Author: chucklevine

The Upper Montgomery Lightning came into Wednesday’s regular season finale in need of a good effort. After falling to Whitman, the second ranked team in the state, 8-0 last Friday night, the team needed a better performance to prepare for Friday’s opening round Montgomery Hockey Conference playoff game against the BCC Barons. Although the score was the same against Oakdale, the state’s top ranked team, and the shot totals were almost identical 47-8, the Lightning offered a much better effort for most of the game. The score notwithstanding, the Lightning competed harder versus the Bears rarely straying from the defensive game plan. It was just several self inflicted failed defensive zone clears that doomed Upper Montgomery.

Facing a team with a more talented roster, the Lightning were going to have to rely on sophomore goalie Ilan Shterenberg as well as a style of play that would frustrate the Bears. Last season, Upper Montgomery took the Bears down to the wire leading 1-0 with under five minutes remaining in regulation. That was before the Bears scored back to back powerplay goals on a five on three skater advantage and then on the remainder of the five on four powerplay to squeak past Upper Montgomery. Oakdale then went on to win the state championship weeks later.

Even though Oakdale was more prepared for this game, the Lightning’s path to remaining competitive was the same, strong defensive play and continue to pester the Bears into making mistakes. Right from the beginning of the game Upper Montgomery competed harder against Oakdale than the team did in its previous game against Whitman. Even when Oakdale took an early 1-0 lead one minute into the game, the Lightning continued to defend with spirited play. Oakdale’s opening goal was the result of a failed Upper Montgomery defensive zone clear along the right wing boards. The puck was kept in at the left point by Oakdale forward Christian Swanson. Swanson passed the puck down low to Oakdale center Tyler Yuhas in the left corner. Yuhas sent the puck out front to Oakdale forward Mason Macera who quickly fired a one time snap shot high far side over Shterenberg’s blocker. For Macera it was his fifth goal of the season on yet another instance of the Lightning’s season long difficulty in not getting the puck out of their defensive zone.

The balance of the first period settled into a repetitious pattern of Oakdale attacking the Upper Montgomery defensive zone. Upper Montgomery defended and cleared the defensive zone. Or, Shterenberg was there to make a big save and freeze the puck. With six minutes remaining in the opening period, Oakdale forward Gavin Timberlake was called for a slashing minor. Upper Montgomery struggled to gain zone entry on the powerplay while Oakdale was content to wrestle control of the puck and send it down ice making Upper Montgomery rewind and try again to enter the offensive zone. If nothing else, Timberlake’s penalty gave Shterenberg a chance to catch his breath. After the Lightning’s unsuccessful powerplay ended, the teams both reverted to their previous style of play. The first period concluded with the Bears in front 1-0 having held the Lightning to just one shot on goal during the opening fifteen minutes of action. Shterenberg faced eight shots in the opening period.

The first six minutes of the second period resembled the first period. Upper Montgomery continued to do an excellent job defending all over the ice, Shterenberg made save after save, the score remained only 1-0 Oakdale. Then, the Lightning got the break they were looking for. While coming into the offensive zone alone, Upper Montgomery’s active points leader, senior forward Nathan Cassel was slashed from behind by Oakdale’s leading defender senior Timothy Farley. The referees awarded Cassel a penalty shot. Adding to the intrigue, Cassel and the Bears senior goaltender Charles Forino play on the same 18U AA external travel team, as does Farley. Kyle Metzler, Oakdale’s leader scorer who missed this game is also a member of the same 18U AA external travel team. Thus, Cassel would be coming in on his teammate, looking to tie up the game with a successful penalty shot. Cassel came in wide down the right wing. He cut to the net looking to draw Forino across the net from right to left before he shot. Unfortunately, Cassel did not get the shot up high enough as he attempted to beat Forino near side. The goalie made a glove save deflecting the puck out in front of the net.

The penalty shot save energized the Bears. A minute later Oakdale forward Chase Layer scored to put Oakdale up 2-0 unleashing the barrage of goals that would shortly follow. An Upper Montgomery pass from behind Shterenberg did not make it out of the defensive zone. Bears forward Charles Overeem stepped around the Upper Montgomery defender who made the original pass and sent the puck behind the net to Macera. Macera wasted no time centering the puck to Layer who chipped the puck over Shterenberg’s glove hand for his third tally on the season. A second Oakdale goal scored against the Lightning as a direct result of an Upper Montgomery defensive zone turnover.

Upper Montgomery recovered well from the defensive miscue and followed by playing six more minutes of sound defensive hockey. Then, the wheels came off as the close game turning into a one sided affair. Upper Montgomery put the puck into the Oakdale defensive zone. Timberlake sent the puck to the right wing boards for fellow forward, Micah Venezie. Venezie curled back while sending an outlet pass to Farley who was in the neutral zone along the right wing boards. Farley skated into the offensive zone, waited, before sending the puck back to the high slot area to an unguarded Timberlake. Timberlake took a few steps forward toward the net before firing a low wrist shot past Shterenberg’s glove hand. With two and a half minutes remaining in the second period, Timberlake’s sixth goal of the season gave Oakdale a 3-0 lead.

A minute later Timberlake tallied again. The game was no longer in doubt. An Upper Montgomery clear down the ice was stopped by Forino who came out of his net to keep the play going ahead of a fast charging Cassel. The puck bounced around neutral ice while Upper Montgomery was in the midst of a poorly timed line change. Farley reached the puck first sending it over to Timberlake at the Upper Montgomery defensive blue line. Timberlake took possession with no Lightning defender near him. He came down the slot on a breakaway. With a forehand shot he beat Shterenberg five hole for his seventh goal of the season. As the second period came to a close shortly thereafter, Oakdale had turned up the shot volume firing 21 shots on Shterenberg. Forino had his most extensive action of the game making six saves including the huge one on Cassel on the penalty shot.

The first six minutes of the third period were dominated by Oakdale which contributed to their eighteen to one shot advantage in the final period. A minute into the period, Upper Montgomery senior center and leading scorer Henry Honacki was called for a slashing penalty. The Bears had excellent puck movement with the extra skater advantage but were unable to score as Shterenberg made several impressive saves to keep the score at 4-0. Then, with nine and a half minutes remaining in the game, the swarm of Oakdale goals arrived.

