the right leg pad of Connelly. The puck bounced over Connelly’s pad into the wide side of the net.

With Upper Montgomery now trailing only 2-1, the Rams parade to the penalty box began. First, it was Rams forward Connor Casp who was called for tripping chasing the puck and a Lightning defender into the corner. Then, a minute and a half later Rams defender Aiden Ward was called for roughing. The Lightning were going to have a short five on three advantage and then back to back powerplays. But that was not what transpired. Just twelve seconds after Ward’s penalty, Lightning forward Henry Honacki was called for checking from behind on a bad hit into the boards. The Lightning’s five on three advantage disappeared as did the second portion of the back to back powerplays. Honacki was also assessed the automatic ten minute misconduct penalty that comes after the checking from behind minor penalty.

Once the penalties cycled through, there was four minutes of five on five action where the Lightning were pushing play and came close to tying up the game on several occasions. With two and a half minutes left in the period Upper Montgomery would find the equalizer. Off of a faceoff in the left faceoff circle in the offensive zone, Hassett won the draw to Cassel in the slot. The bouncing puck was played back into the left faceoff circle. Cassel controlled the puck and sent it down low to Hassett at the side of the net. With no angle to get off a quality shot on net, Hassett spun and centered the puck to Shkeda on the right side of the slot. Shkeda fired a quick shot on net from the crease area. The puck sailed past Connelly to tie up the game. Just before the buzzer sounded to end the period, Rams forward Toyin Okunseinde was called for tripping for dropping a Lightning skater in the corner. A dominating second period saw Upper Montgomery score both goals of the period to draw even with the Rams while outshooting Rockville/Magruder by a wide fourteen to five margin.

The third period started with the Lightning on the powerplay. For the fourth time in the game, Upper Montgomery came up empty on the powerplay. There were good signs with better puck movement, but just not enough rubber being directed on net. Five minutes into the period it was the Rams turn on the extra skater advantage with Honacki being whistled for cross checking, his third penalty of the game. Rockville/Magruder also failed to capitalize with the powerplay leaving the game tied halfway through the third period. Then, the scoring explosion began.

Upper Montgomery would briefly jump to its first lead of the night. Off of a faceoff win at neutral ice, Lightning ninth grade defender Miles Wendland dumped the puck into the offensive zone. Shkeda applied hard pressure on the Rams defense. He followed the play around the net and took possession of the puck. Shkeda then reversed the play back to Hassett who was intentionally trailing the play. From behind the net Hassett cut to the right corner, then continued around the right faceoff circle. Nearing the center of the faceoff circle dot, he snapped a wrist shot that went five hole past Connelly. With seven minutes remaining in the third period, the Lightning finally had a lead at 3-2.

Thirty seconds later the scored was again tied. Upper Montgomery turned the puck over in the neutral zone. Pfeufer skated into the Lightning defensive zone down the right wing boards. He sent a snapshot on net from a bad angle along boards. Once again the puck went far side over Bernard’s right arm and blocker.

After Pfeufer’s goal, Upper Montgomery was gifted a fifth and final powerplay of the game. Rams highly talented ninth grade center Rowen Pierson was called for hooking trailing the play. Upper Montgomery controlled possession of the puck in the offensive zone, but did not generate many quality looks. Another 0-for on the powerplay against the Rams has Upper Montgomery sitting at 0-42 while on the powerplay for the season.

On the shift after Pierson’s penalty expired, Hassett put Upper Montgomery in front once again. His unassisted goal was his third goal of the game for a hat-trick. Hassett pick pocketed a Rams defender who had control of the puck in the lower portion of the left faceoff circle. He cut to the slot and then shot back toward the side of the ice from which he had come from. His wrist shot got past Connelly’s right leg pad to push Upper Montgomery once again into the lead at 4-3. With three and a half minutes remaining in the period, Lightning defender Owen Robbins and the Rams Casp got into it. Robbins was called for roughing and Casp was called for slashing. Once again while playing four on four hockey the Rams would score.

In his defensive zone, Rams defender Max Yuen passed the puck to his defensive partner Ward. Ward looked up ice and found Pfeufer who was playing forward this shift in the neutral zone. Pfeufer flew up ice along the left wing into the Lightning defensive zone. He continued with possession of the puck behind the Upper Montgomery goal. From the right wing boards he found Ward trailing the play entering the offensive zone. Ward collected the puck at the top of the slot and fired a long range shot. The puck moved through traffic in front and beat Bernard low along the ice past his leg pads.

The final two minutes and twenty seconds of regulation action was played to a stalemate necessitating overtime to determine the game’s outcome. The three on three overtime session was evenly played. Both teams had good chances with Bernard making a fine right toe save on Pfeufer’s blast from the top of the circles. The puck traveled through a Lightning defender’s legs obscuring the shot and making the save more difficult. Then Upper Montgomery’s experience took over. Being able to run two full three skater units with upper class skaters turned out to be the difference.

With plenty of open ice Hassett controlled the puck in the neutral zone. He proceeded to enter the Rockville/Magruder defensive zone down the right wing. His wrist shot was saved by Connelly’s left shoulder and the puck was batted over to the right wing boards. Botti won the puck battle along the boards and flipped the puck to Cassel coming towards him circling out of the right corner. The Rams defender stole the puck and put it directly back into the scrum along the right wing boards. Botti dislodged the puck one more time and sent it back to Cassel now covering the right point at the blue line. Cassel then passed the puck into open space where he knew Hassett would gather the puck and he took off and cut to the net. Hassett skated to retrieve the puck in the right faceoff circle. Cassel’s sudden flip of the puck and charge down the slot put him in front of Pierson who had overcommitted coming out to challenge Cassel at the point. Hassett hit Cassel in stride with a return pass. Cassel wasted no time uncorking a wrist shot from the middle of the slot that raced past Connelly’s glove into the top corner of the net.

A wild overtime game winning celebration ensued as the Lightning swarmed Cassel. Upper Montgomery had just locked up an easier first round playoff matchup against Blair, a team that the Lightning had shutout 5-0 earlier in the week. The rematch will be this upcoming Friday night with the rink location and start time of the game to be determined.

Game Notes:

• Shots on goal for the game were Upper Montgomery with 30 and Rockville/Magruder with 23. Upper Montgomery had a healthy fourteen to five shots on goal advantage in a dominant second period.
• Upper Montgomery’s epic futility on the powerplay continued. Five more failed powerplay opportunities versus the Rams has extended the Lightning’s season long drought with the extra skater which now stands at 42 straight unsuccessful powerplays. Upper Montgomery is 0-42 for the season on traditional powerplays with one regular season non-conference game remaining, excluding Nathan Cassel’s penalty shot goal which technically counts as a powerplay marker.
• The Lightning are now 2-0-2 in overtime in the history of the program with all four overtime contests coming in the last two seasons beginning with the program’s first playoff victory last year versus St. Johns.
• Upper Montgomery returns to action on Monday afternoon, January 29th for their last regular season non-conference game of the year. The Lightning will take on private high school powerhouse Bullis. The matchup will be the first ever contest between the schools. Game time is 3:15 pm at Rockville Ice Arena.

Three Stars of the Game:

First Star—Chris Hassett—Upper Montgomery Center—3 Goals, 2 Assists
Second Star—Drew Pfeufer—Rockville/Magruder Defense—2 Goals, 2 Assists
Third Star—Philip Shleda–Upper Montgomery Forward—1 Goal, 2 Assists

The Upper Montgomery Lightning were hoping to bring momentum from yesterday’s 5-0 senior night shutout of Blair into their game against the Urbana Hawks Tuesday afternoon at Skate Frederick. The highly touted Hawks had other ideas and Urbana got the better of a short benched Lightning squad skating to a 5-2 victory on their home ice. The Lightning did generate several good quality scoring opportunities throughout the game but just could not convert enough of their chances to keep pace with Urbana’s top skaters.

The Lightning started fast against the Hawks reversing a trend that had plagued the team over the past several games. The Upper Montgomery coaching staff had made it a point in the pregame conversation to have the team play quicker and more aggressively early on in the game. That strategy paid dividends as Upper Montgomery scored the game opening goal less than two minutes into the game.

Lightning center Brandon Bernard had the puck behind his own net. He sent a pass over to forward Philip Shkeda along the left wing boards. Shkeda nimbly chipped the puck forward to Lightning defender Andrew Botti cutting up the ice. Botti carried the puck through the neutral zone and into the Urbana defensive zone. From the bottom of the left faceoff circle he then sent a backhand pass to Lightning forward Aiden Zheng. Zheng’s low hard snap shot from the slot was saved by Hawks starting goalie Abby Tanner. The rebound was left in front where Bernard sent a forehand shot past Tanner who had lost her positioning in the crease. Upper Montgomery had an early lead, but the remainder of the opening period was dominated by the Hawks.

Four minutes after Upper Montgomery’s opening tally, Urbana scored the equalizer. Urbana’s top scorer forward Cody Keegan blocked the puck just inside his own defensive zone. He recovered the puck and sent a pass up to fellow forward Zachary Thayer stationed just outside his own blue line. The deft defensive zone breakout sent Urbana’s top two offensive threats, Keegan and Thayer, in on a two on one rush. Nearing the lower portion of the slot, Thayer sent the puck over to Keegan in front. Lightning senior goalie Landon Bernard made a nice right leg pad save on Keegan’s initial shot. The rebound was cleaned up by Thayer into the open side of the net before either Bernard or the Upper Montgomery defense could recover.

