The Upper Montgomery Lightning varsity squad kicks off its 2024 – 2025 regular season campaign on Friday night when the Lightning host the BCC Barons. In the sixteen years of its existence, the Upper Montgomery program has never beaten BCC. The Barons have owned Upper Montgomery surrendering only a single tie two years ago on Halloween. Game time is late night, 10:00 pm at Cabin John Ice Rink. The team will be trying to once again advance through the regular season and the opening round of the Montgomery Hockey Conference playoffs to earn the chance to play for a spot in the Maryland Student Hockey League high school state playoff tournament. The Lightning have never advanced to the state playoffs, and are thought to be in a rebuilding season after losing nine seniors and two top juniors from last year’s experienced squad.
This season, it is expected that Churchill, Whitman, and Walter Johnson will again be at the top of the conference standings. With the exception of Northwest/Quince Orchard (who is anticipated to be by far the worst team in the county), the other eight teams are fairly evenly matched. Any of these eight teams could make a run and qualify for the state playoffs. Upper Montgomery will also be focused on bucking a trend that developed over the past couple of seasons, very slow starts. Last year, the team began the season 1-7. In 2022 – 2023, the team began the season 1-4-1. While the Lightning recovered nicely over the middle and second portion of the schedule both years, getting off to a better start this season is a must.
Upper Montgomery’s primary goaltender will be sophomore 16U AA Ilan Shterenberg. Shterenberg takes over the reigns from Landon Bernard who graduated. Last season, Shterenberg shined at the junior varsity level setting or tying junior varsity program records for wins in a season (8), lowest goals against average (1.80), and highest save percentage (.927). At the varsity level, Shterenberg got his feet wet last season participating in five games, with four starts. He was 2-1 with a 4.44 goals against average and a .829 save percentage. Shterenberg will be heavily counted upon to keep the young Lightning roster in games all season long. He will be backed up by ninth grade netminder Porter Stutsrim-Lyons. Stutsrim-Lyons plays for the Caps Academy 14U Lower A external travel team and has started off his high school career strongly playing for the junior varsity. Stutsrim-Lyons is 1-1-2 on the season with a 2.18 goals against average and a .927 save percentage. He began his high school career with a shutout of Richard Montgomery and followed up that performance with a career high and junior varsity program record 47 saves against Wootton.
On defense, the Lightning have most of their backline returning with the exception of junior defender Andrew Botti who chose not to play high school hockey during his season year of high school. Returning are top rising juniors, rugged defensive defender 16U AAA Owen Robbins (14GP, 3A) and smooth skating cool customer 16U AA Brady Berkhammer (21GP, 1G, 12A). They will be joined in the regular defensive rotation by sophomore 16U Lower A Miles Wendland (18GP, 6A) and senior Cole Howerton. Anticipate the Lightning defense to be more offensive minded this season after the defenders scored only five goals in 91 totals defensive games played last year. Rounding out the defensive corps will be a rotation of junior varsity call ups; 14U AA Lillian Robbins, 14U Lower A Matt Rivera, Patrick Sell, Luke Hudson, and 19U AA Avery Evans. With the loss of so many experienced skaters off last season’s roster, almost every skater in the program is likely to see some some playing for the varsity this season.
Offensively, Upper Montgomery returns its second and third leading scorers from a season ago. Senior 18U AA forward Nathan Cassel (15GP, 11G, 18A) and junior forward Philip Shkeda (20GP, 13G, 12A). This duo will be relied upon to lead Upper Montgomery offensively and they both will need to produce just like last year after loosing their center for the past two seasons, Chris Hassett to graduation. Cassel has an opportunity score enough goals (17) or hand out enough assists (12) to qualify for induction into the Maryland Student Hockey League Hall of Fame. Senior center, Henry Honacki 18U Upper A (21GP, 7G, 8A) elevated his game last year and if he can increase his scoring production it will help supplement Cassel and Shkeda.
After these three students, there is a drop off in production to sophomore 16U Lower A Aiden Zheng (9GP, 3G, 5A) and senior Josh Nadler (13GP, 4A). Both Zheng and Nadler will play heavy minutes with the varsity this season and both will need to increase their offensive output. Nadler is the junior varsity’s all-time leading goal scorer with 20 career junior varsity goals. Joining them on the varsity roster are forwards; TJ Gottesman, the junior varsity’s career points leader with 32 points, sophomore newcomer Jake Hudson, and ninth grade 14U Lower A forward Siddy Bhasin. Bhasin and Hudson currently lead the junior varsity in scoring so far this season. AJ Marks and his big frame will get a look in varsity competition as well. Other junior varsity student athletes may get called up as the season progresses when the core of the varsity squad is missing due to external travel team out-of-town game conflicts.
The 2024 – 2025 varsity season will be one of growth and development for the green and gold’s younger student athletes. It should be exciting and rewarding as the younger skaters grow and blossom. How quickly the team develops the defensive habits necessary to lead the program forward will determine if the Lightning can again challenge the upper echelon varsity teams in the county. Or, is the team simply too young to compete right now this season. Friday night will give us some answers as the season finally gets underway. Come along for the ride, it should be a fun season!
The Lightning junior varsity has had an impressive start of their own. The team is 1-1-2 through four games. The season opened with an 8-0 smashing of Richard Montgomery. Upper Montgomery then extended the junior varsity program record unbeaten streak to sixteen games, 12-0-4 over three seasons with an overtime loss to the top junior varsity program in the county, Wootton. Inevitably, all things must come to an end and the long undefeated streak vanished in a 4-3 loss to BCC. In the BCC game, the Lightning’s string of 36 consecutive shorthanded situations killed off also ended.
In a heroic effort, Upper Montgomery took Churchill to overtime with only seven available skaters. It was a monster performance to sneak out a point with such a depleted roster. Up next for the Lightning junior varsity is the DC Stars and then the worst team in the county by far, Blair, which should allow the team to improve its record to 2-1-2 (plus the DC Stars outcome) at the beginning of the month of November. The junior varsity’s leading scorer is ninth grade forward Siddy Bhasin (3GP, 3G, 4A). Bhasin has scored in his first three high school hockey games. Sophomore Jake Hudson is tied for the junior varsity lead in goals with three (3GP, 3G, 2A). Miles Wendland, Cole Howerton, and Aiden Zheng have also stood out defensively helping to propel Upper Montgomery to the nice start to the season.
#UML, #Bleed Green, #Go Bolts!