Category: Game Previews

The Upper Montgomery Lightning junior varsity team returns to action on Saturday night versus Quince Orchard/Sherwood’s combined team. Game time is 6:30 pm at Cabin John Ice Rink. This will be the junior varsity’s first league game in almost five weeks and is against one of the top teams in the league. Quince Orchard/Sherwood is 2-0 on the season and has outscored its opponents by a margin of 9-1. An unknown for both teams will be how many junior varsity eligible student athletes will miss the game due to conflicts with travel team game competitions.

In net for the Lightning will be Landon Bernard, fresh off his first varsity victory last Friday night over the West Virginia Vipers. Bernard’s performance in net was his most complete effort for Upper Montgomery. He will need to be strong in goal once again for the Lightning to win on Saturday evening.

On defense the Lightning will likely dress four defenders. George Benedick will play down from varsity to be a stabilizing influence for the young Lightning junior varsity defense of Patrick Sell and Cole Howerton. Stephen Shkeda will also play down from his varsity forward position and play defense Saturday night. Pairings are expected to be Benedick with Sell and Howerton with Shkeda. The defense will be looking to slow down the Quince Orchard/Sherwood forward tandem of Daniel Arbajel, John Sherikjian, and Clark Atkinson which have tallied six of their nine goals.

Offensively, the Lightning need someone other than ‘Josh’ to score. Of the junior varsity forwards, only Josh Nadler (three goals) and Josh Miller (two goals) have tallied this season. The team has three additional goals scored by varsity student athletes playing down. The experienced Lightning junior varsity forward group of Adam Levine, James Hyman, Lucas Eyman, Adarsh Nair, and Henry Honacki will need to step up and help better distribute the scoring responsibilities. Inexperienced netminder Ryan Stillwell will be in goal for the Quince Orchard/Sherwood team. He has won his first two junior varsity starts but has not been heavily challenged. If the Lightning skate with purpose and compete, it should be an evenly played, hard fought, and low scoring game on Saturday.

The Upper Montgomery Lightning return to action this upcoming Friday night versus the West Virginia Vipers in a highly anticipated non-conference matchup.  Game time is 8:15 pm at Cabin John Ice Rink.  The Lightning are coming off of a ten day layoff over the Thanksgiving holiday and are eager to get back on the ice before resuming conference play next weekend against Northwest.

Upper Montgomery is coming off of its first victory of the season, a 9-0 shutout win over the Wilson Stars in a game they dominated from start to finish.  The team will be looking to build upon the offensive outburst and hopes to use the Wilson game as a springboard for the rest of the season.  The first line of Chris Hassett, Ryan Jacobson, and Nathan Cassel has been lethal this season, totaling a combined 15 goals and 15 assists between them.  The rest of the team combined has 6 goals and 14 assists. Look for some possible tweaks to the second and third line this week to try and spark some more offensive production throughout the lineup. Some lineup changes will be required as Olivia Robbins will be unavailable for the game as she is out-of-town with her external travel team.

The defense will also be short-handed this week as James Botti will also be unavailable for the game as he is out-of-town with his external travel team. Expect the four Lightning experienced defenders George Benedick, Ethan Hockey, Andrew Gean, and Andrew Botti to see significant ice time including an increased role on the power play in James Botti’s absence. Ninth grader Cole Howerton is going to be called up from the junior varsity and will likely see some game action for the second consecutive game.

The decision on which goalie to start in net for the Lightning will likely be a game time decision. It might be Will Mellen coming off of his shutout victory over the Stars. Or, it could be Landon Bernard who played well earlier this week in a junior varsity game versus Landon. There is also a possibility that both netminders might see game action.

Not much is known about the West Virginia Vipers. The Vipers have played several Maryland Student Hockey League teams from the Frederick County conference and have been competitive in those games. The Vipers also play certain travel teams and have been competitive in those games as well. Based upon both teams performance so far this season, it figures to be a low scoring, grind it out, hard defensive game on Friday between two evenly matched teams.