Five minutes later it was Keegan’s turn to light the lamp. Upper Montgomery’s defense was messing around with the puck in their own defensive end and ultimately turned it over. Forward Kendall Hanson sent the puck from the left corner around the net and over to Keegan in the right corner. Keegan fired a pass to Thayer in front at the bottom of the faceoff circles. Thayer’s shot was saved by Bernard with the puck bouncing out into the crease area and into a pile of Upper Montgomery skaters’ feet. Keegan fished the puck loose. He lifted a high shot over Bernard’s shoulder of his glove hand side into the top of the net. Urbana had a lead that they would never relinquish.

A minute after Keegan’s goal, the Hawks went to the powerplay when Lightning defender Brady Berkhammer was called for hooking. The Upper Montgomery penalty killers and Bernard stood tall keeping the Hawks from extending their lead. Just after the powerplay ended, Keegan and Thayer struck once again. Thayer dug the puck out of his left defensive corner. He sent an outlet pass up to Keegan, who then chipped the puck past the Upper Montgomery onrushing forward. Keegan carried the puck all the way down the left wing side of the ice into the Upper Montgomery defensive zone. Off the rush, Keegan fired a slap shot far side past Bernard’s glove hand.

After the opening flurry gave the Lightning the lead, Upper Montgomery generated very little offense the rest of the first period mustering only four shots on goal. Urbana had taken control of the game leading the Urbana coaching staff to change goalies and put backup netminder Chloe Hanson in net to begin the second period. It was quite the unexpected transition especially after little used Hawks defender Nathan Gu took an interference penalty as the first period neared its end. With the powerplay carrying over to the second period, Upper Montgomery was once again unsuccessful with the extra skater. After Gu’s penalty expired, Urbana defender Thomas Alexander took a roughing penalty. As with their first powerplay of the game, Upper Montgomery again failed to convert as they have all season long. A more evenly matched period saw Upper Montgomery generate some quality scoring chances that were turned aside by Hanson. The second period ended with Urbana still holding on to its 3-1 lead.

Four minutes into the third period, Urbana would extend their lead to 4-1. Another Upper Montgomery turnover in the defensive zone provided the impetus for the goal. A poor Lightning clearing attempt off the left wing boards was cut off by Urbana forward Alexander Cheves. Cheves turned and centered to fellow forward Max Dabruzzo standing in the slot. Dabruzzo quickly fired a wrist shot over Bernard’s blocker. Urbana’s three goal lead seemed safe with Upper Montgomery unable to convert their scoring chances. It got even tougher for the Lightning when Brandon Bernard was called for boarding with seven minutes remaining in the game. It was his second boarding penalty in the past three games and finished his evening early. With boarding minor penalties, a ten minute misconduct penalty is automatically also assessed.

The Lightning caught a break while on the penalty kill when the Hawks’ Alexander picked up a loose Upper Montgomery stick and shoveled it out of the way. The equipment violation penalty ended Urbana’s powerplay early. The clock kept ticking toward the final buzzer and Upper Montgomery kept battling. Senior center and Lightning co-captain Chris Hassett, the team’s leading scorer, was rewarded with two minutes remaining in the game.

Depth forward Adam Levine brought the puck through the neutral zone and into the Urbana defensive zone. From the high slot, he put a shot on net which Hanson saved with her leg pads. The puck was pushed into the corner where a Hawks defender carried the puck around the net and back into Levine who was chasing after the rebound. The pressure caused the Hawks defender to change direction where he ran into Hassett, losing control of the puck in the process. The puck scattered into the right corner where after a puck battle with a Hawks defender it was taken by Upper Montgomery’s third leading scorer, Shkeda. The puck popped loose from the scrum to Hassett. He curled around the right faceoff circle and fired short side high over Hanson’s glove hand.

Urbana’s Dabruzzo finished off the scoring with nine seconds remaining in the game easily scoring into the empty net with Bernard having been pulled for the additional skater. Thayer got to the puck along the right wing boards in his defensive zone. His outlet pass to Keegan exited the defensive zone. Keegan deftly moved the puck to Dabruzzo who crossed the center red line and fired into the unguarded net. Upper Montgomery now heads into a showdown game on Friday against Rockville/Magruder with Montgomery Hockey Conference playoff seeding on the line.

Game Notes:

• Shots on goal for the game were Urbana with 25 and Upper Montgomery with a very low 18. For the second consecutive game Upper Montgomery only fired four shots on goal during the first period.
• Upper Montgomery’s futility on the powerplay continued. Three more failed powerplay opportunities versus the Hawks has extended the Lightning’s season long drought which now stands at 37 straight unsuccessful powerplays. Upper Montgomery is 0-37 on the season on traditional powerplays, excluding Nathan Cassel’s penalty shot goal which technically counts as a powerplay marker.
• Ninth grade forward Aiden Zheng has assists in consecutive games. The points are his first career varsity points.
• Brandon Bernard scored for the second consecutive game.
• Upper Montgomery returns to action on Friday night, January 26th for a very important game against the Rockville/Magruder Rams. It is likely that the winner of the game will earn the all important sixth seed in the Montgomery Hockey Conference playoff rankings. Game time is 9:00 pm at Rockville Ice Arena.

Three Stars of the Game:

First Star—Cody Keegan—Urbana Forward—2 Goals, 2 Assists
Second Star—Max Dabruzzo—Urbana Forward—2 Goals
Third Star—Chloe Hansen—1 Goal Against, 13 Saves, .929 Save Percentage

The Upper Montgomery Lightning used their superior skill to defeat the Blair Blazers 5-0 on Monday evening at Wheaton Ice Rink. The game was a lackluster performance for the Lightning who celebrated their nine graduating seniors in the annual senior night send off prior to the game. The celebratory atmosphere and the coaching staff’s decision to play all of the seniors in attendance regular shifts contributed to some line combination changes that impacted the team’s chemistry. Or, it could just have been that the Lightning overlooked an opponent that the student athletes felt was inferior.

All in all, with the win Upper Montgomery advanced their recent record in league play to 4-1-1 over their past six league games. The win also catapulted the Lightning forward in the league standings. Upper Montgomery now sits ranked seventh in the Montgomery Hockey Conference playoff rankings system entering the final week of the regular season. Advancing to the sixth seed would be very helpful as the Lightning would avoid both top ranked Churchill and second ranked Walter Johnson in the quarterfinal round of the Montgomery Hockey Conference playoffs.

Lightning senior netminder Landon Bernard secured his second career shutout in the victory. Bernard was never seriously threatened by the Blazers attack even though Blair played extremely hard and as well as they possible could. Blair’s intensity and effort coupled with Upper Montgomery’s lackluster performance gave the game a bit of messy feel and if the game was a stuck in a quagmire. It also kept the shots on goal totals low as there was a lot of play between the blue lines in the neutral zone and possession of the puck was constantly being lost all around the ice. A slow moving first period ended tied at zero. Blair had received the only powerplay of the period when Lightning defender Brady Berkhammer was called for hooking with just under five minutes remaining in the first period.

A short conversation from the coaching staff during the intermission focused on the team’s lack of intensity during the first period and bemoaning only firing four shots on goal. The candid talk seemed to jump start Upper Montgomery. The team’s play was marginally better in the second period, but on this evening that was all that was needed. A minute into the second period, Blair forward Ari Garnder was called for roughing. The dismal Lightning powerplay failed to convert with several shots fired wide of Blair goalie Lily Bendavid.

Five and a half minutes into the period, the Lightning’s prominent first line and top scoring duo came through. Lightning senior center and co-captain Chris Hassett gained possession of the puck in the neutral zone. He fired a pass to his long-time linemate Nathan Cassel on the left wing. Cassel took the puck down the left wing and into the Lightning offensive zone. From the middle of the left faceoff circle he fired a wrist shot past Bendavid. Upper Montgomery’s first goal would ultimately become the game winner. The assist was another milestone for Hassett as he reached 100 career points scored as a member of the Lightning program.

The game stayed tight with Upper Montgomery holding only its 1-0 lead. The final three and a half minutes of the second period saw the Lightning secure firm control of the game. First, forward Philip Shkeda tallied an unassisted goal to put Upper Montgomery up by two. In the slot area Shkeda found a loose puck and sent a backhander low past Bendavid. Then, two minutes later Lightning forward Henry Honacki also scored an unassisted goal. He dug the puck out of a bunch of skaters’ feet, and fired off a quick shot past Bendavid as she was searching through the maze of skaters trying to find the puck. The second period ended with both team firing six shots on net leaving Upper Montgomery with a low two period total of only ten shots on goal.

Entering the third period with a three goal cushion, the Lightning began to play more free flowing and relaxed hockey. The lead also allowed the coaching staff to continue unrestrictedly to play all of the seniors dressed for game action. Three and a half minutes into the period, Honacki connected for his second goal of the game and all but secured the Lightning’s win. Lightning defender Brady Berkhammer fired a long range shot from the point. Bendavid made a pad save with the rebound shooting out to the vicinity of Honacki. Honacki wasted no time and knocked the puck past Bendavid before she could reset.

Shortly thereafter, Lightning senior forward Bradley Cupples took a cross checking penalty. The Lightning had no difficulty keeping the Blazers to the outside of the penalty kill square. The stout positioning allowed Bernard unimpeded sightlines to the Blazers shots and he easily made each routine save. Just after Cupples’ penalty expired, Upper Montgomery would score its fifth and final goal of the game. Ninth grade forward Aiden Zheng, playing well of late and earning the confidence of the coaching staff leading to more playing time, sent a pass across the ice in the offensive zone. Lightning senior forward Brandon Bernard received the pass and fired a shot short side past Bendavid. The final seven minutes of the game were played with very few whistles as both teams resorted to up and down hockey. The Lightning’s lead provided ample opportunity for the Upper Montgomery coaches to finish the senior night contest playing the seniors in a rotation over the final several minutes of the game.

