Category: Game Previews

The Upper Montgomery Lightning are poised to earn their first ever home playoff game in the upcoming Montgomery Hockey Conference season ending playoff tournament. Coming off the team’s biggest victory in program history, a 5-3 win against second ranked Quince Orchard, the stakes are even higher on Friday night against Richard Montgomery. Upper Montgomery will have to contend with a hostile environment as a large crowd is expected to be on hand to celebrate and honor the eight Richard Montgomery senior student athletes on senior night.

Riding a five game winning streak and having won six of their past seven games, the Upper Montgomery Lightning will need to manage expectations and respond appropriately. An almost full roster is expected to be present for the game, something that has occurred very infrequently this season. The game is extremely important as Richard Montgomery is the team ranked just behind the Lightning in the conference rankings. An Upper Montgomery win will solidify a top six seed in the conference playoff tournament, bringing a more favorable path to a potential spot in the state playoff tournament, something not thought possible just three short years ago.

Upper Montgomery’s leading scorer Chris Hassett (10GP, 9G, 14A) will have his regular linemates available; Nathan Cassel (8GP, 9G, 12A) and Philip Shkeda (10GP, 5G, 5A). The second line will likely be centered by Ryan Jacobson (7GP, 8G, 3A). The wing pairs for that line are likely to fluctuate throughout the game based upon matchups and the flow of the game. Expect Olivia Robbins (7GP, 5G, 4A), Brandon Bernard (8GP, 6G, 2A) and Hunter Cameron to see plenty of ice time. Bradley Cupples is likely going to slot in as the third line center with Stephen Shkeda and Henry Honacki.

Defensively, the team will have most of its core defenders available for the game against Richard Montgomery. George Benedick (9GP, 4G, 9A), Andrew Botti (8GP, 3G, 4A), and Ethan Hockey (10GP, 3G, 6A) will need to pay particular attention to Richard Montgomery’s premier and highly talented star student athletes. Benedick is coming off of what likely was his best overall game as a member of the program against Quince Orchard. Richard Montgomery has had no difficulties scoring on teams this season and it is incumbent upon the Lightning defenders to play a hard physical style to slow down the Rockets’ offensive rushes.

In goal, Landon Bernard will be looking to continue his string of strong performances. He has been a rock the past couple of weeks helping the team secure victory after victory. Similar to last season’s run to the junior varsity championship, when hot, Bernard has the ability to be a difference maker. Richard Montgomery will likely start senior netminder Ian Hutchinson. Hutchinson has been very good this season with a 4-0-1 record, a 2.70 goals against average, and a .902 save percentage. However, those wins and statistics have come against division two caliber teams. Will he be able to hold up against the Upper Montgomery attack?

Like last week when Upper Montgomery faced a team with arguably the best single ice hockey student athlete in the county, this week the Lightning square off against one of the two best defenders in the county in senior (18U AA) Luke Guttman. Guttman has scored 21 goals in nine games this season while adding twelve assists. He is literally a one person wrecking ball with three or more points in every game but one this season. He has five hat-tricks on the season. Guttman currently ranks number one in goals in the Maryland State Hockey League and his 33 points is tied for third.

Running right alongside Guttman is senior center Daniel Martella. Another 18U AA student athlete, Martella has had a fine senior season with (10GP, 14G, 9A). Second line center Tom Stone has had a breakout season. His play has elevated in his sophomore year, becoming the Rockets’ third leading scorer (9GP, 11G, 9A). This trio has produced 46 of Richard Montgomery’s 62 goals on the season. The Lightning must stay out of the penalty box at all costs. The Richard Montgomery powerplay has been awesome, clicking at a 44% success rate.

Controlling these three very talented student athletes is critically important to a Lightning victory. On defense, the Rockets have a very experienced shut down defender in Paulina Utochkin. Utochkin holds down the fort while Guttman rushes up ice creating odd skater opportunities. When Upper Montgomery has played a strong team defensive game, smothering the opponent and blocking shots, the Lightning have been successful. When the team tries to get involved in up and down flashy shootout style games, Upper Montgomery has lost in all four of those games.

The Lightning continue to pile up victories. After last week’s huge victory another challenge awaits in the Rockets. A win on Friday night would lock up a top six seed in the upcoming conference playoffs. The atmosphere in Rockville should be great. A full team effort for all 45 minutes will be necessary to snag yet another important victory. Upper Montgomery needs to play with a hunger, adhere to the little details, and win battles all over the ice to secure the win. Bring it home again this week Lightning and run the winning streak to six straight games and seven of the last eight. Go Bolts!

