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The Upper Montgomery Lightning played their most complete game of the 2022 – 2023 season thus far in throttling the Blair Blazers 9-1 on Friday night at Rockville Ice Arena. The victory claws the Lightning’s record back to 2-4-1, with all four losses to teams ranked in the top eight of the state high school ice hockey rankings. Upper Montgomery dominated in all aspects of the game thoroughly outplaying the overmatched Blazers. Upper Montgomery’s rugged play, hard hitting, stifling defense, and potent offensive skill was way too much for Blair to handle.

The Lightning brought their A game right from the opening faceoff. Three minutes into the game, Upper Montgomery jumped out on top and just kept going. Olivia Robbins collected the puck in the slot in the Lightning defensive zone. She passed the puck to Bradley Cupples on a controlled breakout play. Cupples skated into center ice and dumped the puck into the Blair defensive zone following in hard on the forecheck. Cupples’ pressure forced a turnover with the puck going directly to Robbins who was following the play. Robbins immediately shot the puck low along the ice from a bad angle. The puck went five hole and snuck past Blair netminder Lily Bendavid.

Three minutes later it was 2-0 Upper Montgomery as Stephen Shkeda struck for his first goal of the season. Shkeda collected the puck in the right corner of the Upper Montgomery defensive zone. He took two strides with possession and passed the puck indirect across the ice to Nathan Cassel on the left wing boards. Entering the offensive zone Cassel backhanded the puck down the boards and low by the side of the net to Chris Hassett. Hassett pivoted and sent a backhand pass into the low slot just outside the crease. Shkeda was able to reach back and backhand the puck into the far side of the net low under Bendavid’s glove hand.

The next several minutes were heavy pressure put on by Upper Montgomery sprinkled with dangerous counterattack rushes by Blair’s two offensively gifted brothers, Alex and Chris Birchard. When Alex Birchard was called for roughing with three and a half minutes remaining in the period, Upper Montgomery would open up some breathing room. Off the powerplay faceoff, Upper Montgomery worked the puck around the perimeter of the Blair defensive set up. The puck came to Lightning forward Hunter Cameron on the right wing boards. He sent the puck down to Hassett stationed behind the net. Hassett and Cameron played catch, passing the puck back and forth to each other before Hassett sent the puck into the slot where Lightning senior captain George Benedick had snuck into an opening having gained inside position in the crease. Benedick shoveled the puck over Bendavid’s glove short side for the powerplay goal.

On the next shift, Upper Montgomery would put the game out of reach with still two periods left to play. Ethan Hockey used his skates to keep the puck in at the point blocking a Blair clearing attempt. The puck clicked off Hockey’s skates and over to Henry Honacki in the high slot. Honacki turned and fired. The puck went along the ice from long range and beat Bendavid five hole. For Honacki, it was his first career high school goal. Shots on goal in the first period were eleven for Upper Montgomery and six for Blair, not yet a true indication of how lopsided the game was or would become.

Five minutes into the second period, Upper Montgomery would push their lead to 5-0. Lightning defender Brady Berkhammer collected the puck in his defensive zone. He sent an indirect pass off the boards to Cassel who was skating back into the neutral zone. Cassel skated the puck down the left wing and snapped a shot far side high from the top of the left wing circle. The shot was too good beating Bendavid glove side. The hard hitting affair continued with Alex Birchard attempting to hit Lightning defender Andrew Botti up high. Birchard was in some discomfort after initiating the contact and would leave the game early for the dressing room.

The last five minutes of the period were filled with Lightning penalties and more Lightning goals. Lightning senior defender Andrew Gean took a hooking penalty. A soft call, but up 5-0 it was expected. Upper Montgomery continued to pressure the Blazers with Brandon Bernard challenging the Blazers defense all over the defensive zone. Applying tons of pressure, Bernard finally baited the Blair defense into coughing up the puck. After stealing possession of the puck along the left wing boards, Bernard cut to the center of the ice. He pivoted to his forehand and shot seven hole between Bendavid’s body and the far post for the unassisted shorthanded goal.

While Gean’s penalty was winding down, Benedick was called for roughing. Down two skaters for the final fifteen seconds of Gean’s penalty was no concern for Upper Montgomery’s penalty kill which for the first time all season had no difficult moments. With Gean returning to the ice, Upper Montgomery returned to attack mode while still shorthanded. The puck was cleared to the Blair defensive zone. Cassel pressured the Blazers defender behind the net. The breakout pass up the boards was cut off by Bernard. Bernard flipped the puck into the high slot area where it was possessed by Cassel. Cassel skated around the Blazers defense, then went around the net, and backhand dunked the puck into the empty side of the net with Bendavid caught out of position. Similar to the first period, the shots on goal were heavily slanted to the Lightning’s advantage. Upper Montgomery fired thirteen shots on goal against Bendavid and Blair placed only five shots on Lightning netminder, Landon Bernard.

