The Upper Montgomery Lightning junior varsity dropped their second consecutive game on Tuesday afternoon 4-2 against BCC at Rockville Ice Arena. The game seemed headed toward a tie until a late defensive miscue cost the Lightning a chance at a point. In the non-conference game, BCC controlled play from the outset and Upper Montgomery seemed to be chasing the game for the better part of two and a half periods. Junior goaltender Landon Bernard played well and was let down by the team’s play in front of him.
Halfway through the opening period BCC would score first. On the powerplay with Lightning center and team captain Josh Nadler in the penalty box for high sticking, BCC worked the puck around the perimeter off of a faceoff win in the offensive zone. From the right point, Luke Burns passed the puck across the blue line to Alex Elias at the left point. Elias’s low snap shot was saved by Bernard’s leg pads. The rebound went directly to an unguarded Peter Lanpher just outside the crease and he easily smacked the puck into the open side of the net.
Upper Montgomery battled right back tying the game just 45 seconds later. In a corner battle in the Lightning defensive zone, Cole Howerton knocked the puck free to the side boards where the puck was collected by Henry Honacki. Honacki used his speed to race out of the Lightning defensive zone all the way into the offensive zone. He cut from the left wing boards into the center of the ice. From the top of the circles, Honacki fired a wrist shot by Baron’s netminder, Vivienne Boyle, high to the blocker side for his fourth goal of the season. Upper Montgomery was able to use momentum from that goal combined with a too many skaters on the ice penalty to the Barons to finish the period tied at one. Shots on goal for both teams during the period were low, BCC had five and Upper Montgomery had only two.
The Lightning spent the beginning of the second period on the penalty kill after Nadler was called for a double minor penalty for slashing and roughing. It was a double whammy for Upper Montgomery as the team follows a protocol of sitting student athletes when they have picked up three penalties in a game. This is done to prevent that student athlete from inadvertently taking a fourth penalty within the same game and thus being suspended from the next upcoming game. Losing Nadler for the remainder of the game hurt the team. Line combinations needed to be juggled and Upper Montgomery did not have the services of a high quality center for the final two periods.
On the ensuing powerplay, BCC would strike again. It was their second powerplay goal of the game. On the skater advantage, Barons forward Evan Williams scored the first of what would be his three goals in the game. He took possession of the puck on the side boards and muscled through a check by Honacki skating into the slot area. His first shot was blocked by the Lightning defense, but unluckily the puck bounced right back to him. Bernard had committed to make the initial save and was unable to reposition quickly enough to prevent Williams’s second wrist shot from sliding along the ice into the empty side of the net.
Upper Montgomery was able to kill off the second half of Nadler’s four minutes in the box and another penalty at the beginning of the third period to Howerton for interference. Preventing BCC from scoring another powerplay goal enabled the team to hang around and remain in the game. After a penalty to the Barons Evan Rich for roughing, Upper Montgomery would tie the game with seven and a half minutes left in regulation. Off of a faceoff in the defensive zone, Stephen Shkeda lost the draw a few feet behind the Barons center. TJ Gottesman hustled to the puck and pushed it forward a few feet where Shkeda controlled the puck. He skated the length of the ice into the offensive zone along with Jason Woodman on a two on one break. Shkeda elected to shoot the puck. His shot was saved by Boyle’s leg pads. The rebound caromed directly into the crease where Woodman had charged toward the net. Woodman beat the Barons’ defense and Boyle to the puck pushing a backhanded shot into the net to tie the game and record his first career high school goal.
Shortly thereafter, the Lightning had a golden opportunity to take the lead when Barons forward Michael Butkiewicz was called for high sticking. Unfortunately, the Lightning were unable to mount any significant chances with the extra skater advantage. With just over two minutes remaining in the game, disaster struck.
Williams collected the puck deep in the BCC defensive zone at the right circle after a drop pass from Burns. He skated up the left wing board and avoiding an ill-timed pinch on by a Lightning defender. Then, as he approached the attacking blue line, another Lightning defender was beaten by a head and shoulder fake. Williams found himself on a breakaway from the blue line in alone. He faked a forehand shot and got deeper toward the net before shooting high over Bernard’s glove hand into the top right corner of the net. BCC had the lead with only two minutes left in regulation. The disappointing feeling on the goal was that the Lightning had two of their more experienced defenders on the ice for that shift and both badly misplayed the individual rush up ice by Williams.
With Bernard pulled for the extra skater and time trickling down, Williams would salt away the game with an empty net goal. He was assisted by Benjamin Lyons who started the play by blocking a Lightning shot behind the net and Elias who passed the puck up to Williams who had fled the zone early. Williams skated in uncontested for the tap in hat-trick goal.
The Lightning’s collective team defensive and physical play was lacking. There was too much stick poking and swinging in an attempt to win the puck and transition to offensive play. BCC controlled play as evidenced by the wide margin in their shot advantage for the game, 25-9. Upper Montgomery played too much on the perimeter and did not get into the tough areas of the ice. The schedule for the junior varsity does not ease up. The next two games Upper Montgomery will face off against the top two teams in the Montgomery Hockey Conference, Richard Montgomery and Walter Johnson. Much better efforts will be needed if the Lightning are to be competitive in either game.
Game Notes:
- The Lightning were outshot by the Barons 25-9, including 11-3 in the pivotal third period.
- Jason Woodman scored his first career high school goal, the Lightning’s first powerplay goal of the season.
- Henry Honacki scored his team leading fourth goal of the season.
- TJ Gottesman has a point in all three games he has played in this season.
- The Upper Montgomery junior varsity next returns to action against Richard Montgomery on Sunday morning, December 4th, at 9:15 am at Wheaton Ice Rink for a showdown (and rematch) of last season’s junior varsity title game won by the Lightning.
Three Stars of the Game:
First Star—Evan Williams—BCC Forward—3 Goals
Second Star—Luke Burns—BCC Defense—2 Assists
Third Star—Henry Honacki—Upper Montgomery Center–1 Goal