On Monday afternoon, the Upper Montgomery Lightning met the highly touted Bullis Bulldogs for the first time in the club’s history. The growth of the Lightning program, culminating with this season’s upperclass laden roster, has reached a level where the top private high school ice hockey programs are eager and willing to schedule Upper Montgomery as a non-conference opponent. Upper Montgomery has consistently risen up and played well against top tier competition. The Lightning beat Quince Orchard and tied both BCC and Churchill last year, beat Walter Johnson and Whitman this year, and took the top ranked public high school program in the state, Oakdale, to the final five minutes of the game with a lead.
Typically, the formula for Upper Montgomery’s success against these high powered opponents has been to focus on defense and drag the game into a quagmire. The top teams want to rush up ice and score goals, and the Lightning have been content to play a smothering defensive game, block shots, compete hard against the boards and in the corners, and make sure that they have numbers back on defense. There has been a lot of dump and chase hockey against top opponents where Lightning skaters reach the red line and then simply flip the puck deep into the opposition’s defensive zone. With all Upper Montgomery skaters focused on defense, it makes it challenging for the opponents to bring the puck all the way up ice (not turn the puck over) and create high leverage scoring chances.
The game against the Bulldogs was no different. Upper Montgomery stayed in a five skater shell for most of the game. While the Bulldogs were able to dominate the shots on goal, Upper Montgomery did an outstanding job at frustrating the Bullis skaters and disrupting their flow and tempo. Early in the game it became clear that Bullis had no answer for the Lightning’s defensive alignment. Rush after rush up ice yielded little in the way of grade A offensive chances for Bullis. The lack of early success led Bullis to continually try to press the action. The Bulldogs began to get restless and reckless with the puck. This impatience led to more and more Bullis turnovers. Upper Montgomery stuck with their game plan, just content to dump the puck out of their defensive end and make Bullis regroup and try to re-enter the offensive zone. When Bullis was able to break through the Lightning defense, Upper Montgomery senior netminder Landon Bernard was there to turn away shot after shot. The Bulldogs began to get even more frustrated as Bernard played one of his finest games for Upper Montgomery and thwarted many of Bullis’ better chances throughout the game.
Five minutes into the game, Lightning junior defender Cole Howerton was called for a roughing minor penalty. Bullis put tremendous pressure on the Lightning penalty killers, but Bernard stood tall and made several fabulous saves. Halfway through the opening period, a minute after the Bulldogs powerplay ended, Bullis was able to jump in front. After an Upper Montgomery shot missed the net, the puck was picked up along the left wing board by Bullis forward Liam Grapes. Grapes skated up ice along the left wing into the Lightning defensive zone. With the Upper Montgomery defense sagging back in to pack the crease area, Grapes sent the puck across the ice to Bullis forward Ben Kaplan in the right faceoff circle. Kaplan’s shot to the far side of the net beat Bernard high past his blocker.
Now trailing, Upper Montgomery stuck with its defensive game plan. The Lightning were hard on the puck and it resulted in a hooking penalty called against Bulldogs forward Brian Zheng trailing the play. Upper Montgomery’s powerplay, putrid to this point in the season, failed to muster any offensive thrust. The Lightning had difficulty just entering the offensive zone with puck possession. With under a minute remaining in the first period, Lightning defender senior co-captain Hunter Cameron was called for cross checking for taking out a Bulldog skater in front of the net. Upper Montgomery handled the Bullis powerplay pressure better on the second opportunity and prevented the Bulldogs from extending their lead. It was a first period controlled by Bullis, outshooting the Lightning by a wide thirteen to four margin, but Upper Montgomery was in the game and building confidence with the success of their team defensive play.
The opening half of the second period played out like the first period. Bullis pressed the tempo of the game, buoyed by beginning the second period on the powerplay as Cameron’s penalty bridged the first and second periods. Upper Montgomery repelled each Bullis rush up ice after rush up ice. The Lightning were content to bat pucks back into the neutral zone and dump pucks into the Bullis defensive zone. This approach allowed the Lightning to change skaters and remain fresh. The rested skaters sat back and waited for the next Bullis threat.
Midway through the period the Lightning were rewarded with their second powerplay of the game. Credit to the Upper Montgomery coaching staff for changing up the powerplay attack prior to last Friday’s game against Rockville/Magruder. The season long 0-for on the powerplay, reaching 43 consecutive failed powerplays to begin the season in the first period, was having an impact on the Lightning’s ability to produce offensively against the good teams. This powerplay also did not begin well for Upper Montgomery. After a poor Upper Montgomery passing sequence, Bullis had a shorthanded breakaway. As he did all game long, Bernard made a sparkling glove save to keep the score 1-0.
After the puck hit Bernard’s glove, it bounced into the right corner where it was banged all the way around the net to Lightning defender Brady Berkhammer at the defensive blue line. Berkhammer put the puck into open ice where Lightning senior center and co-captain Chris Hassett swooped in. Hassett brought the puck up ice out of the Upper Montgomery defensive zone. He then passed the puck diagonally up ice from the right side of his own blue line to forward Philip Shkeda stationed the left side of the Upper Montgomery offensive blue line. Shkeda left a drop pass to fellow forward Nathan Cassel at the left point. Cassel skated a few strides to the top of the left faceoff circle where he let loose with a snap shot. Cassel’s shot was blocked and the puck fell into the crease. Lightning defender Owen Robbins, playing forward in front of the net on the powerplay, tussled with both Bullis defenders. The puck squirted free to Hassett on the left side. Hassett immediately sent the puck across the ice to Shkeda standing at the right post. Shkeda wasted no time sweeping the puck into the open net to tie the game at one. At long last (16 games and 43 failed extra skater chances) Upper Montgomery scored on the powerplay!