The third period felt like a high intensity scrimmage because the hitting continued with Cameron laying a big hit off a faceoff in the Blair defensive zone. The Upper Montgomery coaching staff began distributing playing time to some of the depth skaters dressed for action. Upper Montgomery was forced to kill off two more penalties, one to Cameron for interference and one to Hassett for cross checking. With running clock, the game quickly moved toward conclusion with Upper Montgomery still leading 7-0.

With just over two minutes remaining in the game, Cupples sent the puck in deep. Robbins pressured the puck in the Blair defensive zone cutting off the clearing attempt along the left wing boards. She passed the puck back to the point to Botti. Botti walked the puck along the blue line toward the center of the ice where he ripped a wrist shot high and past Bendavid’s glove. During the same shift, after the neutral zone faceoff, Upper Montgomery would score its ninth and final goal of the game. More forechecking pressure in the offensive zone preceded a great display of passing and teamwork. Cupples passed to the point to Berkhammer. Berkhammer sent the puck to the right to Benedick who riffled a slapshot into the feet of the forwards crashing the net. Philip Shkeda used his feet and kicked the puck loose to Robbins who fired a wrist shot past Bendavid.

The only question left was could Upper Montgomery keep the shutout for the final minute and a half left in the game. Unfortunately, no. Blair would score with 49 seconds left on a shot from Jackson Martindill from distance outside the right circle. It was a shot that Landon Bernard would certainly have liked to have back and to have secured the shutout.

The Lightning will be looking to find consistency in their game leading into important upcoming games against Sherwood and then a back to back set against perennial powerhouse Wootton. If the heavy forechecking and the stingy defensive effort both continue, Upper Montgomery will start climbing the conference standings (and rankings), with a home playoff game potentially available to secure.

Game Notes:

• Shots on goal for the game were lopsided, Upper Montgomery with 37 and Blair with 15.
• Upper Montgomery’s penalty kill came through and killed off all four Blazers powerplay opportunities. The Lightning scored two shorthanded goals as well. The team’s penalty kill on the season is now 15 for 25, raising the penalty kill success rate to 60%.
• The Lightning scored on their only powerplay of the game.
• Henry Honacki scored his first career varsity goal.
• Brandon Bernard scored again, bringing his streak to goals in four straight games.
• George Benedick scored a goal and added an assist. He now has eight points on the season, more points than over his first three seasons combined.
• Landon Bernard came within 49 seconds of his second shutout of the season.
• Upper Montgomery will look to continue its resurgence and build upon Friday’s effort when the team faces the Sherwood Warriors next Friday, December 16th. Game time is 8:15 pm at Cabin John Ice Rink.

Three Stars of the Game:

First Star—Nathan Cassel—Upper Montgomery Forward—2 Goals, 1 Assist
Second Star—Olivia Robbins—Upper Montgomery Forward—2 Goals, 1 Assist
Third Star—George Benedick—Upper Montgomery Defense–-1 Goal, 1 Assist

One week after its dominating performance in easily handling the Northwest Jaguars, the Upper Montgomery Lightning learned a lesson that will hopefully benefit the team over the course of the rest of the season. Against fourth ranked Whitman, the Lightning lacked the intensity necessary to compete with one of the top teams in the Montgomery Hockey Conference. A lackluster first two periods were too much for the team to overcome, even with a dominant third period effort. Upper Montgomery was left searching for answers in a game the team thought would be a jump start to the rest of the season. It’s possible that the poor performance against Whitman will be a teaching lesson that could have a positive impact on the team moving forward, in that to be successful against quality opponents, a full game effort is needed 100% of the time.

Three minutes into the game, Bradley Cupples was called for tripping. The Lightning penalty kill faltered as it has for much of the young season. The Vikings would score, and Upper Montgomery seemed to be chasing the game the rest of the contest. In his defensive zone, Vikings defender Walter Ingis passed the puck to Teddy Hauptman at the defensive blue line. Hauptman skated through neutral ice and down into the left wing corner of the Lightning defensive zone. He passed the puck back to Andrew Fou along the left wing boards. Fou cut to the top of the circle, and from the mid slot fired a wrist shot past Upper Montgomery goalie Landon Bernard high blocker side.

Five minutes later Fou would score again making the score 2-0. Fou backchecked hard and won the puck at his own defensive blue line. He passed the puck back and over to Ingis in the defensive zone before he curled up ice along the left wing boards. Ingis passed to Fou heading up ice with speed. Fou collected the pass in stride and rocketed past the Lightning defense which was slow to react. Fou’s rising wrist shot from the bottom of the left wing circle went past Bernard stick side and into the top corner of the net.

As the clock approached the expiration of the first period, Upper Montgomery would literally hit a buzzer beater. With fifteen seconds remaining in the period and a faceoff in the Lightning defensive zone it looked like Upper Montgomery would reach the first intermission down 2-0. Whitman won the draw cleanly between the two defenders at the point all the way down into the Vikings defensive zone. Ryan Jacobson used his speed to race down ice on the forecheck causing a turnover. The puck went directly to Lightning captain George Benedick. From a bad angle in the lower right circle, Benedick fired high, short side past Vikings goalie Ryan Graf’s glove, just before the buzzer sounded to end the period. The shots on goal in the first period did not convey just how much Whitman outplayed the Lightning. Shots on goal were Whitman with seven and Upper Montgomery with four.

