Category: Game Recaps

The Upper Montgomery Lightning dominated Churchill 6-1 on Tuesday afternoon to claim the second seed in the upcoming Montgomery Hockey Conference junior varsity playoff tournament. The victory was the third in a row for the Lightning and coincides with the team’s improved defensive play. The Lightning have given up only four total goals combined over the past three games. Upper Montgomery now awaits the winner of a first round playoff matchup between Northwest and Churchill to determine who will face the Lightning in the quarterfinal round of the junior varsity playoffs. It is anticipated that Northwest will advance and the quarterfinal clash will be a rematch of a game played just last week won by Upper Montgomery 3-1.

Upper Montgomery got off to a sluggish start in this game. It may have been the late morning / early afternoon start time. Or, the talent level of the Bulldogs may have contributed to the sleepy start. But, once they got in gear, the Lightning were in complete charge of the game. Cole Howerton scored his first high school goal with two minutes remaining in the first period to jump start the Lightning. Brandon Bernard won a faceoff from the left faceoff circle to the left wing boards. James Hyman won the puck battle, spun and passed the puck cross ice to Andrew Gean at the right point. Gean in turn sent the puck over to his defensive partner. Howerton fired the puck through a bunch of bodies into the top right corner of the net past Bulldogs goalie Cameron Shure.

Penalties at the end of the first period to Churchill forward Ben Sperling for slashing and then high sticking to Upper Montgomery center Josh Nadler off the ensuing offensive zone faceoff left both teams playing four on four hockey for almost two full minutes. The Lightning capitalized with the extra open ice taking advantage 40 seconds into the second period. Brandon Bernard’s shot from the right faceoff circle went wide. The puck caromed around and Patrick Sell hustled to keep the puck in the offensive zone. He collected himself and fired a low wrist shot toward the net. Standing in front of the blue paint directly in front of the net Joshua Miller outmuscled the defense and adeptly deflected the puck five hole on Shure to give the Lightning a two goal lead.

On the very next shift, Bradley Cupples retrieved the puck behind the Lightning net and rushed up ice on his own. He entered the Churchill defensive zone and let fly a wrist shot from the high slot that beat Shure glove side to provide Upper Montgomery a comfortable lead which allowed the team to begin playing more freely. Three minutes after Cupples’ goal, the Lightning would put the game away for good. Howerton let loose with another wrist shot from the point. Shure made the stick save but could not control the rebound. It bounced into the lower portion of the right faceoff circle. Adarsh Nair was first to the puck and he slung a wrist shot past Shure, again on the glove side, to put Upper Montgomery up 4-0.

A minute and a half after Nair’s goal, the Lightning lost focus and intensity. A Churchill rush up ice was non-threatening. The initial shot was blocked, and the puck found Sperling alone in the high slot. He wasted no time and fired the puck past Landon Bernard for the Bulldogs lone goal of the game. After two periods of play, Upper Montgomery held a 15 to 7 shots on goal margin and had full control of play throughout the game.

The third period had the feel of a scrimmage. The referees attempted to keep the game close by calling six penalties on the Lightning over the final twelve minutes of play. While Churchill used the extra skater advantage to fire eleven shots on Landon Bernard, the Lightning again controlled play in the period even while shorthanded. The team finished an impressive eight for eight on the penalty kill, an area that the team has been terrific at all season. The only two goals of the period were shorthanded goals scored by Upper Montgomery.

First, it was Josh Nadler who picked off a pass at the defensive zone blue line and raced up ice past the Churchill defense. He faked backhand and then tucked the puck into the wide open net on his forehand. Then, with just under one minute left in the game, while on a five on three penalty kill, Joshua Miller hit Cupples with a pass up the middle of the ice. Cupples also faked out Shure with a nifty backhand to forehand maneuver before depositing the puck behind Shure for the final margin of victory.

Game Notes:

• The Lightning outshot Churchill 22-18 despite the amount of time spent penalty killing.
• The Lightning junior varsity have won three games in a row for the first time all season.
• The Lightning killed off all eight Bulldogs powerplays and are now 39 for 43 on the season, 90.7%.
• Landon Bernard has stopped 59 of the last 63 shots he has faced for a save percentage of .936%.
• The Lightning now have a ten day break prior to the start of the junior varsity playoffs on Friday night, February 11th hosting the winner of Northwest and Churchill at 9:15 pm at Cabin John Ice Rink.

Three Stars of the Game:

First Star—Bradley Cupples—Upper Montgomery Defense—2 Goals
Second Star—Cole Howerton—Upper Montgomery Defense—1 Goal, 1 Assist
Third Star—Joshua Miller—Upper Montgomery Forward—1 Goal, 1 Assist

The Upper Montgomery Lightning junior varsity prevailed over the Northwest Jaguars 3-1 Sunday evening at Skate Frederick in a game that was tarnished by horrendous officiating. Both coaching staffs were beyond frustrated with the officiating as many phantom penalties were called on both teams and 15 total powerplays were handed out in the non-physical junior varsity game. Upper Montgomery’s student athletes should be commended for keeping on task and getting the necessary two points out of the game. The Lightning benefitted from Northwest’s most talented student athlete, and the Montgomery Hockey Conference’s junior varsity goal scoring leader, Brady Graham missing the game. A win versus last place Churchill in the regular season finale will clinch the second seed in the upcoming junior varsity playoffs. Upper Montgomery would finish the regular season tied for second place in the conference standings but would hold the tiebreaker by virtue of its recent victory over Rockville/Blair.

The Lightning got off to a quick start in the game. Just 30 seconds in Greg Felder scored his second goal of the season off of a wrap around from behind the net on a broken play. Adarsh Nair pushed the puck from the right wing deep into the offensive zone where the puck was collected by Brandon Bernard. Bernard carried the puck behind the net where he lost control. Felder collected the loose puck at the side of the net and swung it toward the goal where the puck snuck past Jaguars netminder Joseph Dean giving Upper Montgomery the early 1-0 lead. Seven seconds later the penalty parade began. Off the ensuing faceoff, Micah Chin was called for tripping. Before the penalty expired, Lightning defender Stephen Shkeda was called for hooking.

A short break in the penalty parade allowed the Lightning to take what would be a commanding 2-0 lead. Brandon Bernard staked into the offensive the zone and circled around the net. Adam Levine was in front of the goal occupying the Jaguars defense and his positioning blocked the Jaguars defense from coming out to guard Lucas Eyman. Eyman received a centering pass from Bernard and fired a low wrist shot by Dean stick side for his second goal in as many games. Then, it was back to more penalties. Coincidental roughing minors to Schiab Younis and Lightning forward TJ Gottesman followed soon thereafter by an interference penalty to Jaguars defender Drew Blurton where he literally did not touch an Upper Montgomery player. On that powerplay the Lightning were called for too many skaters on the ice when they did not have too many skaters on the ice.

