Author: chucklevine

Junior Varsity Churchill Preview

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The Upper Montgomery Lightning junior varsity returns to action on Sunday, December 11th facing off against Churchill. Game time is 1:30 pm at Laurel Ice Gardens. For Upper Montgomery, the game marks the first of three straight contests against the bottom three teams in the Montgomery Hockey Conference. The team will need to duplicate last season’s three game win streak to end the season which catapulted the team toward last season’s junior varsity championship. This year’s team needs to build momentum heading into the junior varsity playoffs.

With a few more wins, the Lightning can avoid the junior varsity playoff play-in games and solidify a mid-range seeding in the playoff tournament. The Lightning have played three straight close games where the opposition needed to score into the empty net to finish off the game. Those three games were against the top three teams in the league. A win over Churchill would certainly be a confidence boost.

Quite simply, Upper Montgomery needs to score more and generate more offensive chances. The team is averaging only two goals per game. The Lightning have scored more than two goals in only one game this season. Henry Honacki has scored four of the team’s twelve goals on the season. He has been by far the best skater on the ice for the Lightning junior varsity. No other student athlete has more than one goal.

TJ Gottesman leads the team with seven points on one goal and six assists and he has points in each game he has played this season. Stephen Shkeda has one goal and four assists in five games. Several other experienced members of the team are producing well behind last season’s scoring pace and that is what is holding back the team. The game against Churchill is the game to get right as the Bulldogs have given up 38 goals in four games, an average of 9.5 goals per game.

In goal, Landon Bernard will be looking to build off of his best performance of the season. Earlier this week he played superb in the junior varsity’s loss to top ranked Walter Johnson, stopping 37 of 39 shots and almost single handedly stealing a win for the Lightning. He stopped five breakaways throughout the game. The only two goals he gave up were also on breakaway chances. Bernard has been solid in net this season and provides the Lightning with a decided advantage in goal. Churchill will counter with Cameron Shure. Shure will be looking to keep Churchill in the game and stop the Bulldogs four game losing streak where Churchill’s closest loss was by six goals.

Upper Montgomery needs to dominate the Bulldogs. The student athletes who have struggled on the offensive end or in the defensive zone need to play well and take confidence into next week’s game. The Lightning are the better team. They need to demonstrate that fight from the opening faceoff and not play down to Churchill’s level.

Blair Game Preview

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The Upper Montgomery Lightning return to game action on Friday evening December 9th versus the Blair Blazers. Game time is 9:00 pm at Rockville Ice Arena. Friday’s game will begin a stretch of six consecutive games against comparable competition. Upper Montgomery began the season playing the top four teams in the Montgomery Hockey Conference (MHC) over the first five weeks of the season. If the team’s performance is any indication, playing very competitive games against the top competition, the team should have confidence that they are one of better teams in the conference. Upper Montgomery deserves to be ranked in the top half of the conference rankings. However, in the MHC, the top ten or eleven teams have an opportunity to win every week. If the Lightning do not bring it and play well, Blair has enough talent to prevail.

Upper Montgomery’s leading scorers Nathan Cassel (4GP, 4G, 5A) and Chris Hassett (5GP, 4G, 4A) will need to carry the offensive load for the Lightning as sophomore center Ryan Jacobson (4GP, 4G, 2A) will miss the game as he is out-of-town with his external travel team. Depth scoring which had been a weakness of the team in previous seasons is much better this year. Brandon Bernard has scored three goals in his three games. Philip Shkeda has scored (6GP, 3G, 4A). Bradley Cupples and Olivia Robbins have each chipped in with four points. The defense has been more active offensively. Senior George Benedick has picked up his scoring pace over his previous three seasons (4GP, 2G, 4A). Ethan Hockey had a hat-trick versus Northwest. Brady Berkhammer has four assists in his first high school season. The depth scoring has taken the pressure off of the top line and makes the team more difficult to match up against. Scoring against Blair should not be difficult as Blair has given up the second most goals (49) in the MHC this season, ahead of only last place Northwest.