One minute into the second period the Lightning went on their first powerplay of the game when Samuel Van Leeuwen was called for interference. Looking to build on the momentum after Benedick’s goal, Upper Montgomery possessed the puck in the offensive zone but was unable to get many good looks or shots on Graf. Then, with eight minutes left in the period, Whitman would score a backbreaking and crazy goal from behind the net from the right corner. It was the soccer equivalent of an own goal. Vikings forward Charles Ingis collected a loose puck in the corner. His attempted centering pass into the slot was blocked by Lightning defender Owen Robbins. The puck caromed off Robbins, hit the near post, popped up, then hit Bernard, and somehow landed in the net for a deflating goal and a 3-1 Whitman lead.

Thereafter, Lightning forward Nathan Cassel was called for slashing. Whitman used a minute and thirty seconds to cash in for its second powerplay goal in as many chances. Fou entered the zone and curled up at the right point. He left the puck for Walter Ingis who skated to the top of the right circle. Bernard made a leg pad save on Ingis’ shot. The long rebound bounded to the left circle where the puck was collected by Fou. Fou passed the puck through the goal mouth looking for Van Leeuwen who had snuck behind the Lightning defense. With inside position, Van Leeuwen whacked the puck between the far post and Bernard into the empty net. At the end of the second period with the game teetering out of reach, the Lightning were able kill off an interference penalty to Benedick. The successful penalty kill provided some momentum and kept the game within reach at 4-1.

Just before the period ended, Vikings defender Rowan Miller was called for cross checking. That penalty began a parade to the penalty box over the next couple of minutes. While on the powerplay to start the third period, Jacobson was called for roughing, negating the Lightning powerplay. However, thirty seconds later, Walter Ingis was called for cross checking putting the Lightning back to a 4-3 powerplay advantage. Off the offensive zone faceoff, Lightning center Chris Hassett controlled the puck along the left boards. He sent a pass to the left point to Lightning defender Andrew Botti. Botti turned and fed along the blue line to Robbins at the right point. Robbins shot with Hassett setting a screen in front. The puck rebounded off Graf’s pads to Cassel in the bottom left circle. Cassel’s wrist shot went low along the ice just inside the left post and Graf’s right toe to bring Upper Montgomery back into the contest at 4-2.

With momentum building, Upper Montgomery began pressing to further close the Whitman lead. With eleven minutes left in the game, Upper Montgomery got a little too overaggressive and the Vikings upped the lead to 5-2. Vikings forward Jacob Lerman collected the puck behind his own net and fed Charles Ingis on the right wing boards in the defensive zone. Ingis skated through the Lightning defenders who reached to poke check and swung sticks at Ingis rather than play the body. Ingis split the Lightning defense at the offensive blue line and went in on a breakaway down the slot alone against Bernard. Ingis shot high glove side for his second goal of the game and for all intents and purposes icing the game.

To their credit, Upper Montgomery kept up the pressure. Walter Ingis was called for a minor boarding penalty along with the automatic ten minute misconduct penalty just after his brother’s goal. While Upper Montgomery failed to score, not having the Vikings top defender, Walter Ingis, available for the remainder of the game gave the Lightning some opportunities. However, even with the added pressure being applied by the Lightning, Graf held firm. As the game wound down, there was a bit of a skirmish with just under three minutes remaining. Miller and Lightning forward Hunter Cameron were called for coincidental roughing minors. With the extra ice and the goalie pulled, Upper Montgomery would pull closer with 1:36 left in the game.

Upper Montgomery took possession of the puck off of a faceoff win in the Whitman defensive zone. The puck went to Botti at the right point. His shot was deflected and wound up behind the net. It was retrieved by Benedick aggressively pursuing the puck with time winding down. Benedick passed to Cassel at the right boards. Cassel’s shot toward the goal was deflected on net and the save was made by Graf. The rebound trickled to the left side of the net where Brandon Bernard shot quicky high and into the open side of the net before Graf could slide over to make the next save.

Upper Montgomery kept the goalie pulled and had several good scoring chances over the final minute and a half with Graf making a standout save on Jacobson. The Lightning fired fifteen shots on goal over the third period as they finally played with urgency. Upper Montgomery had only eleven total shots on goal over the first two periods combined. Displeased with how they played, Upper Montgomery may be able to use the poor performance as a springboard for the rest of the season, starting with next week’s matchup against faltering Blair.

Game Notes:

• Shots on goal for the game were even, Upper Montgomery with 26 and Whitman with 25.
• Upper Montgomery’s penalty kill reverted back to its poor early season form. Whitman scored on two of its three powerplay opportunities. The Lightning PK which has struggled all season is now eleven for twenty-one on the season, 52.4%.
• Brandon Bernard scored in his third straight game.
• George Benedick scored in back to back games for the first time in his career. He now has as many points this season in four games as he did all of last season.
• Upper Montgomery will look to bounce back and start a long winning streak next Friday, December 9th versus Blair. Game time is 9:00 pm at Rockville Ice Arena.