While on the too many skaters penalty kill, Andrew Gean was called for tripping on a beautiful defensive play that was no penalty at all. Through the shorthanded play, the Lightning kept the Jaguars off the scoreboard and exited the first period with the score still 2-0. Shots on goal in the first period were Jaguars nine and Upper Montgomery two, with both Lightning shots on goal finding the back of the net.

A scoreless second period saw Upper Montgomery squander a five on three skater advantage for nearly a minute and a half after a cross checking penalty to Tommy Petzold and a tripping penalty to Trevor Bartolomeo. Toward the end of the period, Lightning center Josh Nadler was called for hooking. While killing the penalty, Cole Howerton was questionably checked from behind by Jaguars forward Schiab Younis. The Lightning powerplay was cut short when TJ Gottesman took his second roughing penalty of the game. With all of the powerplay time, it was another period with low shot totals. Northwest had seven shots on goal while Upper Montgomery managed five shots on goal.

The Lightning began the third period on the penalty kill and it quickly became a five on three advantage for the Jaguars as Cole Howerton was whistled for roughing. Superior penalty killing by Brandon Bernard, Adam Levine, Andrew Gean, Josh Nadler, Josh Miller, Stephen Shkeda, and Henry Honacki did an excellent job all game long controlling play when the Jaguars had the powerplay allowing Northwest to generate very few offensive opportunities. As soon as the five on three advantage ended, Greg Felder took an unnecessary and bad boarding penalty in the offensive zone. While shorthanded, Josh Nadler took his second hooking penalty of the game while backchecking through the neutral zone. His penalty turned into Northwest’s third five on three advantage of the game. Upper Montgomery was able to kill off the five on three portion of the penalty, but the Jaguars finally broke through off of a faceoff play. Jaguars center Nikhil Mudunuri won a faceoff from the left faceoff circle into the slot area and directly to Northwest forward Ben Linteris. Linteris’ wrist shot beat Landon Bernard high to the glove side and brought the Jaguars within one with seven minutes left to play.

The Lightning had an opportunity to put the game away on the powerplay with five minutes left in regulation. Parsa Faroghi was called for tripping but Upper Montgomery did not muster any good chances on net. With thirty seconds remaining on the powerplay, Lightning defender Patrick Sell was called for hooking. Off the defensive zone faceoff, Brandon Bernard took the puck from deep in the Lightning defensive zone and skated up the left wing. He entered the offensive zone and stickhandled wide. As he reached the top of the left faceoff circle he fired a wrist shot short side past the blocker of Dean giving Upper Montgomery a 3-1 lead. The Lightning could not relax just yet as seconds after Bernards’s four on four goal the penalty kill was needed to once again thwart the Jaguars. The penalty kill did the job. A roughing penalty to Northwest forward Ben Weiner with a minute and a half left in the game prevented the Jaguars from mounting a comeback as the Lightning played keep away with the puck while on the powerplay to end the game.

Game Notes:

• Northwest outshot the Lightning by a wide 28-14 margin helped by the many Jaguars’ powerplay opportunities.
• The Lightning have won back to back games and are undefeated in their past three contests, 2-0-1.
• The Lightning killed off eight of the nine Jaguars powerplays including three separate five on three opportunities.
• Landon Bernard stopped 27 of 28 shots on goal for the win and a .964 save percentage.
• The Lightning powerplay was dreadful once again, going 0-6 in the game including a lengthy five on three advantage.
• The Lightning will look to continue their recent hot play on Tuesday afternoon, February 1st when they return to State Frederick to take on the last place Churchill Bulldogs in the final regular season game of the year.

Three Stars of the Game:

First Star—Brandon Bernard—Upper Montgomery Center—1 Goal, 2 Assists
Second Star—Andrew Gean—Upper Montgomery Defense
Third Star—Landon Bernard—Upper Montgomery Goalie—Win, 1 GAA, 27 Saves, .964 save %

The Upper Montgomery Lightning junior varsity played their most complete game of the season Monday evening in beating the Rockville/Blair Rams 6-2 at Cabin John Ice Rink. The Rams entered the game in second place in the Montgomery Hockey Conference junior varsity standings, but were badly outplayed by Upper Montgomery from the opening faceoff. With the victory the Lightning improve to 3-4-2 on the season and 3-3 in conference play.

After controlling play for the first five minutes of the game, the Lightning went shorthanded after a roughing penalty to Greg Felder. However, it was Upper Montgomery that capitalized. Joshua Miller controlled the puck along the left wing boards in the defensive zone and sped up ice past the defense in alone on a breakaway. He deked Rams goalie Lily Bendavid and scored easily on the forehand for his team leading fifth goal of the season. The Lightning killed off the balance of the penalty to extend their excellent penalty kill to 22-24 on the season.

Three minutes later the Lightning were again on the penalty kill after an interference penalty to George Benedick. This time the Rams broke through and tied the game. Jackson Martindill released a shot from the right circle that was saved by Landon Bernard. The rebound bounced into the slot where Ari Gardner snapped a quick shot past Bernard far side into the open net. The score would not stay tied for long. Just 34 seconds later on the next shift, the Lightning would re-take the lead. Bradley Cupples advanced the puck from his left defense position to Brandon Bernard in center ice. Bernard skated the puck down the right wing boards into the offensive zone and whipped the puck from along the right wing boards toward the net. Before Bendavid could get to the puck, the stick of Lucas Eyman got there first. Eyman who had skated hard into the zone on the left wing side, made a bee-line to the back post and he knocked the puck along the ice past Bendavid for his first goal of the season.

A minute and a half later the lead grew to 3-1. TJ Gottesman passed the puck over to Brandon Bernard who quickly shot the puck from the right wing circle to the net. Bendavid made the save but was beaten to the puck by James Hyman who crashed the net looking for a rebound and was rewarded with his second goal of the season. The Rams closed out the entertaining first period with a late goal with 25 seconds left in the period. George Marcolin skated from his defensive position into the middle of the ice and entered the Lightning defensive zone. His long-range shot was saved by Bernard but William Martindale collected the rebound in the left faceoff circle and his quick shot beat Bernard before he could locate the puck and get back into position. The shorthanded goal was the fourth shorthanded goal given up by the Lightning this season and gave the Rams a lift entering the second period.

The second period was dominated by the Lightning. Although the shots on goal in the period were 6-2 in favor of the Lightning, Upper Montgomery controlled the play. An early unassisted goal by Bradley Cupples again gave the Lightning a two goal lead. Cupples collected the puck in the defensive zone and skated solo up ice around three Rams defenders and beat Bendavid with a wrist shot from in close for his second goal of the season. With three and a half minutes left in the second period Brandon Bernard was called for roughing. The Upper Montgomery penalty kill foursome of Josh Nadler, Adam Levine, Andrew Gean, and George Benedick controlled the play for the entire penalty kill and did not allow the Rams to gain possession of the puck. The one, three penalty kill set up kept control of the puck with dump ins and puck retrievals and cycles for the entire two minute shorthanded situation.