First, was a shift where Oakdale had extended time in the Upper Montgomery defensive zone. An Upper Montgomery failed clear up the left wing boards was intercepted by Farley at the right point. Farley sent a diagonal pass across the ice to Venezie in the lower left faceoff circle. Venezie sent a shot low along the ice inside of the left goal post near Sheterenberg’s right leg pad. For Venezie it was goal number three on the season.

Then, a minute later the score would bulge to 6-0 bringing the final eight and a half minutes of the game into running clock. Macera banged home his second goal of the game and sixth on the year. Another shift with extended offensive zone time for the Bears after Upper Montgomery failed to clear the zone. This time the puck was kept in the offensive zone at the right point by Swanson. He sent the puck over to Farley in the slot. Farley fired a backhand shot on net that was saved by Shterenberg. The puck caromed near the left corner. Farley reached the puck first setting up Macera out in front of the goal. Macera had slipped behind the Lightning defense where he banged home a short shot into the empty side of the net.

As the game went into running clock, both coaching staff’s began playing students that had not see a lot of ice time during the game. With two and a half minutes remaining, Venezie scored his second goal of the game and fourth of the season to put the Bears in front 7-0. Oakdale entered the offensive zone on the left side of the ice before firing several shots that Shterenberg fended off. Finally, Venezie sent a backhand shot far side from the lower portion of the slot to put the puck over the goal line. Ayden Rowe and Tristan Dockens were credited with assists on Venezie’s goal. Then, with fifty second left, the final Oakdale goal was scored by Overeem. Farley set him up with a cross ice pass at the back right goal post for an easy tap in goal.

Upper Montgomery must now quickly focus on the opening round of the Montgomery Hockey Conference playoffs. The Lightning face the BCC Barons on Friday night. Upper Montgomery won both of the regular season contests with the Barons by one goal. Until this season, Upper Montgomery had never beaten BCC. Beating a team three times in a season is a tough challenge. BCC is sure to come into the game angry having been the squad that lost to Upper Montgomery for the first time. If the Lightning want to again play for an opportunity to make the Maryland Student Hockey League state playoffs, they will need to bring it against the Barons for a full 45 minutes. BCC will not back down. Each team will be looking to advance and face the second seeded Walter Johnson Wildcats with the state playoff birth on the line.

Game Notes:

• Upper Montgomery was once gain badly outshot. Oakdale had the advantage 47-8. It was the second game in a row that the Lightning mustered less than ten shots on goal. Oakdale topped Upper Montgomery 8-1 in the first period, 21-6 in the second period, and 18-1 in the third period.
• It was the third time this season the Lightning have been shutout, and the second game in a row.
• It was the second straight game that the Lightning were awarded a penalty shot. Both attempts were saved.
• Oakdale defender Timothy Farley, Oakdale center Kyle Metzler, Oakdale goalie Charles Forino, and Upper Montgomery forward Nathan Cassel all play together on the same 18U AA external travel team.
• Upper Montgomery next plays their opening round playoff game on Friday night against BCC. This will be the third time that the teams will face each other this year with Upper Montgomery winning one goal decisions in both games during the regular season. Game time is 8:00 pm at Rockville Ice Arena. The winner will play Walter Johnson in the quarterfinals of the Montgomery Hockey Conference playoffs with a chance to advance to the Maryland Student Hockey League state playoffs.

Three Stars of the Game:

First Star—Timothy Farley—Oakdale Defense—5 Assists
Second Star—Mason Macera—Oakdale Forward—2 Goals, 1 Assist
Third Star—Gavin Timberlake—Oakdale Forward—2 Goals

The Upper Montgomery Lightning came into Friday’s regular season conference finale looking to demonstrate that the squad was ready to face tough competition in the upcoming Montgomery Hockey Conference playoffs. The Whitman Vikings illustrated very clearly that the Lightning have a lot of work to do by easily steamrolling past Upper Montgomery 8-0. The game was not competitive right from the opening faceoff. It was Upper Montgomery’s worst performance of the season. The lone bright spot for the Lightning was ninth grade backup goalie Porter Stutrsim-Lyons’ showing in the third period playing during mop up time.

Right from the opening faceoff the Lightning’s top forward line strayed from the game plan. Over the past three seasons, every game that Upper Montgomery has won against Whitman has been tight checking, low scoring, and devoid of offensive chances (1-0, 2-1, 3-2). When the Lightning have lost to Whitman it is because Upper Montgomery attempted to go toe to toe with the Vikings playing up and down the ice trading offensive chances. On Friday night, at the end of the opening shift of the game, Whitman rushed up ice into the Upper Montgomery defensive zone. A shot from the right faceoff circle was stopped by Shterenberg. The rebound was cleared to the right wing side boards. Whitman 18U AA senior center Charlie Ingis picked up the puck and curled back to the right point. Ingis the skated downhill to the top of the right faceoff circle unimpeded. As the Lightning defenders converged on him, Ingis swung the puck over to the left faceoff circle where he found a wide open Trevor Fay, another of the Vikings 18U AA senior forwards. Fay had time to load up a snap shot and he beat Shterenberg short side past his blocker for his eighth goal of the season.

The second shift of the game was not much better. Whitman continued to pressure in the Upper Montgomery defensive zone. Lightning sophomore defender Miles Wendland took a holding penalty putting the Vikings on the powerplay. Thirty seconds later, Ingis scored his 24th goal of the season. The rout was on. Whitman 18U AA senior defender Zachary Kraus sent an outlet pass to Ingis down the right wing. Ingis carried the puck into the offensive zone where he pulled up at the right faceoff circle. He dropped the puck back to the center point along the blue line to Kraus who followed the play into the offensive zone. Kraus drifted left pulling the defense with him before he returned the puck to Ingis in the right faceoff circle. Ingis let loose with a wicked wrist shot that went up over Shterenberg’s right shoulder into the top left corner of the net. Whitman had a 2-0 lead less than two minutes into the contest.