The Upper Montgomery Lightning junior varsity begins defense of their 2021 – 2022 season junior varsity championship on the road versus the third ranked Whitman Vikings. With the change in junior varsity eligibility rules for this season, the Upper Montgomery program knew that many of the younger student athletes would take on a more prominent role this season. After finishing the regular season with a 4-4-2 record, and 2-2-2 in conference play, the best description of the team’s regular season play would be categorized as streaky and uneven. Some good sprinkled in with some poor play, which is not surprising for a young squad. Now, the playoffs provide the team with an opportunity to redefine their season as something more.

Upper Montgomery enters the playoff matchup on Monday shorthanded. Both junior defender Sean Levine and sophomore team captain Josh Nadler will miss the game. Both student athletes will serving supplemental discipline issued by the Maryland Student Hockey League for their actions in the final regular season game against Carroll County. Levine is absent for coming to the aid of teammate Henry Honacki who had been sucker punched by a Carroll County skater. While Levine’s actions were not pugilistic in nature, his penalty carried an automatic one game suspension. Nadler will miss the Whitman game for engaging in a fight at the end of the Carroll County game. Should Upper Montgomery prevail, both student athletes would be eligible to return for the semifinal round of the junior varsity playoffs.

Several Lightning student athletes will receive significant ice time to offset the losses of Levine and Nadler. Expect sophomore center Henry Honacki and senior center Stephen Shkeda to skate every other shift down the middle. Honacki leads the team in scoring with (10 GP, 12G, 5A) coming off a program record five goal and six point game versus Carroll County. Shkeda (8GP, 2G, 4A) has played the most games in Upper Montgomery team history (74 and counting) heading into the game against Whitman. Over the past four years, Shkeda has played in almost every situation. His work ethic and enthusiasm provide necessary energy to the team. His leadership and attitude will be heavily replied upon in this game.

Sophomore TJ Gottesman (7GP, 4G, 9A), junior Adam Levine (10GP, 3G, 4A), and sophomore defender Cole Howerton (10GP, 2G, 4A) will need to be factors in the game for Upper Montgomery to be successful. The play of these three student athletes has improved over the second half of the season. Now they will be counted on to raise their level of play even more. In goal Landon Bernard will need to play exceptionally well for Upper Montgomery to pull the upset. Bernard has been excellent in goal over the past six weeks and is capable of stealing this game on his own. The Lightning needs to play very well defensively in front of him so that he is not faced with constant odd skater rushes against.

Whitman finished the junior varsity regular season with a 5-1-1 record, with their loss coming to top ranked Walter Johnson and their tie coming against Wootton. Upper Montgomery lost to Wootton 9-2 earlier in the season. Whitman is a stingy defensive team having given up only twelve goals in their five games. Expect Ryan Graf to backstop the Vikings in net. Graf has three shutouts already this season and has given up only one goal in four games. Defensively the Vikings are led by sophomore Mark Buckley and twin ninth graders Cooper Schultz and Will Schultz. With evenly distributed scoring, the Vikings are led offensively by Trevor Fay, Ben Lammers, Ben Luo, and Shane Churilla. Whitman has received additional depth scoring as well throughout the season.

Upper Montgomery will need to compete for a full 36 minutes on Monday evening. Facing a team that is very skilled and plays a suffocating defensive style, it will be hard for the Lightning to match up. Missing Levine and Nadler from the lineup makes the task even more difficult. The junior varsity playoffs are a one and done tournament. Upper Montgomery will need to claw and fight the entire game to remain competitive and give the team a chance to win down the stretch. A super performance from Bernard might just be enough to carry the Lightning into the semifinals.

Riding a four game winning streak and having won five of their past six games, the Upper Montgomery Lightning soar into Friday evening’s heavyweight matchup up against the second ranked Quince Orchard Cougars. This is a matchup that the team has been very much looking forward to as a gauge of just how much the team has improved. It will also be a litmus test to see if the Lightning can notch their first win in program history against a team ranked in the top five of the conference standings. However, victory will not come easy. Quince Orchard has had arguably the best season of any team in the Montgomery Hockey Conference. Quince Orchard enters Friday’s game undefeated with eight victories including impressive wins over BCC, Churchill, and Whitman in their last three games.