Upper Montgomery had to kill a hooking penalty to Robbins a few minutes later. The third Bulldogs powerplay resembled the first two. A lot of pressure. Several good saves by Bernard. No Bullis goals. The second period concluded with the game tied at one. Upper Montgomery was in the game after thirty minutes of play although being badly outshot 28-11, and outchanced, but by no means being run out of the rink as many of Bullis’ spectators had anticipated. The teams were tied with fifteen minutes remaining with Bullis acting in disbelief that Upper Montgomery was able to continuously repel their attack and remain competitive in the game.
The first minute of the third period was a tough one for the Lightning. After a faceoff in the left faceoff circle in the Upper Montgomery defensive zone, the Lightning had control of the puck and pushed it to the side wall on the left wing. A weak clearing attempt was kept in the offensive zone by Grapes’ skates. Kaplan came over to help jumping into the board battle. As he was being checked to the ice by Hassett, Kaplan passed the puck to Bullis forward Ethan Liu in the slot. From the inside edge of the right faceoff circle, Liu’s wrist shot went high blocker side beating Bernard and putting the Bulldogs back in front 2-1.
The go ahead goal energized the Bulldogs who began to take the play to the Lightning. With ten minutes remaining the additional pressure earned Bullis their fourth powerplay of the game when Lighting senior forward Olivia Robbins was called for and interference penalty. Bernard made acrobatic saves to keep the game a one goal affair as the Bulldogs were able to constantly break down the Lightning penalty kill formation. As the period trudged on, Bullis kept up the offensive pressure and Upper Montgomery had very little offensive thrust. Bullis outshot Upper Montgomery sixteen to three in the third period. However, Bullis was unable to extend their lead thanks to Bernard and it wound up costing them late in the game.
With a minute and a half remaining in regulation play, an errant Bulldogs pass was taken by Olivia Robbins at the Upper Montgomery defensive blue line. She sent an indirect pass up ice off the left wing boards as she was headed off the ice on a line change. Her pass was on the money to Shkeda battling through a stick check from a Bulldog defender. Shkeda continued down the left wing into the left faceoff circle in the offensive zone where he fired a pass across the crease to the far right goalpost. Scampering down the slot Cassel raced in and extended his stick. Looking to make contact with the puck, he tapped the puck past Bulldogs goalie Lang. Now, somehow, the game was tied late in regulation
Unfortunately for the Lightning, they could not close the game as the very next shift proved costly. An Upper Montgomery dump into the Bullis defensive zone hit Bulldog forward Derek Tripp in the stomach. He was able to travel up ice on the left wing through the neutral zone taking the puck deep into the Lightning defensive zone. From the left corner he sent a pass to the slot to Bullis forward Jovi Greene. Greene did not field the pass cleanly and tripped as he stepped on the puck. The puck squirted to the side to Zheng. Zheng’s initial shot was saved by Bernard’s left leg pad. However, Bernard could not control the rebound. As he tried to push the puck out of harm’s way, Bernard sent the puck directly back to Zheng. Zheng calmly popped the puck over the prone Lightning goalie with 39 seconds remaining in the game to shatter Upper Montgomery’s chance at playing the mighty Bulldogs to a tie.
Upper Montgomery should gain confidence and momentum from the performance against Bullis. Heading into Friday night’s all important first round game of the Montgomery Hockey Conference playoff tournament against Blair, the Lightning are well positioned to make a run at qualifying for the Maryland Student Hockey League state playoffs for the first time in program history. If Upper Montgomery can replicate and execute its game plan in the playoffs the same way the team performed against Bullis and Oakdale, making the state playoffs is a real possibility for the Lightning.
Game Notes:
- Bullis badly outshot the Lightning 44 to 14. Each period was lopsided in favor of the Bulldogs. The third period was the most egregious with Bullis firing sixteen shots on goal and Upper Montgomery countering with just three.
- Upper Montgomery’s epic futility on the powerplay finally ended. After failing on their opening powerplay of the game, Upper Montgomery finally tallied with the extra skater. Philip Shkeda’s powerplay goal ended a team record 0-43 slump with the skater advantage to begin the season.
- Landon Bernard set a personal career high with 41 saves in the game.
- Upper Montgomery returns to action on Friday evening, February 3rd. The Lightning enter the Montgomery Hockey Conference playoff tournament ranked sixth in the conference standings and the team will play eleventh seeded Blair. Game time at Rockville Ice Arena is 8:20 pm. The game is a quick rematch of a regular season matchup with Upper Montgomery recently having shut out the Blazers 5-0 on senior night.
Three Stars of the Game:
First Star—Landon Bernard—Upper Montgomery Goalie—41 Saves, .932 Save Percentage
Second Star—Ben Kaplan—Bullis Forward—1 Goal, 1 Assist
Third Star—Philip Shkeda–Upper Montgomery Forward—PPG Goal, 1 Assist