Upper Montgomery faired a bit better over the next several minutes of the game as Whitman played some of their depth forward lines and defensive pairing. Upper Montgomery contained play better along with Shterenberg making saves on several long range shots. As the clock moved under ten minutes remaining in the opening period, Upper Montgomery cleared the puck to center ice. Whitman forward Lucas Giesecke dropped the puck back to senior defender Mark Buckley. Buckley sent the puck up the left wing boards to Lightning killer 18U AA senior forward, Nicholas Huguely. At the blue line entering the offensive zone Huguely tapped a pass to 18U AA senior defender Morrison Cohen who had jumped up into the rush. Cohen dumped the puck into the left corner where Giesecke outraced an Upper Montgomery defender to reach the puck. Giesecke touched the puck as he was falling to the ice. Huguely reversed direction back to the corner and passed the puck to Fay in the middle of the slot. Fay turned back to the left point deking around a Lightning forward. He sent a wrist shot through traffic from the top of the left faceoff circle low past Shterenberg. It was Fay’s second goal of the night and his ninth of the season. The effort from several Upper Montgomery skaters on the scoring sequence was not very good.

A minute later, Upper Montgomery went to the powerplay when Giesecke was called for an interference penalty. Whitman had an easy time of it on the penalty kill as Upper Montgomery had trouble accessing the offensive zone with puck possession. Shterenberg made a really good save on Ingis on a shorthanded break in. As the Lightning powerplay was ending, senior defender Cole Howerton took an interference penalty of his own. Eight seconds later while the teams were skating four on four, Kraus tallied to bring the score to 4-0. Off of a faceoff from the right faceoff circle in the offensive zone, Ingis won the draw back to Huguely at the top of the right faceoff circle. Huguely left the puck for Kraus at the right point. Kraus skated down the right wing boards into the right faceoff circle. He went wide to the outside past the Upper Montgomery defender and cut to the net all alone. He shifted the puck from his backhand to his forehand and put the puck past Shterenberg for his eighth goal of the season.

The goal was scored so quickly that Whitman went immediately to the powerplay. Sensing that the game was getting out of hand, the Whitman coaching staff started the powerplay using skaters who had not yet played very much. Upper Montgomery was able to kill off the penalty to Howerton and escape the balance of the period without giving up any more goals. The teams entered the first intermission with Whitman totally in control up 4-0 having outshot the Lightning by a seventeen to three margin.

The Lightning were admonished by the coaching staff during intermission for straying from the defensive game plan and giving a lacksidasical effort. Upper Montgomery played the first six minutes of the second period as instructed and it paid off. Lightning sophomore forward Aiden Zheng was able to get free behind the pressing Whitman defense forcing Cohen to slash him. While it did not look like a penalty to anyone in the rink, the closest referee called a penalty and awarded Zheng a penalty shot. Zheng came in alone on Whitman sophomore goalie Alexander Minkoff, who was given a surprise start against Upper Montgomery. Zheng elected to shoot from the low slot area. Minkoff was able to make the save. It was a morale boost for the young goalie as everyone had expected 18U AA senior Ryan Graf to start in his final regular season high school conference game.

The penalty shot save seemed to once again energize the Vikings. On the very next shift, Giesecke scored to increase Whitman’s lead to 5-0. In the offensive zone the puck was dug our of the corner by Huguely. He sent the puck back to the left point to Whitman sophomore defender Stephen Mah. Mah sent the puck to his right along the blue line to his defensive partner, Kraus. Kraus stepped in from the right point and fired a wrist shot at Shterenberg. Shterenberg made the initial save with the puck popping up over him. Giesecke pushed the puck the final few feet into the open goal for his fourth goal of the season.

A minute and a half after Giesecke’s goal, Whitman was called for a too many skaters on the ice penalty. Rather than Upper Montgomery taking advantage of the powerplay, the team gave up its first shorthanded goal of the season as Whitman increased its lead to 6-0. Upper Montgomery was under so much pressure in its defensive zone, the team just cleared the defensive end by throwing the puck out to neutral ice. Huguely chased down the puck and curled up ice back toward the offensive zone. He skated through the middle of the ice before making a backhand pass to Cohen cutting down the left side of the ice. Cohen got into the offensive zone and cut to the middle of the slot. Arriving into traffic in the slot, he dished the puck off to Kraus who was on the right side moving into the right faceoff circle. Kraus’ return pass / shot towards the net was deflected by Cohen over Shterenberg as the goalie was moving forward to poke check the puck away. It was Cohen’s ninth goal of the season. Mercifully, the game entered running clock.

A minute later Kraus had his ninth goal of the season and the game was getting laughable with the Vikings leading 7-0. An Upper Montgomery clearing attempt off the glass in the defensive zone was intercepted by Fay. He made a touch pass to Kraus at the point. Kraus took the puck down the left wing boards into the left corner. He made a backhand pass towards the slot that deflected off the nearest Lightning defender though Shterenberg’s five hole.

Another minute later and the score became 8-0 when little used Whitman forward Hugh Golub scored to complete a five and a half minute barrage of four Vikings goals. The puck was kept in the Upper Montgomery offensive zone at the blue line by Lightning ninth grade defender Matthew Rivera. His pass was intercepted by Whitman sophomore forward Grace Luo. She skated down the right wing through the neutral zone into the offensive third of the ice. Entering the right faceoff circle she made a pass to the slot that found Mah. Mah left a drop pass for Golub who popped the puck over Shterenberg for his third goal of the season.

For some reason, at the end of the second period with an 8-0 lead Fay mouthed off to the officials. He was assessed a two minute penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct. After being severely outshot once again, seventeen to four in the second period, the Lightning would begin the third period with the extra skater. During the second intermission the Upper Montgomery coaching staff chose to save Shterenberg and rest him for the third period. This decision was made for three reasons; to rest Shterenberg who had already faced 34 shots in two periods of play, to save Shterenberg as the team in front of him was playing very, very poorly, and then to give ninth grade backup netminder Porter Stustrim-Lyons some varsity game action experience.

The third period was played entirely with running clock. Upper Montgomery failed to score on the period opening powerplay. Whitman pulled back and played their depth skaters more frequently. Still, Stutsrim-Lyons made some incredible saves and other excellent saves to keep the Vikings at bay. In the third period he stopped all thirteen shots he faced while Upper Montgomery countered with two for an entire game total of just nine shots, one more than the number of goals Whitman scored.