The third period was again controlled by the Lightning with the Rams mustering only four shots on net in their attempted comeback. Three minutes into the third period Upper Montgomery would extend the lead to 5-2 and end the competitive portion of the game. Joshua Miller had control of the puck along the left wing boards in the offensive zone. His contested shot toward the net glanced off of Jordan Lynch in the slot and bounded over to the right wing faceoff circle where it went directly onto the stick of Henry Honacki. Honacki’s wrist shot beat Bendavid high stick side for his second goal of the season. As the game wound down, the Lightning kept up the pressure. Cupples finished out the scoring with another unassisted goal, similar to his tally at the beginning of the second period. Cupples had the puck deep in the defensive zone. He skated up ice through the neutral zone and into the Rams’ defensive zone. He stopped at the top of the faceoff circles and fired a sharp wrist shot from the mid-slot area that Bendavid had no chance of saving. For Upper Montgomery it was by far their most complete game of the season. The coaching staff will be looking for the team to use this game as a springboard toward the playoffs and to continue to play with confidence.

Game Notes:

• The Lightning outshot Rockville 27-17 and gave up only six shots on net in the final two periods of the game.
• The Lightning have scored 11 goals in their last two games.
• The Lightning again gave up a shorthanded goal, their fourth shorthanded goal against in nine games.
• Joshua Miller scored his team leading fifth goal of the season.
• Jordan Lynch had an assist, her first career high school point.
• The Lightning will look to continue their hot play of late on Sunday night, January 23rd when the team travels to Frederick to take on the Northwest Jaguars. Game time is 7:20 pm.

Three Stars of the Game:

First Star—Bradley Cupples—Upper Montgomery Center—2 Goals, 1 Assist
Second Star—Joshua Miller—Upper Montgomery Forward–-1 Goal, 1 Assist
Third Star—Lucas Eyman—Upper Montgomery Forward—1 Goal

In its first major test of the 2021 – 2022 regular season, the Upper Montgomery Lightning went toe to toe with the Richard Montgomery Rockets for the better part of two periods, before eventually succumbing in a 4-1 loss Friday night at Rockville Ice Arena. The game against the Rockets was a step up in competition against a division one team in the middle of the conference standings. Upper Montgomery was able to generate several extremely high quality scoring chances including two breakaway opportunities that they were unfortunately unable to convert. The offensive chances were there even without having two of their top five offensive weapons for the game in James Botti and Nathan Cassel. With the loss, the Lightning fall to 4-4-1 on the season in conference play and 5-4-1 overall.

The beginning of the first period was a feeling out process with both teams unable to generate much offense and very few shots on goal. For the Lightning, junior defender George Benedick stood out by blocking three shots in the first seven minutes of the game. He controlled play with his ability to win pucks in the corners and lead strong breakouts. Halfway through the first period Upper Montgomery would jump in front on a goal by Josh Nadler. For Nadler it was the second consecutive game in which he tallied. The play began in the defensive zone. Olivia Robbins took control of the puck in the Lightning defensive zone along the left wing boards. She skated a few strides to the top of the faceoff circle and fired a rink wide pass to Bradley Cupples. Cupples gathered the puck at full speed and rushed into the Rockets defensive zone along the right wing boards. He stopped abruptly and sent a pass into the middle of the ice in the high slot where Nadler fired a quick wrist shot while in stride and beat Rockets netminder Henry Darko five hole for a 1-0 Lightning lead.

The lead would not last long, just three and a half minutes. Mitchell Bobys would dump the puck into the Lightning defensive zone from the red line. Dylan Goetz would win the puck in the left corner. He battled the Lightning defense and came away with the puck. He fed in front from the side of the goal to a wide open Lester Benitez. Benitez had time and space in the lower part of the slot to send a quick shot past Lightning goalie Will Mellen’s glove hand to even the score at one. Just before the end of the first period Upper Montgomery would go on the penalty kill for the first time in the game after a roughing penalty was called on Henry Honacki. The Lightning would kill off the penalty continuing a streak of 23 consecutive penalty kills that would grow to 25 before the end of the game.

Five minutes into the second period, Benedick was called for checking from behind. A checking from behind penalty automatically comes with a ten minute misconduct penalty. Losing Benedick for twelve minutes of game action was a defining moment in the game as it forced the coaching staff to break up the offensive lines to provide additional defensive coverage. It also left the Lightning without a key contributor on the powerplay. The Lightning would kill off the penalty to Benedick. With six minutes left in the second period and the score still tied 1-1, the Lightning would earn their first powerplay of the evening when the Rockets were called for too many skaters on the ice. It was on the powerplay where the absence of Benedick would prove costly.

Luke Gutmann took possession of the puck for the Rockets. He beat a pinching Lightning defender and sent the puck up the right wing boards to Daniel Martella. Martella skated in on a two on one with Goetz. Getting the defender to commit to him, Martella sent a pass to the left finding Goetz in stride and all alone. Goetz fired a wrist shot from the left faceoff circle far side and past Mellen’s catching glove. With the shorthanded goal, Goetz gave the Rockets a 2-1 lead, a lead that they would not relinquish.

With two minutes to go in the second period, Martella would score a goal similar to Goetz’s goal. Martella skated up ice by himself into the bottom of the left wing circle and uncorked a wrist shot, again far side and high past Mellen’s catching glove for an unassisted goal. The goal energized the Rockets faithful providing them a measure of relief that their team had finally separated from the Lightning. Just after Martella’s goal, the Lightning would again go on the penalty kill as Adarsh Nair was called for tripping.

The third period saw the Lightning in scramble mode as the Rockets began to ride the momentum gained at the end of the second period and exert their offensive firepower. In several sequences in the Lightning zone Mellen made multiple saves in close on Rockets’ chances. Mellen would make 19 saves in the period, only allowing a goal mid-way through the period on a shot by Gutmann from the high slot. While the Lightning came up short in this game, playing the game as close as they did without two of their most important skaters; James Botti and Nathan Cassel (who were both out-of-town with their travel teams) gave the team an understanding of both how close they are to competing with the upper division teams and also how much work remains to be done to beat the higher quality upper division teams.

Game Notes:

• The loss was the Lightning’s first defeat since November 5th against the Blair Blazers.
• The loss to Richard Montgomery snapped the Upper Montgomery unbeaten streak at six games, 5-0-1.
• The Lightning were outshot by the Rockets 44-20.
• Will Mellen gave up the most goals he has allowed all season (four). He made 40 saves on the night.
• The Lightning penalty kill smothered all three Rockets’ powerplay opportunities. The Upper Montgomery penalty kill is now 37 of 40 on the season, 92.5%.
• The Lightning gave up a shorthanded goal for the fourth time this season. They have lost all four games in which they have given up a shorthanded goal.
• The Lightning are next in action on Friday, January 21st at 8:45 pm at Rockville Ice Area for a home game against the Sherwood Warriors.