The Upper Montgomery Lightning junior varsity squad returns to action this coming Tuesday afternoon versus Landon in a non-conference match-up. Puck drop is 5:45 pm at Rockville Ice Arena. The Lightning have a record of 1-1-1 on the season while this will be Landon’s first game. It is an important game for the Lightning to gauge their development and progress before they return to conference play on Saturday, December 11th versus Quince Orchard.

The Upper Montgomery junior varsity will be looking to move past a disappointing 3-3 tie versus Glenelg where the Lightning dominated action for the majority of the game. Giving up an opening goal with no goalie in net and then a late goal with 1:11 remaining in the contest with the Gladiators goalie pulled contributed to the outcome.

Landon Bernard will be in net for the Lightning. On defense, Cole Howerton and Patrick Sell will see significant playing time as they battle what is anticipated to be a powerful Bears forward lineup. Stephen Shkeda is expected to play down from the varsity squad to provide veteran leadership and support. Expect several of the Lightning forwards to drop back and play some defensive shifts throughout the game as the Lightning may only dress 12 skaters in Tuesday’s contest.

Up front on offense, the Lightning will look to continue their recent strong play. The forward group of Josh Nadler, Josh Miller, Adam Levine, Brandon Bernard, Henry Honacki, James Hyman, Lucas Eyman, Adarsh Nair, and TJ Gottesman will need to continue passing the puck to create offensive scoring chances. Two of the three goals against Glenelg were the direct result of nice passing sequences. Only five junior varsity student athletes have scored goals, with several of the goals being scored by varsity student athletes playing down in the junior varsity games. Several of the junior varsity forwards would like nothing more than to break their long scoreless streaks against the talented Landon Bears.

The Upper Montgomery Lightning return to action this upcoming Tuesday afternoon versus the Wilson Stars in a pre-Thanksgiving game at Wheaton Ice Rink. It is a must win for the Lightning who remain in search of their first victory of the season. Coming off of a disappointing 3-3 tie versus the DC Stars in which they let a 3-0 second period lead slip away, the other Stars, the Wilson Stars, may be the perfect opponent for the Lightning as they are by far the worst team in the Montgomery Hockey Conference.

In two of their three games this season the Stars have been shutout. In both of those losses, to Quince Orchard and Rockville, the Stars have managed 2 and 3 shots on goal. They have been badly outplayed even though they have been awarded a bunch of power play opportunities in each game. Wilson is 0-15 on the power play this season. Expected to start in goal for the Stars is junior goalie Jack Kobil. A victory by the Stars over Upper Montgomery would be a major upset and would definitely keep the Lightning out of the MHC post season playoff tournament.

The Lightning’s offense has begun to tick up over the last two games led by the top line of Nathan Cassel (4 goals, 1 assist), Ryan Jacobson (3 goals, 3 assists), and Chris Hassett (2 goals, 5 assists). Depth scoring has been an issue this season for Upper Montgomery as no other student athlete has more than two points through the first four games of the season. Expect to see some forward line combination changes in an effort to have more balanced scoring throughout the lineup. There may even be some junior varsity student athletes called up for this game to provide a spark and some energy.

On defense, the team has played relatively solid in the first month of the season. Except for the second period against Blair, the team has done a really good job of limiting the opposition’s high scoring opportunities. Goals against are down this season from last year. In the game last week against the DC Stars, there were a couple of individual breakdowns on defense. The coaching staff has addressed those errors. Expect to see a more complete defensive effort this week as the Lightning look to keep Wilson at bay and add to the Stars misery on offense. It will be a game time decision on the Lightning’s starting goalie.

The Upper Montgomery Lightning junior varsity squad returns to action this coming Friday afternoon versus Glenelg in a non-conference game. Puck drop is 3:30 pm at Skate Frederick. Both teams are 1-1 on the season and will each be looking to move past the .500 mark before a return to conference play in the month of December.

