The Upper Montgomery Lightning junior varsity have advanced to the Montgomery Hockey Conference junior varsity semifinals where they will will faceoff against an unexpected opponent, the DC Stars. The Lightning advanced to the final four of the county playoffs by virtue of an enormous upset victory over the combined Northwest / Quince Orchard / Wootton squad. Sophomore 16U Lower A defender Matt Rivera was the offensive hero in the game with a junior varsity program record for goals in a playoff game with four, and also a program record for goals by a defender. He propelled Upper Montgomery to a 5-3 win that trampelled the expected outcome. The DC Stars advanced in the unlikeliest of ways. Playing against third seeded Silver Spring, the Stars scored three empty net goals at the beginning of the game when Silver Spring’s goalie was late to the contest. Knocking home another empty net goal late in the game as well, the DC Stars came out on top setting up a ‘home’ game on Friday evening against the seventh seeded Lightning. Game time is 5:00 pm at Rockville Ice Arena.
Upper Montgomery defeated the DC Stars by a score of 7-2 at Medstar Iceplex in mid-October. While that game was months ago, the teams rosters should be very similar this Friday. The Stars have wins over both of the winless junior varsity programs, Walter Johnson and Richard Montgomery, and did not beat a team with a victory during the entire regular season. If Upper Montgomery believes that this game will be a cake walk, the DC Stars will win and advance to the junior varsity championship. If the Lightning enter the game with the correct mindset, Upper Montgomery has a decent chance to be victorious. The playoff game will certainly not see the Lightning once again tally seven goals.
In net for the Lightning will be starting junior varsity goalie sophomore 16U Lower A Porter Stutsrim-Lyons. He has been solid this season with a .908 save percentage and a 3.01 goals against average. Against the Stars the first time out, he made 24 saves on 26 shots on goal (.923 save percentage). If he plays well again on Friday, Upper Montgomery will have a lot of confidence to send their defense up ice looking to create offensive odd-skater rushes. Ninth grade goalie George Schickler will backup Stutsrim-Lyons. Schickler was in net for the game against Northwest / Quince Orchard / Wootton and earned his first career junior varsity playoff victory.
The DC Stars have been rotating their goalies. Starter, 14U Upper A Peter O’Shaughnessy has an .897 save percentage and a 2.85 goals against average. He replaced Stutsrim-Lyons on the Caps Academy external travel team when Stutsrim-Lyons aged up into the 16U age group. O’Shaughnessy’s backup, Rhys Seiden-Maloney has been much less successful this year with a .799 save percentage and a soaring 7.98 goals against average. If the Stars split their goalies during the game, Upper Montgomery will need to take advantage of their offensive chances when Seiden-Maloney is in the game. He played the entire game in October and was tagged with the loss after giving up the seven goals Upper Montgomery scored.
On defense Friday night, the Lightning will play two consistent defensive pairings. Rivera (9GP, 8G, 2A) will play with ninth grade defender Dylan Kim. Rivera will need to join the scoresheet Friday evening for Upper Montgomery to prevail. He will quarterback the powerplay and is likely to play every other shift. He is tied for second on the team in scoring with his ten points. With junior hard nosed defender Max Curtusan missing the game, this will be another opportunity where Upper Montgomery senior captain Jason Woodman (10GP, 4A) will drop back to play on defense. He will pair with smooth skating ninth grade defender Lenny Roth. The young defenders played very well in the playoff opener. Consistency is critical. If the defense limits the DC Stars forwards as well as they did against the combined team in the quarterfinal round, Upper Montgomery should be well positioned to continue its playoff march. Unlike Upper Montgomery, the DC Stars deploy their student athletes at both forward and defense at the junior varsity level. Students who should see the majority of their game action on defense are Roman Stoinski and Alexander Smith.
Ninth grade forward Tima Zamaray leads the junior varsity in scoring with (10GP, 9G, 3A). Zamaray had two goals and two assists in the regular season meeting against the Stars. He played with junior forward Mason Jagoz (9GP, 4G, 6A). Jagoz scored his first career hat-trick against the DC Stars in that game. Jagoz’s six assists lead the Lightning. Ninth grade center Wyatt Ostrander (10GP, 2G, 3A) is still basking in scoring the game winning goal in the final minute against Walter Johnson to help push Upper Montgomery into the playoffs. His play away from the puck and on the defensive side of the ice is getting better and better as the season has gone along. The return of junior forward Jackson Schickler has provided more balance to the Upper Montgomery forward group. He has four points in the four games he has played since returning to the lineup (4GP, 2G, 2A). Sophomore 16U Upper A Max Israfilbek (8GP, 3G) needs to assert himself all over the ice every shift that he receives.
The DC Stars forward group is led offensively by junior Harry Fishman (5GP, 4G, 2A). He is complemented by junior classmate Gabriel Ingram who has three goals in four games. Since the initial meeting between the teams, ninth grade 14U Lower A forward Robert Joachim has gained traction offensively. He is second on the DC Stars in scoring with (6GP, 5G, 1A). Sophomore Oliver York (5GP, 2G, 3A) is the only other Stars skater with more than five points on the season. However, Upper Montgomery should not be deceived into thinking that the game will be easy. For teams that play a defensive style, sometimes only one or two goals are enough to secure victory.
This game is likely to come down to which team wants it more. With each team’s surprising win in the quarterfinal round of the playoffs, this semifinal matchup is a toss up. Either team has a strong chance to advance to the Montgomery Hockey Conference junior varsity championship game. It will be a matter of which team executes better and which team receives the better goaltending play. Upper Montgomery won the the program’s only junior varsity championship four years ago during the 2021 – 2022 season. Friday evening is a terrific opportunity for the Lightning to return to the finals. Another big playoff win and the team will be one win away from being called champions forever.
#Make the Championship Game, #UML, #Bleed Green, #Go Bolts!