Three Stars of the Game:

First Star—Andrew Fou—Whitman Forward—2 Goals, 1 Assist
Second Star—Charles Ingis—Whitman Forward—2 Goals
Third Star—Walter Ingis—Whitman Defense–-3 Assists

The Upper Montgomery Lightning will feel the sting of Friday night’s loss to the Wootton Patriots all offseason. In a game in which the Lightning were the far better team, the Patriots’ best player Nathan Barrow rescued Wootton late and advanced the Patriots into a Montgomery Hockey Conference Division Two playoff semifinal game against Blair next Friday night.

The Lightning got off to a flying start and controlled the tempo of the game from the outset. It looked as if Wootton with its fourteen seniors was disinterested playing in the Division Two playoff matchup. A penalty to Wootton center Conor Harris gave Upper Montgomery an early powerplay. However, the skater advantage was short lived as Lightning defender George Benedick was called for holding less than a minute later. It was the beginning of a parade to the penalty box as the poorly officiated game resulted in 19 penalties and four separate ten minute misconduct penalties assessed.

After the penalty to Benedick completed, Upper Montgomery continued to attack and was rewarded with the first goal of the game. Andrew Botti skated the puck from center ice down the left wing boards into the offensive zone. He continued into the corner crossing the goal line. Cutting toward the net he passed the puck out into the high slot area and found Chris Hassett who had maneuvered into the slot. Hassett was wide open. He pivoted and fired a hard, rising wrist shot past the glove of Wootton netminder Julian Piche for the opening score.

Less than a minute later, the lead would grow to 2-0. Andrew Botti cleared the puck in the Lightning defensive zone up the right wing boards to Hassett. Hassett skated with the puck from just outside the blue line down the boards and into the offensive zone. James Botti cut down the slot toward the net. Hassett’s cross crease pass was a beauty, finding Botti’s backhand just inside the left post for a nifty bang-bang deflection past the stick side of Piche.

Maybe the Lightning’s offensive success got the better of the team. A defensive pinch in the offensive zone led to a deflected puck and a three on one Wootton rush up ice. Grady Sellman collected the puck in his defensive zone and centered the puck up ice into the neutral zone to Ilhom Abdulaev. Abdulaev skated down the right wing side and feathered a nice backhand pass through Andrew Botti to Julius Rubin who was in alone in the slot. Rubin swatted the puck five hole past Lightning netminder Landon Bernard to put the Patriots on the board.

With a minute to go in the first period, the Patriots would tie up the game. Just after a roughing penalty to Andrew Botti expired, Nathan Barrow evened the score at two. Martyn Ogorondnikov skated the puck from his defensive position down into the right corner. He lost the puck under pressure from Andrew Botti, but was able to push the puck behind the net. Barrow swooped in and carried the puck around the net from right to left. He open pivoted away from Bradley Cupples and had time and space from a bad angle just below the lower portion of the left faceoff circle. Even with a bad angle toward the net, he fired a wicked wrist shot far side, high and over Bernard’s shoulder for the tying goal. Shots on goal in the first period were even at seven for each team.

The second period was controlled by the Lightning who outshot Wootton fifteen to six. Upper Montgomery skated well and was often able to create good scoring opportunities. The Lightning were helped when Abdulaev took a boarding penalty and was assessed a ten minute misconduct for arguing the call. Then, while shorthanded, Barrow was given a ten minute misconduct for not wearing his mouthpiece despite being warned to do so in the first period. The absence of the two talented Wootton forwards contributed to their lack of offensive push in the second period.

The third period also started off well for the Lightning as they took the lead less than a minute into the frame on a goal by Hunter Cameron. Bradley Cupples won a defensive zone face off in the left faceoff circle directly to the left wing boards where it was picked up by Ethan Hockey. Hockey skated out of the defensive zone up ice. He dumped the puck into the left corner where Cameron collected the puck and skated it around the crease from left to right. Reaching the right faceoff circle, he spun and his attempted wrist shot deflected behind the net short side. Josh Nadler was first to the puck. He circled the net to the weak side moving across the flow of play from right to left. His pass into the slot reached a cutting Cameron whose quick shot beat Piche high to the blocker side.

A minute later Andrew Botti was called for a questionable slashing penalty. He argued the call and was handed an additional ten minute misconduct penalty, effectively keeping him off the ice for almost the remainder of the game. With a few seconds left in Botti’s penalty, Cameron was called for high sticking putting the Lightning down two skaters for eight seconds. Botti’s two minute penalty ended and the Lightning were just down one skater. Near the end of Cameron’s penalty, Wootton tied up the game. A quick passing sequence from Harris to Barrow to Abdulaev and Abdulaev’s shot beat Bernard tying up the game at three with 9:35 left.