Game Notes:

• Senior co-captain Chris Hassett continued his climb up the all time Maryland Scholastic Hockey League career scoring list notching his 100th career point. He now has recorded 47 goals and 53 assists for 100 career points.
• Shots on goal for the game were even with Blair firing 24 shots on goal and Upper Montgomery countering with 22. Upper Montgomery only fired four shots on goal during the first period as the team started very slowly offensively.
• Henry Honacki had his first career multi-goal game for the varsity.
• Aiden Zheng’s assist was his first career varsity point.
• Upper Montgomery’s pre-game senior celebration recognized the accomplishments of the program’s nine graduating seniors:
• Senior Co-Captains Center Chris Hassett and Forward/Defender Hunter Cameron.
• Twins, Goalie Landon Bernard and Forward Brandon Bernard.
• Forwards Olivia Robbins, Bradley Cupples, and Adam Levine.
• Defenders Jake Roth and Sean Levine.
• Upper Montgomery’s epic futility on the powerplay continued by failing to convert on the team’s only powerplay of the game. The Lightning’s season long drought on the powerplay has now reached 34 straight unsuccessful powerplays, 0-34 on the season in traditional powerplays, excluding Nathan Cassel’s penalty shot goal which technically counts as a powerplay marker.
• Upper Montgomery returns to action tomorrow, Tuesday, January 23rd when the team travels to Skate Frederick to battle highly talented non-conference opponent Urbana. Game time against the Hawks is an early 3:40 pm start.

Three Stars of the Game:

First Star—Henry Honacki—Upper Montgomery Forward—2 Goals
Second Star—Landon Bernard—Upper Montgomery Goalie—24 Save Shutout Win
Third Star—Andrew Botti—Upper Montgomery Defense

The Upper Montgomery Lightning were less than five minutes away from the biggest win in program history. Playing against the top ranked public high school team in the state, Upper Montgomery led the Oakdale Bears 1-0 late in the game. Then, an unfortunate set of circumstances opened the door. Oakdale capitalized by scoring two late powerplay goals to survive the Lightning’s upset bid and scape by with a narrow 3-1 win.

The first period was dominated by penalties. Oakdale appeared to be more focused on attempting huge checks rather than playing hockey. Maybe it was an attempt to intimidate the Lightning, but all the antics did was place Oakdale on the penalty kill for much of the period. Oakdale did have the opening powerplay when Lightning forward Brandon Bernard was called for boarding five minutes into the game. The penalty was a double whammy as Bernard was forced to sit for his minor penalty and also wait through the automatic ten minute misconduct that accompanies boarding minors. Upper Montgomery did a nice job of keeping the high powered Bears powerplay to the outside. The shots the Bears were able to generate were long range shots and well off the mark.

As Bernard’s boarding penalty was coming to an end, Oakdale defender Timothy Farley was called for holding. Then, sixteen seconds later, Oakdale forward Cameron Horan was called for hooking. Horan chirped at the officials and drew an additional two minute minor for unsportsmanlike conduct. The Lightning had the full two minutes of five on three powerplay action. Unfortunately, the abysmal Upper Montgomery powerplay was unable to cash in. And, a minute after the five on three advantage ended, Oakdale forward Charles Villa took an interference penalty. More powerplay time for Upper Montgomery yielded the same result. As the first period was coming to a close, Oakdale forward Mason Macera also took an interference penalty. The five powerplays granted to the Lightning in the opening period helped keep Oakdale hemmed in their own end as the Bears were more focused on keeping Upper Montgomery at bay rather than attacking offensively. Upper Montgomery outshot the Bears ten to two in the opening fifteen minutes of action.

The second period seemed tame compared with the first period. After killing off Macera’s penalty, Oakdale began controlling more of the play. Conversely, coming into the game Upper Montgomery’s game plan was to focus on defense and neutralizing Oakdale’s talented offensive superstars Horan and Kyle Metzler. The Lightning’s game plan was executed beautifully. Although Oakdale registered eight shots on Lightning senior netminder Landon Bernard during the period, the layers of Lightning defenders made it very tough on Oakdale. On one sequence in their defensive zone, Upper Montgomery blocked five consecutive shot attempts and then either cleared the defensive zone or the puck deflected out of play. The volume of blocked shots continued to soar as the period played out. Oakdale became so frustrated that three Bears skaters broke their sticks on the ice in frustration.

Then, Upper Montgomery jumped to an unexpected lead. An awful decision by the Bears defense set up the Lightning. From their left defensive corner, the Bears sent the puck across the ice through their own slot area. The pass went directly to Upper Montgomery forward Olivia Robbins as if she was the intended target. Robbins took the puck forward two strides and shot from the inside edge of the left circle. Her wrist shot was directed top shelf high blocker side. The puck sailed past Oakdale’s all world goaltender Devin Brown and landed into the top of the net just under the cross bar. With nine minutes remaining in the second period, Upper Montgomery had a lead that nobody anticipated.

Oakdale went to another powerplay opportunity with six minutes left in the middle period when depth defender Cole Howerton was called for interference on a nice defensive play. Howerton rode the Oakdale puck carrier wide and the Oakdale forward lost an edge and went down. Thankfully, the poor officiating decision did not affect the outcome of the game as the Lightning were able to once again kill off the top flight Bears powerplay. The second period came to a close with Upper Montgomery holding on to its 1-0 lead.

The first half of the third period brought more Oakdale pressure. Upper Montgomery kept up the defensive effort with multiple skaters challenging the puck carrier. Many of the Bears shot attempts continued to be blocked or they sailed wide of the net. Bernard was much busier. He made fifteen saves in the period, many early when Oakdale’s shots did penetrate the Upper Montgomery defense. Halfway through the third period the Lightning had a glorious chance to separate from the Bears and place the state’s top ranked team in peril.

With just under eight minutes remaining in the third period, Oakdale forward Micah Venezie was called for interference. Twenty seconds later, Horan was called for roughing, his third penalty of the game. Upper Montgomery had a minute and forty seconds of five on three powerplay time. Although the Lightning were able to put shots on Brown, he was up to the task as he turned aside the Upper Montgomery thrust to widen the lead.

Halfway through Horan’s penalty, an untimely and uncharacteristic poor line changed doomed Upper Montgomery. As his changing forward was coming off the ice at the end of the Lightning bench area, Lightning forward Philip Skheda stepped on the ice. He immediately played the puck early before the line change completed causing a too many skaters on the ice penalty against the Lightning. Upper Montgomery’s five on three powerplay became a four on three skater advantage and then the teams were at even strength when Venezie’s penalty expired. Once Horan returned to the ice, Oakdale had a minute’s worth of powerplay advantage of their own.

Off of a faceoff in the left faceoff circle in the defensive zone, Upper Montgomery forward Brandon Bernard got his stick entangled with a Bears forward. The result of the interaction was a hooking penalty called on Bernard leading to a 51 second five on three powerplay for Oakdale. While on the five on three powerplay, Oakdale would tie the game thirteen seconds before the Lightning’s too many skaters on the ice penalty expired.

With just less than five minutes to play in the game, the Upper Montgomery defense had possession of the puck behind their own net. A turnover led to Metzler gaining possession of the puck in the left corner and skating back toward the blue line. He passed the puck to Bears defender Farley along the left wing boards. Farley sent the puck across the ice to Horan who unleashed a sharp wrist shot from the inside edge of the right faceoff circle. The shot ramped up off of Lightning defender Andrew Botti’s stick and found daylight seven hole past Bernard on the stick side.

With the game now tied, Oakdale still had a minute and twenty seconds of traditional powerplay time remaining. Thirty five seconds later a second powerplay strike pushed Oakdale into the lead. Bears defender Gavin Timberlake entered the offensive zone down the left wing side. He then took the puck around the net. Timberlake centered the puck to Oakdale forward Eli Corridon-Crum in the slot. Corridon-Crum was immediately wiped out by a check. The puck skittered off into the right corner where Horan controlled the puck. Horan sent the puck back to Metzler covering at the right point. Metzler’s wrist shot was going several feet wide of the net when it accidently hit Horan’s stick while Horan was turned away from the net. The puck sharply deflected to the left. The awkward change of direction and pace sent the puck bouncing off of Corridon-Crum’s skate as it traveled toward the net ultimately moving past Bernard’s glove hand. Two late change of direction powerplay goals in under a minute of game action brought Oakdale to its first lead of the game.

Upper Montgomery was forced to change its strategy now down by a goal with four minutes left in the game. The Lightning upped the tempo offensively and were rewarded with yet another powerplay chance. With just under two minutes remaining in the game Metzler was whistled for a roughing penalty. With their faltering powerplay, Upper Montgomery began making high risk plays pushing everyone forward seeking to score the game tying goal. That maneuver backfired as a turnover entering the Oakdale defensive zone was swatted up ice by Corridon-Crum. The puck sailed over to Villa sending him in on a shorthanded breakaway. From in close, Villa lifted the puck over Bernard’s glove to put the finishing touch on a gallant Lightning effort

Game Notes:

• Shots on goal for the game were even with Oakdale firing 28 shots on goal and Upper Montgomery countering with 24. Upper Montgomery had a ten to two shots on goal advantage in the first period.
• Upper Montgomery’s epic futility on the powerplay was detrimental to the outcome of the game. Eight more failed powerplay opportunities with two separate very long five on three advantages hurt tremendously. The Lightning has now stared the season 0-33 on traditional powerplays, excluding Nathan Cassel’s penalty shot goal which technically counts as a powerplay marker.
• Upper Montgomery will try to keep building on their better play of late when the team plays Blair on Senior Night. The festivities honoring Upper Montgomery’s nine seniors begin at Wheaton Ice Rink at 5:15 pm on Monday, January 22nd with puck drop to follow at 5:30 pm.