In goal, Landon Bernard will be looking to build off of his best performance of the season. Earlier this week he played superb in a junior varsity loss to top ranked Walter Johnson, stopping 37 of 39 shots and almost single handedly stealing a win for the Lightning junior varsity. He stopped five breakaways in the game. The only two goals he gave up were on breakaway chances. Bernard has been solid in net this season and needs to remain sharp against Blair’s top three forwards. Blair will start Lily Bendavid in net. She has a goals against average of 8.17 and a save percentage of .723. Giving up over eight goals a game, it is easy to see how Blair has a 1-5 record this season.

However, don’t be deceived. Blair has three very high-end forwards in Chris Birchard (6GP, 8G, 2A), Alex Birchard (6GP, 7A), and Michael Humphreys (4GP, 5G, 1A). These three seniors all play 18U AA travel hockey and are very offensive minded. They will be hard to miss on the ice. Their speed and singular focus on offense can be hard for opponents to play against. Upper Montgomery will have to carefully determine when to press forward offensively while these three student athletes are on the ice. Their counter attack style of play often leads to multiple odd skater rushes each game. The Lightning defense will need to recognize which student athletes are on the ice and adjust quickly or else the Blazers will burn them in transition and score goals. Top ranked Whitman’s only loss this season was to Blair and Blair only has one victory, although they are coming off a close loss to Wootton in the final minute of regulation.

The Lightning need to begin piling up victories against teams with similar talent. The game against Blair is the first of four games that are ‘pick-em’ contests where either team could easily win the game if they play well. Upper Montgomery needs to play a complete game and not give up too many high quality scoring chances to the Blazers. If Upper Montgomery is able to limit Blair’s offensive production, the Lightning should be able to find the net enough to come away with the victory. It is time to say good-bye to close losses and feel good about yourself type of performances and bring home the wins.

Late Defensive Miscue Dooms Lightning JV in Loss to Barons

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The Upper Montgomery Lightning junior varsity dropped their second consecutive game on Tuesday afternoon 4-2 against BCC at Rockville Ice Arena. The game seemed headed toward a tie until a late defensive miscue cost the Lightning a chance at a point. In the non-conference game, BCC controlled play from the outset and Upper Montgomery seemed to be chasing the game for the better part of two and a half periods. Junior goaltender Landon Bernard played well and was let down by the team’s play in front of him.

Halfway through the opening period BCC would score first. On the powerplay with Lightning center and team captain Josh Nadler in the penalty box for high sticking, BCC worked the puck around the perimeter off of a faceoff win in the offensive zone. From the right point, Luke Burns passed the puck across the blue line to Alex Elias at the left point. Elias’s low snap shot was saved by Bernard’s leg pads. The rebound went directly to an unguarded Peter Lanpher just outside the crease and he easily smacked the puck into the open side of the net.

Upper Montgomery battled right back tying the game just 45 seconds later. In a corner battle in the Lightning defensive zone, Cole Howerton knocked the puck free to the side boards where the puck was collected by Henry Honacki. Honacki used his speed to race out of the Lightning defensive zone all the way into the offensive zone. He cut from the left wing boards into the center of the ice. From the top of the circles, Honacki fired a wrist shot by Baron’s netminder, Vivienne Boyle, high to the blocker side for his fourth goal of the season. Upper Montgomery was able to use momentum from that goal combined with a too many skaters on the ice penalty to the Barons to finish the period tied at one. Shots on goal for both teams during the period were low, BCC had five and Upper Montgomery had only two.

The Lightning spent the beginning of the second period on the penalty kill after Nadler was called for a double minor penalty for slashing and roughing. It was a double whammy for Upper Montgomery as the team follows a protocol of sitting student athletes when they have picked up three penalties in a game. This is done to prevent that student athlete from inadvertently taking a fourth penalty within the same game and thus being suspended from the next upcoming game. Losing Nadler for the remainder of the game hurt the team. Line combinations needed to be juggled and Upper Montgomery did not have the services of a high quality center for the final two periods.