The loss locks Upper Montgomery into the seventh slot in the county rankings and a tougher path in the upcoming post season playoffs. First round matchups will be announced early next week with the winner of the opening round game facing highly rated Walter Johnson in the quarterfinals. The Lightning’s challenging conclusion to the regular season continues with a non-conference afternoon game next Wednesday against the state’s top ranked team, Oakdale.

Game Notes:

• Upper Montgomery was badly outshot by Whitman 47-9. The Vikings dominated each period.
• It was the second time the Lightning have been shutout this season.
• Upper Montgomery junior defender Brady Berkhammer’s five game points streak ended.
• Upper Montgomery senior forward Nathan Cassel’s three game goal streak ended.
• The Lightning finished the season with their best mark in conference play (6-5-1) since the 2018 – 2019 season when the team only played the other teams in the lower division of the Montgomery Hockey Conference.
• Whitman defender Zachary Kraus, Whitman center Charlie Ingis, and Upper Montgomery forward Nathan Cassel all play together on the same 18U AA external travel team.
• Upper Montgomery next plays a non-conference game against Oakdale to finish the regular season. Game time on Wednesday afternoon at Rockville Ice Arena is set for 4:40 pm.

Three Stars of the Game:

First Star— Zachary Kraus—Whitman Defense—2 Goals, 3 Assists
Second Star—Trevor Fay—Whitman Forward—2 Goals, 1 Assist
Third Star—Charlie Ingis —Whitman Center—1 Goal, 2 Assists

The Upper Montgomery Lightning’s junior varsity quarterfinal game on Friday night versus the Churchill Bulldogs was unprecedented, the full impact of which will not be resolved for several more days. As the final seconds ticked off the clock cementing Upper Montgomery’s 4-1 victory over Churchill the senior referee assigned to the game was losing his mind waiving his arms wildly at center ice pleading that the final two seconds be run off the clock. In what was the most physical game of the season, the Lightning achieved what had eluded them the previous two seasons, a return trip to the Montgomery Hockey Conference junior varsity semifinals. With the victory, the 5-2-2 Lightning will next face off against the top seeded Wootton Patriots.

Entering the contest Upper Montgomery knew that the best way to stifle the Bulldogs was to smother Churchill’s primary offensive threat, Elias Elhallou. The Lightning excelled in keeping Elhallou off the scoresheet, zero points in the game, and constantly playing the body against him. Several times Elhallou was slow getting up after legal body checks.

The beginning and ending of this contest could not have been more different. From the drop of the opening faceoff, each team had very few quality rushes up the ice. The first seven minutes of action were filled with several big collisions, but neither team seemed to find their groove. Upper Montgomery pressured in the offensive zone but continuously missed the net with their shots or made passes that were just out of reach of open skaters. Meanwhile, Churchill had difficult entering the offensive zone as the Lightning’s forwards backchecked well led by Lightning sophomore forward Aiden Zheng. At the eight minute mark of the opening period, Upper Montgomery ninth grade forward Max Israfilbek was called for a cross checking penalty in the corner. Upper Montgomery’s penalty kill, 87.7% success rate entering the game, was up to the task. The penalty killers kept the Bulldogs from setting up in the offensive zone by flipping the puck down the ice multiple times will shorthanded.

Just after returning to full strength Upper Montgomery took the lead. The Bulldogs cleared the puck to center ice. Lightning senior defender Patrick Sell took possession of the puck along the right wing just outside his defensive blue line. Sell skated to the center ice red line and dumped the puck into the Churchill defensive zone. The puck rimmed hard around the boards behind the net into the left corner. Upper Montgomery senior center AJ Marks rushed in first to the puck. Marks made a nice backhand pass to the slot for Lightning sophomore forward Jackson Schickler. Schickler fired a left handed snap shot to the far side of the goal along the ice. The puck evaded Churchill ninth grade goalie Cooper Glazer’s left toe sneaking just inside the right goal post. For Schickler, it was his first career high school goal and came at a wonderful time staking Upper Montgomery to a 1-0 lead. Finally, some secondary scoring came through that the team had been lacking over the last few games.

As the last five minutes of the first period ticked off the clock, Upper Montgomery continued to assert control of the pace of the contest. There were very few chances being generated by Churchill as evidenced by their paltry five shots on goal. Upper Montgomery’s ninth grade netminder Porter Stutsrim-Lyons had a rocking chair type of first period. While the Lightning only fired seven shots on goal at Glazer, the puck was consistently in and around the Bulldogs net.

The second period contained more of the same. Upper Montgomery carried play and the Bulldogs had very little offensive thrust. Upper Montgomery would outshoot Churchill eight to four in the middle period. The Lightning pressure paid off three minutes into the second period when Churchill defender Cyrus Sawyer was called for a minor penalty for slashing. The powerplay proved to be vital as Upper Montgomery came through with the extra skater advantage to take a 2-0 lead in the game.

Churchill cleared the puck from their defensive zone down the ice to Stutsrim-Lyons. He blocked the puck to the right of the goal. From the right faceoff circle in his defensive zone, Lightning captain, senior defender Cole Howerton sent an outlet pass to Upper Montgomery sophomore center Jake Hudson in the neutral zone. The puck was just out of reach of Hudson as well as the Churchill defender covering him. The puck went through to the left wing where Hudson’s younger bother Luke Hudson was skating up ice. Luke Hudson picked up the puck and headed into the offensive zone. He sent a backhand pass from the left faceoff circle to the slot for his brother. Jake Hudson lined up a wrist shot from the slot and fired through a screen. The puck danced past Glazer stick side to the inside of the right post for his sixth goal of the season.

Forty-five seconds later the Lightning were back on the powerplay after Sawyer was called for another minor penalty, this time for cross checking. With momentum clearly on their side, if Upper Montgomery could light the lamp one more time, the Lightning would be in total control of the game. Although Upper Montgomery had extended time in the offensive zone, the Lightning could not increase their lead while playing with the additional skater.