Three Stars of the Game:

First Star—Landon Bernard—Upper Montgomery Goalie—25 Saves, .893 Save Percentage
Second Star—Devin Brown—Oakdale Goalie—Win, 23 saves, .958 Save Percentage
Third Star—Cameron Horan—Oakdale Forward—1 Goal, 1 Assist

It was a late night Friday in Reston, Virginia as the Upper Montgomery Lightning and the DC Stars battled to a 3-3 tie. The game was delayed at the start and then somehow the teams played through the full five minutes of overtime action. The DC Stars felt that they should have won the game in regulation and the Lightning were left wondering what they needed to do to finish off the comeback with six superb chances in the extra session yielding no result.

The game itself was an unusual second act of the season series between the two programs. The Lightning dominated the earlier game in October only to have Stars goalie Anton Tracy steal the victory, a 3-1 decision where the Stars cashed in late. In this game, Upper Montgomery only had eleven skaters available due to external travel team commitments, injuries, and illnesses. Compounding the short roster situation, was that Brady Berkhammer was the only Lightning regular defender present for the game. This made the Upper Montgomery coaches scramble to fill in the defense with a rotation of almost every forward skater. Depth forward Adam Levine and 9th grade forward Aiden Zheng saw significant action alternating every other shift with the second line. Rest was impossible to come by as Upper Montgomery ran only two sets of five skaters during the entire game.

The patchwork lineup worked extremely hard the entire game. The Lightning’s effort was outstanding. Defensively, the first period saw senior center and co-captain Chris Hassett play on defense paired with forward Nathan Cassel while Berkhammer was paid with senior forward Brandon Bernard. While the Upper Montgomery’s offense suffered with the top line forwards playing defense, the Lightning were able to limit the DC Stars to seven shots on senior netminder Landon Bernard. Tracy had a rather easy first period making saves on all seven Lightning shot attempts. The abysmal Upper Montgomery powerplay fizzled on two opportunities, the first five minutes into the game when Stars talented defender Leo Nyberg was called for interference, and then five minutes later when little used forward Adam Chilbert was called for roughing. After one period of play the game was tied as it would be for much of the evening.

The second period saw a shuffling of Upper Montgomery forwards shifting back to play defense along side Berkhammer. Olivia Robbins, Henry Honacki, and senior co-captain Hunter Cameron were deployed to stop the DC Stars while the first line was reunited on offense; Hassett centering Cassel and Philip Shkeda. Brandon Bernard shifted up to center the second line with Bradley Cupples and the Levine/Zheng forward rotation. The juggling of skaters paid dividends on the very first shift of the second period when Hassett scored to put the Lightning in front. With the Stars pressuring in the Upper Montgomery defensive zone, Berkhammer took the puck behind his net for cover before passing to Cassel in the left defensive corner. Cassel skated up the left wing boards before sending an outlet pass to Hassett who had snuck behind the Stars defensive in the neutral zone. Hassett received the long stretch pass at the offensive zone blue line. He skated in alone on Tracy in alignment with the right goal post before firing to the left low blocker side past Tracy.

The Upper Montgomery lead did not last long. On the following shift the Stars would even the score. The puck was batted out of mid air just inside the DC Stars defensive zone. Stars defender Jonathan Lust gathered the puck and nudged it over by approximately a foot to Stars forward Walter Bernstein skating up the left wing with speed. Bernstein got around Honacki and skated all they way down the left side on a two on one rush before firing a wrist shot from low in the left faceoff circle far side past Bernard’s glove. While Honacki may have misplayed the rush, it is hard to fault a skater who has never before played defense. Judging the speed of the oncoming attacker takes years to develop as a defender. Two minutes later, on his next shift, Honacki was called for hooking trying to stop another DC Stars attack. Upper Montgomery was able to thwart the Stars powerplay with Berkhammer and Cameron playing most of the penalty kill situation on defense. The remainder of the period was played at even strength with both goaltenders making a few nice saves over the final nine minutes of action to keep the score tied at one apiece after two periods of play.

The third period saw another shuffling of forwards back on defense. Bernard was shifted back once again to play with Bradley Cupples and Shkeda joined Berkammer on the blue line. Honacki took Shkeda’s spot on the top line while Cameron centered Robbins and the Levine/Zheng platoon. The final fifteen minutes of regulation was the beginning of a wild end to the contest. Two minutes into the third period, DC Stars forward Eli Rubin scored an unassisted goal to give the Stars their first lead of the game. Off of a faceoff in the Upper Montgomery defensive zone, from the right faceoff circle the puck was played to the side boards. Stars defender Benjamin Lust sent the puck deep into the corner. The Upper Montgomery defense jumped on the puck and attempted to clear the zone. The clearing attempt was intercepted by Rubin along the wall. He skated into the low slot before firing a wrist shot over Bernard’s shoulder top shelf.

In almost a replica of the second period, the lead lasted less than one shift, this time with Upper Montgomery quickly pulling even. The puck was cleared to the neutral zone by the DC Stars. The puck was poked by Cassel back towards his defensive zone where it was corralled by Hassett just inside the Lightning defensive zone. Hassett took the puck up the right wing. At the offensive blue line he cut toward the middle of the ice. Dancing away from the Stars defense he pivoted back to his right. With the puck again on his forehand, Hassett shot far side past Tracy’s stick and blocker to knot the game up at two.

A cascade of powerplays followed. Upper Montgomery had another opportunity when Stars forward Liam Saxon was called for roughing with ten minutes left in regulation. After the Lightning powerplay was unsuccessful, the Stars had an opportunity when Brandon Bernard was called for high sticking. A minute into the Stars powerplay, Rubin was called for tripping negating the extra skater advantage. Four on four hockey saw some up and down trading of chances, but no goals. Then, Upper Montgomery whittled away their remaining minute on the powerplay with Rubin still in the penalty box.

With neither team scoring during the special teams play, the game was still tied at two with five minutes to play. Upper Montgomery’s line of Cameron, Robbins, and Levine had a dominating shift. Tracy made two big saves on Cameron from the inside edge of the left faceoff circle. Cameron had been set up by passes from Levine originating from behind the net on both occasions. The Stars cleared the puck down ice to relieve the pressure and both teams made line changes. With the puck in the the right corner of the Lightning defensive zone, from his knees Cupples tried to shovel the puck up the right wing boards. The puck was kept in at the left point. Cupples’ second clearing attempt was knocked out of mid air by Saxon who then ran right into his own teammate, Nyberg. Nyberg gathered the puck after the collision and sent the puck back to the point to Stars forward Thomas Cooperman who was covering for Nyberg. Cooperman’s long range shot was blocked by Hassett with the puck squirting to the right wing boards and to Nyberg. Nyberg curled to the point deking around Cassel and unleashed a wrist shot from the top of the left faceoff circle that went low blocker side past Bernard to give the Stars a 3-2 lead with three minutes remaining in the third period.

With time dwindling down and the Lightning desperately trying to tie the score, a nice breakout passing play would set up Cameron. Deep in the right defensive corner once again, Cupples sent the puck up the boards. Along the right wing Levine controlled the breakout pass just inside the Upper Montgomery defensive zone. He fired the puck up ice and fed Cameron in stride coming with speed at the center faceoff dot. Streaking up the ice, Cameron entered the DC Stars defensive zone down the right wing. At the top of the faceoff circle, he made a jump cut inside towards the slot. Cameron deked around both Stars defenders and ripped a wrist shot top shelf over Tracy’s glove to tie the game with under two minutes to play. In the final minute plus, neither team could get the game winning goal as time would run out on regulation play.

On to three on three overtime with five minutes of running clock. No longer having to play with two defenders, Upper Montgomery was free to use its top end talent. Cameron played defense with Cassel and Hassett, while Berkhammer played defense with Shkeda and Brandon Bernard. Upper Montgomery dominated overtime play with sequence after sequence of unbelievable opportunities to win the game. Seconds into the overtime session, a DC Stars defender fell down to create a two on rush from the blue line in for Cassel and Hassett. Cassel sent the puck in front to Hassett who was looking for a hat-tick goal. Hassett went forehand to backhand with Tracy making an excellent save with his outstretched big right leg pad.

Cassel then stole the puck and went in alone. He circled the net and tried a wrap around shot from beneath the left faceoff circle. Tracy made a nice save with his arm to keep the puck out of the net. The DC Stars then had their only rush of the overtime session with Bernard able to make a save on a wrist shot from the top of the faceoff circles. Next, with the puck in the neutral zone, Cameron sent Hassett in with a pass to the left side. Hassett tracked down the puck and went into the left corner. He curled to the top of the offensive zone just inside the blue line. As he hit the top of the defensive zone he found Cassel with a pass at the left post. Cassel tried a one time redirection of the pass. Although the creative play beat Tracy, the puck was sent inches wide of the goal.