Three Stars of the Game:

First Star—Dylan Goetz—Richard Montgomery Forward—1 Goal, 1 Assist
Second Star—Daniel Martella—Richard Montgomery Center–-1 Goal, 1 Assist
Third Star—George Benedick—Upper Montgomery Defense—4 Blocked Shots

Brothers James and Andrew Botti helped lead the Upper Montgomery Lightning to a 13-0 blowout win Friday night against the clearly overmatched Wilson Stars. James scored four goals and added an assist and Andrew scored a goal and had three assists in the game which served as a tune up before the Lightning finish the regular season with four games against higher quality opponents. The win, coupled with the DC Stars loss to Sherwood, means that Upper Montgomery has just about clinched its first ever division one playoff appearance.

The Lightning would score routinely throughout the game against Stars junior netminder Jack Kobil. Although he gave up 13 goals, Kobil played outstanding throughout the game making 44 saves, many of them of the incredibly difficult variety. The Lightning also hit the post 6 times. Without Kobil’s play, the score would have been even more lopsided.

Upper Montgomery pressured right from the beginning of the game. On the third shift of the contest, the Lightning would strike for what would turn out to be the game winning goal. Andrew Botti passed the puck up ice from his own blue line to Joshua Miller on the left wing at the Stars blue line. Miller bumped the puck to the middle of the ice and hit Josh Nadler in stride as he was entering the offensive zone. Nadler took the puck wide toward the right faceoff circle and shot the puck back against the grain far side and past Kobil’s blocker for his first career varsity goal. A minute and a half later, Andrew Botti would make the score 2-0 firing a wrist shot from the blue line through traffic in front of the net. James Botti had skated the puck in a circle from the left wing boards back to the point, and then to the right side of the ice and around the net. His pass found Bradley Cupples in front. Cupples turned with the puck in the left circle and fed Andrew Botti at the mid point of the blue line for the shot. Upper Montgomery had been craving depth scoring and the first two goals against the Stars came via the third and second lines, a theme that would continue throughout the game.

After Andrew Gean took a cross checking penalty behind the Lightning net, the Lightning would strike while on the penalty kill. The first of their three shorthanded goals in the game. Off of a faceoff in the offensive zone, a failed Wilson clearing attempt was kept in the zone by George Benedick at the right point. He stickhandled around the Stars forwards into the slot before unleashing a wrist shot that got by Kobil. Midway through the first period the Upper Montgomery defense would score for the third consecutive time. Nadler won an offensive zone faceoff in the left circle back to Gean at the blue line. Gean passed left to his defensive partner Ethan Hockey. Hockey stick handled into the slot and passed the puck to Miller near the left post. Miller’s backhand pass into the crease area found Hockey all alone for an easy score high glove side into an unguarded open net. Wilson would manage to keep the Lightning off the scoreboard for the rest of the period, largely due to the play of Kobil. Shots on goal in the first period were 26-1 in favor of the Lightning demonstrating how lopsided the play was in the first period.

The second period started with the Lightning again on the penalty kill after a roughing minor to Benedick. Starting the period down a skater contributed to a slow start in the period by Upper Montgomery. It would take 5:30 seconds for the team to turn up the heat. From the neutral zone Chris Hasset dropped a nifty backhand drop pass on the left to Hunter Cameron cutting into the Stars defensive zone. Cameron got behind the defense and cut toward the net. His patience with the puck allowed Nathan Cassel to drive the zone and cut to the far post. Cameron found an unguarded Cassel for an easy snapshot into the wide open far side of the net. Kobil had absolutely no chance on the play. A minute later the score would grow to 6-0 on James Botti’s first goal of the game and his first goal of the season. Cupples won another offensive zone faceoff in the right faceoff circle back to Gean at the right point. Gean passed to the middle of the ice where Andrew Botti’s wrist shot trickled wide of the net. The puck bounced off the end boards directly to James Botti alone at the right post for an easy tap in goal. Forty seconds later the score would become 7-0 and the rest of the game was played with a running clock. Ethan Hockey carried the puck down the left wing into the Wilson offensive zone and fired a shot on Kobil. Kobil made the initial glove save but could not control the rebound. The rebound landed at the feet of Nadler who from the bottom of the right circle immediately fired a wrist shot on the rebound attempt. Kobil again made a glove save but could not squeeze the puck. The puck landed in the crease and Adam Levine swatted a backhand whack connecting with the puck and putting it past Kobil for his first goal of the season in limited playing time.

The next several minutes were played either with Upper Montgomery killing penalties to Benedick (roughing) or Cameron (interference) or skating four on four. Just before the penalty to Cameron ended, Stephen Shkeda fed James Botti cutting down the middle of the offensive zone. Botti faked around a Wilson defender and went in alone on Kobil from the middle of the slot on a quick developing breakaway. He easily beat Kobil top shelf glove side to score his second goal of the game as well as the Lightning’s second shorthanded goal of the night. Just as the second period was ending, with five seconds left, Hassett would cap the five goal second period burst. Cameron sprung Hassett into the offensive zone with a pass along the right wing boards. Hassett briefly lost control of the puck, recovered, and passed cross ice to Cassel in the left wing corner. Cassel acted as if he was going to skate around the net, but passed the puck out front prior to fully going behind the net. His pass found Hassett wide open in the slot for a quick wrist shot past Kobil’s glove. Shots on goal in the second period were 20-2 in favor of the Lightning.

Upper Montgomery scored with five seconds remaining in the second period would reach double digits in goals five seconds into the third period. Cupples won the neutral zone faceoff to start the third period directly left to Shkeda who had cut inside the Wilson winger. Shkeda skated the puck into the Wilson defensive zone and fired a wrist shot low glove side and past Kobil for his first goal of the season. A minute later the score would increase to 11-0. Benedick sent the puck up ice from the Lightning defensive zone to Shkeda on the left wing. Shkeda skated into the zone wide and around a Stars defender. He then cut toward the net from the bottom of the left faceoff circle. His shot low to the pads of Kobil was saved. With the rebound sitting in the slot for a brief moment, it was there long enough for James Botti to poke the puck into the net before Kobil could get on top of the puck to cover and force a whistle. For James Botti, it was his hat trick goal.

With 10:35 left in the game, the Lightning would score their final shorthanded goal of the game with Cassel in the box for slashing. Ethan Hockey back checked hard through the neutral zone forcing a turnover at the Upper Montgomery blue line. Hassett took control of the puck and skated the opposite direction on a two on one rush. Hassett floated wide on the right wing allowing Cameron to charge hard at the back post of the net where a perfectly placed pass led to an easy back door tap in for Cameron. The Lightning then would kill off a slashing penalty to Nadler before James Botti would net his fourth goal of the game. Andrew Botti passed the puck from the side of Will Mellen’s net up the center of the ice to Cupples who led a two on one rush with James Botti. Cupples carried the puck into the offensive zone toward the left faceoff circle and drew the defender toward him. With the defender committed, he passed the puck over to James Botti who had a clear lane to fire a wrist shot past Kobil. The goal capped a feel good win, but the Lightning fully understand that the level of competition will increase significantly over the rest of the season.

