The 2025 – 2026 Upper Montgomery Lightning junior varsity played a whale of a first half of the game on Friday evening versus the Rockville / Magruder Rams. The team played outstanding defensive hockey. The forwards came back into the defensive zone well. The defenders played tough in the defensive zone. The entire team hit everything that moved. Then, one bad bounce of the puck midway through the second period turned what was a close game into a deluge of Rockville / Magruder goals that made the 7-1 final score look more lopsided than the game really was.
In what was a much better performance by the Lightning than a week ago in their 3-2 season opening loss to the Silver Spring Blazers, the young Lightning roster seemed to thrive playing its brand of physical hockey. As the game remained close, the Upper Montgomery skaters gained confidence playing with the older, more experienced Rams. Even though the game was quite physical on both sides, the game was cleanly played. Each team had only one powerplay opportunity. Both infractions wound up being stick related, tripping and hooking.
The Rams had the better of play early on in the game badly outshooting the Lightning fifteen to four in the opening period. Right from the start Upper Montgomery laid the body. For one short instance in the first two minutes of the game the Lightning failed to contain in the defensive end. The Rams immediately took advantage. Upper Montgomery cleared the puck to the neutral zone. Rams forward Keaton Spence possessed the puck bringing it into the Upper Montgomery defensive zone down the right wing. He cut to the middle of the ice and moved the puck over to Rockville / Magruder forward Daniel Cleary. Cleary’s wrist shot from the left circle was blocked by the Lightning defense in front of the net. Cleary regained possession of the puck before sending it to the left point to Rams forward Kamea Case. Case rang a shot high off the crossbar where it caromed to the right wing. Rams defender Adam Suitor snuck in from his right point position. While positioned outside of the outer edge of the right faceoff circle, he fired a shot high to the short side past Lightning ninth grade goalie George Schickler for his third goal of the season. Schickler making his first career start for Upper Montgomery had gone down a tad early which opened up the top right corner of the net.
Outside of that one blip, the Lightning continued to pound the body with an effectiveness not regularly seen from Upper Montgomery over the past several seasons. As the game progressed to the end of the first period, Lightning sophomore center Decklin Hughes was called for tripping. Unlike in their season opener, Upper Montgomery’s penalty killers stayed in position keeping the Rams to the outside. Schickler had no trouble making saves on the long range chances. A minute into the second period Hughes returned to the ice allowing Upper Montgomery to get back to their hard physical defensive play.
At the eight minute mark of the second period, the Lightning pushed the puck out of their defensive zone. The bouncing puck was touched by Suitor to Rams forward Dylan Singer. Singer brought the puck into the Upper Montgomery defensive zone. From the high slot, he sent a wrist shot at Schickler. The young netminder made the initial save with the puck shooting out into the slot. The bouncing puck jumped over Upper Montgomery ninth grade defender Dylan Kim’s stick as he was trying to swat the puck into the corner. Cleary was trailing Kim as he went to the net. As he closed in toward the puck it was laying nicely along the ice. Cleary had time to push the puck at the net where it went past Schickler’s left leg pad for his fifth goal of the season.
Now down by two goals, the young Lightning deviated from the game plan trying to make something happen thinking they were falling out of the game. Upper Montgomery tried to push play up ice. Rams forward Arle Madrigal collected the puck after it was batted around by the Lightning forwards. He entered the Upper Montgomery defensive zone down the left side. His initial centering pass was blocked by the backtracking Lightning defense. The puck deflected right back to Madrigal who then sent it into the slot. Rams forward Alexander Dos Santos was on the door step of the goal. From the crease he sent the puck low past Schickler’s right leg pad for his second goal of the season.
With three and a half minutes remaining in the second period, Upper Montgomery went on the powerplay when Rams defender David Schnanzer was called for a hooking penalty. Unlike in the season opener when Upper Montgomery converted on both of their powerplays, the Lightning rarely were able to gain possession of the puck. Rockville / Magruder easily killed off Schnanzer’s penalty without allowing a shot on goal. The lone offensive bright spot for the Lightning came just before the end of the second period.
Rockville / Magruder had the puck in the Upper Montgomery defensive zone. Schickler made a save on the Rams’ twentieth shot of the period. Upper Montgomery sophomore defender Matt Rivera retrieved the puck behind his own net. He skated down the right wing out of the defensive zone. As he moved through the neutral zone he veered to the middle of the ice. At the attacking blue line he cut back to the right side of the ice. Rivera went around the Rams defense before cutting to the left in front of the net. He lifted a left handed forehand shot up over the stick and blocker of Rams goalie Daniel Gargarin who had replaced Rockville / Magruder’s starting netminder Nathaniel Khasilev halfway through the second period. For Rivera it was his first career high school goal after several golden opportunities in his ninth grade season. He just beat the buzzer scoring with two seconds left in the middle period on the Lightning’s ninth shot against the Rams goalies.