A minute after Sawyer’s penalty expired, the Lightning were able to pick up that all important third goal of the game. Churchill had the puck in the Upper Montgomery defensive zone. The Bulldogs were putting pressure on the Lightning for one of the few times during the game. Three shots were fired at the net in quick succession, all of which missed the cage going wide of the goal. With the puck along the right wing boards, a Churchill forward sent a blind pass across the ice to no one in particular. Upper Montgomery ninth grade forward Decklin Hughes banged the puck out of the Lightning’s defensive zone to relieve the pressure. Zheng sped in and skated in front of a Churchill defender to get the puck. He pushed the puck past the flat footed defender coming into the offensive zone down the right wing side of the ice. He cut to the net patiently waiting as Glazer went to poke check the puck off of his stick. Zheng then calmly continued around the fallen goaltender and easily deposited a backhander into the open side of the net.

As the second period came towards its conclusion, Schickler was being called for a cross checking minor penalty for retaliating in front of the Churchill net. As play was stopped Elhallou softly directed the puck at Stustrim-Lyons. Upper Montgomery’s varsity goalie, Ilan Shterenberg, took exception and cross checked Elhallou well away from the play. It was an unnecessary and selfish roughing penalty after the whistle had been blown that would wind up hurting Upper Montgomery. The Lightning would be down two skaters having to kill off a five on three Bulldog powerplay for a full two minutes. The penalty kill started off well as the Lightning easily made it through the final 23 seconds of the second period without allowing Churchill to set up in the offensive zone. Upper Montgomery entered the second intermission ahead 3-0 needing only fifteen more minutes of sound defensive hockey to more on and advance to the junior varsity playoff semifinals.

Entering the third period Upper Montgomery still had 1:37 left to kill on the Bulldogs five on three powerplay. With excellent penalty killing by Jake Hudson, Zheng, Howerton, and steady senior defender Patrick Sell, the Lightning came within a whisker of killing off the entire Bulldogs powerplay. With fifteen seconds remaining on the advantage, Churchill capitalized to close the score to 3-1. Off of a faceoff outside their defensive blue line, the Lightning won the faceoff but then were unable to clear the puck out of the defensive zone. Churchill defender Mingshou Chang kept the puck in the offensive zone at the left point. His slapshot reached Stutsrim-Lyons who made a stick save putting the puck into the right corner. Bulldogs forward Victor Levonenko got to the loose puck and sent it back to the center point of the blue line to Chang. Chang had time and space to skate down the slot where he fired a wrist shot high over Stutsrim-Lyons’ right shoulder into the back of the net for his fourth goal of the season.

Twenty seconds later the game went off the rails due to the officiating failures. Lightning ninth grade defender Matt Rivera took a checking from behind penalty crunching Levonenko into the end boards. Levonenko got up aggressively charged after Rivera and tackled him to the ice. The Churchill forward’s actions seemingly negating the upcoming Churchill powerplay with his retaliation. The senior referee acknowledged that Levonenko’s response was a roughing penalty but that he was not going to call a penalty on Churchill because Levonenko had been hit from behind into the boards. The acknowledgement that there would be no penalty called on Levonenko even though he had committed an infraction incensed the Lightning coaching staff. To top off the situation, rather than call the penalty that had occurred, the senior referee called an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Upper Montgomery for questioning that decision leading to a second consecutive five on three powerplay for Churchill.

The Lightning once again leaned heavily on Hudson, Zheng, Howerton, and Sell to kill off the Churchill penalty. Halfway through the penalty kill Howerton contacted Elhallou near the Upper Montgomery goal.  The junior official was standing five feet away from the body contact and did not raise his arm signifying a penalty.  The senior official was standing past the red line toward the other end of the ice.  He also did not raise his arm to signal a penalty.  The whistle blew because of Elhallou not immediately getting back to his feet. The junior official stopped play because of the injured Churchill student athlete.  Somehow, mysteriously, after a brief consultation, the senior official called a two minute minor roughing penalty on Howerton.

The third minor penalty created a situation that is referred to as stacked penalties.  In a stacked penalty situation, the student who takes the third minor penalty is ushered to the penalty box. The time of the third penalty does not begin running until one of the initial two penalties expires, either through a powerplay goal scored against, or if the initial five on three powerplay is killed off.  Then, and only then, does the full two minutes of the third penalty begin.  In a stacked penalty situation, if the shorthanded team kills off the five on three powerplay, only one of the students in the penalty box is permitted to leave the penalty box and return to the ice.  If both skaters whose penalties have expired depart the penalty box and step onto the ice, there would be five skaters on the ice and still a minor penalty situation (the third penalty) so that team would then have too many skaters on the ice. 

There was extensive discussion at the Upper Montgomery bench because the parents staffing the penalty box and at the scorer’s area running the Gamesheet tablet are likely unfamiliar with how a stacked penalty situation should be administered.  They happen very infrequently. Upper Montgomery’s penalty killers did a phenomenal job killing off the entire five on three disadvantage. The senior referee skated over to the penalty box area and blocked the Lightning penalty box door from being opened. Thus, he prevented the Upper Montgomery students from leaving the penalty box.  At this point the senior official was making hand gestures and he was screaming across the ice that the Upper Montgomery coaching staff should read the rule book.  This disrespectful behavior from the senior official continued for multiple minutes of game action. His screaming is loud enough that all spectators in the rink were able to clearly hear what he was saying.

What did this disrespectful behavior result from?  It resulted from the senior official NOT KNOWING the rules regarding how stacked penalties work, just the exact message he was screaming over at the Upper Montgomery bench and coaching staff.  The result of the senior official physically blocking the penalty box area was that Upper Montgomery had to kill off an additional 59 seconds of a five on three powerplay with only one penalty running on the penalty clock. The Lightning not only killed off the five on three disadvantage, but suffered through an additional minute of play with only three skaters on the ice due to the officiating malpractice.

Rising to the challenge, the Lightning refused to be knocked off stride by the officiating crew. Upper Montgomery’s quartet of penalty killers kept Churchill from scoring on the super elongated extra skater situation. Once Upper Montgomery returned to full strength nine minutes of game action remained. The senior official continued to scream across the ice for several more minutes at the Upper Montgomery bench imploring the coaching staff to “READ THE RULE BOOK”.  It was actually the senior official that needed to “READ THE RULE BOOK” and become refreshed on how the stacked penalty rule should be implemented.

