Category: Game Recaps

The Upper Montgomery Lightning had two weeks to recover from a disappointing loss to Whitman which ended their state playoff aspirations. The team rebounded with a ferocity on Monday afternoon dismantling Northwest / Quince Orchard 14-1 in a game that was over almost as soon as it began. The game reached running clock status before the first period ended with the Lightning exploding out to a 7-0 lead before the opening period ended. As the number one overall seed in the Montgomery Hockey Conference season ending Varsity Tournament, the Lightning were matched up against the lowest seeded team. The Montgomery Hockey Conference Varsity Tournament is a post-season tournament for all Montgomery County hockey programs that did not qualify for the state playoff tournament.

The first period could not have gone worse for Northwest / Quince Orchard. In addition to being outshot twenty to five in the opening frame, Northwest / Quince Orchard was porous defensively leaving senior goaltender Ryan Stillwell out to dry time after time. Playing without top offensive student athletes, Nathan Cassel and Ryan Jacobson, with senior forward Olivia Robbins playing only two shifts before her external travel team commitment, and with both Landon and Brandon Bernard only playing the first period, the Lightning still easily trashed the overmatched Jaguars.

Less then a minute into the game, Upper Montgomery took the lead and never looked back. On the first shift of the game, a nice defensive zone breakout led to the opening goal of the game. Upper Montgomery defender Owen Robbins reversed the puck in the left corner of his defensive zone to Lightning forward Josh Nadler. Nadler sent the puck up the boards to senior center and co-captain Chris Hassett on the right wing. Hassett sent a cross ice pass through the neutral zone to senior forward Brandon Bernard. Bernard entered the offensive zone down the left wing side of the ice. As he entered the left faceoff circle, he placed the puck behind the net to Hassett. Hassett curled out in front of the net and passed to Nadler in the slot. Nadler took the puck from his backhand to his forehand and shot towards the goal. Nadler’s shot was blocked by the Jaguars defense with the puck landing near Bernard. Bernard quickly shot low blocker side and Stillwell was unable to come up with the save as he searched in vain for the puck’s location.

On the next shift Upper Montgomery increased the lead to 2-0. From a faceoff in the right faceoff circle in the Upper Montgomery offensive zone, Northwest / Quince Orchard was able to clear the puck over the blue line to neutral ice. Lightning junior defender Andrew Botti dumped the puck deep into the right corner of the Jaguars’ defensive zone. Upper Montgomery junior forward, Henry Honacki arrived first and he retrieved the puck. Honacki then lost control of the puck as he was coming around the net with the puck sliding back to Botti at the left point. Botti’s snap shot sailed wide of the net careening into the right corner. Lightning senior forward Olivia Robbins won a race to the puck and battle for possession. She took the puck to the doorstep of the crease where she encountered traffic, losing the puck. Standing in the center of the crease Hassett popped the loose puck over Stillwell for his first goal of the evening. Two shifts into the game, Upper Montgomery was ahead by two goals.

Northwest / Quince Orchard was able to survive the third shift of the game without giving up a goal, but not the fourth. An errant Northwest / Quince Orchard shot rattled around the boards to Lightning sophomore forward Philip Shkeda along the left wing at his defensive blue line. Shkeda’s cross ice pass found Nadler on the right wing. Nadler then entered the Upper Montgomery offensive zone and sent a pass over to Lightning senior co-captain Hunter Cameron playing center in this game. Cameron dished the puck to Shkeda in the slot and cut to the far right post. Shkeda returned the puck to Cameron as he neared the goal. Cameron was able to get his blade on the pass sending a backhand deflection past Stillwell’s glove hand and over the goal line. With just over three minutes played in the game, Upper Montgomery led Northwest / Quince Orchard 3-0. All three goals had been scored by Lightning forwards standing alone in the slot and crease area.

Two minutes later Upper Montgomery was ahead 4-0. Off of a rewind in the neutral zone, Cameron sent the puck from the left wing at his own defensive blue line to Lightning sophomore defender Brady Berkhammer entering the offensive zone along the right wing. Berkhammer took the puck down into the right corner where he found Upper Montgomery ninth grade forward Aiden Zheng out in front of the net. Zheng’s one time slap shot went high blocker over Stillwell for his first career varsity goal.