Feeling like they had momentum, Upper Montgomery was eager to get the third period started. Once the period began, Rockville / Magruder took a stranglehold on the game in under a minute. From the center ice faceoff, the puck was taken at the Rams defensive blue line by forward Violet Pfeufer. She skated down the right wing into the Lightning defensive zone where she cut to the slot. The puck came loose as she continued to stickhandle. Schickler paddled the puck to the right corner in the defensive zone. Pfeufer retrieved the puck before centering it to a wide open uncovered Jacob Sausser in the slot. Sausser fired over Schickler’s glove short side to extend the Rams lead to 4-1. It was his second goal on the season.
On the same shift with the same students on the ice, the Lightning’s deficit extended to 5-1. This time Pfeufer went down the left wing into the Upper Montgomery defensive zone. Her speed allowed her to go around the Lightning defense and separate. Her centering pass was chipped wide of the net far side. Rams forward James Berube came out of the right corner with the puck. No Lightning defender went hard after Berube so he skated near the slot before he also sent a shot short side high over Schickler’s glove to the top of the net. Berube celebrated in style after scoring his first goal of the year.
Down 5-1, with fourteen minutes remaining in the game, the Lightning got completely out of their systems and structure. This permitted the Rams to control play throughout the remainder of the game continuing to badly outshoot Upper Montgomery. Third period shots were nineteen to four in favor of Rockville / Magruder as Lightning forwards cheated up ice and gave the Rams free reign in the Lightning defensive zone.
Thirty seconds later Cleary had his second goal of the game and sixth of the season. The wheels had come off. Down by two goals entering the third period, a minute and ten seconds later Upper Montgomery was behind by five goals. From the center ice faceoff, the Rams sent the puck into the Upper Montgomery defensive zone. Suitor gained possession of the puck along the right wing boards. He passed the puck back to the center point to his defensive partner Keaton Spence. Spence cut around an onrushing Lightning forward who overcommitted coming out to guard him. From the faceoff dot inside the left faceoff circle, he flung a wrist shot on net. Schickler made yet another save. Standing in front, Cleary shoveled in the rebound.
Rockville / Magruder finished up the scoring with five minutes left in the contest. From a faceoff outside the Rams defensive blue line, the Rams won the draw. Case carried the puck along the right wing boards all the way down to the Lightning defensive end. His wrist shot from the right faceoff circle missed the net wide to the short side. Lightning ninth grade defender Lenny Roth took down a Rams forward earning a delayed penalty for roughing. With Case’s shot missing the net wide right, the puck came out the other side of the goal directly to Cleary in the slot. Cleary sent a snap shot low to the far side of the net past Schickler’s right leg pad to complete his hat-trick and increase his goal total for the season to seven.
In practice this upcoming week, the Lightning will work to correct some of the issues from their first two outings. Look for the team to bring high energy and play a full forty five minute game next week. Expect the physical approach to continue in next week’s game against the DC Stars. It should be a favorable matchup for the Lightning as the Stars are a team with comparable talent. Upper Montgomery should have a big advantage in net with sophomore goaltender Porter Stutsrim-Lyons likely getting the nod in goal. It will be an important matchup as the winner will have an inside track toward a season ending playoff birth. The loser will be hard pressed to secure enough standings points to qualify for the playoffs.
Game Notes:
- Upper Montgomery was once again badly outshot. Rockville / Magruder had the shots on goal advantage 54-17. The Rams held a nineteen to four shots on goal advantage the third period as they pulled away by scoring four goals.
- Upper Montgomery ninth grade netminder George Schickler tied a junior varsity program record with the 47 saves he made.
- It was the second straight game that Upper Montgomery permitted a hat-trick to be scored against.
- Lightning sophomore defender Matt Rivera scored his first career high school goal on an end to end rush to beat the buzzer ending the second period.
- The Upper Montgomery junior varsity plays their next game on Friday evening, October 17th against the DC Stars. The game will be played at the Washington Capitals practice facility inside the Medstar Iceplex. Game time is 5:00 pm.
Three Stars of the Game:
First Star—Daniel Cleary—Rockville / Magruder Forward—3 Goals, 1 Assist
Second Star—Adam Suitor—Rockville / Magruder Defense—1 Goal, 2 Assists
Third Star—George Schickler—Upper Montgomery Goalie—47 Saves