After retaking possession, Cassel and Hassett had another two on one rush. Cassel went down the left wing. He outwaited the sliding Stars defender and passed to Hassett all alone in front. Hassett tipped the puck past Tracy but it clanked off the right goal post and the puck stayed out of the net with Tracy able to recover and smother the puck. Off the ensuing offensive zone faceoff, Hassett came out of a puck battle in the corner with possession. He cut around the faceoff circle and down the slot. His quick wrist shot went just wide of the left goal post with a lot of open net to shoot at.

Finally, with time running out in overtime, the Lightning had one final terrific opportunity. A horrific clearing attempt by the Stars set up the Lightning. A Stars defender sent the puck through their own slot diagonally from the left side of the ice to the right. The pass was intercepted by Cassel in the right faceoff circle. Cassel sent the puck down low to Hassett directly in front of the net. Hassett deked forehand to backhand and beat Tracy with the backhander. The puck went off the inside of the left goal post and out the other side of the crease from where the puck was cleared from danger by the Stars. The final buzzer sounded on a chaotic and wild last ten minutes of action with the score remaining tied and exhausted skaters from both teams bemoaning lost chances.

Game Notes:

• Upper Montgomery outshot the DC Stars 45-28.
• The Lightning dominated overtime out chancing the Stars six to one.
• Adam Levine’s assist was his first varsity point of the season.
• Upper Montgomery’s futility on the powerplay continued. Four more failed powerplay opportunities. The Lightning has now stared the season 0-25 on traditional powerplays, excluding Nathan Cassel’s penalty shot goal which technically counts as a powerplay marker.
• Upper Montgomery will try to keep building on their better play of late when the team plays the top ranked public high school team in the state. The Lightning travel to Frederick on Monday evening, January 8th to face the Oakdale Bears. Game time is 8:20 pm at Skate Frederick.

Three Stars of the Game:

First Star—Anton Tracy—DC Stars Goalie—42 Saves, .973 Save Percentage
Second Star—Chris Hassett—Upper Montgomery Center—2 Goals
Third Star—Hunter Cameron—Upper Montgomery Forward—Late Third Period Game Tying Goal

The Upper Montgomery Lightning used a supreme defensive effort Friday night to defeat the Whitman Vikings 3-2 and avenge a season opening loss to the fourth ranked Vikings. Upper Montgomery goalie Landon Bernard returned to the starting lineup and played his best game of the season in leading the Lightning to victory. The Upper Montgomery defensive effort frustrated and confused the Vikings who are also a stout defensive team. The well earned victory should catapult the Lightning’s confidence now having won three of their last four games and securing wins over second ranked Walter Johnson and now fourth ranked Whitman.

The Lightning played the first period in a defensive shell. The team used a full five person trapping system to neutralize and frustrate the Whitman skaters. Shifts were kept short. Skaters reached the red line and dumped the puck deep into the Whitman defensive zone. The team then sat back and made the Vikings work the puck up ice into the Lightning’s trapping defense. The Vikings inability to solve the Upper Montgomery system led to turnovers entering the Lightning’s defensive zone or shots from wide range near the boards and from long distance. Bernard stopped all ten shot he faced in the opening period while Upper Montgomery was content to focus on defense. The Lightning fired only one shot on Whitman goaltender Ryan Graf. The ‘boring’ period played right into the Lightning’s game plan leaving the score tied at zero after one period of play.

In the second period, Whitman began to play uncharacteristic hockey by their standards. The Vikings began to take chances and press the play. This was counter to their desired defense first system where they counter attack their opponents pressure. Five minutes into the period, Upper Montgomery jumped to the lead. Off of a rewind in the neutral zone after a Whitman turnover, Lightning 9th grade defender Miles Wendland played the puck up along the left wing boards. The puck deflected off of Lightning forward Nathan Cassel’s skate to Lightning senior center and co-captain, Chris Hassett. Outside the blue line, Hassett sent the puck to the left back to Cassel. Cassel skated into the offensive zone and around the outer edge of the left faceoff circle. He then cut to the net. As Graf fronted what he anticipated to be a shot from Cassel, Cassel sent a backhand shovel pass over to Upper Montgomery forward Philip Shkeda. With Graf focused on Cassel’s drive toward the net, Shkeda had a wide open net to slam the puck home.

The Lightning were energized by the goal and their confidence in the newly installed defensive system seemed to grow. At the same time, now trailing, Whitman’s defenders began to take more chances. Three minutes later Upper Montgomery would build on its lead. Third line forward Josh Nadler was elevated to the top line to take a shift and give Cassel a breather after a couple of long hard working shifts. Collecting the puck in his defensive zone, Nadler advanced the puck up the right wing boards to Hassett exiting the zone. The pass eluded the pinching Vikings defender and sent Hassett away with Shkeda on a two on one rush. From the top of the right faceoff circle, Hassett sent a pass over to Shkeda on the left side of the offensive zone. Shkeda unleashed a wrist shot that went across Graf’s body high into the top corner of the net past his glove hand.

The Upper Montgomery defensive pressure continued. While the Vikings were able to begin getting some better looks on Bernard, the athletic goaltender was able to shut the door time after time. With just over two minutes left in the second period, Hassett increased the Upper Montgomery lead to 3-0 with a dazzling individual effort. With Whitman straying from fundamentally sound hockey, a Whitman defender tried to rush the puck from his defensive zone up ice. Once in the neutral zone, Hassett poke checked the puck free. With all Whitman skaters moving up ice, he cut to the left at the offensive blue line. Hassett was able to easily get around the last Whitman defender attempting to get back into the play. Coming down the slot in line with the left goal post, Hassett finished to the opposite side over Graf’s glove just inside the right post.

Whitman would recover on the very next shift and the Vikings got on the scoreboard for the first time in the game. The puck was dug free along the left wing boards in the neutral zone by Whitman defender Morrison Cohen. The puck came to Vikings forward Jacob Lerman, and he took the puck across the ice in the neutral zone. He entered the Upper Montgomery defensive zone along the right wing. From the top of the right faceoff circle he shot back across the grain. A low release slap shot seemed to catch Bernard off guard and off of his angle. Lerman’s shot from long range eluded the Lightning netminder far side high over his blocker. Upper Montgomery was not rattled by the goal and returned to its stalwart defense. The Lightning finished the period strong. At the end of two periods of play, Upper Montgomery held a 3-1 lead.

The third period was evenly contested. Although the Upper Montgomery skaters were tiring, the coaching staff did a nice job of inserting depth skaters into the game to provide rest for the top two forward lines and the team’s top three defenders. The game trudged along as it did during the first period. Lots of Upper Montgomery defending while Whitman was forcing play up the ice. Viking defenders joined in almost every offensive thrust searching for a way to generate qualify offensive chances. This gave Upper Montgomery some counter attack opportunities. Both goaltenders played well during the period to keep each team off the scoreboard.

With just under five minutes remaining in the game, Whitman defender Rowan Miller took a tripping penalty behind his own net. With a two goal lead late in the game, the Upper Montgomery powerplay zero for the season, and missing two of the five members of the powerplay unit, forward Ryan Jacobson (injured) and senior co-captain defender Hunter Cameron (missing the game out-of-town with his external travel team), the coaching staff decided to play it safe. The Lightning continued to play defensive first hockey to prevent any Whitman shorthanded opportunities from developing. Miller’s penalty expired and there were less than three minutes remaining in the game.

Upper Montgomery fought and clawed to get to pucks in the defensive corners and along the boards. The only objective of each skater was simply to get the puck over the defensive blue line and make Whitman again try and enter the offensive zone. Whitman had difficulty gaining the offensive zone and could not easily get Graf pulled for the extra skater. The plan was working extremely well until thirty seconds remained in the game. Upper Montgomery defender Brady Berkhammer had possession of the puck behind his own net. The puck was cleared up the left wing boards. With the Vikings extra skater now on the ice, the puck was cut off along the side boards. The puck volleyed to the middle of the ice where it was kept in the zone by Whitman high scoring forward Andrew Fou. Fou’s pass to the front of the net was pushed aside by Bernard. The puck went to Cohen in the left faceoff circle. Cohen passed across the ice to Whitman forward Samuel Van Leeuwen. Van Leeuwen had beaten the Upper Montgomery defense to the right goal post where he easily tapped in Cohen’s pass to make the score 3-2 with 23 seconds remaining.

One final save by Bernard at the buzzer slammed the door on Whitman. The exhausted but joyous Lightning skaters streamed off the bench to congratulate their netminder on a very fine performance. The win over Whitman could very well do a lot for the team. Bernard seemed to have found his game after stretches of inconsistent play. The Lightning have now won three of their past four games and are beginning to play much better team hockey. The full roster contributed to the win with the depth skaters showing that the could compete and do the job when called upon. Let’s hope that the growing momentum continues after the winter break as the Lightning continue to climb up the league standings and rankings.

Game Notes:

• Upper Montgomery was outshot by Whitman 32-19. Upper Montgomery registered only one shot on goal in the first period.
• Lightning forward Ryan Jacobson suffered a season ending lower body injury while playing with his external travel team. Jacobson will be dearly missed as Upper Montgomery attempts to qualify for the state playoffs for the first time in program history.
• Upper Montgomery’s futility on the powerplay continued. The team has now stared the season 0-21 on traditional powerplays, excluding Nathan Cassel’s penalty shot goal which technically counts as a powerplay marker.
• Upper Montgomery will try to build upon their better play of late when the team returns from winter break. The Lightning will travel to Reston, Virginia to play the DC Stars at SkateQuest. Game time is 9:40 pm on Friday, January 5th.

