For most of Friday night’s Montgomery Hockey Conference Division One playoff game, Upper Montgomery went toe-to-toe with a more experienced and talented Richard Montgomery Rockets squad who had their sights set on returning to the Maryland Student Hockey League championship game for a second season in a row. The tenth seeded Lightning were out to prove they belonged in the Division One playoffs having qualified for the playoff tournament for the first time in program history. Judging by the large Richard Montgomery victory celebration it is safe to say that Upper Montgomery has earned the respect of the top teams in the Montgomery Hockey Conference.
The first five minutes of game action were tight checking with both teams looking to control the tempo and style of the game. Richard Montgomery desired a free flowing contest with lots of end to end rushes. Upper Montgomery wanted a tighter checking game with less action and a clogged up neutral zone. Six minutes into the game, Richard Montgomery struck first. Lucas Perkins dumped the puck from his right point position into the right corner. Dylan Goetz possessed the puck and found Mitchell Bobys on the left wing cutting toward the slot and net. Goetz’s pass was perfectly timed and Bobys wasted no time in slapping the puck past Lightning netminder Will Mellen from the low slot.
The early goal did not deter the Lightning who kept working hard. A tripping penalty to Nathan Lynch gave Upper Montgomery the first powerplay of the game. Ryan Jacobson gained the offensive zone and passed the puck back to James Botti at the point. Botti’s shot was stopped by Rockets netminder Henry Darko, but Chris Hassett was able to jump on the rebound and put it past Darko into the net to even the score at one. The balance of the first period was played evenly with both teams unable to create many good scoring chances. Shots on goal in the first period were ten for Richard Montgomery and eight for Upper Montgomery.
A few minutes into the second period, the Lightning almost took the lead. Hunter Cameron broke in down the left wing on a two on one rush with Bradley Cupples cutting down the slot. Cameron’s centering pass over to Cupples eluded the lone Rockets defender and was right on the money. Cupples shot back across from where Darko had just moved low and toward the left post. The shot from the low slot cleanly beat Darko, clanked off the inside of the post, and stayed out of the net. It was a great chance that just did not go in.
With nine minutes left in the second period, Lightning defender George Benedick was called for interference. Benedick is one of the top penalty killers for Upper Montgomery. The Lightning penalty kill which had been outstanding all season, 91.7% success rate coming into the game was broken down by the Rockets. From his left point position, Luke Guttman passed the puck into the corner to Mitchell Bobys. A whistle from the stands sounded and all student athletes on the ice stopped competing. The referees instructed the student athletes to play on and after a few seconds Bobys found Dylan Goetz cutting backdoor down the slot with a cross ice feed. A wide open Goetz buried the shot past Mellen who had little chance on the play for a 2-1 Richard Montgomery lead. A goal protested vociferously by the Lightning coaching staff.
The Lightning had a chance to tie the game when Guttman was called for interference, but were unable to convert. With three minutes remaining in the second period, Upper Montgomery was back on the penalty kill after another interference penalty, this time to Cupples. On the powerplay, Richard Montgomery brought the puck up ice. Zach Bulson exited the Rockets defensive zone and fed Daniel Martella in the neutral zone along the right wing board. Martella passed the puck to the center of the ice finding Goetz streaking up ice. Goetz took possession of the puck just outside the blue line. He took a couple of strides so that he was a few feet into the offensive zone and let loose with a slap shot. Mellen tracked the puck and stuck out his blocker to make an easy save and direct the puck to the corner boards. Unfortunately for Mellen and Upper Montgomery, the puck took a weird deflection off of Mellen’s blocker, rolled up a couple of inches and fell behind him into the net for a goal. The unforced error with a minute and a half left in the period deflated the Lightning. Shots on goal in the second period were nine for Richard Montgomery and five for Upper Montgomery.
The Lightning began the third period shorthanded after a roughing penalty to Nathan Cassel was assessed in the closing seconds of the second period. It was a critical penalty kill situation for Upper Montgomery as a fourth goal would surely have opened up the game and made a comeback extremely challenging. The Lightning penalty killers came through to keep the score 3-1. With 6:45 left in the game, the Lightning received a final powerplay chance when Paulina Utochkin was called for hooking. With a few seconds remaining on the powerplay Upper Montgomery converted.
It took some time for Upper Montgomery to gain possession of the puck in the offensive zone. Eventually the puck was kept in at the point by Ethan Hockey. His slap shot was saved by Darko who again left a juicy rebound. Hassett beat Darko’s attempt to cover and freeze the puck, again shoveling the puck past him to cut the Richard Montgomery lead to 3-2 with five minutes remaining in the game. After the goal, the Lightning pushed with everything they had. With just under three minutes to go in the game, Jacobson fired a slap shot from the top of the right faceoff circle that beat Darko. The puck ricocheted so hard off the crossbar that the puck cleared itself landing back in the neutral zone. The Lightning were so close to tying up the game.
With 1:40 remaining in the game, the Lightning bench called for Mellen to head to the bench for an extra attacker. Just as Mellen left the crease and started skating toward the bench, a turnover at the Richard Montgomery blue line turned into a two on one rush up ice. Gutmann easily slid the puck across to Bulson for a tap in goal at the right post as Mellen scrambled to get back into position and square up to the action. As the puck crossed the goal line into the net, Upper Montgomery’s hopes for the upset dissipated, but not for a lack of effort and some unlucky circumstances. Richard Montgomery received everything the Lightning had and were very happy to have survived and to advance on in the conference playoff tournament. The first ever playoff win in program history will have to wait at least one more season, but the team’s performance gained the respect of the entire conference.
Game Notes:
- With the victory Richard Montgomery moves on to face second seeded Walter Johnson for a spot in the Maryland state playoff tournament.
- The Lightning were outshot by the Rockets 31-18 and 21-10 over the final two periods.
- The Lightning penalty kill which had been outstanding all season, faltered. Richard Montgomery connected for two powerplay goals in three chances. The Upper Montgomery penalty kill is now 45-51 on the season, still an excellent 88.2% kill rate.
- The Lightning powerplay bounced back from last week’s poor performance and was 2-3 in the game.
- The Lightning will next be in action on Friday night, February 18th at Rockville Ice Arena versus an undetermined opponent in the quarterfinal round of the Montgomery Hockey Conference Division Two playoffs.
Three Stars of the Game:
First Star—Dylan Goetz—Richard Montgomery Forward—2 Goals, 1 Assist
Second Star—Mitchell Bobys—–Richard Montgomery Forward—1 Goal, 1 Assist
Third Star—Chris Hassett—Upper Montgomery Center—2 Goals