Less than an minute later, on the same shift, Zheng doubled his career goal total with his second goal of the game. A Northwest / Quince Orchard turnover resulted in the puck being kept in at the right point by Bernard. Bernard sent a banked pass off the boards past a falling Jaguars defender. The puck went to Lightning defender Owen Robbins in deep. Robbins curled in the right faceoff circle and turned to skate deeper in the offensive zone. As he did so, he located Zheng standing alone in front. Robbins’ pass found Zheng who shot low far side past Stillwell’s blocker from almost the same spot in the slot as his prior goal. With nine minutes remaining in the first period, Upper Montgomery was out to an early 5-0 lead.

The Northwest / Quince Orchard coaching staff called timeout to settle down their squad. For a few minutes it seemed to work. Upper Montgomery was unable to score for the next three minutes of game action. Then, the Jaguars earned the first powerplay of the game when Berkhammer was called for a roughing penalty with six minutes left in the period. Upper Montgomery’s penalty killers took the play to the Jaguars while shorthanded forcing Northwest / Quince Orchard’s all around best playmaker, senior Brady Graham to take an interference penalty ending the Jaguars powerplay thirty seconds early.

Once Berkhammer’s penalty ended, Upper Montgomery went on an abbreviated powerplay of its own. As the powerplay neared conclusion, the Lightning would score a powerplay goal for the fourth consecutive game. The puck was dumped into the far right corner of the Jaguars defensive zone by the Upper Montgomery defense. Lightning depth forward, senior Adam Levine crashed into the offensive zone and caused a turnover, stealing the puck from the Northwest / Quince Orchard defender. With possession of the puck behind the net, Levine pivoted out in front and shot short side on Stillwell who made the save. Hassett chased down the rebound back in the right corner and he sent a pass back to Robbins at the center of the high slot. Robbins’ wrist shot was deflected by Levine on its way to the net. The puck whizzed just wide of the right goal post and caromed off the end board behind the net. The puck ricocheted back into the crease area beside the net where Bernard chipped the puck over the glove hand of Stillwell into the net.

With a minute left in the opening period, Upper Montgomery would tally its seventh and final goal of the period. Off of a faceoff from the left faceoff circle in the offensive zone, Hassett won the draw to Shkeda on the left wing. Shkeda sent a swing pass to Upper Montgomery junior depth defender Cole Howerton at the right point. Howerton’s shot accelerated high towards the net where it was deflected in front by Hassett. The puck quickly plummeted down and past Stillwell’s skates. It was Howerton’s first career varsity point. The first period mercifully came to a close with Honacki taking a lazy tripping penalty to close out the period. Lightning senior goalie, Landon Bernard was a bystander to the action making just five saves in the first period and having a very easy time of it. So much so, that the Lightning coaching staff inserted ninth grade backup goaltender Ilan Shterenberg to finish out the last two periods of action. For Shterenberg, it was his first varsity action in a couple of months, and was a reward for his outstanding play in net for the Lightning junior varsity.

The second and third periods of the game were played with running clock. Upper Montgomery was easily able to kill off Honacki’s penalty. The Lightning suffered another skater disadvantage when the team took a bench minor for a verbal disagreement with the officiating crew after the officials missed calling a blatant wipe out, blow ’em up check in front of the Northwest / Quince Orchard net. While on their second penalty kill of the period, the Lightning penalty killers lifted up the coaches. Hassett, who was the skater wiped out in front on the vicious hit that warranted a major penalty being called, dumped the puck around the Northwest / Quince Orchard defensive zone from right to left. Berkhammer was first to the puck with aggressive penalty kill pressure. He pushed the puck down into the left corner and then eventually passed the puck to Hassett stationed behind the net. Hassett swung around the net traveling from the left post to the right post before wrapping the puck around Stillwell’s left leg pad. His shot along the ice entered the back of the net for the shorthanded goal and his hat trick.

A minute and fifteen seconds later, on the next shift, the Upper Montgomery lead would grow to 9-0. Honacki had the puck behind his own net at the end of his shift. He fired the puck down the ice so that he could get off on a line change. Cameron raced down the ice and got to the puck first and before it crossed the end line for icing. Corralling the puck in the left corner, he continued around the net to the top of the right faceoff circle. Cameron fired a pass across the ice to Botti. Botti teed up a wrist shot from the left faceoff circle and riffled the puck short side past Stillwell’s right shoulder. It was Botti’s first goal of the season since returning from the upper body injury that kept him out of the first half of the Lightning’s season.

