The Upper Montgomery Lightning junior varsity team returns to action on Monday evening, January 17th versus Rockville. Game time is 5:40 pm at Cabin John Ice Rink. The team will be looking to bounce back after losing two consecutive conference games versus Walter Johnson and Wootton before the winter break. The Lightning junior varsity squad is 2-3 in league play, and 2-4-2 overall on the season after its recent tie versus Frederick County in a non-league game. Rockville comes into the game with a 5-2 record and is second in the junior varsity conference standings.
In net for the Lightning will be Landon Bernard who will be looking to continue his strong season. Through the first eight games of the season, Bernard has a respectable goals against average of 3.70 and a save percentage of .858. His strong play has kept the Lightning in games and has given the team an opportunity to win every game. For the Rams, it is expected to be Sean Connelly in net, although Lily Bendavid may see time as well. The Rams’ defense has been good in front of their goalies as Connelly has a 2.95 goals against average and Bendavid has a 2.22 goals against average. It will be important for the Lightning to generate high quality scoring chances and jump out to an early lead.
On defense the Lightning have been routinely skating with four defenders although that may change against Rockville. Young junior varsity defenders Cole Howerton and Patrick Sell have continued to develop. Howerton has been effective at rushing the puck up the ice. Sell is a defensive defender who has been gaining confidence as the season has gone on. It is anticipated that they will be joined on defense by Andrew Gean and Stephen Shkeda to provide a stabilizing influence for the young defense. Upper Montgomery will need to keep track of Chance Hostetler who leads the Rams in scoring with five goals and six points in seven games and Brendan Illif who has three goals and two assists in four games.
Offensively, the Lightning have begun to generate some more offensive opportunities. Brandon Bernard leads the team in scoring with four goals and three assists for seven points in seven games. Josh Miller has scored four goals in eight games while Josh Nadler has scored three goals and has added an assist in six games. The Lightning very much need additional depth scoring from its forwards if they are going to beat Rockville and also in the final two regular season games against Northwest and Churchill. On defense for the Rams expect to see a lot of JJ St. Aubin who will likely play almost half the game. In addition to his defensive abilities, St. Aubin has also chipped in three goals. Upper Montgomery will be looking to pull the upset and advance higher up in the conference standings.