The Upper Montgomery Lightning junior varsity will bring its undefeated 4-0 record into Monday afternoon’s non-conference tilt with Urbana. Game time is 4:00 pm at Skate Frederick. The Lightning will have a short bench for the matchup due to injuries and medical situations and will need a superior effort and teamwork to come out victorious. The defense and Ilan Shterenberg’s goaltending will need to be sharp, and the forwards will need to provide much more offense than has been generated thus far to propel Upper Montgomery to victory once again. After its most recent tepid performance in a win over winless Rockville, the Lightning will need to demonstrate that they can handle success by playing a complete game.
Ninth grade netminder Ilan Shterenberg has authored two shutouts over his first four career games, all victories, and he will be looking to continue his strong play. Shterenberg’s statistics over the first four games of the season are an eye popping 1.03 goals against average and a .940 save percentage. Shterenberg’s composure was tested against Rockville and he bounced back from a poor period of play to settle in and shutout the Rams in the second and third periods. In net for Urbana is expected to be Chloe Hanson. She stopped 28 of 33 shots in her only game of the season against Fredreick County.
If Upper Montgomery brings the effort and hustle displayed in their wins against Whitman and BCC, the team should be in good shape. Offensively for the Lightning, Josh Nadler has led the way scoring in each of the first four games of the season. He leads the team with five goals. Cole Howerton has scored three goals in the first four games of the season. TJ Gottesman also has four points on two goals and two assists. Sean Levine has three points, and the depth scoring has started to come through. For the Hawks, Patrick Terrebonne scored both of the Urbana goals against Frederick County.
On defense the Lightning’s experienced defenders are beginning to jell. Senior Jake Roth will see extensive action likely paired with Patrick Sell. Ninth grade defenders Miles Wendland and Avery Evans have played together extensively and have bright futures with the program. Evans has played well in her first two games against BCC and Rockville. Wendland is playing in all game situations, and he has already been a frequent call up to play in varsity games this season.
Upper Montgomery will need to maintain focus throughout the entire game to put away the Hawks. This is something the team did not do very well against Northwest/Quince Orchard and Rockville earlier this season. Every game is an opportunity to shine and impress the coaching staff. Junior varsity student athletes need to demonstrate that they deserve additional ice time and call ups to participate in varsity game competition. Thus, each game, each shift, the student athletes need to play within the system and gain the coaching staff’s trust that they can contribute at the next level. With a limited roster for Monday’s game, all students will receive a ton of ice time.
The Upper Montgomery junior varsity will be looking to extend their unbeaten record to five with a victory over the Hawks. The Lightning will need to take charge early and grasp the momentum. Then, the team will need to continue playing a complete game to finish off what looks to be an inferior opponent. Shterenberg will need to remain sharp and make big saves if called upon. If the Lightning wait around and play a loose style of hockey, like they did against the Rams, the game against Urbana will be closer than it should be.
#Our Time, #UML, #Bleed Green, #Go Bolts!