Game Notes:

• The victory was the second straight shutout victory by the Lightning over the Stars.
• The Lightning outshot the Stars 46-3 over the first two periods and 57-4 for the game.
• Will Mellen lowered his Montgomery Hockey Conference leading goals against average to 1.17 and increased his Montgomery Hockey Conference leading save percentage to .935.
• The Lightning penalty kill smothered all seven Wilson powerplays, while scoring three short-handed goals. the Upper Montgomery penalty kill is now 34 of 37 on the season, 91.9%.
• The Lightning picked up their fifth straight victory and are unbeaten in their last six games 5-0-1.
• The Lightning are next in action on Friday, January 14th at 9:00 pm at Rockville Ice Area for a game against the Richard Montgomery Rockets.

Three Stars of the Game:

First Star—James Botti—Upper Montgomery Defense—4 Goals, 1 Assist
Second Star—Andrew Botti—Upper Montgomery Defense–-1 Goal, 3 Assists
Third Star—Ethan Hockey—Upper Montgomery Defense—1 Goal, 2 Assists

The Upper Montgomery Lightning junior varsity traveled to Frederick this past Wednesday evening for a game against Frederick County’s junior varsity team. The very entertaining non-conference game had a little bit of everything before ending in a 5-5 tie. There were highlight real goals, end-to-end action, hard hits, great saves, lots of powerplays, and several firsts. The Lightning junior varsity’s record is now 2-4-2 with three conference games upcoming in January before the junior varsity playoffs commence in February.

The game started slowly with only one shot on goal by each team in the first seven minutes of action. Then, the game erupted. At 7:15 of the first period, Frederick County would open the scoring. Frederick County forward Nick Cangemi gathered the puck in the high slot and fired a wrist shot past Lightning netminder Landon Bernard near his body glove side. Off the ensuring faceoff Upper Montgomery iced the puck. The Lightning lost the defensive zone draw. Thomas O’Brien collected the puck and shot toward the net. The puck hit traffic in front and did not get through to Bernard. Instead, the puck bounced to Raymie Caiola alone in front. Another wrist shot, this time high glove side, put Frederick County in front 2-0. For Frederick County, it was goals on two of their first three shots of the game.

The lead would not last long, however. Right after scoring, Caiola took a tripping penalty putting the Lightning on the powerplay for what would be the first of their eight powerplay opportunities in the contest. From the defensive zone, Stephen Shkeda lofted the puck high in the air to clear the zone. The puck bounded up ice and Brandon Bernard outraced the Frederick County defense to the puck. He skated in alone on a breakaway, faking Frederick County netminder Conner Langston out of the play, and he slid a forehand shot into the vacant left side of the net. For the Lightning it was their first powerplay goal of the season. The Lightning would tie the score two and a half minutes later. Josh Nadler took control of the puck at center ice along the right wing boards. He skated the puck into the Frederick County defensive zone and around the net. As he rounded the goal, he centered the puck to Branson Hughes whose quick release beat Langston five hole for his first career high school goal. The Lightning kept up the pressure and had a flurry of chances as the first period drew to a close. At the first period buzzer, Greg Felder took a cross checking penalty in a scrum behind the Frederick County net.

The Frederick County powerplay at the beginning of the second period was short lived as Trent Wivell took a roughing penalty to even up the number of skaters on the ice. Just after Wivell’s penalty ended, Brandon Bernard would score again on an impressive individual effort. Two Frederick County skaters were in the far left wing corner beginning to retrieve the puck and start a breakout from their defensive zone. Bernard went in hard on the forecheck. He fought for puck possession and split the Frederick County defenders. Taking the puck directly toward the net, he beat Langston short side with a wrist shot for his second goal of the game and put Upper Montgomery up 3-2. Unfortunately, the Lightning would only have the lead for three minutes. Off of a faceoff to the left of Landon Bernard, Frederick County won the draw cleanly over to Cangemi who was curling to the top of the faceoff circle from his left wing position. Before getting into the slot, he fired a wrist shot high glove side past Bernard to even the game at three.

The next four minutes were played physically with both Adam Levine and Bradley Cupples on the receiving end of big hits. The physicality seemed to get Frederick County too energized as they began running around taking unnecessary and undisciplined penalties. First, Kobe Meitzler went to the penalty box for cross checking. Then, while nearing the end of the penalty kill, Wivell went back to the penalty box for roughing putting the Lightning on an eight second 5-3 advantage. In Lightning quick fashion, it would take only two seconds for Upper Montgomery to cash in and reclaim the lead. Off the faceoff, Brandon Bernard won the draw directly to Felder who was unguarded in the slot. Felder reacted quickly and fired a wrist shot five hole for his first career high school goal. Over the final minutes of the second period, the Lightning would remain on the powerplay as Jack McCoy was called for cross checking away from the play. The Lightning were unable to capitalize and could not expand on their 4-3 lead.

Just after McCoy’s penalty ended at the beginning of the third period, Cangemi was called for roughing continuing the parade of Frederick County student athletes to the penalty box. The Lightning powerplay was cut short when Cupples was called for cross checking thirty seconds later. Beginning with the four-on-four play, Frederick County turned up the pressure. Even though they failed to score, the momentum had clearly shifted. The volume of shots on Landon Bernard increased substantially (19 in the period) and he made several strong saves to keep the Lightning in front. With just under five minutes left in the game, a point shot by Aaron Eng was deflected. The puck popped up and into the crease area where Caiola was standing alone. The shot beat Landon Bernard high glove side once again to knot the game at 4-4.

The tie game would not last long. Thirty seconds after the Frederick County goal, Upper Montgomery would again re-take the lead. Brandon Bernard took control of the puck behind the Frederick County net. He passed the puck to Cupples at the left point. Cupples’ shot deflected wide of the net into the right corner besides Langston. The puck was retrieved by Adarsh Nair along the goal line. Nair turned and fired the puck toward the net. The puck hit Langston in the left shoulder and popped high in the air. As if in slow motion, the puck fell back toward the netminder hitting Langston along the backside and bounding into the net behind him. The Lightning again had the lead, this time at 5-4.

With 3:36 left in the game, the Lightning went on their seventh powerplay of the night when Meitzler was again called for cross checking. Unable to clear the puck from their defensive zone multiple times with the extra skater advantage, disaster stuck when Wivell collected the puck down low and fired at Landon Bernard. Bernard made the initial save, but the rebound went right back to Wivell who scored a shorthanded goal on the second chance between Bernard’s body and the right post. The Lightning still had 55 seconds remaining on the powerplay which they would fail to convert. With 1:10 left in the game, the Lightning would be given yet another powerplay when Wivell went back to the penalty box for the third time in the game, this time for cross checking. With a golden opportunity to win the game with a late powerplay goal, the Lightning never tested Langston as they were unable to get a shot on net and settled for the tie.