Three Stars of the Game:

First Star—Landon Bernard—Upper Montgomery Goalie—Win, 30 Saves, .938 Save Percentage
Second Star—Chris Hassett—Upper Montgomery Center—Game Winning Goal, 2 Assists
Third Star—Philip Shkeda—Upper Montgomery Forward—2 Goals

After a lackluster first period, the Upper Montgomery Lightning turned it on over the final two periods of play against Churchill 2. The team finally looked like what the coaching staff and program supports envisioned the team would be this season. The convincing 9-1 victory over the last place and winless Churchill 2 Bulldogs increased the Lightning’s record to 2-7 on the season. The first half of the Lightning’s schedule was loaded with both private school opponents and public school opponents ranked in the top twenty in the state. How far the team goes this year in the postseason will be determined over the second half of the schedule where the Lightning will be favored in most of their remaining games.

Upper Montgomery forward Philip Shkeda got the Lightning on the board three and a half minutes into the game. Lightning defender Owen Robbins broke up play in his defensive zone along the right wing boards. Robbins knocked the puck up ice to Lightning forward Nathan Cassel on the side wall. Cassel passed the puck over to Upper Montgomery senior co-captain Chris Hassett exiting the defensive zone. Hassett went around a pinching Bulldog defender and raced up the ice with Shkeda on a two on one rush. As he was entering the offensive zone, Hassett sent the puck to Shkeda in the high slot. Shkeda sent a wrist shot from the inside edge of the left faceoff circle high glove side where there was lots of open net. The puck eluded Bulldogs netminder Nicholas Nelson to open the scoring. With the assist, Hassett reached fifty career assists. The milestone assist automatically qualified the senior pivot for induction in the Maryland Student Hockey High School Hall of Fame.

Halfway through the first period, Hassett would score what would ultimately become the game winning goal. Hassett collected the puck in his defensive zone and flipped the puck into the neutral zone along the left wing boards. Shkeda skated into the puck and entered the offensive zone where he sent the puck to the high slot area. The pass was intercepted by the Churchill 2 defense. While attempting to leave the defensive zone, the puck squirted away from the Bulldogs defender. Hassett jumped on the puck and rifled a wrist shot high blocker side into the top corner of the net for an unassisted goal.

With just under four minutes remaining in the period, Churchill 2 would get on the board. From behind his own net, Churchill 2 defender Auryan Abyaneh ramped the puck to his left along the left wing side boards. Before the puck reached center ice, Churchill 2 forward Tye Glazer controlled the puck. He sent a pass across the ice to Churchill 2 forward Cash Levenberg who was along the right wing board in the neutral zone. Levenberg cut in between the two Lightning defenders outside the blue line. As he entered the offensive zone, Levenberg shot low along the ice from distance and beat Shterenberg five hole. It was a weak goal to have given up.

At the end of the period, the Lightning heard from a displeased and animated coaching staff. The intermission talk seemed to fire up the Lightning who appeared to be much more engaged in the game to begin the second period. About three and a half minutes into the period the top line scored for the third time in the game. A Churchill 2 defender was skating the puck to exit his defensive zone. A devastating hit by Hassett forced a turnover with the puck heading straight to Cassel. The other Churchill 2 defender fell allowing Cassel to go in alone on a breakaway. Cassel shot past Nelson’s glove side low for an easy goal.

On the same shift, the first line increased the lead further to 4-1. From deep in his defensive zone Robbins once again pushed the puck to Cassel, this time on the left wing boards. Cassel sent an outlet pass to Hassett in the neutral zone. Hassett then dumped the puck into the Churchill 2 defensive zone as he reached the center red line. Hassett stepped around the nearest Churchill 2 defender and outraced him to the puck in the right corner. He turned and passed out in front of the net to Shkeda who fired a forehand shot just inside the near post past Nelson’s glove.

Just over halfway through the period, the Upper Montgomery coaching staff lifted Shterenberg and replaced him with senior netminder Landon Bernard. It was a change made to give the struggling starting netminder some work in a game in which Upper Montgomery had now taken control. Just ten seconds after the goalie change, Upper Montgomery extended its lead to 5-1. From a faceoff at center ice, Lightning senior co-captain Hunter Cameron won the faceoff back to Lightning 9th grade defender Miles Wendland. From his left defensive position at the Upper Montgomery defensive blue line, Wendland dumped the puck down the left wing boards into the Churchill 2 defensive zone. Cameron, who was playing center in this game, retrieved the puck and skated around the Churchill 2 right defender. From in close he sent a backhander past Nelson’s glove hand low along the ice.

As the period wound down, Upper Montgomery continued the pressure. A make shift forward line of Brandon Bernard centering Olivia Robbins and Adam Levine had control of play for almost two minutes in the Churchill 2 defensive zone. The three seniors rarely play together. Simply to relieve the pressure, the Churchill 2 defense cleared the zone sending the puck to center ice. Lightning defender Brady Berkhammer hit the puck over to Bernard on the left wing as Robbins and Levine scrambled to exit the offensive zone. Bernard raced into the zone along the left wing. At the top of the left faceoff circle he pulled up and fired a wrist shot far side past Nelson’s glove hand just before the buzzer went off. It was the second consecutive game for the Lightning in which a goal was scored in the final second of a period, and the third time this season.

Three minutes into the third period Lightning center Bradley Cupples took an unnecessary roughing penalty along the boards on the other side of the ice from the play. Upper Montgomery was able to eliminate all threats on the Churchill 2 powerplay to keep the score at 6-1. With the Lightning in total control skaters began cherry picking up the ice and taking excessively long shifts. This was a major departure from the way in which Upper Montgomery wants to play and will surely be addressed by the coaching staff prior to next week’s game.

Halfway through the third period, Cameron would score his second goal of the game to reach a six goal spread and put the game into running clock the rest of the game. Olivia Robbins had the puck in the right faceoff circle in the Lightning defensive zone. She sent an outlet pass to Cameron in the neutral zone. Cameron stormed into the Churchill 2 defensive zone and down into the right corner where he pulled up. He flipped a pass back to Cupples along the right wing boards. Cupples returned the puck to Cameron on a give and go passing play. Cameron shot from the low right faceoff circle past Churchill 2 backup netminder Lucas Petrosyan who had entered the game at the beginning of the third period.

With under five minutes to play, Upper Montgomery would tally once more. Berkhammer carried the puck into the Churchill 2 defensive zone down the left wing. He went around the net and passed to Cassel who was covering at the left point. Cassel’s shot went short side and the puck just missed hitting the goal post. Cassel followed the play and chased down the puck in the corner. He sent a spinning backhand pass through the slot to Lightning senior defender Jake Roth at the right point. Roth passed to the left along the blue line to Berkhammer at the left point. Berkhammer’s shot was blocked into the corner. The puck was dug free by Brandon Bernard who shot wide behind the net. Shkeda retrieved the puck and passed over to Cassel in the low slot. Cassel’s backhand shot beat Petrosyan five hole.

A minute later Upper Montgomery’s ninth tally would be Cassel’s hat-trick goal. Shkeda checked a Churchill 2 defender off the puck in the left faceoff circle. Hassett picked up the loose puck in the slot and fed Cassel near the right post for a tap in goal to finish off the scoring.

Game Notes:

• Upper Montgomery badly outshot Churchill 2 by a 40-14 margin, including a combined 28-7 over the second and third periods.
• Top Lightning defender Andrew Botti made his season debut after returning from an upper body injury suffered just before the start of the season.
• Ilan Shterenberg started his fourth consecutive game in goal for the Lightning and picked up his second career varsity victory.
• Upper Montgomery did not have a powerplay in the game which was fortuitous as the team remained 0-20 on traditional powerplays for the season, excluding Nathan Cassel’s penalty shot goal which technically counts as a powerplay marker.
• Upper Montgomery will try to build upon the victory over Churchill 2 when the team returns to action next Friday, December 15th in a rematch of the season opener against the Whitman Vikings. Game time is 8:20 pm at Rockville Ice Arena.

Three Stars of the Game:

First Star—Chris Hassett—Upper Montgomery Center—1 Goal, 3 Assists
Second Star—Nathan Cassel—Upper Montgomery Forward—3 Goals, 2 Assists
Third Star—Hunter Cameron—Upper Montgomery Center—2 Goals

The Upper Montgomery Lightning were simply outclassed by the top ranked Churchill Bulldogs on Monday evening at Cabin John Ice Rink. The final score was 8-0. It was clear from the outset of the game that the Bulldogs had not forgotten last year’s Montgomery Hockey Conference playoff matchup between the programs. As heavy underdogs, the Lightning took the eight time Maryland Student Hockey League state champions to a shootout after playing to a one all tie through regulation and overtime. Upper Montgomery eventually succumbed by a single penalty shot goal in a five round shootout skills competition.

The first period of the game was actually pretty competitive even through Churchill had the greater percentage of possession time. Both teams fired six shots on goal during the opening period of play. Unfortunately for Upper Montgomery, a fifteen second span four minutes into the game spelled doom. With the puck in the Upper Montgomery defensive zone, the puck was swept behind the net and was collected by Churchill forward Alex Zhang. He skated toward the left point and passed the puck to his forward partner Asher Wang. Wang skated high in the offensive zone near the mid-point of the blue line. His wrist shot was several feet far wide of the net near side. The puck bounced off the boards and into the back of Lightning 9th grade goalie Ilan Shterenberg’s legs and then caromed back into the net. The unfortunate ricochet put Churchill in front on a play where if the shot was closer to the net it would have been saved by Shterenberg, or Shterenberg would have remained in his crease and the the puck would have caromed into the slot instead of off of the young netminder.