Throughout all of high school hockey this upcoming weekend is one very big unknown. Due to the holiday weekend, many external travel teams play in tournaments throughout the United States. Every high school program will have multiple varsity student athletes missing game action. The depth of each program will be tested as many teams will be promoting junior varsity student athletes to take part this weekend’s game competitions. Even though Upper Montgomery will be missing four critically important regular varsity participants, the Lightning will be able to field a full roster for the game against Quince Orchard. Who will Quince Orchard be missing??? Quince Orchard’s full roster of skaters consists of only twelve student athletes, and the team has one goaltender.

The outcome of the game may depend primarily on who is on the ice on Friday night. Even without full rosters, an Upper Montgomery win will seal home ice advantage in the first round of the Montgomery Hockey Conference playoffs. Expect the top end talent for both teams to receive an overabundance of ice time, more so than in previous games this season. Conditioning will definitely be a factor towards that latter portion of the game. That should provide Upper Montgomery’s co-leading scorer Chris Hassett (9GP, 8G, 13A) plenty of opportunity to play with several different forward combinations. The return of both Ryan Jacobson and Olivia Robbins to the lineup will help immensely as both student athletes play a strong two way game. Philip Shkeda and Brandon Bernard will be counted on to produce as they will likely see increased roles in the game. The contest will also provide an opportunity for Upper Montgomery’s depth forwards to impress the coaching staff and push for more playing time when the team is at full strength later this season. Defensively, the team will have most of its core defenders available for the game against Quince Orchard.

In goal, Landon Bernard will be looking to continue his string of strong performances. He has been hot the past couple of weeks giving up only six goals over his last four games, all victories. If available, Quince Orchard will start Jeremy Eager in net. Eager has played very well in a lot of games this season, but has had two uncharacteristic starts where he has given up six goals in both of those two games. His season stats are excellent, a 2.73 goals against average and an .889 save percentage. Bernard’s goals against average has decreased by over three goals per game since late October and is now an impressive 3.40. His save percentage continues to increase and is now up to a robust .860.

Quince Orchard has arguably the best single ice hockey student athlete in the county in Josh Weitzman. Weitzman leads all skaters in the county in points per game with 3.88 (8GP, 19G, 12A). He is second in goals in the county, and also third in total points in all of Maryland high school hockey. His running mate, Dylan Eyester (8GP, 14G, 16A) is right behind, fourth in total points in the state. Daniel Abarjel is the Cougars third leading scorer (8GP, 10G, 6A). This trio has produced in every game this season and it will be quite the challenge for Upper Montgomery to slow them down. When Upper Montgomery has played strong team defensive games, the Lightning have been successful in earning standings points in those six games. When the team has played substandard defense, the team has lost all four of those games.

Defensively, Quince Orchard has three very good stay at home defenders in Dylan Smith, Sydney Soler, and Braden Newell. All three play on AA or AAA external travel teams and all three student athletes are experienced juniors or seniors. Although they don’t put up a significant amount of points, their role is to protect Eager and let Weitzman and Eyester stir the pot offensively. Upper Montgomery will need to work very hard to penetrate the high scoring areas to get prime looks at the net.

The Lightning are piling up victories and are on a roll. A win on Friday night would be huge for the program. A victory over the Cougars would cement the team’s position as one of the top six teams in the Montgomery Hockey Conference. Hosting a first round playoff game would give the team the last line change and favorable line matchups. A full effort for all 45 minutes from every student athlete taking part in Friday’s game will be necessary to snag an important victory. Bring it home again this week Lightning and run the winning streak to five straight games and six of the last seven. Go Bolts!

The Upper Montgomery Lightning head into Friday’s rematch against Wootton feeling good about where the program is with four games left in the regular season. However, the 8-2 thrashing of the Patriots just prior to winter break should not deceive the team. Wootton was missing their three best skaters and their starting goalie. The team that Upper Montgomery will play on Friday night will be vastly different than the team Wootton put on the ice in the initial meeting before winter break.

The Lightning’s victory did end one long streak. In the previous fourteen years that the Montgomery Hockey Conference has existed, Upper Montgomery (or playing under the previous team name, Damascus, et al.) the program had never before beaten the Wootton Patriots. That streak is now finally over! Historically, one of the best programs in the Maryland Scholastic Hockey League, the Patriots have fallen off over the past two seasons. Presently, the Patriots are one spot behind Upper Montgomery in the conference standings. While the Patriots long to return to the years of being a powerhouse along-side the Churchill Bulldogs, Upper Montgomery is looking to continue the program’s rise into being viewed as a top tier program in the county.