Game Notes:

• Brandon Bernard’s four point night was the most points ever scored by a Lightning student athlete in a junior varsity game.
• For the fourth time in eight games, the Lightning gave up a goal in the last three minutes of the game to either tie or make the game a one goal nailbiter.
• The Lightning were outshot by Frederick County 36-19.
• The Lightning penalty kill did not allow a powerplay goal and is now 21-23 on the season, 91.3%.
• The Lightning junior varsity powerplay finally broke through scoring both a powerplay goal as well as a 5-3 powerplay goal. The team was 2-8 on the powerplay in the game. The powerplay is now 2-26 on the season 7.7%.
• The Lightning will be looking to bounce back into the win column when they return to action on Monday, January 17th at 4:15pm against Rockville at Cabin John Ice Rink.

Three Stars of the Game:

First Star—Brandon Bernard—Upper Montgomery Center—2 goals, 2 assists
Second Star—Nick Cangemi—Frederick County Forward–-2 goals
Third Star—Raymie Caiola—Frederick County Forward—2 goals

In an unfortunate development, the Upper Montgomery Lightning had to play against a varsity AA level travel goalie in Tuesday afternoon’s game against Wootton. While the Lightning played an excellent game, they came away on the short end of a 1-0 loss to the Patriots, who have been one of the worst teams in the league this year.

Due to the recent uptick in COVID cases in Montgomery County, the Patriots’ expected junior varsity goalie was not available to participate in the game. Instead, senior netminder Julian Piche won the game for the Patriots with a 29 save shutout which included good stops on two different two on one rushes and two breakaways, one in the first period on Stephen Shkeda, and one late in the third period as the Lightning pushed to tie the game. Without Piche in net the Lightning would have easily won this game.

The first period was played at a fast tempo. The Lightning were the far better team threatening on multiple occasions with high quality scoring chances and repetitive rebound opportunities among the 14 shots the Lightning threw at Piche. Wootton, on the other hand, had only five shots on goal and most were one and done chances from long range. Late in the first period, William Rusiecki fired a wrist shot from the left circle that Landon Bernard got most of but could not fully control. The puck landed at the feet of Matvei Shaposhnikov who easily tapped in the rebound to put the Patriots in front 1-0. That would be the only goal for the Patriots as Bernard recovered to play excellent hockey in the second and third periods to keep the Patriots off the board and give the Lightning a chance to even the score.

The second period was a tightly contested and defensive. Each team managed six shots on net that Piche and Bernard saved with little difficulty. The Patriots had the lone powerplay of the period after Bradley Cupples was called for interference for knocking a dropped stick into the corner and out of the way of the play.

In the third period, the Lightning pushed to get the equalizer. Brandon Bernard and Adam Levine had two separate two on one opportunities. Bernard elected to shoot coming down the left wing on both opportunities. His shots were saved by Piche with no rebound opportunity for Levine who was wide open in front having driven hard to the net both times. Any rebound would have surely been in the net to tie the game.

At the conclusion of the last of the two on one breaks, Greg Felder was called for slashing Piche coming through the crease late after the play looking for a rebound. The Lightning again did the job on the penalty kill and the game remained 1-0. With under three minutes to go in the game, Brandon Bernard got loose in the neutral zone, skated past the Patriots defense and went in alone on a breakaway. He faked and stick handled around Piche. With a wide open net, the puck trickled off his stick on the final fake and went behind the net. With 45 seconds to go in the game, Landon Bernard made an acrobatic, diving stick save on a Patriots breakaway by Rusiecki. His save gave the Lightning an opportunity at a tying goal in the final minute. With Bernard pulled for an extra attacker, several shots from the point hit traffic in front and bounced harmlessly away allowing the Patriots to prevail in a game that under normal circumstances would have had a much different outcome.

Game Notes:

• The Lightning outshot the Patriots 29-21.
• The Lightning penalty kill did not allow a powerplay goal and is now 19-21 on the season, 90.5%.
• The Lightning junior varsity powerplay did not have an extra attacker advantage against the Patriots and remains scoreless on the season in 18 opportunities.
• The Lightning will be looking to bounce back into the win column when they return to action over the winter break on Wednesday, December 29th at 7:45 pm at Skate Frederick for a non-conference game versus Frederick County.

Three Stars of the Game:

First Star—Julian Piche—Wootton Goalie—29 save shutout
Second Star—Landon Bernard—Upper Montgomery Goalie–-1 goal against, 20 saves, .952 save percentage
Third Star—Brandon Bernard—Upper Montgomery Center

The Upper Montgomery junior varsity fell to Walter Johnson 5-3 on Monday afternoon at Wheaton Ice Rink. The loss left the team with a 2-2 record in conference and a 2-3-1 record overall on the season. Up 3-2 with six minutes left in the game, the Lightning gave up three late goals to see the game slip away. The result was impacted by a subpar performance by the referees, which handed out ten powerplays to the Wildcats and only two to the Lightning. The amount of time Upper Montgomery spent on the penalty kill prevented the Lightning from getting into the flow of the game. Once behind late in the third period having to continue to kill penalties prevented the team from mounting a comeback.

The Lightning went to the penalty kill just one minute and sixteen seconds into the game when Brandon Bernard was called for tripping. The Lightning held strong and killed off penalty number one. With four and a half minutes to go in the first period, Lightning forward Greg Felder, who was making his season debut, was called for high sticking and then given an additional two minutes for arguing the call. Just thirty seconds later the Lightning would jump in front while shorthanded. Lightning Center Henry Honacki blocked a shot from the left point. The puck bounced forward and he skated down the right wing outracing the Wildcats defense. At the right faceoff circle, he fired a wrist shot far side and high past Wildcat netminder Becca Freda for his first career high school goal. Less than a minute later while still on the powerplay, Wildcat defender Coleman Santy skated up ice on an individual rush and fired a shot past Lightning netminder Landon Bernard to even the score at one. That would be the only powerplay goal surrendered by the Lightning as the team would go on to kill nine of the ten shorthanded situations.

The second period would be similar to the first period. Early in the period, the Lightning would regain the lead. Off of a faceoff in the Wildcats defensive zone, the puck went to the boards. James Hyman competed in the corner and won the puck. He turned and passed the puck across the ice to the right point where Andrew Gean fired a slap shot past Freda who was dealing with screen in front from Jordan Lynch. A minute later the score would be even at two. Off of a faceoff to the left of Bernard, Wildcat Center Adam Rozsalyi stepped forward and put a wrist shot high past Bernard’s catching glove from the bottom of the faceoff circle. Then, the penalty parade started again. First it was Bradley Cupples for cross checking. Then it was George Benedick for roughing. The Lightning interrupted the penalty parade to re-take the lead. Cupples cleared the zone with a pass to Brandon Bernard who skated down the right wing into the Wildcats zone. He stopped hard, faked, and then slid a beautiful pass over to Hyman who had a wide open net to knock the puck into. The Lightning were back in front with 2:44 left in the second period, a period in which they had three shots on goal and scored twice. Meanwhile, the referees were not done. With 1:37 left in the period, Honacki was called for an apparent hooking penalty. Finally, after six consecutive penalties on the Lightning, a penalty was called on Walter Johnson for roughing.