On the ensuing powerplay, BCC would strike again. It was their second powerplay goal of the game. On the skater advantage, Barons forward Evan Williams scored the first of what would be his three goals in the game. He took possession of the puck on the side boards and muscled through a check by Honacki skating into the slot area. His first shot was blocked by the Lightning defense, but unluckily the puck bounced right back to him. Bernard had committed to make the initial save and was unable to reposition quickly enough to prevent Williams’s second wrist shot from sliding along the ice into the empty side of the net.

Upper Montgomery was able to kill off the second half of Nadler’s four minutes in the box and another penalty at the beginning of the third period to Howerton for interference. Preventing BCC from scoring another powerplay goal enabled the team to hang around and remain in the game. After a penalty to the Barons Evan Rich for roughing, Upper Montgomery would tie the game with seven and a half minutes left in regulation. Off of a faceoff in the defensive zone, Stephen Shkeda lost the draw a few feet behind the Barons center. TJ Gottesman hustled to the puck and pushed it forward a few feet where Shkeda controlled the puck. He skated the length of the ice into the offensive zone along with Jason Woodman on a two on one break. Shkeda elected to shoot the puck. His shot was saved by Boyle’s leg pads. The rebound caromed directly into the crease where Woodman had charged toward the net. Woodman beat the Barons’ defense and Boyle to the puck pushing a backhanded shot into the net to tie the game and record his first career high school goal.

Shortly thereafter, the Lightning had a golden opportunity to take the lead when Barons forward Michael Butkiewicz was called for high sticking. Unfortunately, the Lightning were unable to mount any significant chances with the extra skater advantage. With just over two minutes remaining in the game, disaster struck.

Williams collected the puck deep in the BCC defensive zone at the right circle after a drop pass from Burns. He skated up the left wing board and avoiding an ill-timed pinch on by a Lightning defender. Then, as he approached the attacking blue line, another Lightning defender was beaten by a head and shoulder fake. Williams found himself on a breakaway from the blue line in alone. He faked a forehand shot and got deeper toward the net before shooting high over Bernard’s glove hand into the top right corner of the net. BCC had the lead with only two minutes left in regulation. The disappointing feeling on the goal was that the Lightning had two of their more experienced defenders on the ice for that shift and both badly misplayed the individual rush up ice by Williams.

With Bernard pulled for the extra skater and time trickling down, Williams would salt away the game with an empty net goal. He was assisted by Benjamin Lyons who started the play by blocking a Lightning shot behind the net and Elias who passed the puck up to Williams who had fled the zone early. Williams skated in uncontested for the tap in hat-trick goal.

The Lightning’s collective team defensive and physical play was lacking. There was too much stick poking and swinging in an attempt to win the puck and transition to offensive play. BCC controlled play as evidenced by the wide margin in their shot advantage for the game, 25-9. Upper Montgomery played too much on the perimeter and did not get into the tough areas of the ice. The schedule for the junior varsity does not ease up. The next two games Upper Montgomery will face off against the top two teams in the Montgomery Hockey Conference, Richard Montgomery and Walter Johnson. Much better efforts will be needed if the Lightning are to be competitive in either game.

Game Notes:

  • The Lightning were outshot by the Barons 25-9, including 11-3 in the pivotal third period.
  • Jason Woodman scored his first career high school goal, the Lightning’s first powerplay goal of the season.
  • Henry Honacki scored his team leading fourth goal of the season.
  • TJ Gottesman has a point in all three games he has played in this season.
  • The Upper Montgomery junior varsity next returns to action against Richard Montgomery on Sunday morning, December 4th, at 9:15 am at Wheaton Ice Rink for a showdown (and rematch) of last season’s junior varsity title game won by the Lightning.

