The Upper Montgomery first line dominated in Friday night’s victory over the West Virginia Vipers. The forward line of Chris Hassett, Ryan Jacobson, and Nathan Cassel was on fire accounting for all six goals in the 6-3 Lightning win. There was plenty to be happy with as the Lightning defense did a good job for most of the game holding the Vipers in check and Landon Bernard notched his first career varsity victory in goal. With the win the Lightning are now 2-3-1 on the season and are unbeaten in their last three games 2-0-1.
The Lightning jumped on top early in the game scoring at the 6:20 mark of the opening period. Chris Hassett collected an errant Vipers pass in the defensive zone. He passed wide on the left wing to Ryan Jacobson and they skated up ice on a two on two rush. From the left face off dot, Jacobson returned the puck to Hassett in the high slot and he buried a shot low to the glove side on Vipers goalie Libby Contrael to give the Lightning the lead.
The early lead would not last long. Two minutes later the Vipers would even the score. Off of a bad turnover in the Lightning defensive zone, Vipers forward Logan Gochenauer skated down the slot with a clean look at the net and he beat Bernard over the glove hand to even the score at one. The Lightning did not get down. The team shrugged off the error and re-took the lead on the very next shift.
After a lengthy shift by the top line in the Vipers defensive zone, Hassett pressured the Vipers defense causing a routine pass that was intended to go behind the net to deflect off of his stick. The puck caromed at a crazy angle and snuck past an unsuspecting Contrael to put the Lightning back in front. Shortly thereafter, the lead would grow to 3-1. Cassel dumped the puck into the Vipers defensive zone and followed the puck in on the forecheck. Under pressure, the Vipers defense rimmed the puck around the boards where it was intercepted by Jacobson along the half wall. Jacobson dished the puck to Cassel as he was skating toward the high slot. With the puck on his backhand, Cassel spun 180 degrees toward the net and fired the puck low glove side to beat Contrael.
The Vipers would close the margin to one with a goal midway through the second period. A turnover on the breakout hemmed the Lightning in the defensive zone. Eventually, a shot from the point was deflected by Zach Schulman in front of the net and past Bernard. Two minutes after that goal, the Vipers would go on the game’s first power play. But, it would turn out to be the Lightning that would strike again. A horrible zone breakout pass by the Vipers went up the slot and directly to Hassett who was applying mild zone pressure on the penalty kill. Hassett skated in alone on Contrael and easily beat her short side, high glove. The goal capped off his second consecutive hat trick with another unassisted goal and gave the Lightning back a two goal lead at 4-2.
The two goal lead would not last very long. The Vipers would again close within one goal with 2:13 left in the second period. A breakaway by Vipers forward John Stoner was saved by Bernard. However, Vipers forward Kevin Harris beat the Lightning backcheck up ice and he tapped the puck into a wide open net from inside the crease. On the very next shift, Jacobson would extend the Lightning’s lead with his own unassisted goal. Using his speed, Jacobson again chased down the puck on the half wall in the Vipers defensive zone. He cycled down into the right corner. As he cut to the front of the net he encountered traffic. He stayed strong on the puck, collected himself, and fired a wrist shot low glove side to beat Contrael.
The third period turned into a defensive stalemate as each team’s shot total decreased. The Lightning limited the Vipers to only three shots on goal in the third period, a period where they were pushing to get back in the game. Three Vipers minor penalties contributed to their lack of offense and the third penalty would prove to one too many. Off the ensuing faceoff, Hassett came out of a scrum with the puck. He backhanded the puck to Cassel in the left faceoff circle for a one time slap shot that beat Vipers backup goalie Josh Kuntz with 2:38 left in the game. Upper Montgomery was able to easily close out the game and Bernard had a well earned first varsity victory.
Game Notes:
- All three Lightning first line forwards all had multi-point games; Chris Hassett (3 goals, 1 assists), Ryan Jacobson (1 goal, 2 assists), and Nathan Cassel (2 goals).
- The Lightning picked up their second straight victory and are unbeaten in their last three games 2-0-1.
- Landon Bernard notched his first career varsity victory.
- The Upper Montgomery first line has been on the ice for 13 of the last 15 goals scored by the Lightning.
- The Lightning are next in action on Friday, December 10th at 8:50 pm at Rockville Ice Area for an important divisional game versus Northwest.
Three Stars of the Game:
First Star—Chris Hassett—Upper Montgomery Center—3 Goals, 1 Assist
Second Star—Ryan Jacobson—Upper Montgomery Forward–-1 Goal, 2 Assists
Third Star—Nathan Cassel—Upper Montgomery Forward—2 Goals