The Lightning returned to the powerplay when Jaguars forward Fletcher Shupe was called for interference for throwing a body check. Deep into the powerplay, Upper Montgomery would score its second powerplay goal of the game. In his defensive zone, Howerton intercepted a Jaguars pass on a shorthanded rush up ice. He banked the puck off the left wing boards in his defensive zone to Honacki along the wall. With the Jaguars forwards caught up ice, Honacki went in on a two on one rush with Hassett. Honacki layered a backhand saucer pass over to Hassett in the slot. Hassett faked right on his forehand, then slid the puck back to his left, and pushed a backhander past Stillwell’s blocker inside the far post. As with most of the goals scored by Upper Montgomery in the game, Stillwell had little chance. The score was now 10-0 with half of regulation time remaining.

On the next shift, the lead would become eleven. Lightning ninth grade defender Miles Wendland broke up play along the left wing at the Upper Montgomery defensive blue line. Wendland bumped the puck to Levine in the neutral zone. Levine immediately found Zheng cutting up ice with speed. Zheng skated all the way into the Jaguars defensive zone down the left wing boards. Levine followed the play and went right down the middle of the ice toward the crease. Zheng pulled up at the bottom of the left faceoff circle and passed toward the slot. Levine rushed to catch up with the puck and while falling jammed the puck past Stillwell on the short side past his blocker and right leg pad. It was Levine’s first goal of the season and gave him exactly one goal in each of his four seasons of varsity play. With Wendland’s assist on the play, every Lightning skater had registered a point in the game.

At 11-0, the Lightning stopped playing aggressive or competitive hockey. The team did everything it could to not further embarrass the Jaguars. The rest of the second period was played with Upper Montgomery in control of play and choosing not to attack the net. The second period ended with the score 11-0 and with Upper Montgomery outshooting Northwest / Quince Orchard fifteen to two in the period.

The start of the third period was interesting. Just twenty seconds into the final session, Northwest / Quince Orchard ended the Upper Montgomery combined shutout bid, kind of. Looking to get any action at all, Shterenberg traveled out of his crease into the right corner to prevent a Jaguars clear from becoming icing. Shterenberg attempted to fire the puck up ice to start an Upper Montgomery defensive zone breakout. His pass went up the right wing boards past the Lightning defense where it was intercepted at the blue line by Northwest / Quince Orchard’s leading scorer, center Ethan Custodio. Custodio had a clear path to the net and easily fired before Shterenberg had any opportunity to get back near the goal crease. It was a learning moment for the young goaltender and surely he will not unnecessarily press play in future seasons.

After the early Northwest / Quince Orchard gifted goal, the third period settled into a period where both teams really just wanted the clock to run and for the game to end. And, for the next five minutes of action that is precisely what occurred. Upper Montgomery really had stopped playing in the offensive end. After posting 35 shots on goal over two periods, the Lightning held themselves down to only seven shots on goal in the third period. The Jaguars remained totally inept tallying only one more shot on goal aside from Custudio’s empty net strike.

With just over nine minutes remaining in the game, Upper Montgomery once again found the back of the net. A Northwest / Quince Orchard turnover in their own defensive zone started the scoring play. Zheng intercepted the bad Jaguars pass and shoved the puck to the left wing boards. Honacki retrieved the puck and attempted to throw the puck into the slot. His pass was blocked by a unknowing Jaguars defender and the puck was back along the boards. Cameron gathered the puck and shot it toward the crease looking to set up Zheng for a hat trick. His centering attempt hit a Jaguars defender’s skate and deflected past Stillwell who had moved over to play what he thought would be an upcoming shot from the slot.

At the six and a half minute mark, Graham was called for a high sticking penalty putting Upper Montgomery back on the powerplay. For the third time in the game, the Lightning powerplay would make the Jaguars pay. Wendland’s long range wrist shot from the right point missed the net. Shkeda retrieved the puck in the left corner easily outskating the tired and defeated Jaguars. He moved up the boards and reversed the puck off the boards to Hassett back in the left corner. Hassett continued out of the left corner to the left faceoff circle where he fired a harmless shot on goal. With traffic in front, it appeared that Stillwell did not pick up the shot until late allowing the puck to slide between his pads five hole. It finished off a career high five goal game for Hassett who spent the final six minutes of the game plastered to the bench.

At 13-1 every line change was extended to help burn more time off the clock and help get the game over. With a minute and a half remaining, Upper Montgomery would put the finishing touch on their blowout victory. Another Northwest / Quince Orchard turnover set up the Lightning. A bad Jaguars clearing attempt was picked off by Honacki. He skated a few strides to the right wing boards and fed Zheng with a backhand pass in the slot. Zheng’s first shot was saved by Stillwell. Zheng followed the puck to the net and he was rewarded when the rebound connected with his right skate. In the ensuing goal mouth scramble, the puck wound up in the back of the net for his first career hat trick. As the game mercifully ended, the Jaguars’ Graham was assessed multiple misconduct penalties for firing a shot at Shterenberg after the final buzzer had sounded. It was very bad sportsmanship on Graham’s part, but the Lightning were already thinking ahead to Wednesday’s upcoming Montgomery Hockey Conference Varsity Tournament semifinal game.