Three Stars of the Game:

First Star—Evan Williams—BCC Forward—3 Goals
Second Star—Luke Burns—BCC Defense—2 Assists
Third Star—Henry Honacki—Upper Montgomery Center–1 Goal

Junior Varsity Walter Johnson Preview

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The Upper Montgomery Lightning junior varsity returns to action on Wednesday afternoon for a non-league game versus the high powered Walter Johnson Wildcats. Game time is 1:45 pm at Rockville Ice Arena. It will be another tough test for the Lightning as Walter Johnson has the top junior varsity team in the Montgomery Hockey Conference. The Lightning program uses games against tough non-conference opponents to prepare the team for the league schedule and the junior varsity playoff tournament. Upper Montgomery will be looking to bounce back after three consecutive losses. The team did play much better this past Sunday morning, a tight 3-1 loss to Richard Montgomery where the Rockets scored into an empty net with 20 seconds remaining in the game to salt away their victory.

Upper Montgomery needs to be better offensively. The team is averaging only 2.2 goals per game and has scored more than two goals in only one game this season. Henry Honacki has scored four of the team’s eleven goals on the season. He has been by far the best skater on the ice for the Lightning junior varsity. No other student athlete has more than one goal. TJ Gottesman leads the team with six points on one goal and five assists. Josh Nadler, Stephen Shkeda, and Adam Levine need to push through and increase their offensive production for the team to have success. It would help alleviate some of the scoring pressure if the defense could chip in with some offensive production. Collectively, the Upper Montgomery defense has only five points in five games.

Defensively, the team played much better against the Rockets. The emphasis in practice has been on playing the body. It is beginning to pay dividends as Richard Montgomery had fewer high quality scoring chances than either BCC or Wootton in the prior two games. The Lightning will have to contend with a Wildcats squad led by Cameron Luskin (4GP, 2G, 2A) and Sam Mayster (3GP, 3G). In addition, Walter Johnson has a very talented back line. Liam Dorien and Lucas Chang anchor the defense with 9th grade defender Sophie Pyott expected to receive a lot of ice time. The Wildcats have given up only three goals in four games. Upper Montgomery will need to stay out of the penalty box as the penalty kill has been weak area all season.

Landon Bernard’s goaltending has been really solid with many of the oppositions’ goals coming in situations where he has had very little chance to make the save. On Sunday, he saved 22 of 24 shots (.917 save percentage) against the Rockets. Richard Montgomery’s goals came on a back door tap in with no coverage in front and on a breakaway. Bernard will need to be very sharp for Upper Montgomery to have a chance to pull off the victory. In goal for the Wildcats will be Joseph Villatoro who has stopped 56 of 59 shot attempts for a .949 save percentage. He has a 0.88 goals against average and three shutouts. The Wildcats defense is very stingy as they average giving up only 15 shots on goal per game.

Upper Montgomery will have their hands full trying to generate more offense against a team which has posted three shutouts already this season. It will be difficult to match Walter Johnson’s skill and talent, so the Lightning will have to out-compete the Wildcats to earn the victory.

Wootton Wipes out Lightning JV Ending Eight Game Win Streak

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The Upper Montgomery Lightning junior varsity was wiped out on Friday afternoon by Wootton 9-2 in a game that was not competitive. Upper Montgomery struggled all game long to contain Wootton’s run and gun offensive style. The defense played poorly and left Lightning junior goaltender Landon Bernard out to dry throughout the entire game. Just as troubling was Upper Montgomery’s inability to generate much offense with Wootton not focused at all on the defensive side of the game and with Wootton skater Mitchell Golub playing in goal for the Patriots. It was just Golub second career start in net.

Upper Montgomery mustered just three shots on goal in the first period. No shots on goal during a 1 minute and 29 second 5-3 powerplay. Two defensive breakdowns led directly to both Wootton goals and the Patriots had a 2-0 lead after the first period of play. The second period was just as bad as the Patriots would skate around and past Lightning defenders poking and waiving sticks at the puck. The Patriots played with pace while a stationary Upper Montgomery side watched and chased the Wootton forwards around the ice. The score had jumped to 5-0 with eight minutes remaining in the second period before Upper Montgomery would get one back.