A minute after the teams were back at even strength, Zheng scored an insurance goal to once again put Upper Montgomery back up by three goals at 4-1. A Churchill shot in the offensive zone went wide of the net to the left corner. Zheng won the puck battle along the right wing boards. He skated up ice on a slow developing two on one rush. Zheng continued down the right wing side going wide around the Churchill defender. Nearing the net, he fired a wrist shot low blocker side past Glazer for the unassisted goal, his team leading eighth goal of the season.

The next six and a half minutes were played with Upper Montgomery holding their breath that the officiating crew would no longer interfere in the game. Luckily, each game is recorded by a Live Barn video feed. The referees seemed to remove themselves from the game knowing that the Upper Montgomery coaching staff was not going to let the misapplication of the stacked penalty rule go without further disciplinary action against the referees. With a minute and a half remaining in the game and the Lightning holding a 4-1 lead, it looked like Upper Montgomery would glide to the game’s finish. At that point Elhallou was called for a roughing penalty out of frustration for needlessly throwing a body check well away from the play. With a three goal lead and a powerplay, the Lightning seemed most assured of advancing to the semifinals.

Upper Montgomery never really looked to try and score on the powerplay. Instead, the Lightning just looked to keep the clock moving. Unfortunately, on the last rush up ice, the game disintegrated into a circumstance that no one really wanted to see. Upper Montgomery sophomore forward Mason Jagoz was bringing the puck up the ice into the Churchill defensive zone along the right wing boards. Again out of frustration, Sawyer threw an unnecessary body check on Jagoz at the blue line. The hit was totally unnecessary with nine seconds remaining in the contest, but within the rules of hockey.

Israfilbek cross checked Sawyer in retaliation.  Churchill defender, Gabriel Li lights up Israfilbek with a pay back body check well away from the play.  Li should have earned a two minute minor penalty for roughing which would have been his first minor penalty of the game.

As the students moved into the far corner of the ice and came together, Li comes up high on Israfilbek and should have be assessed another two minute minor penalty for head contact and the accompanying ten minute misconduct penalty.  This would have brought Li to three total penalties in the game.  Israfilbek engages and pushes back against Li and should have been assessed a two minute minor penalty for roughing.  This would have been his third penalty of the game.

There were no punches thrown and the skirmish broke up before the referees were able to skater over to the corner. As the students were skating away, Li slashes Israfilbek in the mid-section which should have been called a minor penalty for slashing and his fourth penalty of the game.  The fourth penalty comes with an automatic game misconduct penalty and a one game suspension. 

As the students are taken to the penalty box, Sawyer acts in an unsportsmanlike manner toward Israfilbek by screaming at him and fake motioning to attack Israfilbek. Sawyer should have received a two minute minor penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct.  This would have been his third penalty of the game.  The referees should have added a ten minute misconduct penalty for prolonging the incident. The ten minute misconduct penalty would have been Sawyer’s fourth penalty of the game.  The fourth penalty comes with the automatic game misconduct penalty and a one game suspension.  He was not actively involved in the scrum and thus certainly should not be assessed a fighting major. 

In response to Sawyer’s behavior Israfilbek cross checks Sawyer in the chest.  Thus, he should have earned his fourth penalty of the game.  The fourth penalty comes with the automatic game misconduct penalty and a one game suspension.  Since no fight occurred, this should be his only supplemental discipline—a one game suspension for incurring four penalties during a game.

The senior official is quite animated at the game’s end swinging his arms wildly and yelling for the final two seconds to be run off the clock.  He had been emotionally involved the entire third period beginning with his unprovoked yelling at the Upper Montgomery bench.  The Montgomery Hockey Conference chief of discipline, Mark Sangarese, will need to review video of the incident to determine if the actions of any student constitute a fight and an even longer suspension. In order for a fight to occur, punches must be thrown, not pushes or shoves.  Neither the Upper Montgomery program nor the Churchill program were pleased with how the game ended and the behavior of their student athletes.

The Lightning did emerge victorious and advanced to the Montgomery Hockey Conference junior varsity semifinals where they will face top seeded Wootton. The early season matchup between the two teams was a very tight exciting game. After playing each other to a 2-2 tie in regulation, the game moved to overtime where the Patriots scored off an end to end rush to prevail 3-2 over the Lightning. The semifinal game should be another thrilling contest as many in the county believe that the Patriots are the best junior varsity team and Upper Montgomery is the second best junior varsity team in the county.

Game Notes:

• Shots on goal were fairly even for the game with Churchill registering 25 shots on goal and Upper Montgomery countering with 22.
• The Lightning scored more than two goals in a playoff game for the first time in three years since the semifinal playoff game against Rockville / Magruder.
• Upper Montgomery sophomore forward Aiden Zheng scored two goals to take over the team lead in goals with eight.
• Lightning sophomore center Jackson Schickler scored his first career high school goal staking the Lightning to its early lead.
• Lightning ninth grade goalie Porter Stutsrim-Lyons stopped 24 of 25 shots increasing his save percentage for the season to .930. He also has a very miniscule 1.87 goals against average.
• Upper Montgomery ninth grade forward Max Israfilbek will miss the Wootton game while he serves his supplemental discipline for receiving four penalties in a game.
• Lightning Head Coach Todd Hassett will also miss the Wootton game will serving his supplemental discipline for receiving three unsportsmanlike penalties in a season.
• The senior referee is certain to face USA Hockey discipline for his actions during the game.
• Upper Montgomery’s junior varsity next faces top seeded Wootton in the Montgomery Hockey Conference junior varsity semifinals. Game date and time will be released in the coming days. The two teams matched up earlier in the season with Wootton rallying for a tie in regulation and then winning in overtime to defeat the Lightning 3-2.