Once again, Upper Montgomery’s leading scorers Nathan Cassel (7GP, 8G, 11A) and Chris Hassett (8GP, 7G, 11A) will need to carry the offensive load as the team will be without both Ryan Jacobson and Olivia Robbins. Both will be out-of-town with the external travel team. Jacobson scored a hat-trick in the first game against Wootton and Robbins scored the opening goal of the game. The Lightning’s depth scoring this season has been excellent and shows just how much the team has matured since last season. Fourteen different skaters have scored a goal this season with ten of those skaters having found the net multiple times. Playing against a higher level of competition this season the team is averaging 5.55 goals per game.

The defense has also become more active offensively. Senior George Benedick continues to outpace his production from all prior years combined (7GP, 3G, 7A). Ethan Hockey, Andrew Botti, and Brady Berkhammer each have at least six points. Together, in nine games, the team’s defense has contributed (9G and 23A).

In goal, Landon Bernard will be looking to continue his string of strong performances. He has been very good in goal the past couple of weeks at both the varsity and junior varsity levels. He stopped 19 of 21 shots against Wootton in the first game and has been hot lately giving up only four goals over his past three games. Wootton is likely to start Jack Munini this time around as former Lightning goalie Will Mellen started the game against Upper Montgomery before winter break. Although Mellen played well in net, he still surrendered seven goals. Both Wootton goalies have not played particularly well this season with both netminders having a goals against average over 5.00 and save percentages in the mid-.800s. Let’s hope that lack of success continues for at least one more week. Comparatively, Bernard has a goals against average of 3.56 and a save percentage of .856. For Bernard, his stats and play have gotten better and better as the season has progressed.

Wootton has some very talented student athletes in their program. The Patriots are led by a quartet of top-end skaters. Junior (16U AA) forward Grady Sellman leads the team is goals and points with (7GP, 8G, 3A). Speedy Conor Harris (18U AA) has (7GP, 3G, 4A). Junior IIhom Abdulaev, probably the Patriots most talented forward (16U AA) has (4GP, 3G, 3A), and has missed the past month due to an injury suffered early in the season. Abdulaev is expected back against the Lightning. Sam Hosier is an offensive minded defender. Hosier, a (16U AA) talent, has four goals in eight games.

Wootton is a very physical team that has taken far, far too many penalties this season. Upper Montgomery will need to refrain from retaliating against the Patriots and also must convert when the powerplay opportunities present. The Patriots are a young team and are weak defensively. Like in the first game, Upper Montgomery should be able to take advantage of the Patriots back line. Keeping Wootton off the scoreboard once again will be the key to victory.

The Lightning are starting to pile up victories and are on a bit of a roll. This second game against Wootton will go a long way toward determining if the Lightning will finish as one of the top eight seeds in the conference, which would then mean hosting a first round playoff game and having the last line change. The Lightning need to have the attitude of taking it right to the Patriots from the opening faceoff. The team needs to play with the lead and remove any doubt about who is the better team. A full effort for all 45 minutes will be necessary to snag the important victory. The Lightning need to get the win any way possible; high scoring, low scoring, it really does not matter. The only thing that is relevant is to win. Remain hungry, play with a swagger, and make other teams prove that they can beat you. Bring it home again this week Lightning and run the winning streak to four straight games and five of the last six!

The Upper Montgomery Lightning junior varsity returns to action on Tuesday evening, December 27th for their final regular season contest. The non-conference game against the Carroll County Bears begins at 8:20 pm at Skate Frederick. For Upper Montgomery, a victory will conclude the regular season with a .500 record at 4-4-2. The Lightning have completed conference play. The team awaits the outcome of several season concluding conference games in early January to determine what seed they have earned for the season ending junior varsity playoff tournament. The Lightning finished conference play with a .500 record at 2-2-2.

Upper Montgomery enters Tuesday’s game having played better over the past few games, earning standings points in their past three contests. The team fought hard this past Thursday to earn their second straight tie against Rockville/Magruder. Overall, as a team, the Lightning did not play well. But the team fought back to earn the tie with a pulled goalie extra attacker goal with 45 seconds remaining in the game. It was a very nice play initiated by Adam Levine behind the net. Levine won the puck battle, centered the puck to AJ Marks, and the play was finally finished off by Henry Honacki with a nice high backhanded shot.