Game Notes:

• Upper Montgomery ninth grade forward Aiden Zheng scored his first career varsity goal and also added two additional scores for his first career hat-trick. Zheng also added two assists for a career high five point game.
• Lightning senior co-captain and leading scorer Chris Hassett scored a career high five goals and tied his career high with six points.
• Upper Montgomery senior forward Adam Levine scored in his final game as a participant with the Lightning program. He will miss the rest of the season with an upper body injury.
• Lightning junior defender Cole Howerton recorded his first career varsity points with two assists.
• Upper Montgomery junior forward Henry Honacki set a career high with four assists.
• In a program first, every Lightning skater recorded a point in the game.
• Lightning ninth grade defender Miles Wendland registered his first career multi-point game with two assists.
• Upper Montgomery scored on all three of the team’s powerplay opportunities, doubling their season total for powerplay goals. It was the fourth consecutive game that Upper Montgomery converted while playing with the extra skater. The Lightning had misfired on their first 43 powerplays to begin the season.
• Shots on goal for the game were vastly slanted in favor of the Lightning. Upper Montgomery limited itself to only firing 42 shots at Northwest / Quince Orchard goalie Ryan Stillwell. Northwest / Quince Orchard managed just 9 shots on net and one was the direct pass empty net goal.
• Next up for Upper Montgomery is a Montgomery Hockey Conference Varsity Playoff Tournament semifinal game against the Sherwood Warriors. Upper Montgomery will be looking for redemption after falling to the Warriors 9-7 way back on Halloween evening. Game time is 5:30 pm on Wednesday, February 28th at Skate Frederick.

Three Stars of the Game:

First Star—Chris Hassett—Upper Montgomery Center—5 Goals, 1 Assist
Second Star—Hunter Cameron—Upper Montgomery Forward—2 Goals, 2 Assists
Third Star—Aiden Zheng—Upper Montgomery Forward—3 Goals, 2 Assists

The Upper Montgomery Lightning ice hockey program entered Friday night’s contest against the Whitman Vikings looking to advance to the Maryland Student Hockey League state playoffs for the first time in program history. Two hours after puck drop the Lightning were left wondering how the contest quickly got away from the team. With an upperclass heavy roster, Upper Montgomery had been gearing up for the past four years focused on this particular game as the program’s best opportunity to make history and qualify for the state playoffs for the initial time. Unfortunately, the Lightning were flat and an ineffective powerplay once again doomed the team’s chances. Whitman tool full advantage and rolled to an overwhelming 6-1 victory in a game that was not very competitive.

The game opened positively for Upper Montgomery. Less than a minute into the contest Whitman was called for a too many skaters on the ice penalty. Upper Montgomery’s powerplay, which had been better of late scoring in two consecutive games, was not able to generate any quality chances. Less than two minutes after the successful Whitman penalty kill, the Lightning were back on the powerplay. Whitman’s talented ninth grade defender Steven Mah was called for a tripping penalty. Once again playing with the extra skater, the Lightning were stymied by an aggressive Whitman penalty kill.

Halfway through the opening period, the Vikings tallied the first goal of the game. Off of a faceoff from the left faceoff circle in the Upper Montgomery defensive zone, the Lightning controlled the draw. A bad clearing attempt up the right wing boards was cut off by Whitman forward Trevor Fay. Fay left the puck for fellow Whitman forward Benjamin Luo. Luo passed the puck across the ice to Whitman’s third forward, Samuel Van Leeuwen. While covered by a Lightning defender, Van Leeuwen muscled his way to find enough space to get off a backhand shot that went high over Lightning senior netminder Landon Bernard’s glove.

A minute later, Fay was sent to the penalty box for a checking from behind penalty. The two minute minor was accompanied by an automatic ten minute misconduct penalty. The Lightning had their third powerplay opportunity of the period and a chance to get back even. Midway through the powerplay, Van Leeuwen was assessed a boarding penalty. A two skater advantage beckoned for Upper Montgomery and Van Leeuwen would also miss an extended period of the game with his automatic ten minute misconduct penalty. Failing to score, Upper Montgomery’s powerplay wilted with nothing to show from its four first period powerplay chances.