Three Stars of the Game:

First Star—Aiden Zheng—Upper Montgomery Forward—2 Goals
Second Star—Porter Stutsrim-Lyons—Upper Montgomery Goalie—Win, 1 GA, 24 Saves, .960 Save Percentage
Third Star—Jake Hudson—Upper Montgomery Forward—1 Goal

The Upper Montgomery Lightning came into Tuesday evening’s contest against the perennial powerhouse Churchill Bulldogs feeling confident. Churchill had struggled this season sitting with a 6-6-1 overall record, having lost four conference games already this year. It has been a season well below the exceptional standard the Bulldogs have set over the past two decades. Upper Montgomery entered the contest having never beating Churchill in sixteen years of the program’s existence. For two periods, Upper Montgomery was optimistic that this would be the year that the long streak would end.

But, in the blink of an eye to start the final period, hope was quickly extinguished when the Bulldogs scored two quick goals to separate from the Lightning. Churchill then cruised home for a 7-2 victory based in large part on the individual play of Bulldogs senior defender Kobe Esko-Himmelfarb. Esko-Himmelfarb scored four goals and added an assist in leading Churchill past Upper Montgomery.

The start of the game resembled one of those carnival games where the contestant throws darts trying to pop a balloon. In the hockey sense, Churchill dominated time of possession in the Upper Montgomery defensive zone teeing off and thumping pucks at Lightning sophomore goalie Ilan Shterenberg. It was a deluge of shots that peppered Upper Montgomery’s young netminder. The one time Upper Montgomery departed the defensive zone with puck possession, that rush up ice turned into a lead for the Lightning.

Halfway through the opening period, Upper Montgomery iced the puck. From the defensive zone faceoff circle to Shterenberg’s right, the Lightning ran a designed faceoff play. Lightning senior center Henry Honacki won the faceoff back to Upper Montgomery junior defender Brady Berkhammer in the left corner. Berkhammer’s outlet pass to the left wing looking for Lightning senior Nathan Cassel found him in stride streaking out of the defensive zone. Cassel corralled the puck at the center red line and was in alone on a breakaway. From the low slot he fired past Churchill’s sophomore goalie MacAllister Glazer low to the right side of the net. Glazer looked confused by Cassel’s move as he did not react at all to Cassel’s shot. For Cassel it was his sixth goal of the season. The marker gave the Lightning a 1-0 lead on their first shot on goal of the game briefly stunning the Bulldogs.

Unfortunately, the Upper Montgomery lead lasted all of 45 seconds. Towards the end of the next shift, Cassel had the puck in his left defensive corner. He made a bad pass across the center of the ice in his defensive zone. The puck went right onto the stick of Esko-Himmelfarb in the high slot. Esko-Himmelfarb said thank you very much cashing in by blasting a wrist shot high over Shterenberg’s blocker for his sixth goal of the season. The unassisted goal evened the score at one with seven minutes remaining in the first period.

Two minutes later Esko-Himmelfarb was at it once again scoring his second goal of the period to put Churchill on top for the first time. He had the puck in the corner to Shterenberg’s right. Esko-Himmerlfarb made a diagonal pass back to the right point to Churchill defender Cyrus Sawyer. Sawyer sent the puck down to the right corner to Esko-Himmelfarb. He skated around the referee coming out of the right corner and stickhandled through several Lightning defenders to the bottom of the right faceoff circle where he snapped another wrist shot high. This time going short-side up over Shterenberg’s glove hand.

As the first period tricked towards conclusion, Churchill defender Michael Dong was assessed a tripping minor with fifteen seconds remaining in the opening period. From the faceoff in the right faceoff circle in the offensive zone Honacki won the faceoff to Berkhammer on the right wing boards. Berkhammer swung the puck over to Cassel at the center point along the blue line. Cassel returned the puck to Berkhammer at the right point. Berkhammer sent the puck down to Honakci at the bottom of the right faceoff circle. With time dwindling in the period, Honacki took the puck hard to the net. His backhand shot hit Glazer in the chest. The puck rebounded straight out into the slot with Glazer scrambling around in his net looking for the loose puck. Sneaking in from his left point position, Upper Montgomery sophomore defender Miles Wendland backhanded the puck into the wide open net for his first career varsity goal. Wendland just beat the buzzer to end the period. His powerplay goal sent the teams to intermission all tied at two. Churchill had massively outshot Upper Montgomery by a margin of eighteen to three. The Lightning should have been ahead but for the bad turnover deep in their defensive zone. Confidence was building that the Lightning could compete with the Bulldogs.

Upper Montgomery did a much better job in the second period of getting the puck out of their defensive zone. Pucks were continuously whacked back to neutral ice. Pucks were flipped in the air back to center ice. When Upper Montgomery exited the defensive zone with possession and reached the center ice red line, pucks were dumped deep into the Churchill defensive zone. The Bulldogs then had to skate up ice through all five Lightning skaters to try and find a good scoring opportunity. The first ten minutes of the second period went exactly how Upper Montgomery wanted to play against Churchill.

Then, with under five minutes remaining in the second period, a lucky bounce benefited the Bulldogs. Churchill entered the offensive zone off the rush. Several long range shots missed the net wide of the goal. The puck eventually came to Churchill defender Youssef Elkousy at the right point. Elkousy cycled the puck down low behind the net to Churchill forward Cash Levenberg. Levenberg was defended well by Upper Montgomery sophomore defender Avery Evans. The puck popped up in the air to the right of Shterenberg. Shterenberg swung his stick in an attempt to knock the puck to the corner. At the same time, Wendland reached over trying to bat the puck away from near the net. The puck bounced off both Lightning student athletes and landed right at the feet of Esko-Himmelfarb. With Shterenberg out of his crease, Esko-Himmelfarb had a wide empty net to push a short backhander across the goal line and give Churchill another one goal lead.

Upper Montgomery went on the powerplay two minutes later with an opportunity to tie up the game. The Lightning had difficulty setting up the puck inside the Bulldog defensive end of the ice and came up empty on their second powerplay of the evening. As the second period came to a close, Upper Montgomery trailed 3-2 and was being outshot by a margin of 29-7. That said, the Lightning were very much in the game trailing by just one goal. Two of the three Churchill strikes were either due to an Upper Montgomery unforced error or a fluky puck bounce.