Over the past three games the Lightning’s offense has awakened, scoring 19 total goals. The team has been led by its top five forwards; TJ Gottesman continues to lead the team with twelve points (6GP, 4G, 8A) despite missing the past two games. He is expected back Tuesday night against the Bears. Henry Honacki continues to lead the junior varsity in goals with seven (9GP, 7G, 4A). He is second on the team in points. Adam Levine has produced over the past three games with five points and is now third on the team in scoring (9GP, 3G, 4A). Steven Shkeda’s attacking style has stretched the ice and provided many opportunities for Gottesman. His scoring pace is (8GP, 2G, 4A). After a slow start, Josh Nadler has scored in three straight games as he has begun to find his skating legs after a long absence from game action. It is no coincidence that the performance of these experienced student athletes has contributed to the team’s overall better offensive performances.

In goal, Landon Bernard will look to continue his excellent play. He has been really, really good over the past three weeks for the varsity giving up only four goals over the past three games. With Bernard in net, the Lightning will have a distinct advantage in junior varsity play over whoever the Bears decide to start in net.

Carroll County has played just three junior varsity games thus far this season. In two of the three games, the Bears have been shutout. The Bears did beat Glenelg 7-2 to open the season. (Glenelg was an opponent the Lightning beat 4-2). Samantha Miller and Levi Lustig scored twice, and Anthony Coronel had a goal and an assist in that game.

After playing better the past several games, Upper Montgomery cannot play down to the level of the Bears. The team needs to continue to build momentum by playing well. Upper Montgomery needs to show maturity and demonstrate that it knows how to handle teams that are equal to it or of a lower talent level. The winter break non-conference tilt will be a good opportunity to judge where the team is heading into the playoffs.

The Upper Montgomery Lightning junior varsity returns to action this upcoming Thursday afternoon, December 22nd versus Rockville/Magruder. Game time is 4:50 pm at Rockville Ice Arena. For Upper Montgomery, it will be the final conference game of the season and the last opportunity to earn important conference standing points. A Lightning win would guarantee a top six seed for the team and Upper Montgomery would then avoid having to play an opening round junior varsity playoff game.

Upper Montgomery enters the game having played better over the past few games. The team fought hard this past weekend to earn a tie against Northwest/Quince Orchard. In the Montgomery Hockey Conference, there is no overtime in junior varsity regular season games. Down a goal on three separate occasions in the second and third periods, the team clawed back each time to tie the game. The Lightning have played much better over the past four games and cannot be overconfident heading into the game versus Rockville/Magruder. A Lightning win would give the team a winning record in regular season conference games at 3-2-1.

Rockville/Magruder enters the game in second to last place in the conference standings. The Rams have earned just a tie in three games played. Rockville/Magruder has scored seven goals and has given up fifteen over their three games. The Rams will play their fourth game of the season on Wednesday afternoon and will turn around and play the Lightning the next day. Rams’ defender Wyatt Bakalis leads the team in goals and points with his three goals. No other skater on the Rams’ roster has scored more than one goal.

As has been said many times this season, quite simply, Upper Montgomery needed to score more and generate more offensive chances. Against Churchill and Northwest/Quince Orchard the team has done just that. With the additional goals have come better game results, a win and a tie. TJ Gottesman continues to lead the team with twelve points (6GP, 4G, 8A) despite missing the Northwest/Quince Orchard game. Henry Honacki continues to lead the junior varsity in goals with six (8GP, 6G, 3A). Over the past two games, Josh Nadler, Adam Levine, Cole Howerton, and Sean Levine have picked up the scoring pace. It is no coincidence that the performance of these experienced student athletes has contributed to the team’s overall better performances.

In goal, Landon Bernard will look to continue his excellent play. He has been really, really good over the past three weeks at the varsity and junior varsity levels. With Bernard in net, the Lightning will have a distinct advantage over whoever the Rams decide to start in net. After playing well the past several games, Upper Montgomery cannot play down to the level of the Rams. The team needs to continue to build momentum by playing well. Upper Montgomery needs to demonstrate it knows how to handle teams that are a lower quality and beneath them in the standings. It is this growth and maturity that will be better known after Thursday afternoon’s contest.

The Upper Montgomery Lightning bolt into Tuesday afternoon’s game against Wootton with two data points fresh in their mind. One, the team has now won three of their past four games. In each game that the team has been victorious, Upper Montgomery has given up either one or zero goals. To a person, the team would acknowledge that this past Friday’s 6-1 victory over the Sherwood Warriors was not their best effort. The Lightning finally found their legs in the second period in route to four consecutive goals and then opened up a comfortable lead. Second, in the previous fourteen years that the Montgomery Hockey Conference has existed, Upper Montgomery (or playing under the previous team name, Damascus, et al.) the program has never beaten the Wootton Patriots.