Yet another penalty was called on the Lightning just after the two back-to-back Patriots’ powerplays. Again, a bad officiating decision on a non-high stick that was called a high stick on George Benedick. With that penalty winding down, a make up slashing call was assessed to Sellman. Off the defensive zone faceoff, Harris was called for a hit to the head of a Lightning forward. Harris’ penalty was a two minute minor and a ten minute misconduct eliminating him from the rest of the contest. Off the second offensive zone faceoff on the 4-3 powerplay, Barrow won the faceoff back to Walter Cederbrandt who passed the puck across his own crease to Ogorondnikov who skied the puck out of the defensive zone. Barrow outraced the Lightning defense and broke in alone on Bernard. He easily deked Bernard scoring to put the Patriots up 4-3 with six minutes left in the game.

The Lightning still had a chance to even the score as they were on a 5-3 powerplay once Benedick’s penalty expired. Although the Lightning were able to gain the offensive zone and possess the puck, they did not convert. Instead, Barrow jumped on a loose puck and exited the defensive zone up the left wing boards with Abdulaev. They raced up ice on a two on one rush. Drawing the Lightning defender toward him, Barrow slide a pass across to Abdulaev. Abdulaev collected the pass, made a deke, and also slid the puck past Bernard. Two shot handed goals scored a minute apart when Wootton had only three skaters on the ice.

Down 5-3, the Lightning kept pressing. Piche made a few really good saves to maintain the Patriots’ lead. The penalty brigade kept coming as questionable call after questionable call landed additional student athletes in the penalty box. Lightning center Brandon Bernard was called for slashing. While Wootton was on the powerplay they mainly played keep away, passing the puck on the perimeter not allowing Upper Montgomery to gain control. With three minutes to go in the game, Hassett and Wootton defender Andrew Reynolds were called for coincidental minors, Hassett for roughing and Reynolds for high sticking. Just twenty seconds later, Abdulaev was called for roughing giving the Lightning one final chance to close the margin. The Lightning were unable to mount much pressure and the powerplay fizzled along with Upper Montgomery’s opportunity for their season of growth to continue next week. The game was salted away on an empty net goal scored by Abdulaev as he exited the penalty box on an assist from Barrow.

Game Notes:

• With the loss, Upper Montgomery ends its season with a 5-9-1 record, similar to last season but a huge leap forward in growth and competitiveness, especially against the top tier teams in the conference.
• The Lightning outshot Wootton 30-20.
• Again, shorthanded goals doomed the Lightning who gave up two shorthanded goals in the closing minutes of the contest. Upper Montgomery gave up eight shorthanded goals during the season and lost all seven games in which they conceded a shorthanded goal.
• The Lightning penalty kill, which has been outstanding all season, killed off six of the seven Wootton powerplays and finished the season 51-58, an excellent 87.9% kill rate.
• The Lightning powerplay faltered in all five powerplay chances against Wootton and finished the season 12-54, 22.2% success rate.

Three Stars of the Game:

First Star—Nathan Barrow—Wootton Center—2 Goals, 2 Assists
Second Star—IIhom Abdulaev—–Wootton Forward—3 Goals, 1 Assist
Third Star—Chris Hassett—Upper Montgomery Center—1 Goal, 1 Assist

For most of Friday night’s Montgomery Hockey Conference Division One playoff game, Upper Montgomery went toe-to-toe with a more experienced and talented Richard Montgomery Rockets squad who had their sights set on returning to the Maryland Student Hockey League championship game for a second season in a row. The tenth seeded Lightning were out to prove they belonged in the Division One playoffs having qualified for the playoff tournament for the first time in program history. Judging by the large Richard Montgomery victory celebration it is safe to say that Upper Montgomery has earned the respect of the top teams in the Montgomery Hockey Conference.

The first five minutes of game action were tight checking with both teams looking to control the tempo and style of the game. Richard Montgomery desired a free flowing contest with lots of end to end rushes. Upper Montgomery wanted a tighter checking game with less action and a clogged up neutral zone. Six minutes into the game, Richard Montgomery struck first. Lucas Perkins dumped the puck from his right point position into the right corner. Dylan Goetz possessed the puck and found Mitchell Bobys on the left wing cutting toward the slot and net. Goetz’s pass was perfectly timed and Bobys wasted no time in slapping the puck past Lightning netminder Will Mellen from the low slot.

The early goal did not deter the Lightning who kept working hard. A tripping penalty to Nathan Lynch gave Upper Montgomery the first powerplay of the game. Ryan Jacobson gained the offensive zone and passed the puck back to James Botti at the point. Botti’s shot was stopped by Rockets netminder Henry Darko, but Chris Hassett was able to jump on the rebound and put it past Darko into the net to even the score at one. The balance of the first period was played evenly with both teams unable to create many good scoring chances. Shots on goal in the first period were ten for Richard Montgomery and eight for Upper Montgomery.

A few minutes into the second period, the Lightning almost took the lead. Hunter Cameron broke in down the left wing on a two on one rush with Bradley Cupples cutting down the slot. Cameron’s centering pass over to Cupples eluded the lone Rockets defender and was right on the money. Cupples shot back across from where Darko had just moved low and toward the left post. The shot from the low slot cleanly beat Darko, clanked off the inside of the post, and stayed out of the net. It was a great chance that just did not go in.

