The Upper Montgomery Lightning will play their first ever Montgomery Hockey Conference Division One playoff game against Richard Montgomery on Friday night. Game time is 9:20 pm at Rockville Ice Arena. With an overflow crowd expected, it should supercharge the arena and provide an electric atmosphere. Maybe that will be good news for the Lightning who will be looking to end a four game losing streak, which started at the hands of the Rockets last month. Richard Montgomery prevailed 4-1 in mid-January in a game that was tied 1-1 late into the second period.
All of the pressure is squarely on the Rockets who lost in the state championship final game last season. The young Lightning should be able to play free and loose as all of the prognosticators are picking the Rockets to win and advance to play Walter Johnson next week for a spot in the state championship playoff tournament. While Richard Montgomery boasts a more experienced lineup, the Rockets have had an up and down season and at times have given up goals in bunches; nine against Quince Orchard, seven against Blair, six against Churchill, and five each in games against, Wootton, St. Johns, BCC, and Walter Johnson.
The Lightning are expected to start Will Mellen in goal. Mellen made 40 saves in his first start against Richard Montgomery in January, with 19 saves coming in the third period as Upper Montgomery pushed up ice to try and claw back into the game. His season goals against average is 2.36, and his save percentage is exactly .900. He will need to play very well in this game for Upper Montgomery to have a chance for an upset. Mellen certainly has it in him to singlehandedly frustrate the opponent. The longer Upper Montgomery is able to keep Richard Montgomery off the scoreboard, the more pressure the Rockets will face. It is anticipated that Henry Darko will again get the start in net for the Rockets. He has been Richard Montgomery’s main goalie this season and was sharp against the Lightning giving up only one goal on 20 shots, stopping both Chris Hasset and Hunter Cameron on breakaway opportunities.
On defense Upper Montgomery can’t get caught pinching at the blue line and get skated around into odd numbered rushes up ice. The defense will have to quickly pass the puck up to the forwards for quick zone exits. The forwards will have to work hard and play complementary defense coming back into the defensive zone to help negate the Rockets scoring chances. If Upper Montgomery can muck up the game and smother the Rockets, it will even the age and talent difference. The Rockets have five high scoring student athletes; Dylan Goetz a high scoring forward (11 GP, 11 goals and 11 assists), defender Luke Gutmann who plays externally at the 18U AA travel level (8 GP, 15 goals and 5 assists), forward Daniel Martella who also plays externally at the 18U AA travel level (10 GP, 9 goals and 8 assists), defender Mitchell Bobys, (18U AA travel) who has (11 GP, 7 goals and 7 assists), and Zac Bulson (18U AA travel) who has played well in limited action (6 GP, 3 goals and 4 assists).
This time around, the Lightning will have high scoring defender James Botti and forward Nathan Cassel available for the game. Both student athletes missed the tilt in January as they were out of town with their external travel teams. Expect the Lightning defense to play physical against the Rockets and with a full complement of defenders, the coaching staff may shorten the bench and go with the defenders who are playing well in front of Mellen. Although the Upper Montgomery penalty kill has been excellent on the season, (44 of 48, 91.7%), giving the Rockets more than a few powerplay chances would not be the recipe for the Lightning to come out on top.
In three of the last four games, the Lightning’s offense has been non-existent. With the forward lines back together, the hope is that the Lightning are able to get a few more past Darko by pressuring the Rockets into turnovers. The top line will be Chris Hassett (13 GP, 14 goals, 15 assists), Ryan Jacobson (10 GP, 7 goals, 9 assists), and Nathan Cassel (10 GP, 11 goals, 6 assists). The second line will feature Bradley Cupples (13 GP, 1 goal, 11 assists), Hunter Cameron (13 GP, 5 goals, 7 assists), and Olivia Robbins (9 GP, 1 goal, 3 assists). If behind in the game, don’t be surprised to see James Botti elevated from his defensive position to play shifts at forward. On the third line, expect Brandon Bernard to center Stephen Shkeda and Josh Nadler. Depending upon the flow of the game, it is also possible that the first and second lines may get double shifted with a few shifts picked up by other forwards.
An Upper Montgomery win versus Richard Montgomery would be a signature victory for the Lightning program. It would be a major upset and a breakthrough statement to all programs in the Montgomery Hockey Conference. The Lightning hope to continue to play smothering defense on Friday night. A win would move the team one step away from a first ever state championship tournament appearance. Even with a loss the Lightning’s season will not be over. The Montgomery Hockey Conference division two playoff tournament kicks off on Friday, February 18th. We hope to see you on Friday evening rocking the green and gold and cheering on the Lightning.