This is the year! The Lightning play Wootton in a home and home series split with Tuesday’s game played before the winter holiday break and concluding with the opening game after winter break on Friday, January 6. Historically, one of the best programs in the Maryland Scholastic Hockey League, the Patriots have fallen off over the past two seasons. Presently, the Patriots are one spot behind Upper Montgomery in the conference standings. While the Patriots long to return to the years of being a powerhouse along-side the Churchill Bulldogs, the Lightning are looking for a signature win to announce their arrival in the upper tier of the MHC.

Once again, Upper Montgomery’s leading scorers Nathan Cassel (6GP, 6G, 8A) and Chris Hassett (7GP, 6G, 7A) will need to carry the offensive load. The depth scoring this season has been excellent and shows just how much the team has matured over last season. Fourteen different skaters have scored a goal this season with ten of those skaters having found the net multiple times. Playing against a higher level of competition this season the team is averaging 5.25 goals a game.

The defense has also been more active offensively. Senior George Benedick continues to outpace his production from all prior years combined. He has picked up his scoring pace over his previous three seasons (6GP, 3G, 7A). Ethan Hockey, Andrew Botti, and Brady Berkhammer have at least five points each. Together, in eight games, the team’s defender have contributed (9G and 20A).

In goal, Landon Bernard will be looking to continue his strong performances. He has been very good in goal the past couple of weeks at both the varsity and junior varsity levels. He stopped 14 of 15 shots against Blair, just losing a shutout with less than a minute remaining in the game. Against Sherwood on Friday night, he stopped 21 of 22 shots. Bernard made an impressive and key save against Jeremy Isaacs, the Warriors high scoring forward, on a breakaway. Wootton is likely to start Jack Munini in one game and former Lightning goalie Will Mellen in the other game. Upper Montgomery will surely be on point in the game that Mellen starts. Both Wootton goalies have not played very well this season with a goals against over 5.00 and save percentages in the mid-.800s. Let’s hope that lack of success continues for two more weeks. Comparatively, Bernard has a goals against average of 3.75 and a save percentage of .851. For Bernard, his stats and play have gotten better as the season has progressed.

Wootton has some very talented student athletes in their program. The Patriots are led by a quartet of top-end skaters. Junior (16U AA) forward Grady Sellman leads the team is goals and points with (7GP, 8G, 3A). Speedy Conor Harris (18U AA) has (7GP, 3G, 4A). Junior IIhom Abdulaev, probably the Patriots most talented forward, has missed some games due to an injury suffered early in the season. Abdulaev (16U AA), (4GP, 3G, 3A) is a game time decision for Tuesday, but is likely back for the rematch in early January. Sam Hosier is an offensive minded defender. Hosier, a (16U AA) talent, has four goals in seven games. Wootton is a very physical team that has taken far, far too many penalties this season. Upper Montgomery will need to refrain from retaliating against the Patriots and must convert when the powerplay opportunities present. The Patriots are a young team and are weak defensively. Upper Montgomery should be able to take advantage of the Patriots back line. As with last week’s game, the Lightning will have to carefully determine when to press forward offensively. Keeping Wootton off the scoreboard will be the key to the outcome of the game.

The Lightning are starting to pile up the victories and get on a bit of a roll. This game against Wootton will go a long way in determining if the Lightning will finish as one of the top eight seeds in the conference and would then host a first round playoff game. If Upper Montgomery continues to play a strong, unselfish team game like the team has done the last couple of weeks against Blair and Sherwood, history could be made on Tuesday. The Lightning need to have the attitude of taking it right to the Patriots from the opening faceoff. The team needs to play with the lead and remove any doubt about who is the better team. A full effort for 45 minutes to snag the important victory. The Lightning need to get the win any way possible; high scoring, low scoring, it really does not matter. The only thing that is relevant is to win. Remain hungry, play with a swagger, and make other teams prove that they can beat you. Bring it home again this week Lightning!

The Upper Montgomery Lightning junior varsity returns to action on Saturday, December 17th facing off against Northwest/Quince Orchard. Game time is 11:30 am at Laurel Ice Gardens.

Upper Montgomery enters the game having played better over the past few games. The team cannot be overconfident thinking the drubbing of Churchill means they are a really good team. Churchill’s junior varsity team is terrible and using that game as a measuring stick is not appropriate. Upper Montgomery needs to continue to play better and gain important conference standings points to finish the regular season with the best possible seeding heading into the junior varsity season ending conference playoff tournament. Playing well with momentum and confidence heading into the playoffs will provide the foundation for a deep playoff run.