With Van Leeuwen’s penalty winding down and Whitman about to go back to full strength, Upper Montgomery forward Philip Shkeda was called for a high sticking penalty. As hockey usually goes, the Lightning did not capitalize on their many powerplay opportunities, and Whitman scored just seven seconds into their first powerplay of the game. Upper Montgomery was hemmed in their own defensive zone while the teams were playing four skaters aside. Another failed Lightning clearing attempt led to a high quality Whitman scoring chance. The initial shot went wide of the net with the puck retrieved out of the corner. The puck was sent back to the left point to highly talented Whitman defender Morrison Cohen. Cohen took the puck down the left wing boards where he left it for Whitman’s leading scorer forward Andrew Fou. Fou curled toward the slot as Whitman began their powerplay. With Upper Montgomery’s defenders focused on Fou, Whitman forward Nicholas Huguely was left wide open at the back left post. Fou’s pass was on target and Huguely quickly sent the puck past Bernard who was left out to dry by the poor defensive coverage.

Thirty seconds later, Whitman increased their lead to 3-0. Upper Montgomery iced the puck with no pressure being applied by the Vikings. The defensive zone faceoff in the right faceoff circle was kept in at the right point by Whitman defender Rowen Miller. Miller sent the puck down the boards and around the net to the left corner. The Vikings won the race for the puck with Huguely shoveling the puck back up the left wing boards to Cohen at the left point. Cohen was stood up and the puck went to Whitman forward Jacob Lerman. Lerman sent a short pass to Huguely in the left faceoff circle. Huguely turned and fired a pass to little used Whitman depth forward Henry Herdman who was standing all alone in front of Bernard. Herdman sent the puck to the right side of the net past Bernard’s glove. Another Upper Montgomery defensive zone breakdown that led to a wide open Vikings skater left unguarded in prime scoring position.

The first period mercifully came to an end with Whitman outshooting Upper Montgomery fifteen to six. Upper Montgomery had four powerplay opportunities and mustered just six shots on goal. All three Whitman goals were the direct result of Upper Montgomery defensive zone turnovers. Bernard had little chance to save any of the three goal with unguarded Whitman skaters left alone directly in front of him. The three goal deficit seemed to be wider as Upper Montgomery lacked offensive punch against the stout defensive corps that handle the backline for the Vikings. It also appeared that Whitman was seeking vengeance for Upper Montgomery’s victory over the Vikings in the team’s last meeting in mid-December.

The second period was just as dismal for the Lightning. Twenty five seconds into the middle frame, Whitman increased its lead to 4-0. A bad Upper Montgomery pass, off target behind its intended skater, was intercepted by Fou with a lift check. The puck moved over to Whitman forward Andrew Kaplan. Kaplan sent the puck up the middle of the ice to Fou who had exploded forward after capturing the turnover. Fou used his excellent speed to go wide around an Upper Montgomery defender. His centering pass deflected off of the skates of Upper Montgomery defender Andrew Botti’s and the quick change of direction propelled the puck past Bernard.

Twenty seconds after Fou’s goal, a parade of Lightning skaters began heading to the penalty box. First, Lightning forward, and team leader in penalty minutes, Henry Honacki was called for interference. Then, a minute after Honacki’s penalty was successfully killed off by the Lightning, Botti was called for cross checking. Upper Montgomery was also able to kill off Botti’s penalty. While Upper Montgomery was doing a fine job on the penalty kill, largely because of Bernard’s excellent play in net, the team was unable to make any magic inside of the offensive zone. Halfway through the period, Upper Montgomery defender Cole Howerton was called for a roughing penalty. This time, Whitman would pierce the Lightning penalty kill and up the margin to 5-0.

With just over six minutes remaining in the period, Lerman’s shot from the mid-point was easily knocked away by Bernard’s glove. The rebound went to the slot where Cohen spun around and batted the puck back toward the right point. The puck was kept in the offensive zone by Huguely covering the defensive position for Cohen. Huguely sent a backhand pass to the right corner to Fou, and then he cut toward the net. Fou’s return pass found Huguely in stride allowing Huguely to riffle a backhand shot far side that went past Bernard’s right leg pad.

As the second period was ending, frustration began to boil over. Upper Montgomery senior center Bradley Cupples got into it with Fay. Cupples was called for roughing and Fay for unsportsmanlike conduct. With fifteen minutes remaining in the game, it was already apparent that Upper Montgomery’s state playoff chances were just a mirage. Whitman dominated another period outshooting the Lightning by a huge seventeen to three margin. The Lightning just had no answers on this night.