Adam Levine dumped the puck in from center ice to the left corner of the offensive zone. He outraced the Patriots defense and backhanded the puck sharply around the net. The puck deflected off a Wootton defender in the right corner, a sharp change of direction which took the puck over to Henry Honacki at the top of the right faceoff circle. Levine had curled into the slot and set a perfect screen as Honacki sent a wrist shot just past Levine’s legs five hole on Golub to put Upper Montgomery on the board. Off the ensuing faceoff, Honacki and Levine forechecked hard. Honacki’s pressure caused a bad Wootton pass that was intercepted by Levine. Levine sent a smooth pass ahead to Honacki who skated around the defense and sent a sharp, low backhander that amazingly went right into Golub’s glove as the goalie slid across the crease badly out of the play. The Patriots outshot Upper Montgomery 15-4 in the second period, illustrating just how much Wootton had outplayed the Lightning.

In the third period, the Lightning’s substandard play continued as the Patriots scored three more uncontested goals. Chris Hassett was inserted into the game in goal simply to give Bernard a break as the Upper Montgomery position skaters had played so poorly in front of him. One nice moment in the middle of the third period was an outstanding hustle play by senior center Stephen Shkeda. Shkeda lost a faceoff in the left circle of the Lightning defensive zone. He outhustled the Wootton defense to the puck. He skated up ice along the left wing alone against two Wootton defenders. As he entered the offensive zone, he attempted to go wide around the Wootton left defender. As he pulled even with the defender, he fumbled the puck. Battling to regain control of the puck, he was able to get off a shot low to the short side. The puck slid along the ice between Golub’s pad and the near post for an unassisted goal, his first goal of the season.

The Lightning know they will have to play significantly better if they want to be competitive against the top junior varsity teams in the Montgomery Hockey Conference. The team needs better puck movement, better positional play, to be better at taking the body to separate the opposition skaters from the puck, to make better decisions with the puck, to play with more intensity, and to have a better understanding of what is needed to be successful. With that said, it is incredibly hard to win eight straight games in a row so the team needs to quickly put this clunker versus Wootton out of mind.

Game Notes:

  • The Lightning were outshot by the Patriots 29-10.
  • Henry Honacki scored his team leading third goal of the season.
  • The Upper Montgomery power play was 0-5, including a lengthy 5-3 advantage early in the game.
  • The Lightning will be looking to bounce back from this poor performance in a non-conference matchup versus the BCC Barons on Tuesday, November 22nd at 2:30 pm at Rockville Ice Arena.

Three Stars of the Game:

First Star—#49—Wootton Forward—5 Goals, 2 Assists
Second Star—Justin Heller—Wootton Forward—1 Goal, 4 Assists
Third Star—Matvei Shaposhnikov—Wootton Forward–2 Goals

Junior Varsity Runs Win Streak to Eight with Impressive Victory over Gladiators

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The Upper Montgomery Lightning junior varsity increased their winning streak to eight games (dating to last season) with an impressive 4-2 road victory over the Glenelg Gladiators on Monday afternoon. In the non-conference game, Upper Montgomery controlled play from the outset and was never really threatened. Junior goaltender Landon Bernard had one of his easiest outings as Glenelg rarely mustered offensive pressure. The victory keeps the Lightning undefeated on the season with their two consecutive victories to begin the 2022 – 2023 campaign.

Upper Montgomery dominated the first period and could have scored many more goals than just the two late ones that found their way past Gladiators goaltender Gavin Coons. Upper Montgomery possessed the puck in the offensive zone for much of the period but had trouble finishing. It wasn’t until just over two minutes remained in the period that the Lightning were able to finally break through. Patrick Sell took possession of the puck in his defensive zone along the left wing boards. He chipped the puck up the boards to left winger James Hyman, who was just inside the defensive zone blue line. Hyman fired a perfectly timed pass to TJ Gottesman cutting up the middle of the ice from his right wing position. Gottesman received the pass at the red line and powered his way through the neutral zone past both Gladiators defenders coming in alone on a breakaway. Gottesman did not make much of a move, but fired the puck past Coons’ glove hand, up high, for his first goal of the season.