As has been said many times this season, quite simply, Upper Montgomery needed to score more and generate more offensive chances. Against Churchill this was not a problem. The coaching staff told several of the skaters not to shoot the puck after the score got out of hand at the end of the first period. Upper Montgomery was never threatened during the game, stepping off the gas early in the 12-2 beat down of the Bulldogs. All but two student athletes in the lineup scored at least a point in the game. The score could have been much worse if not for the sportsmanship of Upper Montgomery.

TJ Gottesman leads the team with twelve points (6GP, 4G, 8A). He is averaging two points a game. His three goal, two assist, five point effort against Churchill set a program record for points in a junior varsity game. Henry Honacki leads the junior varsity in goals with five (7GP, 5G, 3A). Stephen Shkeda is the only other skater averaging at least a point a game (6GP, 2G, 4A). Against Churchill, Cole Howerton, Adam Levine, and Josh Nadler had multiple point games. It is hoped that their performances will carry forward into the upcoming games against Northwest/Quince Orchard and Rockville.

In goal, Landon Bernard will return to the net after a game off. He will be looking to build off of his best performance of the season. Last week he played superb in the junior varsity’s loss to top ranked Walter Johnson, stopping 37 of 39 shots and almost single handedly stealing a win for the Lightning. He stopped five breakaways throughout the game. The only two goals he gave up were also on breakaway chances. Bernard has been solid in net this season and provides the Lightning with a decided advantage in goal.

Northwest/Quince Orchard will counter with either Ryan Stillwell or Joseph Dean in net. Northwest/Quince Orchard has played only two junior varsity games so far this season, while Upper Montgomery has played seven. The Jaguars losses were to the two top ranked junior varsity teams, Walter Johnson and Richard Montgomery. Stillwell has a 4.91 GAA and a .786 save percentage. Contract those statistics with Bernard’s performance, 2.80 GAA and a .889 save percentage.

Offensively, the Jaguars have scored only one goal in their two games. However, their roster is comprised of student athletes that also play for the varsity teams. Therefore, Northwest/Quince Orchard has the ability to compete and win if the Lightning take them lightly. After dominating the Bulldogs, Upper Montgomery needs to build off that victory and play well again this week. The team needs wins of any kind, any way. Saturday’s contest will tell us a lot about the growth of the team over the past month and how the season is likely to turn out.

Fresh off their most impressive victory of the season, the Upper Montgomery Lightning return to game action on Friday evening December 16th versus the Sherwood Warriors. Game time is 8:15 pm at Cabin John Ice Rink. The Lightning will be looking to make it three wins over their last four games if they can beat the Warriors. Upper Montgomery is firmly in the Montgomery Hockey Conference season ending playoff tournament. The team’s performance over the next six games will determine if Upper Montgomery will host a first round playoff matchup. If Upper Montgomery plays a strong team game against Sherwood, the Lightning have the talent to come out on top.

Once again, Upper Montgomery’s leading scorers Nathan Cassel (5GP, 6G, 6A) and Chris Hassett (6GP, 4G, 6A) will need to carry the offensive load. Friday’s game will see the return to game action of Lightning center Ryan Jacobson (4GP, 4G, 2A). His return to action is welcomed and will help neutralize the Warrior’s highly skilled forward group. Junior forward Olivia Robbins, fresh off of her two goal game against Blair, will miss the Sherwood game as she is out-of-town with her external travel team. Depth scoring which had been a weakness of the team in previous seasons is more prevalent this year. Brandon Bernard has scored in all four games he has participated in this season (4GP, 4G, 2A). Philip Shkeda has complemented Cassel and Hassett nicely (7GP, 3G, 5A). Olivia Robbins (5GP, 3G, 4A) has increased her offensive production from last season.

The defense has also been more active offensively. Senior George Benedick has picked up his scoring pace over his previous three seasons (5GP, 3G, 5A). His eight points are a career high and are more points than he accumulated in his previous three seasons combined. Ethan Hockey, Brady Berkhammer, and Andrew Botti have tallied, five, five, and four points each. The third line was good this past Friday evening. Goals from Stephen Shkeda and Henry Honakci who notched his first career varsity goal against the Blazers helped. The depth scoring has taken the pressure off of the top line and has made the team more difficult to match up against. Playing mostly against the second division teams, Sherwood is averaging giving up 6.5 goals per game. The Lightning should be able to light the lamp on Friday night.