The third period was much more of the same. A minute and a half into the final period, Lightning senior center and co-captain Chris Hassett was whistled for a roughing penalty. Upper Montgomery was able to kill the penalty off but only because of Bernard, who must have felt like a practice dummy goalie with rubber being fired at him from all areas of the offensive zone. After Hassett’s penalty ended, Lightning senior forward Olivia Robbins was called for interference with just under ten minutes to play. Another two minutes of offensive zone pressure with Upper Montgomery simply looking for icing clears to take the pressure off. After Robbins’ penalty ended, Upper Montgomery would get one final powerplay when Cohen was called for tripping with six and a half minutes remaining in the game.

Off of the faceoff to open the powerplay, Whitman cleared their defensive zone. From his own blueline Upper Montgomery senior co-captain Hunter Cameron sent an indirect pass up the right wing boards to Robbins. She collected the puck at the offensive blue line and entered the offensive zone. From the right faceoff circle she blasted a snap shot far side high. The rising puck flew past Whitman goalie Ryan Graf’s blocker for Upper Montgomery’s only goal of the night breaking Graf’s shutout bid.

As time wound down, Fou finished off the scoring with under a minute remaining in the game. From a faceoff in the right faceoff circle in the Upper Montgomery defensive zone, yet another bad Lightning defensive zone clear set up the Vikings. At the right point along the blue line Miller kept the puck in the offensive zone. He passed down the right wing boards to Fou. From the right faceoff circle Fou unloaded a wicked slapshot that beat Bernard short side high over his glove. For the Vikings it was a fitting end to the game. For Upper Montgomery it was a final miscue at the end of a dismal evening.

Next up for Upper Montgomery will be a chance to earn the program’s most important championship. As the top seed in the upcoming Montgomery Hockey Conference Varsity Tournament, the Lightning have an opportunity to win the the most prestigious trophy the program could win to date. The tournament is comprised of all of the teams in the county that did not make the state playoffs. In its history, the most prized trophy won by the program is the junior varsity’s county championship after the 2022-2023 season. The program also has won the Montgomery Hockey Conference Division Two Championship after the 2018-2019 season. At that time, the Division Two Championship tournament was comprised only of the bottom team’s in the conference.

Game Notes:

• Upper Montgomery senior Olivia Robbins scored in her final game as a participant with the Lightning program. She will likely miss the entirety of the Montgomery Hockey Conference Varsity Tournament.
• Lightning goalie Landon Bernard’s stalwart playoff play continued. He made a personal career high 44 saves and did everything possible to give the Lightning an opportunity to compete in the game.
• Shots on goal for the game were vastly slanted in favor of the Vikings. Whitman fired 50 shots at Upper Montgomery goalie Landon Bernard. Upper Montgomery managed just 14 shots on Whitman goalie Ryan Graf even while having six powerplays during the game.
• Upper Montgomery’s futility on the powerplay really hurt during the game. The majority of the first period was played with Upper Montgomery playing with an extra skater yet the team found itself in a three goal deficit. Four failed Upper Montgomery powerplays on the opening period doomed the team’s chances.
• After the game was decided Lightning forward Olivia Robbins did score on the powerplay marking the third consecutive game that Upper Montgomery converted while playing with the extra skater.
• Next up for Upper Montgomery is a quarterfinal game in the Montgomery Hockey Conference Varsity Playoff Tournament. The Lightning are the top seed and will play eight seeded Northwest/Quince Orchard. The game would appear to be non-competitive on paper with Upper Montgomery likely to easily advance to the tournament semifinals. The game is scheduled for Monday, February 26th. Puck drop is at 4:20 pm at Rockville Ice Arena.

Three Stars of the Game:

First Star—Andrew Fou—Whitman Center—2 Goals, 2 Assists
Second Star—Nicholas Huguely—Whitman Forward—2 Goals, 1 Assist
Third Star—Landon Bernard—Upper Montgomery Goalie–Career High 44 Saves

The Upper Montgomery Lightning ice hockey program entered Friday night’s contest against the Blair Blazers with exactly one Montgomery Hockey Conference playoff victory. With a convincing, albeit nonchalant win over Blair, the Lightning doubled their playoff win total. Having shutout the Blazers 5-0 within the past two weeks, and then playing well against both Rockville/Magruder and in a very close loss to top private high school foe Bullis, the Lightning went through the motions in large segments of Friday’s opening round playoff game. The Blazers on the other hand competed very hard and played as well as they possibly could. Still it was not nearly enough as Upper Montgomery pulled away over the second half of the game to secure a 5-1 triumph.

