After struggling all season, Lightning has power play goals in two consecutive games.
February 5, 2024, 11:04 am
Entering this week, the Upper Montgomery hockey co-op, a team made up of students from Clarksburg, Damascus, Poolesville and Seneca Valley high schools, had yet to score a power play goal this season.
Against Bullis on January 29th, the Lightning notched their first goal with a man advantage.
In the opening period of Friday’s matchup against Blair, a co-op consisting of players from Blair, Einstein, Wheaton, Northwood and Kennedy High Schools, a tripping penalty gave Upper Montgomery a man advantage with 4:43 on the clock.
As the power play dwindled, sophomore defender Brady Berkhammer drifted into the center of the attacking zone and flicked a shot into the top left corner with 2:59 remaining, scoring the first goal of Upper Montgomery’s 5-1 victory in the opening round of the Montgomery County Tournament.
After a season of laboring through wasted power play opportunities, Upper Montgomery may have solved its man advantage woes at an ideal time.
“We went back and simplified it,” said head coach Todd Hassett. “We’re keeping the lines that play together, together … so there’s at least a little better communication and they’ve done a better job.”
Upper Montgomery went into the second period holding the 1-0 lead from Berkhammer’s first high school goal. With 6:35 remaining, Nathan Cassel raced down the right side during an odd man rush and found Christopher Hassett, who took advantage of his opportunity.
After a goal from Blair’s Zander Frey made the score 2-1, Cassel scored with 4:27 remaining in the second.
The top line of Christopher Hassett, Cassel, and sophomore Philip Shkeda have carried the offensive production for Upper Montgomery all season. With Shkeda out due to illness on Friday, the pair combined for three goals and three assists.
“The three of them, for whatever reason, they just work together,” said Todd Hassett, who is also Christopher’s father. “Anytime they’re in the game together, we put them together.”
Before the game, Blair celebrated its senior night. Among the honorees was two-year starting goaltender Lily Bendavid.
Despite being credited with the loss, Bendavid was a bright spot, stopping 28 shots, which included multiple close-range opportunities.
“It gives our team so much confidence when our goalie plays like that,” said Blair Head Coach Jim Caron, who described Bendavid as the bravest player he ever coached.
In two games this season, Upper Montgomery has accumulated 10 goals against Blair. Despite that fact, Caron said the defense was the strength of this Lightning team.
Since the team’s top defenseman, Andrew Botti, returned from injury on Dec. 8, Upper Montgomery has been among the stoutest teams in the county.
In six league games against Montgomery County foes since Botti’s return, the Lightning have given up less than two goals per game. On Friday, Upper Montgomery goaltender Landon Bernard stopped 29 shots.
The final four teams of the Montgomery County Tournament move onto the statewide MSHL playoffs. Upper Montgomery will face Whitman on Friday. To be one of the four teams that qualify, Todd Hassett says his team needs to play what he calls “muck it up hockey.”
“Smart simple hockey, making the right plays, get the puck down low … do the dirty work,” said Hassett. “Go at the boards hard, win the battle, win the races, and get pucks in the net.”
Article edited for factual accuracy.
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