By the end of the first minute of the third period the game had turned mightily. On the first shift of the period off of the center ice faceoff, Upper Montgomery won the draw. The puck was immediately stolen by Esko-Himmelfarb who took the puck directly into the Upper Montgomery defensive zone. He stickhandled through the traffic of the Upper Montgomery defenders sticks into the right corner while being hooked by Wendland. Esko-Himmelfarb worked his way to the top of the right circle and shot on net. Shterenberg made the stick save. Standing in front of the net, Churchill forward Giorgi Lazarashvili put the rebound high short side over Shterenberg’s glove for his third goal of the season increasing the Bulldogs’s lead to 4-2. Wendland’s delayed penalty was wiped out by the Churchill goal.

On the ensuing shift, a faceoff in the Churchill offensive zone from the left faceoff circle led to the next Bulldogs goal. Upper Montgomery won the faceoff to the left corner. A banked clear off the right wing boards was kept in at the left point by Churchill defender Tyler Long. His wrist shot through traffic went wide of the net to the near side. A perfect bounce off the back end boards sent the puck on an angle directly to Churchill forward Adam Klewans. Shterenberg made an unbelievable skate save coming across the net thwart Klewans’ shot, but standing in the crease to quickly punch in the rebound between Shterenberg’s legs was the Bulldogs leading junior varsity scorer, Elias Elhallou. At five to two, Upper Montgomery now had an incredibly high mountain to climb over the final fourteen minutes of the game.

On the very next shift, Lightning junior center Owen Robbins was whistled for a cross checking penalty. Playing with much more confidence and smelling blood in the water, the Bulldogs once again peppered Shterenberg with rubber. The young goalie shook off the two early third period goals turning aside shot after shot. The Lightning caught a bit of a break as during the powerplay, Churchill forward Liam Naughton was called for a cross checking penalty cutting short the Bulldogs powerplay. After forty seconds of four on four play, Upper Montgomery went on a short powerplay of their own which was unsuccessful. A minute later and just after stepping out of the penalty box Robbins was called for a hit to the head while throwing a body check.

The penalty erased Upper Montgomery’s powerplay opportunity. Even more costly, the head contact minor penalty comes with an automatic ten minute misconduct. Thus, Robbins was done for the evening and the Lightning’s second leading goal scorer was lost for the rest of the night. Churchill again applied offensive zone pressure with the extra skater but was unable to get another shot past Shterenberg.

Halfway through the third period, Churchill extended the score to 6-2. The Bulldogs exited their defensive zone with a passing play. Then, from the left faceoff circle in his defensive zone Naughton skated the puck out of the zone across the blue line. He breezed up ice on the right wing. As he made his way through the neutral zone he chipped the puck to the right wing corner in the Upper Montgomery defensive zone. Naughton raced in after the puck and made a backhand chip of the puck from the end wall into the slot. The puck went directly to Churchill forward Qin Lai, the Bulldogs leading forward scorer. Lai’s shot from four feet in front of the net went through Shterenberg seven hole to the stick side for his eighth goal of the season.

On the shift after Lai’s goal, Evans was called for tripping giving the Bulldogs their third powerplay of the period. This time, Churchill cashed in at the tail end of the extra skater advantage. There was a scrum along the right wing boards inside the Upper Montgomery defensive zone. The puck was pinned against the boards outside of the right faceoff circle. Upper Montgomery freed the puck and rimmed it around the boards behind the goal. At the left point Esko-Himmelfarb kept the puck inside the blue line. He circled into the center of the high slot. Upper Montgomery’s penalty killing forwards were way too wide allowing an opening down the middle of the ice wide enough for a mack truck to drive through. Coming downhill toward the goal, Esko-Himmelfarb had all day to snap a heavy wrist shot from between the faceoff circles high over Shterenberg’s glove hand. It was Esko-Himmelfarb’s fourth goal of the evening and his ninth goal of the season overtaking Lai for the Bulldogs team lead.

The final five minutes of the game played out uneventfully. The Lightning’s third period demons struck once again. After playing Churchill incredibly tough through two periods of action, the final score was not indicative of how close the game really was. The historically long Bulldogs unbeaten streak over the Lightning will continue for another season unless the teams meet again in the Montgomery Hockey Conference playoff tournament. The loss further solidifies Upper Montgomery’s slot in the seventh position in the county rankings and a tougher path in the upcoming post season playoffs. The challenging conclusion to the regular season continues with both highly ranked Whitman and Oakdale to come before the Lightning’s opening round playoff tilt. Even if the squad drops its remaining games, Upper Montgomery will finish with its best mark in conference play since the 2018 – 2019 season when the team only played the other teams in the lower division of the Montgomery Hockey Conference.

Game Notes:

• Upper Montgomery was badly outshot by Churchill 52-13 including 18-3 in the opening period.
• Lightning senior center Henry Honacki saw his five game goal scoring streak end. He did have two assists in the contest and now has a six game point streak (8G, 5A).
• With his four goal explosion, Churchill senior defender Kobe Esko-Himmelfarb nearly doubled his goal total for the season. He had five goals entering the game with Upper Montgomery.
• Lightning sophomore defender Miles Wendland scored his first career varsity goal in the first period.
• With two assists against Churchill, Lightning junior defender Brady Berkhammer broke his career high for assists in a season at fourteen and counting. He has eight points in his last three games and eleven points in his last five games.
• Upper Montgomery senior forward Nathan Cassel has scored in all three games he has played in since his return from a six week absence due to an upper body injury.
• Lightning sophomore goaltender Ilan Shterenberg made 45 saves in the game.
• The Lightning powerplay continues to click. The team was one for three against the Bulldogs and is now 10 for 22 on the season (40%). Last year, the team was incredibly inept with the extra skater going zero for the team’s first 43 powerplay opportunities.
• Upper Montgomery has ten days off over the holiday weekend before the last conference regular season game against Whitman. Game time is at 9:00 pm on Friday, January 24th at Rockville Ice Arena.

Three Stars of the Game:

First Star—Kobe Esko-Himmelfarb—Churchill Defense—4 Goals, 1 Assist
Second Star—Miles Wendland—Upper Montgomery Defense—1 Goal
Third Star—Tyler Long—Churchill Defense—1 Assist