Upper Montgomery opened the game outshooting Blair thirteen to six in the opening period of play. While the Lightning pushed the pace, they could not challenge the interior of the Blair defense. The Lightning’s compete level was lacking, and too many of the Lightning shots on goal were low quality from the outside. Blazers goalie Lily Bendavid was able to see pucks clearly and steer shots and rebounds into the corners and behind the net. The vibe of the game was that Upper Montgomery’s student athletes felt they would win because they possessed superior talent compared with the Blazers. The game remained scoreless with five minutes left in the first period when Blair defender Rafael Shore was called for tripping.

The Lightning powerplay, seeking to capitalize for the second consecutive game after a program record for futility to begin the season, took to the ice. Upper Montgomery applied constant pressure for an extended period of time. The scoring play began when Lightning forward Nathan Cassel kept the puck in the offensive zone at the left point using his skates. Cassel shoveled the puck down the left wing boards to Lightning defender Owen Robbins in the left corner. Recently, Robbins has been deployed in front of the net on the powerplay. Robbins took the puck behind the net where he was pinched off by a Blazers defender. He returned the puck to the left corner to Lightning forward Bradley Cupples. Cupples passed the puck back to Cassel at the left point. Cassel danced with the puck along the blue line. As pressure came out to meet him, he fed the crease area. The puck caromed over to Upper Montgomery’s leading scorer, senior center Chris Hassett at the center point. Hassett’s shot toward the goal was defected to the right corner where it was retrieved by Robbins. Robbins sent the puck up the boards though traffic to Lightning defender Brady Berkhammer near the right point. Berkhammer cut to the slot where he fired a wrist shot from the inner edge of the left faceoff circle. His shot went past Bendavid’s blocker and settled into the net. For Berkhammer, well into his sophomore season, it was his first career high school goal and gave Upper Montgomery a very important lead.

Starting the second period with the 1-0 lead, Upper Montgomery came out lacksidasical. Blair gained confidence with their play in the opening period and that translated into inspired play. This combination led to Blair taking play to the Lightning throughout the second period. But the Lightning’s superior skill capitalized on counter attacks. Blair outshot Upper Montgomery fifteen to eight in the middle frame.

Three minutes into the second period Lightning forward Josh Nadler took a cross checking penalty clearing out a Blair skater. No damage was done as the Lightning penalty killers and senior goalie Landon Bernard kept the Blazers searching for their opening goal of the game. The Blair pressure continued. Halfway through the period, Blair applied extensive pressure in the Upper Montgomery defensive zone. Berkhammer was eventually able to secure the puck behind his net. He passed the puck up the left wing boards to the point where a Blazers defender kept the puck in at the point. Upper Montgomery senior forward Adam Levine, elevated to play on the top line alongside Cassel and Hassett with regular linemate Philip Shkeda suffering from an illness and unavailable to play in the game, fought for the puck. Levine won the puck battle with the Blair defender along the left wing boards. Levine pushed the puck over the defensive blue line to Cassel in the neutral zone. Cassel skated up ice on a two on one rush with Hassett. As they approached the slot in the Upper Montgomery offensive zone, Cassel slid the puck over to Hassett. In alone, Hassett deked to his forehand and put the puck past Bendavid’s glove for a 2-0 Lightning lead. For Hassett, it was his 50th career varsity goal and further cemented his status in the Maryland Student Hockey League all-time scoring record books.

One minute later the gap was closed. Blair took advantage off of a faceoff in the left faceoff circle in the Upper Montgomery defensive zone. The Lightning won the draw. A poor clearing attempt by the Upper Montgomery defense was kept in at the left point by Blair defender J. J. St. Aubin. St. Aubin fired the puck behind the Lightning goal to the Blazers top scoring forward Jackson Martindill. Martindill curled out from behind the net and shot at Bernard. His shot was blocked and he was forced to pass the puck back to defender Robert Woodward at the right point. Woodward’s shot was deflected by the onrushing Lightning forward. The shot changed direction and hit Blair forward Wyatt Bakalis in the backside of his hockey pants. The puck laid in the slot behind Bakalis where Blair forward Zander Frey lifted a backhand shot past Bernard’s glove into the top right corner of the net. Just like that, Blair was one shot away from tying up the game.

A minute after Frey’s goal brought Blair close, the Lightning’s top line again provided a two goal cushion. Hassett won a draw from the left faceoff circle in the offensive zone back to Berkhammer at the left point. Berkhammer’s wrist shot was deflected by Hassett on the way to the net. The deflected shot was blocked by the skaters of a Blazers defender. Hassett chased down the loose puck on the left side in front of the net. He centered the puck to Cassel in the slot. Cassel curled and reversed his direction back into the slot where uncorked a backhander that went low glove side past a screened Bendavid to put Upper Montgomery up 3-1.