On the same shift fifteen seconds later, the score would grow to 2-0 Churchill. With an Upper Montgomery defender skating with the puck behind their own goal, the puck bounced off the skates of Churchill forward Aiden Pham in the right corner. Pham had entered the offensive zone heavy on the forecheck. Churchill center Daniel McNelis picked up the loose puck and cut hard to the net. While on his backhand he stuffed the puck through Shterenberg’s five hole. It was a second broken play goal in a very short amount of time. At the six minute mark of the first period Upper Montgomery went to the powerplay when Churchill goalie Mac Glazer was called for a delay of game penalty. The Upper Montgomery powerplay struggled to control possession of the puck and yet another skater advantage went to waste for the Lightning who have failed to score on the powerplay all season long.

A minute into the second period Lightning forward Henry Honacki was called for checking from behind. Upper Montgomery went to the penalty kill but would not have Honacki available for twelve minutes as the checking from behind penalty also comes with an automatic ten minute misconduct penalty. Upper Montgomery was fortunate to make it through the two minute disadvantage as Churchill continually fired pucks at Shterenberg.

Four minutes into the second period, the onslaught commenced. Wang scored again to make the game 3-0 and effectively ended the competitive portion of the contest. Churchill had possession of the puck in the Upper Montgomery defensive zone. The puck was poke checked to Wang and he skated around the outside of the right faceoff circle. He continued around the circle and cut towards the net while firing a wrist shot from a bad angle along the goal line short side high over Shterenberg’s left shoulder.

A minute and a half later, McNelis tallied his second goal of the game. Churchill defender Matthew Kim had control of the puck on the left wing of his defensive zone. He passed the puck up the left wing to Churchill forward Qin Lai in the neutral zone. Lai skated into the Lightning defensive zone where he was met by Lightning forward Bradley Cupples. Cupples knocked Lai off the puck and sent the puck to the left side of the defensive zone. McNelis reached the puck first and skated back through the slot to the right faceoff circle. McNelis fired the puck back across the grain far side past Shterenberg’s stick and into the net.

The score remained 4-0 for the next nine minutes even though Churchill continued to press and wound up badly outshooting Upper Montgomery seventeen to four in the second period. In the final twenty two seconds of the middle period, the Churchill lead would explode. First, Churchill high scoring forward Zachary Silver scored to make it 5-0. In the Upper Montgomery defensive zone, Wong passed the puck across the zone to the left faceoff circle. Silver’s one time slap shot from the left faceoff circle was saved by Shterenberg. Behind the net, the rebound was collected by Wang. The puck bounced in front past Lightning forward Brandon Bernard. Silver immediately fired once again from the bottom of the left faceoff circle and beat Shterenberg short side on his second chance.

In an effort to preserve the young goaltender, the Lightning coaching staff inserted senior netminder Landon Bernard into the game. Without time to properly warm up, Bernard was pierced on his first shot attempt. McNelis beat the buzzer and extended the Churchill lead to 6-0 as the horn sounded. Deep in his defensive zone, Churchill defender William Standish reversed the puck behind his net to his defensive partner Alexander Bazyluk in the left corner. Bazyluk sent the puck up ice to Lai in the neutral zone. Lai passed the puck down the left wing to McNelis who was streaking into the Lightning defensive zone. McNelis shot from the bottom of the left faceoff circle past Bernard short side low. For McNelis it was his hat-trick goal.

The third period was played with much less intensity than the opening two periods of the game. The McNelis goal with one second remaining in the second period pushed the game into running clock for the entirety of the third period. Five minutes into the third period Wang scored his hat-trick goal. Glazer stopped the puck behind his net and passed the puck into the left corner to Kim. Kim nudged the puck further up the left wing boards to Wong. Facing the boards, Wong made a nifty between the legs breakout pass to Silver firing out of the defensive zone. Silver went past a pinching Lightning defender at the point and skated all the way into the Lightning defensive zone. On a two on one break with Wang, Silver fed Wang in the slot. Wang’s shot went into the far side of the net past Bernard.

A minute later McNelis was called for unsportsmanlike conduct for complaining to the referees in a 7-0 game. Upper Montgomery again failed to score on the powerplay, but the extra skater advantage was not without excitement. While shorthanded, Wong was hooked from behind on a clear breakaway by Lightning forward Nathan Cassel. Wong was awarded a penalty shot. He came down the left side of the ice and weaved through the slot before heading back to the left hand side of the ice. His forehand wrister high to the stick side was shoved away by Bernard’s blocker.

As the game was winding down, with just over a minute remaining, Churchill would score their final goal of the night. At center ice, Upper Montgomery’s defense attempted to dump the puck into the Churchill defensive zone. The puck hit Zhang and careened forward sending him down the left wing alone on a breakaway. He cut to the center of the ice, faked a forehand, and wrapped the puck around Bernard’s left leg pad.

Game Notes:

• Upper Montgomery was outshot by Churchill 32-18, including 17-4 in the second period.
• Philip Shkeda’s four game goal scoring streak ended.
• The Lightning’s futility on the powerplay continued. Upper Montgomery is now 0-20 on traditional powerplays on the season, excluding Nathan Cassel’s penalty shot goal which technically counts as a powerplay marker.
• Upper Montgomery will try to get back on the winning track when the team meets the Churchill 2 Bulldogs on Friday, December 8th. Game time is 10:00 pm at Rockville Ice Arena.

Three Stars of the Game:

First Star—Daniel McNelis—Churchill Center—3 Goals
Second Star—Asher Wang—Churchill Forward—3 Goals, 1 Assist
Third Star—Joshua Wong—Churchill Forward—2 Assists

The Upper Montgomery Lightning upset the second ranked Walter Johnson Wildcats prevailing 8-7 in a wild game Tuesday afternoon at Rockville Ice Arena. The game had just about everything; fake goals, blown leads, lots of complaining about poor referring, and through all of the action, at the final buzzer Upper Montgomery was able to hold on and earn its first win of the season. The 1-6 Lightning have one more supremely difficult game on the schedule against top ranked Churchill before the strength of the opponents weakens over the second half of the season.

Upper Montgomery exploded right from the opening faceoff against Walter Johnson and inexperienced goalie Isaac Russ. The Lightning lit up Russ for three goals in the opening two and a half minutes of the game. Upper Montgomery center Ryan Jacobson started the scoring off of a two on one rush. From the left faceoff circle in the Lightning defensive zone, Jacobson won the faceoff behind his own net. Lightning defender Owen Robbins pushed the puck from the right corner to the right wing boards over to Lightning forward Brandon Bernard. Bernard avoided the pinching Wildcat defender at the blue line and sent the puck up ice to Upper Montgomery forward Henry Honacki in the neutral zone. With the Wildcat defender now out of position, Honacki and Jacobson skated up ice on a two on one rush. Honacki sent the puck across to Jacobson at the top of the slot. Jacobson chopped at the puck and sent a wobbling puck over the stick side shoulder of Russ to put the Lightning in front less than a minute and a half into the game.

On the next shift, before the game was two minutes old, Upper Montgomery cashed in once again. Rewinding at center ice, Upper Montgomery defender and senior co-captain Hunter Cameron sent the puck up ice from just inside his own blue line. He pass was intended for Upper Montgomery center and senior co-captain Chris Hassett. Hassett missed the pass but was able to chase down the puck in the right corner. He carried the puck around the net from right to left and found Lightning forward Bradley Cupples alone in the low slot. From the crease, Cupples stuffed the puck far side into the empty net as Russ overplayed to his right anticipating a shot coming from Hassett as he curled around the net. Cupples’ first goal of the season extended the Lightning lead to 2-0.

Twenty five seconds later on the same shift, Cupples scored once again to pad the Lightning lead. From behind his own net, Cameron sent an outlet pass up the right side of the ice to Hassett. Hassett made a nifty catch of the puck out of mid-air with his stick and immediately sent the puck wide to Cupples ahead of the left Wildcat defender. Cupples skated into the Walter Johnson defensive zone on the right wing. From inside the right faceoff circle he fired a wrist shot across to the top left corner of the net, beating Russ above his blocker and right shoulder. Inexplicably poor play by Walter Johnson had allowed Upper Montgomery to jump out to a 3-0 lead less than two and a half minutes into the game against the heavily favored Wildcats.

With eight and a half minutes remaining in the first period, Hassett would score as the lead swelled to 4-0. With the puck in the left corner of the Walter Johnson defensive zone, Hassett nudged the puck to Lightning forward Nathan Cassel. Cassel sent a pass toward the slot for fellow forward Philip Shkeda. The puck went through Shkeda back to Cameron at the center point of the blue line. Cameron’s slap shot was deflected by Hassett right as the puck was about to hit Russ’ glove hand. The puck caromed off of Russ’ helmet and bounded up in the air before landing on the ice behind the netminder, and then trickling just over the goal line.

A minute after Hassett’s goal had extended Upper Montgomery’s lead to 4-0, Walter Johnson got one back. Jacobson had the puck in the neutral zone where he was checked off the puck. Walter Johnson defender Patrick Murphy picked up the puck at center ice. He skated into the Upper Montgomery defensive zone and went past three Lightning skaters in defensive position. From the right side of the ice, Murphy fired a wrist shot far side just over Lightning 9th grade netminder Ilan Shterenberg’s right leg pad.