The Lightning could not capitalize on an early third period powerplay. Then, the game became a test of the Lightning’s defense. For the next three minutes the Wildcats pushed to tie the game and the Lightning defended well. With just less than six minutes left in the game Rozsalyi would score again to even the game. He took a pass along his own blue line from Santy and skated up ice by himself. He entered the Lightning defensive zone and fired a wrist shot past Bernard. On the next shift Rozsalyi would net a hat trick finishing off a nice three on two rush up the ice by the Wildcats. Rozsalyi started the play skating up ice and passing the puck over to Wildcat defender Max Abbott who had joined the rush. Abbott found Leyton Seo in front. Rather than shoot, Seo passed the puck across the crease to Rozsalyi for an easy tap in goal.

Two minutes later Rozsalyi would tally again for his fourth goal of the game, beating Bernard from a sharp angle high glove side to give the Wildcats a 5-3 lead. Then, the game disintegrated. Twelve seconds after the Wildcats goal, Brandon Bernard skated up ice into the Wildcats defensive zone. A penalty was called, and a Wildcats defender skated into the penalty box. Somehow, while carrying the puck into the offensive zone the referees had called a holding penalty on Bernard confusing the Wildcats who were certain they were going shorthanded. On the penalty kill, Cupples was again called for cross checking putting the Lightning down on a 5-3 penalty kill. After the 5-3 was killed off, Benedick was called for a final penalty late in the game.

Game Notes:

• The Lightning were outshot by the Wildcats by a wide margin, 33-9.
• The Lightning penalty kill was excellent in the game killing off nine of ten Wildcats powerplay opportunities while scoring shorthanded. The Upper Montgomery junior varsity penalty kill is 17-19 on the season, 89.5%.
• The Lightning junior varsity powerplay remains scoreless on the season in 18 opportunities.
• James Hyman had his first multi-point game with one goal and one assist.
• The Lightning will be looking to bounce back tomorrow, Tuesday, December 21st at 4:50 pm at the Laurel Ice Gardens for an important divisional game versus Wootton.

Three Stars of the Game:

First Star—Adam Rozsalyi—Walter Johnson Center—4 Goals
Second Star—Coleman Santy—Walter Johnson Defense–-1 Goal, 1 Assist
Third Star—James Hyman—Upper Montgomery Forward—1 Goal, 1 Assist

The Upper Montgomery Lightning earned a signature win Friday evening at Rockville Ice Arena against the Whitman Vikings. The 2-1 victory playing against the division one Vikings was a complete team effort and should be enough to propel the Lightning into the varsity playoffs for the first time. With five games remaining in the regular season, Friday evening’s victory is sure to push Upper Montgomery up the league rankings heading into the finishing homestretch. The Lightning are next in action after the winter break against the Wilson Stars, a team the Lightning easily beat 9-0 just before Thanksgiving.

Will Mellen was excellent in net stopping 39 of 40 shots and holding the Vikings off the scoresheet until three and a half minutes remained in the game. The Lightning defense of James Botti, George Benedick, Ethan Hockey, Andrew Gean, and Andrew Botti were key to preventing many open looks, and when the Vikings did have chances, Mellen was there to shut the door. At winter break, Mellen leads the Montgomery Hockey Conference goalies who have played at least three games with a 1.40 goals against average and a .932 save percentage.

The game began inauspiciously. Just one minute and twelve seconds into the contest, Lightning high scoring winger Ryan Jacobson was assessed a two-minute checking from behind penalty. That penalty automatically comes with a ten-minute misconduct penalty, effectively eliminating Jacobson from competing in the entire first period. The excellent Lightning penalty kill took care of the Viking’s powerplay, just to go back on the penalty kill immediately thereafter when Upper Montgomery defender Andrew Botti was given a minor penalty for roughing. Halfway through the second penalty kill, Viking’s defender Morrison Cohen took a holding penalty to negate the balance of the Viking’s powerplay.

As the Upper Montgomery powerplay was ending, the Lightning would jump out in front. Lightning winger Hunter Cameron collected the puck at the Lightning blue line. He curled with the puck and skated up the right wing side, dumping the puck past the Vikings defense as he entered the Vikings zone. He pressured behind the net and forced the Vikings defense. The puck squirted lose and bounced off Lightning Center Bradley Cupples. Cameron poked the puck back to the left point. George Benedick hustled to keep the blue line, just barely keeping the puck in the zone. He fired a long range wrist shot toward the net. The puck clicked off the skates of the lone Vikings defender in the slot and past Viking’s goalie Reed Crichton at the 8:16 mark of the first period. The Lightning would have to kill off another minor penalty, this time roughing to Benedick with three minutes remaining in the first period. At the end of the first period the Lightning led 1-0 playing without Jacobson, killing off three penalties, and being outshot 11-8.

The second period would be played almost entirely in the Lightning defensive zone. Mellen made some of his best saves in the period to maintain the Upper Montgomery lead. There were several goal mouth scrambles where the defense blocked shots, shots went wide of the net, and Mellen was there to rob Vikings forwards with great saves. He even endured a goalie interference penalty to Viking’s star center Charlie Allen. At the end of the second period, the Lightning still led 1-0, while being outshot 20-2 in the period.

On the second shift of the third period, the Lightning lead would grow to 2-0. Off of a defensive zone faceoff loss, James Botti hustled out to the point to knock the puck loose from the Vikings defense. Cupples collected the puck just inside the Lightning defensive zone and skated the puck through neutral ice and into the Vikings defensive zone. He passed cross ice to James Botti. Botti collected the puck with two Viking defenders covering him and got off a backhand shot on net. Crichton made a stick save. The puck squirted away from his catching glove over to Cupples before he could freeze the puck. Cupples took a stride to the right near the right goal post and centered the puck back into the slot where Cameron had driven the net. Cameron was in perfect position to volley the puck into the left side of the net past the outstretched leg pad of Crichton.

Over the next ten minutes of action the Lightning did an excellent job of playing positional defense and limiting the Vikings. There were minimal high scoring chances and the Vikings found it difficult to escape the defensive pressure being applied by Upper Montgomery. It was only off of a crazy carom with three and a half minutes remaining in the game that the Vikings would get on the board. Allen skated the puck into the Lightning defensive zone. He took a shot from the top of the circles in the center of the ice. The shot went several feet wide of the net and hit the back boards on its side. Rather than continuing into the corner and up the right wing boards, the puck ricocheted back into the slot past the Lightning defense who were headed to chase down the puck in the corner, gain possession, and clear the zone. All alone in front with a wide open net, Viking’s winger Teddy Hauptman scored to cut the Upper Montgomery lead to 2-1.