With nine minutes left in the second period, Lightning defender George Benedick was called for interference. Benedick is one of the top penalty killers for Upper Montgomery. The Lightning penalty kill which had been outstanding all season, 91.7% success rate coming into the game was broken down by the Rockets. From his left point position, Luke Guttman passed the puck into the corner to Mitchell Bobys. A whistle from the stands sounded and all student athletes on the ice stopped competing. The referees instructed the student athletes to play on and after a few seconds Bobys found Dylan Goetz cutting backdoor down the slot with a cross ice feed. A wide open Goetz buried the shot past Mellen who had little chance on the play for a 2-1 Richard Montgomery lead. A goal protested vociferously by the Lightning coaching staff.

The Lightning had a chance to tie the game when Guttman was called for interference, but were unable to convert. With three minutes remaining in the second period, Upper Montgomery was back on the penalty kill after another interference penalty, this time to Cupples. On the powerplay, Richard Montgomery brought the puck up ice. Zach Bulson exited the Rockets defensive zone and fed Daniel Martella in the neutral zone along the right wing board. Martella passed the puck to the center of the ice finding Goetz streaking up ice. Goetz took possession of the puck just outside the blue line. He took a couple of strides so that he was a few feet into the offensive zone and let loose with a slap shot. Mellen tracked the puck and stuck out his blocker to make an easy save and direct the puck to the corner boards. Unfortunately for Mellen and Upper Montgomery, the puck took a weird deflection off of Mellen’s blocker, rolled up a couple of inches and fell behind him into the net for a goal. The unforced error with a minute and a half left in the period deflated the Lightning. Shots on goal in the second period were nine for Richard Montgomery and five for Upper Montgomery.

The Lightning began the third period shorthanded after a roughing penalty to Nathan Cassel was assessed in the closing seconds of the second period. It was a critical penalty kill situation for Upper Montgomery as a fourth goal would surely have opened up the game and made a comeback extremely challenging. The Lightning penalty killers came through to keep the score 3-1. With 6:45 left in the game, the Lightning received a final powerplay chance when Paulina Utochkin was called for hooking. With a few seconds remaining on the powerplay Upper Montgomery converted.

It took some time for Upper Montgomery to gain possession of the puck in the offensive zone. Eventually the puck was kept in at the point by Ethan Hockey. His slap shot was saved by Darko who again left a juicy rebound. Hassett beat Darko’s attempt to cover and freeze the puck, again shoveling the puck past him to cut the Richard Montgomery lead to 3-2 with five minutes remaining in the game. After the goal, the Lightning pushed with everything they had. With just under three minutes to go in the game, Jacobson fired a slap shot from the top of the right faceoff circle that beat Darko. The puck ricocheted so hard off the crossbar that the puck cleared itself landing back in the neutral zone. The Lightning were so close to tying up the game.

With 1:40 remaining in the game, the Lightning bench called for Mellen to head to the bench for an extra attacker. Just as Mellen left the crease and started skating toward the bench, a turnover at the Richard Montgomery blue line turned into a two on one rush up ice. Gutmann easily slid the puck across to Bulson for a tap in goal at the right post as Mellen scrambled to get back into position and square up to the action. As the puck crossed the goal line into the net, Upper Montgomery’s hopes for the upset dissipated, but not for a lack of effort and some unlucky circumstances. Richard Montgomery received everything the Lightning had and were very happy to have survived and to advance on in the conference playoff tournament. The first ever playoff win in program history will have to wait at least one more season, but the team’s performance gained the respect of the entire conference.

Game Notes:

• With the victory Richard Montgomery moves on to face second seeded Walter Johnson for a spot in the Maryland state playoff tournament.
• The Lightning were outshot by the Rockets 31-18 and 21-10 over the final two periods.
• The Lightning penalty kill which had been outstanding all season, faltered. Richard Montgomery connected for two powerplay goals in three chances. The Upper Montgomery penalty kill is now 45-51 on the season, still an excellent 88.2% kill rate.
• The Lightning powerplay bounced back from last week’s poor performance and was 2-3 in the game.
• The Lightning will next be in action on Friday night, February 18th at Rockville Ice Arena versus an undetermined opponent in the quarterfinal round of the Montgomery Hockey Conference Division Two playoffs.

Three Stars of the Game:

First Star—Dylan Goetz—Richard Montgomery Forward—2 Goals, 1 Assist
Second Star—Mitchell Bobys—–Richard Montgomery Forward—1 Goal, 1 Assist
Third Star—Chris Hassett—Upper Montgomery Center—2 Goals

In a game with several student athletes missing the contest due to travel team commitments, the St. Johns Cadets downed the Upper Montgomery Lightning 4-1 in the regular season finale for both teams. To a person, the student athletes and the coaching staff were not pleased with the performance against St. Johns, in what might have been the team’s weakest performance of the season. It was not the way to honor the program’s three seniors, James Botti, Adarsh Nair, and Joshua Miller who were each celebrated prior to the start of the game. With the loss, the Lightning will enter next week’s Montgomery Hockey Conference Division One playoffs on a four game losing streak. The playoff bracket will be released in the next few days, but expectations are that Upper Montgomery will open the playoffs as a road team seeded somewhere between nine and eleven out of the twelve team field.