The rest of the first period was a series of Walter Johnson meltdowns. First, Walter Johnson forward Ruslan Titov was called for a checking from behind penalty. The call took the highly talented forward off the ice for two minutes and then the automatic ten minute misconduct penalty. Next, after Lightning defender Owen Robbins was called for holding, while with possession on the delayed penalty being called, Walter Johnson was deemed to have had too many skaters on the ice when the extra attacker joined the play prior to Russ reaching the bench area. This was not the case and inflamed the Walter Johnson coaching staff. The too many skaters on the ice penalty negated what would have been a Wildcat powerplay. Then, with a minute and a half left in the period, Wildcat forward Jaden Luskin was called for a phantom high sticking penalty. All three Wildcat penalties were called by the same referee who is well known to be a subpar official. The first period came to a close with Upper Montgomery ahead 4-1 while outshooting the Wildcats nine to seven.

Upper Montgomery began the second period on the tail end of what would become their second unsuccessful powerplay of the game. As the powerplay was ending, top Wildcat defender Jonathan Corwin was also called for high sticking. He argued the penalty and was assessed a ten minute misconduct penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct. So, the Wildcats had both a top scoring forward, Titov, and their best defender in the penalty box for extended game action. Unfortunately, the Lightning could not take advantage of the ensuing powerplay and the score remained 4-1. Just after the minor penalty to Jonathan Corwin expired, his brother Matthew was whistled for tripping. Powerplay number four for Upper Montgomery turned out to be a disaster and jump started the Wildcat comeback.

With Upper Montgomery on the powerplay five minutes into the second period, Wildcat forward Henry Horwell stole the puck at the right point. He skated up ice diagonally from his left to his right and then into the Lightning defensive zone. Facing back pressure, Horwell fired from the right faceoff circle. Shterenberg made the save. The rebound went directly back to Horwell in stride as he continued toward the net. His second shot beat Shterenberg short side along the ice for the unassisted shorthanded goal. Instead of increasing their lead while on the powerplay, Walter Johnson was now back in the game trailing only 4-2 with still more than half of regulation game time remaining.

As the game reached the halfway mark, Walter Johnson closed the margin even further. From a skirmish behind the Upper Montgomery net, the puck was stolen from Upper Montgomery defender Brady Berkhammer. Titov kicked the puck free to the side of the net where Wildcat forward Adam Pyott lifted the puck over the right shoulder of Sheterenberg. As the second period wound down, the Lightning had to kill off a rouging penalty to Robbins to maintain the slim lead. The second period ended with Upper Montgomery clinging to a one goal lead and setting the stage for a wild and chaotic final fifteen minutes of action.

The third period erupted in a way that no one could have anticipated. Eleven seconds into the period Upper Montgomery again reclaimed a two goal lead. Off the center ice faceoff to open the period, Hassett won the draw back to Cameron at his right defensive position. Cameron returned the puck to Hassett in the middle of the ice. Hassett immediately swung the puck wide to Cassel down the right wing. Cassel entered the offensive zone and returned the puck to Hassett as he was cutting down the slot. As Hassett converged on Russ, he passed the puck to his left to Shkeda alone at the left post. With Russ playing Hassett to shoot, Shkeda easily dunked the puck to the back of the net. Upper Montgomery five, Walter Johnson three.

On the same shift thirty seconds later, Hassett stole the puck behind his own net. He headed up ice along the left wing boards. Hassett sent a pass to Cassel at the Upper Montgomery defensive blue line. Cassel held the puck before he sent it back to Hassett in the neutral zone. Hassett split the Walter Johnson defenders as he cruised into the slot. From in front of the crease he fired a forehand shot high glove side past Russ. Upper Montgomery six, Walter Johnson three with fourteen minutes remaining.

As with their early first period lead, Upper Montgomery could not close down the game. Wildcat defender Lucas Chang raced to keep the puck in at the right point of the blue line. Three Upper Montgomery skaters attacked the point in an attempt to get the puck cleared to center ice. Instead, Chang dumped the puck down low to Sam Mayster. Mayster returned the puck to Chang on a give and go play as Chang cut to the right faceoff circle. Chang fired a wrist shot low short side past Shterenberg to make the score Upper Montgomery six, Walter Johnson four with twelve and a half minutes remaining.

Thirty seconds later, Pyott would add his second goal of the game. Walter Johnson had possession of the puck in the left corner. Once again a defensive breakdown occurred as three Upper Montgomery defenders went with the puck carrier. Shterenberg made a save with the puck rebounding into the corner to Pyott. As Upper Montgomery recovered its defensive positioning, Pyott centered the puck in front. The puck bounded off Titov to the slot where Horwell fired quickly at Shterenberg. The shot was blocked but fell at the side of the net directly at Pyott’s feet. Pyott tapped the puck past Shterenberg. The score was now Upper Montgomery six, Walter Johnson five with twelve minutes remaining. Four goals in four minutes and Upper Montgomery’s three goal lead was back down to the slimmest of margins.

With just under ten minutes remaining, Upper Montgomery went back on the powerplay after a roughing penalty called on Wildcat defender Jonathan Corwin. Continuing its season long string of powerplay ineptitude, Upper Montgomery failed to capitalize yet again on the extra skater advantage. However, ten seconds after the Wildcats returned to even strength, Upper Montgomery would score to provide a bit of breathing room.

Deep in his own zone, Berkhammer skated around the net from left to right. He found fellow defensive partner Robbins with a short pass. Robbins passed the puck to Jacobson up the right wing. At the red line, Jacobson backhanded the puck down the boards into the offensive zone. Robbins, who had trailed the play up the ice, raced in and was first to the puck. His centering pass to the slot hit off of a skate and went instead to the front of the net. Honacki sent a backhand shot from the left post across the crease and past Russ’ right skate into the net. Upper Montgomery seven, Walter Johnson five with seven and a half minutes remaining.

Fifteen seconds later Upper Montgomery would again grow the lead back to a three goal differential. Off the ensuing center ice faceoff, Walter Johnson dumped the puck into the Upper Montgomery defensive zone. An Upper Montgomery outlet pass was broken up by the Walter Johnson defense but Cassel was able to control the puck in the neutral zone. He passed to Hassett just inside the offensive blue line. Hassett took the puck down into the corner and around the net from right to left. Emerging over the goal line, Hassett found Shkeda alone in the crease with Russ way out of position. Once again, Russ had been focusing on Hassett carrying the puck. With Russ spinning unsuccessfully to get back into the play, Shkeda had his second easy tap in goal of the game.

A minute later Wildcat forward Gianluca Megna took a holding penalty putting the Lightning back on the power play, their sixth of the game. With six and a half minutes remaining in the game, Upper Montgomery had an opportunity to ice the game. With a three goal lead and the extra skater all Upper Montgomery needed to do was stay out of trouble for the next two minutes. And, this is where the drama began.

Yet another uneventful Upper Montgomery powerplay was going to waste. Walter Johnson was pressuring and had the better of puck possession. As Upper Montgomery was trying to keep the puck in at the point, the puck glanced off the glove of Wildcat defender Matthew Corwin. The puck was picked up by Wildcat forward Oliver Curtis. Curtis skated up ice down the left wing into the Lightning defensive zone. He fired a wrist shot from the left faceoff circle that clanged off the cross bar and up ice. With the referee way out of position, he could not tell which bar the puck ricocheted off of and awarded Walter Johnson a shorthanded goal, their second shorthanded goal of the game. The referee made a horrible call / bad mistake. There is no video replay review in high school hockey so the Upper Montgomery coaching staff had no recourse. And, off course video review after the game confirmed that the puck hit the cross bar and never went into the net.

With under five minutes to play, Walter Johnson was gifted a goal they did not earn and the momentum had clearly swung in the Wildcats direction. A minute later Titov scored to close the margin to 8-7 Upper Montgomery with three and a half minutes remaining in the game. A shot from the right point by Jonathan Corwin went wide far side of the net. The puck circled around back to the left point to Murphy. Murphy’s shot was deflected by Titov wide of the net. The puck was picked up by Matthew Corwin in the right faceoff circle. He centered to Titov who got off a quick shot that went far side past Sheterenberg’s stick side.

The final minutes of the game were tense. Cameron was called for a high sticking penalty with just under three minutes to play. Upper Montgomery had a big penalty kill upcoming. After controlling play in the Lightning defensive zone, Walter Johnson pulled Russ leading to a six on four skater advantage. Several blocked shots, several missed shots, and several timely saves by Shterenberg got the Lightning through the penalty kill. After Cameron returned from the penalty box, Upper Montgomery was able to keep the Wildcats off the board over the final minute of action to hang on and escape with a huge win.

Game Notes:

• The win was goaltender Ilan Shterenberg’s first career varsity victory.
• Upper Montgomery was outshot by Walter Johnson 37-30.
• Chris Hassett’s six points, two goals and four assists, were a career high for points and assists in a game.
• Philip Shkeda has now scored in four consecutive games.
• Henry Honacki scored for the third time in four games.
• Beating the 2nd ranked Wildcats equaled the program’s most impressive victory in program history. Upper Montgomery also beat 2nd ranked Quince Orchard last season.
• The Lightning’s futility on the powerplay continued. Upper Montgomery is now 0-18 on traditional powerplays on the season, excluding Nathan Cassel’s penalty shot goal which technically counts as a powerplay marker.
• Upper Montgomery will try to make it two major upsets in a row when the team returns to action after the Thanksgiving break. The top ranked Churchill Bulldogs await on Monday, December 4th. Game time is 6:30 pm at Cabin John Ice Rink.

Three Stars of the Game:

First Star—Chris Hassett—Upper Montgomery Center—2 Goals, 4 Assists
Second Star—Bradley Cupples—Upper Montgomery Forward—2 Goals
Third Star—Philip Shkeda—Upper Montgomery Forward—2 Goals