The Lightning will be looking to bounce back from a tough defeat to Richard Montgomery. The young Lightning played the Rockets very tough for long stretches of the game before fading late in a 5-2 loss.

The goalie matchup will be a duel between two long-time friends. Landon Bernard will be in net for the Lightning and Zain Huda will backstop the Gladiators. Both student athletes grew up playing together and against one another in the Montgomery Youth Hockey Association and are now both playing with the Frederick Freeze hockey club. The post game hand shake line is bound to be filled with friendly banter.

On defense for the Lighting, Cole Howerton and Patrick Sell will see significant playing time as they battle the deep and experienced Gladiator forwards. Andrew Gean is expected to play down from the varsity squad to provide veteran leadership and support. Expect several forwards to drop back and play some defensive shifts throughout the game as the Lightning will likely only dress 13 skaters for Friday’s tilt.

Up front on offense, the Lightning will look to get back to the strong game they played to open the season versus BCC. The forward group of Brandon Bernard, Bradley Cupples, Josh Nadler, Josh Miller, Adam Levine, Henry Honacki, James Hyman, Lucas Eyman, and TJ Gottesman will need to develop better chemistry in order to find the net on a more consistent basis. The effort has been there. The number of quality chances will likely grow as the season continues. Several of the forwards would like nothing better than to break long scoreless streaks. Friday’s game versus Glenelg would be a prime opportunity for the team to find its offensive touch.

The Upper Montgomery Lightning return to the ice this coming Friday evening taking on the DC Stars. Game time is 8:50 pm at the Rockville Ice Arena. The talented but young Lightning have dropped three straight one goal decisions to open the season and are vastly improved over last season.

For the first time this season the Lightning will be favored in the contest. The game against the DC Stars presents the perfect opportunity for Upper Montgomery to break through and grab win number one on the season. But, the DC Stars are no pushovers, surprising both Northwest and Rockville/Magruder earlier this season by earning ties in each game before being hammered by the Blair Blazers 11-1 last Monday evening. The Blazers played without high scoring forward Remy Chartol in the contest as he was required to sit out the game after picking up four penalties last Friday evening against Upper Montgomery. This will be a pivotal game for both teams as they fight for positioning in the division standings.

Expect Will Mellen to get the start in net for the Lightning. Mellen played excellent is his first start of the season a 2-1 loss to Quince Orchard. He made 27 saves and helped hold the high scoring Cougars in check. Another excellent performance in net will give the team confidence.

The Upper Montgomery defense will have to focus on stopping the Stars high scoring duo of Malcom Baar and Thomas Cooperman. Both forwards play external travel level hockey, Baar at the AAA level and Cooperman at the AA level. The two sophomore forwards have scored five of the seven goals scored by the Stars in their three games. The Lightning defense will also need to be mindful of Stars forwards leaking up ice to create odd rush opportunities. Blair took advantage of several Lightning defenders pinching in at the offensive blue line. It is anticipated that the Upper Montgomery defense will return to a tighter checking system which should limit the Stars offensive chances.

On offense Upper Montgomery’s high score trio of Chris Hassett (2 goals, 4 assists), Nathan Cassel (4 goals, 1 assist)–three game goal streak, and Ryan Jacobson (1 goal, 3 assists) will look to spearhead the Lightning attack. Against Blair the team broke out with six goals and connected on four power play opportunities twice scoring on 5 on 3 advantages. The Lightning second and third lines will need to chip in and take some of the offensive pressure off the top line. Stars senior goalie Thomas O’Toole will be in net looking to prevent the Lightning from earning their first win of the season.

The Upper Montgomery Lightning will look to claim win number one of the season on Friday night versus the Blair Blazers. Game time is 8:50 pm at the Rockville Ice Arena.

The Lightning will be decided underdogs once again this week facing a Blair team with many upperclass AA level travel student athletes. The scrappy, young Lightning welcome the return of Ryan Jacobson and Olivia Robbins for the game this week. Both Jacobson and Robbins missed last week’s game versus Quince Orchard for out-of-town travel team commitments.