The game started sluggishly with both teams struggling to find any rhythm. Three minutes into the game Cadet’s defender Joseph Krauth took a hooking penalty. Maybe it was the absence of having Ryan Jacobson and Nathan Cassel available that disrupted the Lightning’s flow with the advantage, but the powerplay fizzled with very little zone time. As Krauth’s penalty ended, Lightning Center Bradley Cupples was called for high sticking. It took only six seconds for the Cadets to capitalize. Blake Russell cleanly won a faceoff in the right faceoff circle. The puck went straight back to Krauth at the right point. He took one stride to the middle of the ice and blasted a snap shot through traffic and past Lightning netminder Will Mellen on the glove side.

The next six minutes of game action saw the Lightning struggle to enter the offensive zone against St. Johns’ smothering defense. When Upper Montgomery was able to generate some offensive zone time, the shots directed on net against Cadet’s netminder Julian Goodfellow were not high quality chances. With three and a half minutes left in the first period, Lightning forward Olivia Robbins was called for slashing in the neutral zone. Upper Montgomery’s best offensive chance came while shorthanded when Chris Hassett and Hunter Cameron came in alone on a two on zero rush. Hassett’s pass across the crease was just a bit too deep toward the net and Cameron did not have much net to shoot at. Goodfellow was able to make a left leg pad save on the chance. The Lightning were able to kill off the remainder of the shorthanded advantage, but just after Robbins was released from the penalty box, the St. Johns lead would grow.

Cadet’s defender Thomas Pilkington collected the puck in the offensive zone along the left boards near his point position. He curled toward the middle of the ice along the blue line. He had time and space. He cut around a Lightning skater stickhandling into the high slot area, where he made another nifty move around a Lightning defender before finally snapping a shot far side past Mellen’s glove hand. It was a goal that never should have been scored as two Lightning student athletes had opportunities to body Pilkington and dislodge him from the puck. Shots on goal in the first period were nine to eight in favor of the Lightning.

The Lightning started the second period on the powerplay after a high sticking penalty to John Stanek. Upper Montgomery was unable to mount any real threat. In the middle of the second period, the Lightning were able to kill off a shorthanded situation after Andrew Botti was called for roughing. With just under three minutes remaining in the period, St. Johns would score an insurance goal, the result of poor defensive coverage by Upper Montgomery.

Off of a recoil in the neutral zone, Krauth passed the puck indirect off the left wing boards. The pass was collected by Austin Kirika who bumped the puck forward a few feet to William Spicer entering the zone with speed down the left wing side. Spicer cut in front of the Lightning defender which caused Andrew Botti to come over from his left defensive position to help stop Spicer. Spicer extended his stick and poked the puck toward the low slot area where Russell was all alone. Russell collected the puck, made a quick deke, and jammed the puck past Mellen’s right leg as Mellen shifted over toward the middle of the net in an attempt to stop Russell. Shots on goal in the second period were Lightning with eleven and St. Johns with nine.

The start of the third period saw Upper Montgomery with a shot lived sliver of hope. Chris Hassett scored early in the third period off of a nice pass from Hunter Cameron to cut the deficit to 3-1. Hassett’s shot beat Goodfellow low, stick side. Then, thirty seconds later, the Lightning went on the powerplay with an opportunity to further shrink the Cadets lead when Willem Desimone was called for tripping. However, it was the Cadets who took advantage scoring a shorthanded goal to salt away the game. Spicer took possession of the puck just inside his defensive blue line along the right wing boards. He exited the zone on a two on one advantage and rushed up ice. As he reached the top of the right faceoff circle in the offensive zone Spicer dished the puck over to Russell who tapped the puck past Mellen’s outstretched right leg into the wide open net for the final tally of the game.

Game Notes:

• Upper Montgomery finished the regular season with a 5-7-1 record.
• The Lightning outshot St. Johns 31-25.
• The Lightning penalty kill was 4-5 for the game, allowing a powerplay goal for the first time in months. The Upper Montgomery penalty kill is now 44-48 on the season, an excellent 91.7%.
• The Lightning powerplay struggled all night and was 0-3 in the game.
• Another shorthanded goal given up by the Lightning, the sixth shorthanded goal allowed on the season. All six shorthanded goals against have come in games the Lightning have lost.
• The Lightning will next be in action on Friday night, February 4th versus an undetermined opponent in the first round of the Montgomery Hockey Conference Division One playoffs. This season is the first time in program history that the Lightning have qualified for the Division One playoffs.