With two minutes to go in the middle period, Lightning forward Henry Honacki was whistled for a slashing minor penalty. As with Blair’s first powerplay of the game, the skill of the Lightning’s penalty killers prevented Blair from getting good looks at Bernard. After two periods of play, Upper Montgomery led 3-1 and looked for a strong third period to close out their playoff opener.

The third period was the Lightning’s best period of the game. A minute into the period, Upper Montgomery would increase their lead to 4-1. A Blair rush up ice was cut off by Hassett’s stick. The puck was tapped to the right wing boards. Cassel raced down the right wing and pushed a pass into the middle to Levine in the slot. Levine’s shot looking to go five hole was saved by Bendavid. Levine chased down his rebound in the corner where he battled with two Blair defenders. The puck broke loose off of Levine along the side wall to Hassett. Hassett curled to the front of the goal and his wrist shot went seven hole in between Bendavid’s right leg pad and her blocker. The three goal cushion brought with it a measure of exhale as the Lightning looked to be closing in on a playoff victory.

On the very next shift, Upper Montgomery extended their lead to 5-1. Blair advanced the puck to the neutral zone. Nadler took control of the puck and skated to the right side of the ice. He entered the offensive zone and fired a wrist shot well wide of the net. Cupples controlled the puck along the left wing boards and sent the puck back to Lightning defender Andrew Botti at the left point. Botti skated toward the mid point and unleashed a slap shot toward the goal. His shot was blocked but it fell forward to the front of the net. Lightning senior forward, Brandon Bernard swung his stick and connected with a backhand whack at the puck. The puck volleyed over Bendavid’s glove for the Lightning’s fifth goal of the night.

The final twelve minutes were spent with Upper Montgomery playing with several forwards back in a defensive posture to protect their four goal cushion. Blair had one final powerplay opportunity when Nadler was called for roughing with six minutes left in the game. The Lightning penalty killers and Bernard held firm to keep the score 5-1. After four more minutes of regulation time ticked away Upper Montgomery had secured a place in the quarterfinal round of the Montgomery Hockey Conference playoffs.

One more win and the Lightning program will secure its first ever Maryland Student Hockey League state playoff berth. However, it will be incredibly difficult for Upper Montgomery to beat a very good Whitman team for a second consecutive time. Next Friday night will be Upper Montgomery’s second game ever where the state playoffs are on the line. The Lightning played heroically last year in the quarterfinal round losing to eight time consecutive state champion Churchill by one goal in a five round shootout after playing to a one all tie through regulation and overtime. With an upperclass heavy roster, the Upper Montgomery program has been building for four years for next week’s pivotal game.

Game Notes:

• Upper Montgomery senior co-captain Chris Hassett continued his climb up the all time Maryland Student Hockey League career scoring list notching his 50th career goal.
• Lightning goalie Landon Bernard’s stalwart playoff play continued. For his third straight playoff game, Bernard gave up only one goal. He lowered is goals against average in the playoffs to 0.98 and he increased his save percentage to .966. Both are current program records.
• Lightning defender Brady Berkhammer’s powerplay goal in the first period was his first career varsity goal.
• Upper Montgomery forward Adam Levine contributed two assists in his first career playoff game subbing in on the top line for regular first line forward Philip Shkeda. Shkeda missed the game with an illness.
• Shots on goal for the game were even with Upper Montgomery firing 33 shots on goal and Blair countering with 30.
• Upper Montgomery’s epic futility on the powerplay seems a distant memory. The Lightning converted on the powerplay for the second consecutive game and their second consecutive powerplay opportunity.
• Upper Montgomery returns to action next Friday night against the Whitman Vikings in a rubber match game. The teams split the regular season series with Whitman defeating the Lightning 7-2 on opening night. In mid-December, the Lightning won the rematch 3-2. The winner of next week’s Montgomery Hockey Conference quarterfinal game earns a spot in the coveted Maryland Student Hockey League state playoffs. Game time is 8:15 pm at Cabin John Ice Rink.

Three Stars of the Game:

First Star—Chris Hassett—Upper Montgomery Center—2 Goals, 2 Assists
Second Star—Landon Bernard—Upper Montgomery Goalie—Win, 1 Goal Against, 29 Saves, .967 Save Percentage
Third Star—Brady Berkhammer—Upper Montgomery Defense–PPG Goal, Assist

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

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