Landon Bernard will get the start in net for the Lightning. Bernard started the Rockville/Magruder game and played well making several key saves in the team’s 3-2 opening night loss to the Rams. Expect Will Mellen to return to action later this month. Mellen will miss this week’s game for out-of-town travel team commitments. The Upper Montgomery defense will have to repeat last week’s performance against Quince Orchard, where the unit performed admirably and held Cougars high scoring duo of Joshua Weitzman and Dylan Eyester largely in check. This week the task is even more challenging facing the offensively gifted Blazers who are coming off a season opening 5-1 win versus the Rockville/Magruder Rams.

Up front, Upper Montgomery needs to have the offense kick up a gear. With only three goals combined in the first two games of the season, a little more firepower is needed to assist in securing a victory over the Blazers. Nathan Cassel has goals in both games. Chris Hassett has two primary assists setting up both of Cassel’s goals. No other Lightning skater has more than one point. The increase in offensive production will need to change quickly for the Lightning to be competitive against the high scoring Blazers.

The Blazers are led by a group of junior and senior AAA and AA level travel student athletes. Michael Humphreys led the way against Rockville/Magruder with four goals. Alex Birchard chipped in with one goal and two assists. His twin brother Chris Birchard doled out three assists. The dominating win came without arguably the Blazers most talented forward, Remy Chartol, who missed the Rockville/Magruder game due to out-of-town travel team commitments. On defense the Blazers will feature Ben Russell and Ryan Frank. Expect both to see significant ice time against the Lightning. The senior defenders helped hold the Rams in check throughout the opening night victory. The Blazers were perfect on the penalty kill, squashing all four Rams’ power plays. Senior netminder Peter Zelinsky will hope to duplicate his 26 save gem (.963 save %) against the Lightning.

The Upper Montgomery Lightning junior varsity team will be back in action this Thursday afternoon taking on the Richard Montgomery Rockets at Laurel Ice Gardens. Game time is 4:20 pm.

The Lightning will be looking to build on Monday’s 3-2 season opening victory over BCC. It will be a tough task versus the more experienced Rockets who handled Churchill easily by a score of 6-0 in their season opener last week.

Offensively, the Lightning are led by 9th grade forward Josh Nadler who scored two goals in the junior varsity’s opener. The team will be looking for more balanced scoring as the first line was on the ice and contributed to all three goals scored against BCC. Junior defender George Benedick starting the scoring at the very end of the first period. Nadler added a goal each in both the second and the third period. In goal for the Lightning will be Landon Bernard. Bernard will be counted to shut down the Rockets and keep the Lightning in the game. The Lightning will likely have only three true defenders for the match up against the Rockets. Expect a forward or two to drop back and play some shifts on defense.

The Rockets are led by Juniors Nicholas Saffell, who scored a hat-trick and added an assist versus Churchill, and Tyler Senko, who contributed one goal and two assists. Noe Masurel contributed one goal and one assist versus Churchill from his position on defense while helping Ian Hutchinson secure a 12-save shutout in net.

The young Lightning squad will be challenged by the more experienced and mature Rockets. This is a good early season test to see how the team stacks up against what is likely to be a Rockets team in the running for the junior varsity regular season championship.

The Upper Montgomery Lightning JV squad kicks off the season on Monday night versus the BCC Barons.  Game time is 8:00 pm at the Laurel Ice Gardens.

The Lightning will be backstopped in net by versatile and athletic goalie Landon Bernard.  Having played a full JV season last year as a 9th grader, Landon brings with him that experience to the net this year.  He has been working hard over the summer to improve some of the more technical aspect of playing in net.  Landon played very well in a varsity start last week versus the Rockville Rams eventually falling 3-2.  Upper Montgomery has high expectations for Landon to play at a very high level.

