We have reached the half way point in the 2022 – 2023 varsity high school hockey season. The Upper Montgomery Lightning are well positioned to reach heights never before achieved by the Lightning program. Currently ranked sixth out of fourteen teams, if the Lightning play strongly down the stretch the team has an inside track on a home playoff game in the first round of the Montgomery Hockey Conference (MHC) playoff tournament. Finishing as high as possible in the rankings is critical as is earning the home playoff game. Most teams, even those teams at the bottom of the standings, have two or three really good skaters and matching up against those really good student athletes can reduce their effectiveness. Having the last line change will provide Upper Montgomery the opportunity to create the matchups that the coaching staff believes puts the Lightning in the most favorable position.
Finishing in the top eight teams will guarantee the program a home playoff game. However, that objective should now be the bear minimum in terms of team goals. Finishing further up the standings means that Upper Montgomery would possibly be able to avoid the top one or two programs if they reach the second round of the conference playoffs. In order to qualify for the state playoff tournament, the team will need to win two MHC playoff games. In the previous thirteen years of the Lightning program, last season was the first season that the team was eligible to qualify for the MHC playoff tournament. If the team is able to win its first round playoff game this season, it will be the first time in the program’s history that the team would play for an opportunity to reach the state playoff tournament. While the state tournament is a lofty goal, it is certainly one that is no longer so farfetched.
This season, the Lightning varsity has already made history. On Halloween, the team tied BCC 2-2. It was the first standings points of any kind earned by Upper Montgomery against one of the historically top four schools in the county; Churchill, Walter Johnson, BCC, and Wootton.
Then, in late December, the team raced by Wootton by a score of 8-2. The first victory against one of the ‘top four’ teams. Sitting in fifth place in the top division, Upper Montgomery is assured of a second consecutive trip to the county playoff tournament. The team’s remaining schedule is tough, a rematch against Wootton (currently ranked eighth), playing Quince Orchard (currently ranked third), a game against Richard Montgomery (currently ranked seventh), and the final game of the season, senior night, is against BCC (currently ranked just above Upper Montgomery in fifth place). Upper Montgomery has passed by programs such as Northwest, Rockville/Magruder, DC Stars, Sherwood, Blair, and St. Johns.
This season, the team has received much more balanced offensive production. This growth has taken the pressure off the team’s top three scorers; Nathan Cassell (7GP, 8G, 11A), Chris Hassett (8GP, 7G, 11A), and Ryan Jacobson (6GP, 7G, 2A). The team has received goals from fourteen different student athletes at the season’s mid-point. George Benedick has more points this season than in his previous three seasons combined (7GP, 3G, 7A). Philip Shkeda has fit in nicely in his 9th grade season (8GP, 4G, 5A). Olivia Robbins and Brandon Bernard have increased their scoring over previous seasons (6GP, 4G, 4A) and (6GP, 5G, 2A) respectively. Ethan Hockey and Andrew Botti are each averaging just under one point per game from their defensive positions as is Bradley Cupples from his center position. Ninth grade defenders Brady Berkhammer and Owen Robbins have quickly adjusted to the high school game and have both provided steady play while racking up six and three assists respectively. Stephen Shkeda, Adam Levine, and Josh Nadler have all found the back of the net. Henry Honacki scored his first ever varsity goal against Blair.
In goal Landon Bernard has had a very strong season. He has posted a 4-4-1 record while sporting a 3.56 goals against average and an .856 save percentage. Both the goals against average and save percentage are near the top of the county’s goalie statistics. In the games that the Lightning have achieved standings points, Bernard has not given up more than two goals in any of those games. He earned his first career varsity shutout against Northwest.
The Upper Montgomery junior varsity has had an up and down season and has hovered around .500. The team finished conference play at .500 with a 2-2-2 record. Bernard has played well in net in games when the junior varsity was outclassed against the top junior varsity teams in the county. TJ Gottesman leads the junior varsity in points (6GP, 4G, 8A) and set a program record with a hat-trick and five points in Upper Montgomery’s win against Churchill. Henry Honacki leads the junior varsity in goals with seven in nine games (9GP, 7G, 4A). Adam Levine (9GP, 3G, 4A) and Stephen Shkeda (8GP, 2G, 4A) are approaching a point a game in junior varsity action. Josh Nadler has scored in three consecutive games after rounding into form after a long absence.
The junior varsity is finding that it is difficult to repeat as MHC junior varsity champions. Every program is looking to take out the Lightning. It was a disappointing start to the season for several of the returning experienced student athletes, but those student athletes have begun to turn around their performances as the team looks forward toward the upcoming junior varsity playoffs. The junior varsity playoff tournament bracket is expected to be released at the end of the first week of January. The junior varsity special teams which started the season awfully have come on in recent weeks as the team’s performance has improved over the past month.
It will be an exciting January for the Lightning program as the teams continue on towards previously unreached heights. Jump onboard and we invite you to join the team in person at any of the January games.