In goal, Landon Bernard will be looking to continue his strong performances. He has been very good in goal the past couple of weeks at both the varsity and junior varsity levels. He stopped 14 of 15 shots against Blair just losing a shutout with less than a minute remaining in the game. In the junior varsity games, he is keeping the team in games against superior opponents. Bernard needs to remain solid in net for Upper Montgomery to be victorious. Sherwood will start Samuel Hutt in net. Hutt has been left out to dry by a porous Warrior defense and has a 7.68 GAA and a .704 save percentage.

Sherwood has six very talented skaters. Jeremy Isaacs (18U AA) leads the team with (5GP, 10G, 7A). Grayson Winckler (16U AA) has (6GP, 9G, 6A). Noi Jonasson (16U AAA) has (5GP, 7G, 7A) and scored a ‘michigan goal’ last season against Upper Montgomery. Aidan Cook (16U AA) has (6GP, 7G, 3A). Oz Sacks (14U AA) has chipped in with (6GP, 4G, 3A). On defense the Warriors are led by Samuel Greenberg (18U AA), (7GP, 5G, 1A). Sherwood tries to win games by outscoring their opponents. The Warriors are weak defensively and Upper Montgomery should be able to take advantage of the Warriors back line. As with last week’s game, the Lightning will have to carefully determine when to press forward offensively while these skilled student athletes are on the ice. Keeping the Warriors out of transition attack mode will limit Sherwood’s ability to score goals.

Last week’s victory was a nice start. The Lightning need to pile up victories over the next few weeks against teams with similar talent. The Sherwood game could go either way and is entirely dependent upon if Upper Montgomery plays a strong, unselfish team game like the team did last week against Blair. The team needs to have the attitude of taking it right to the Warriors from the opening faceoff and playing good defensive hockey over the full 45 minutes to snag an important third win of the season. The Lightning will be able to score goals against Sherwood. The outcome of the game will be based on the team’s ability to keep Sherwood’s top skaters off the scoresheet. Upper Montgomery needs to forget about last week’s game and remain hungry for wins. It is time to gain a swagger and make other teams prove that they can beat Upper Montgomery. Bring it home again this week Lightning!

The Upper Montgomery Lightning junior varsity returns to action on Sunday, December 11th facing off against Churchill. Game time is 1:30 pm at Laurel Ice Gardens. For Upper Montgomery, the game marks the first of three straight contests against the bottom three teams in the Montgomery Hockey Conference. The team will need to duplicate last season’s three game win streak to end the season which catapulted the team toward last season’s junior varsity championship. This year’s team needs to build momentum heading into the junior varsity playoffs.

With a few more wins, the Lightning can avoid the junior varsity playoff play-in games and solidify a mid-range seeding in the playoff tournament. The Lightning have played three straight close games where the opposition needed to score into the empty net to finish off the game. Those three games were against the top three teams in the league. A win over Churchill would certainly be a confidence boost.

Quite simply, Upper Montgomery needs to score more and generate more offensive chances. The team is averaging only two goals per game. The Lightning have scored more than two goals in only one game this season. Henry Honacki has scored four of the team’s twelve goals on the season. He has been by far the best skater on the ice for the Lightning junior varsity. No other student athlete has more than one goal.

TJ Gottesman leads the team with seven points on one goal and six assists and he has points in each game he has played this season. Stephen Shkeda has one goal and four assists in five games. Several other experienced members of the team are producing well behind last season’s scoring pace and that is what is holding back the team. The game against Churchill is the game to get right as the Bulldogs have given up 38 goals in four games, an average of 9.5 goals per game.

In goal, Landon Bernard will be looking to build off of his best performance of the season. Earlier this week he played superb in the junior varsity’s loss to top ranked Walter Johnson, stopping 37 of 39 shots and almost single handedly stealing a win for the Lightning. He stopped five breakaways throughout the game. The only two goals he gave up were also on breakaway chances. Bernard has been solid in net this season and provides the Lightning with a decided advantage in goal. Churchill will counter with Cameron Shure. Shure will be looking to keep Churchill in the game and stop the Bulldogs four game losing streak where Churchill’s closest loss was by six goals.

Upper Montgomery needs to dominate the Bulldogs. The student athletes who have struggled on the offensive end or in the defensive zone need to play well and take confidence into next week’s game. The Lightning are the better team. They need to demonstrate that fight from the opening faceoff and not play down to Churchill’s level.