On defense, Upper Montgomery has a significant number of unanswered questions.  There are only two true defenders on the roster, smooth skating and nimble Cole Howerton who will be looking to move the puck fast and lead defensive zone breakouts, and stay at home defender Patrick Sell, who has improved greatly since the 2021 spring season.  Expect several varsity defenders with JV eligibility to be dressed on Monday evening to help the young JV roster.

The Lightning JV forward ranks will be a mixture of skill and size.  Expect fast skating forward Josh Nadler to create offensive chances when on the ice.  Henry Honacki will see significant time at center.  Winger Adam Levine will create havoc in front of the net, looking for deflections and to pounce on and deposit loose pucks.  Versatile forward/defender Lucas Eyman will provide experience to the young lineup.  Hulking forward James Hyman will use his size to disrupt in the offensive zone and to take away chances while defending.  Josh Miller returns to the team after a one-year absence and will battle along the boards for loose pucks and will play positionally sound defense.  Newcomer TJ Gottesman will add a spark to the lineup as he gets involved and mixes it up all over the ice.  These young forwards will be assisted by the varsity forwards called upon to provide additional depth.

The team is looking to get off to a fast start to the season as it begins an early push for playoff positioning.

The Upper Montgomery Lightning take on the Quince Orchard Cougars on Friday night at 10:00 pm at Cabin John Ice Rink.  The Lightning will be looking to bounce back from their season opening 3-2 loss to the Rockville/Magruder Rams.  It will be a tough task facing the defending Montgomery Hockey Conference regular season champion Cougars.

Quince Orchard is coming off an 11-0 drubbing of the Wilson Stars.  The Cougars were led by high flying junior forward Joshua Weitzman who scored seven goals in their opener.  Junior Daniel Abarjel added three assists and Dylan Eyster tallied one goal and two assists.  Sophomore goalie Ryan Stillwell made two saves for the shutout.  The Cougars outshot the Stars 42-2 in a game that was never in doubt as Quince Orchard jumped out to a 6-0 lead after the first period.

The Cougars are not just a one-person team.  Quince Orchard has multiple AA level travel forwards in juniors Dakota DelCamp and Dylan Eyester.  On defense, the Cougars lineup is stacked with more AA level travel talent in Junior John Sherikjian and sophomores Braden Newell and Dylan Smith.  Expected to start in net for the Cougars on Friday evening is Junior AA goalie Jeremy Eager.

Making the task more difficult for the Lightning will be the absences of young and skilled offensive forwards Ryan Jacobson and Olivia Robbins.  Both student athletes will be missing the conference game due to out-of-town travel team commitments.

In net for the Lightning will be the season debut of goalie Will Mellen.  Will just recently joined the Lightning for the 2021-2022 season.  The team is excited for his arrival and quality play in net.  Will also competes for an outside AA travel team, the Ashburn Extreme.  Also returning to the lineup on Friday evening for the Lightning will be junior defender George Benedick.  Benedick missed the season opener versus Rockville/Magruder.

Looking to follow up on their good defensive effort in the opening game versus the Rams, the Lightning defensive core will need to pay particular attention to the Cougars top end offensive talent and clog up the high danger areas in front of Mellen.  Leading the way in addition to Benedick will be Ethan Hockey, Andrew Gean, Andrew Botti, and dual threat James Botti who may also see playing time at forward during the game.  The Upper Montgomery offense will once again be led by its young forward core of Chris Hassett, Hunter Cameron, Brad Cupples, Nathan Cassel, and Brandon Bernard.  Expected to see an increased role at forward during the game will be Stephen Shkeda, Adarsh Nair, Josh Nadler, and Henry Honacki.  

Last season the Cougars dominated the Lightning in a 7-0 victory that was not as close as the score would indicate.  An outstanding performance by Hall of Fame goalie Jonas Clark kept the score respectable making spectacular save after save.  It was an effort for the short-handed Lightning just to clear the defensive zone and mount an offensive attack.  The coaching staff will be looking for a much more competitive outing on Friday evening giving the team momentum as the Lightning move into the middle portion of their intra-division schedule.  Some very winnable games are upcoming during the month of November.