Three Stars of the Game:

First Star—Blake Russell—St. Johns Center—2 Goals, 1 Assist
Second Star—Julian Goodfellow—–St. Johns Goalie–Win, 30 Saves, .968 Save%
Third Star—Joseph Krauth—St. Johns Defense—1 Goal

The leadership of the Upper Montgomery Lightning hockey program knew Monday’s game versus Washington County was going to be a difficult game. The game was scheduled looking forward to the upcoming Montgomery Hockey Conference Division One and Division Two playoffs where Upper Montgomery was very likely to be facing off against very good opponents and some of the top tier teams in Montgomery County. Taking the young Lightning roster on the road to Hagerstown to face off against the second ranked, highly skilled and older Northstars is expected to pay dividends down the road. Washington County was never threatened in their 10-2 victory.

There were a few bright spots for the Lightning. Landon Bernard played very well in net. The score does not represent how well he played, making several highlight reel saves. The Lightning scored two powerplay goals in the game. Upper Montgomery also went long stretches of the game without conceding a goal, more than nine minutes to open the game, the first 12:30 of the second period, and the first ten minutes of the third period.

It was an avalanche of goals scored in bunches by the Northstars that did in the Lightning. The Northstars scored four goals in the final six minutes of the first period while outshooting the Lightning 21-4. In the second period it was three goals in the final three and a half minutes. Washington County closed out the game with three goals in the final five minutes of the game. Lucas Karlsson led the way with three goals and an assist, Ville Schoneborg had two goals and an assist, as did Tyler Bjerklie. Lochlan Joyce and Scott Blanchard were the other Northstars skaters with multiple points as each had a goal and an assist.

Upper Montgomery’s goals were both scored on the powerplay and from directly in front of the net. Bradley Cupples centered the puck from behind the net to Brandon Bernard at the right post. Bernard lifted the puck over Bryce Zeoli-Luisi’s shoulder to cut the Northstars lead to 4-1 mid-way through the second period. Chris Hassett finished out the scoring with 44 seconds remaining in the game. He received a nice centering pass from Hunter Cameron in the low slot near the right post. He also fired the puck over Zeoli-Luisi’s shoulder short side.

Game Notes:

• The Lightning were badly outshot by Washington County 40-13 for the game.
• The Lightning did not have to kill any penalties during the game.
• The Lightning powerplay finished the game 2-6.
• The Lightning are next in action on Senior Night on Friday, January 28th at 7:00 pm when they host St. John’s at Rockville Ice Arena. James Botti, Adarsh Nair, and Joshua Miller will be celebrated for their contributions to the Upper Montgomery hockey program during the team’s final regular season game.

Three Stars of the Game:

First Star—Lucas Karlsson—Washington County Defense—3 Goals, 1 Assist
Second Star—Ville Schoenborg—–Washington County Defense–2 Goals, 1 Assist
Third Star—Landon Bernard—Upper Montgomery Goalie—30 Saves

The Upper Montgomery Lightning return to action this Friday night versus Northwest in a critically important divisional game. Game time is 8:50 pm at Rockville Ice Arena. After the game against the Jaguars, we will have more clarity on team’s playoff aspirations. A loss would be extremely damaging to the team’s chance of qualifying for the playoffs. While a victory would place the Lightning in a prime position to secure one of the final playoff spots over the upcoming weeks.

The Lightning will also be looking to continue their recent unbeaten streak, 2-0-1. Coming off back-to-back victories over Wilson (9-0) and the West Virginia Vipers (6-3), the team is playing some of its best hockey of the season and will be seeking its third straight win.

In net for Upper Montgomery will be Will Mellen. Mellen will get the starting nod with Landon Bernard getting the net on Saturday night for the junior varsity game. His last performance was a shutout win over Wilson just before Thanksgiving.

The defense will have to contain the Jaguars high scoring tandem of Brady Graham (8 goals in 4 games) and Evan Steinberg (3 goals in 4 games). Together, Graham and Steinberg have scored 11 of the 14 goals scored by the Jaguars this season. With a full complement on defense; James Botti, George Benedick, Ethan Hockey, Andrew Gean, and Andrew Botti, look for the team to be stout on defense and play to its goals against average of three goals per game. The team’s penalty kill will need to continue to excel against Northwest. On the season, the Lightning are 19 for 22 on the penalty kill for an 86.3% success rate.

The Lightning’s offense has come to life over the past few games. The team is now averaging 4.5 goals per game. Look for this to increase as the Jaguars have given up the second most goals of any team in the Montgomery Hockey Conference, 39 in six games for a goals against average of 6.5 per game. Upper Montgomery’s top line of Chris Hassett, Ryan Jacobson, and Nathan Cassel have led the way tallying 21 goals and 18 assists thus far on the season. They have been on fire, having been on the ice for 13 of the last 15 goals scored by the Lightning. Getting more balanced scoring and production from the second line (three totals goals this season) and the third line (one goal this season) would help carry the Lightning to victory. Friday’s game will likely come down to stopping Jaguars’ forwards Graham and Steinberg, attacking the Northwest defense and causing turnovers with a heavy forecheck, and the second and third lines chipping in offensively. It should be a good one and a victory over the Jaguars would give the Lightning momentum heading into the cross-division portion of the schedule.