It made for a nerve wracking last 3:28 for the Lightning faithful in attendance. Upper Montgomery did not let the bad bounce affect them and they went right back to playing pressure defense. As the minutes and seconds on the clock wound down, with each defensive zone clear, the Lightning gained momentum. When the Vikings pulled Crichton from net for the extra attacker, James Botti gained control of the puck behind the Upper Montgomery net. With great individual effort, he pinched the puck against the boards for twenty seconds running off precious time. The Lightning faced a defensive zone faceoff with 24.8 seconds left. Jacobson won the draw and the Lightning immediately iced the puck. With 18.5 seconds left, off the next defensive zone faceoff, the Lightning lost this draw and immediately pressured the puck. The Vikings were unable to penetrate the interior of the Lightning defense and could not get into the high scoring areas. The puck stayed to the exterior along the boards until it was sent back to the left point with 7.3 seconds remaining. The point shot hit a Vikings forward in front and deflected into the right corner where Benedick outraced the Vikings and fired the puck out of the zone and down ice. As the final seconds ticked off, the Lightning poured off the bench in celebration skating over to congratulate Mellen on his season defining performance.

Game Notes:

• The victory over Whitman was the Lightning’s first win over a division one opponent.
• The Lightning were outshot by the Vikings by a wide margin, 40-17.
• Will Mellen lowered his goals against average to 1.40 and increased his save percentage to .932.
• The Lightning penalty kill killed off all three Vikings powerplays and is now 27 of 30 on the season, 90.0%.
• The Lightning powerplay went one for two and is now 7 of 30 on the season, 23.3%.
• The Lightning picked up their fourth straight victory and are unbeaten in their last five games 4-0-1.
• The Lightning are next in action after winter break on Friday, January 7th at 9:00 pm at Rockville Ice Area for a game against the Wilson Stars.

Three Stars of the Game:

First Star—Will Mellen—Upper Montgomery Goalie—Win, 1 GAA, 39 saves, .975 save percentage
Second Star—George Benedick—Upper Montgomery Defense–-1 Goal
Third Star—Hunter Cameron—Upper Montgomery Forward—Game Winning Goal, 1 Assist

The Upper Montgomery Lightning played their most complete game of the season in Friday night’s 6-1 dismantling of the Northwest Jaguars. The top line continued to provide offense. The second line contributed two goals. The third and fourth lines dominated puck possession in the Northwest defensive zone. The defense locked down against Northwest limiting quality chances and Will Mellen made important saves when called upon. All in all, a great team effort. The win was the third consecutive victory for the Lightning and evened their season record at 3-3-1. The win was immensely important for the season ending Montgomery Hockey Conference postseason playoff tournament as the Lightning now hold one of the final playoff positions with five league games left in the regular season.

The Lightning pressured right from the opening faceoff creating chance after chance in the Jaguars zone. Outside of Jaguars forward Evan Steinberg and offensive defender Brady Graham, the Jaguars had no answer for the Lightning. Northwest only had two quality chances to score during the game. Halfway through the opening period, Lightning goalie Will Mellen made a nice save off of a backhand shot by Steinberg on a one-on-one rush. That save seemed to energize Upper Montgomery and it felt like it would only be a matter of time before the Lightning would beat Jaguars goalie Jonah Boles.

Two minutes later the Lightning would grab the lead. After a faceoff win in the offensive zone, Chris Hassett controlled the puck in the left corner. He passed the puck into the slot to Nathan Cassel. Cassel’s shot was saved by Boles and the rebound went in front up the slot area to Ryan Jacobson. Jacobson fired the puck wide of the near post. Cassel picked up the puck skating around the back of the net, and he completed an easy wrap around goal into an empty net for a 1-0 Lightning lead.

The lead would be short lived however. Just a minute later, on a delayed penalty call, Steinberg evened the score. He carried the puck up ice weaving into the Lightning defensive zone. From the bottom of the right faceoff circle, he fired a wrist shot far side past Mellen. The Lightning would score a momentum changing goal in the last minute of the first period. Off of another faceoff win in the Jaguars defensive zone, Bradley Cupples won the draw back to James Botti at the right point. Botti’s shot toward the net was deflected and landed at the feet of Cupples. All in one motion, Cupples turned and shot. The shot was perfectly placed over the right shoulder of Boles and into the top left corner of the net giving the Lightning a lead they would not relinquish. Shots on goal in the first period were Lightning 15 and the Jaguars 5.

Cupples’ goal gave the Lightning momentum they would build upon during the first shift of the second period. The Lightning controlled the puck for a minute and twenty seconds off the opening faceoff of the period. From besides the goal post, Hassett passed the puck back to Andrew Botti at the blue line. Botti’s wrist shot was high and seemed to handcuff Boles. The puck hit off of Boles’ catching glove and landed at the feet of Cassel who finished the rebound into an open net. For Cassel it was his second goal of the game and gave the Lightning a 3-1 lead.

The lead would grow to 4-1 on another strike by Cassel just three seconds after a penalty to Graham expired. Cupples won the draw to the left of Boles. The puck went right to Cassel in the high slot. His quick wrist shot beat Boles for his first career hat trick. A little under a minute later the Lightning would strike on the power play to stretch the lead. Hassett controlled the puck behind the net. He passed off the boards to Andrew Botti at the left point. Botti bumped the puck to Jacobson at the center point along the blue line. Jacobson’s slapshot went past several skaters and was deflected by Hassett past a screened Boles. Shots on goal in the second period were in favor of the Lightning 13-4.

The third period turned into a shooting gallery against Boles with Lightning totaling 16 shots on goal to the Jaguars 1. The coaching staff rolled all four lines and the three defensive pairings. With five and a half minutes remaining Upper Montgomery would finish off the scoring on a nice passing play. From his own blue line, Hunter Cameron made a rink wide pass to Olivia Robbins in the neutral zone. She entered the Jaguars defensive zone along the right wing and cut toward the middle of the ice. While stick handling she maneuvered around two Jaguars defenders sliding the puck over to Cameron who had hustled up the ice. In alone, Cameron wristed the puck high glove side to beat Boles for the final score of the game.

Game Notes:

• Several Lightning student athletes had multiple point games; Nathan Cassel–3 Goals, Chris Hassett–1 Goal, 2 Assists, Ryan Jacobson–2 Assists, Andrew Botti–2 Assists, Bradley Cupples—1 Goal, 1 Assist.
• This was the third straight game a Lightning student athlete scored a hat trick.
• The Lightning outshot the Jaguars by a wide margin, 44-10.
• Will Mellen lowered his goals against average to 1.51.
• The Lightning penalty kill is 21 of 24 on the season, 87.5%.
• The Lightning powerplay is 6 of 28 on the season, 21.4%.
• The Lightning picked up their third straight victory and are unbeaten in their last four games 3-0-1.
• The Lightning are next in action on Friday, December 17th at 9:10 pm at Rockville Ice Area for an important cross division game versus Whitman.

Three Stars of the Game:

First Star—Nathan Cassel—Upper Montgomery Forward—3 Goals
Second Star—Chris Hassett—Upper Montgomery Center–-1 Goal, 2 Assists
Third Star—Andrew Botti—Upper Montgomery Defense—2 Assists