A minute later the Lightning would gain full control of the game. In the defensive zone, Cole Howerton won a race for a loose puck along the right wing boards. He shoveled the puck on to Gottesman at the blue line. Gottesman passed the puck left into the center of the ice to Henry Honacki. The pass was well timed and sprung Honacki on a two on one break with left winger AJ Marks. Honacki’s pass for Marks was just out of his reach and slid into the left wing corner in the offensive zone. Marks won the race to the puck and while being tied up by a Gladiators defender, he kicked the puck loose to Honacki. Honacki brought the puck into the left circle, swung around and fired a wrist shot short side and high, upstairs above Coons’ stick and blocker.

The second period was almost a carbon copy of the first period. Upper Montgomery dominated and spent most of the period in the offensive zone. With many open looks shot high or wide, the Lightning again scored just two goals. Halfway through the second period the Lightning would increase their lead to 3-0. Cole Howerton intercepted a pass in his defensive zone. From his location on the right side of the defensive zone, he advanced the puck to TJ Gottesman. Gottesman skated around a pinching Glenelg defender at the blue line which created another two on one break with Marks. Gottesman carried the puck and entered the offensive zone. He then passed the puck across to Marks. Gottesman’s pass was behind Marks who has to contort his body to bring the puck into shooting position. Once he had control in the mid-slot area, Marks fired a wrist shot high blocker side past Coons.

Glenelg continued to play hard and was able to eventually get one past Bernard on a nice individual play. Stephen Killorin picked up a loose puck at his own blue line and raced up ice. He split in between two Lightning defenders and beat Bernard with a wrist shot high blocker side from in tight. That goal gave Glenelg some life and the Gladiators had a momentary push. However, just 16 seconds before the second period’s conclusion, Upper Montgomery added to their lead. A bad turnover in the defensive zone doomed Glenelg. Honacki intercepted a stretch pass that was headed up the high slot area. He immediately fired a wrist shot five hole past Coons before the goalie could get into position to make the save. For Honacki, it was his first career high school two goal game.

The third period saw the high school goaltending debut of Lightning varsity center Chris Hassett. With only one goaltender in the program, Upper Montgomery needs an emergency goaltender to play in junior varsity games if Bernard is unavailable. Once Hassett entered the game, the Lightning defense began to struggle giving up way too many high quality chances. Hassett made more saves in the third period than Bernard did in his two period of play, including stopping a breakaway and an uncontested shot from the low slot. With five minutes left in the game, Glenelg did score on Hassett to make the game interesting down the stretch. Off of a face off loss in the defensive zone, the Lightning failed to possess or clear the puck. The puck entered the left corner where Dylan Hubbard took possession and began to skate around the net. Before he went around the net, Hubbard passed the puck into the slot to Eliot Horwath. Horwath’s shot beat Hassett along the ice toward the far post and just inside the goal to cut the Upper Montgomery lead to 4-2.

The Lightning’s collective team defensive and skating then took over and prevented Glenelg from having many more good chances, squashing any hope of a Gladiators comeback. A good win for Upper Montgomery, but an effort that the team knows will need to improve as the Lightning face stiffer league competition beginning later this week.

Game Notes:

  • The Lightning outshot the Gladiators 34-20 for the game, including 22-9 over the first two periods of play.
  • AJ Marks scored his first career high school goal.
  • TJ Gottesman set a career high with three points.
  • Chris Hassett made his high school goaltending debut stopping 10 of 11 shots in the third period.
  • There were no penalties called in the game, a first for the Lightning junior varsity.
  • Upper Montgomery junior varsity next returns to action on Friday, November 11 at 4:00 pm for an MHC conference matchup against Wootton at Rockville Ice Arena.

Three Stars of the Game:

First Star—Henry Honacki—Upper Montgomery Center—2 Goals
Second Star—TJ Gottesman—Upper Montgomery Forward—1 Goal, 2 Assists
Third Star—AJ Marks—Upper Montgomery Forward–1 Goal, 1 Assist

Junior Varsity Richard Montgomery Preview

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The Upper Montgomery Lightning junior varsity returns to action early Sunday morning against the Richard Montgomery Rockets. Game time is 9:15 am at Wheaton Ice Rink. Sunday’s game will be the first of back-to-back games against the top two junior varsity teams in the Montgomery Hockey Conference. Upper Montgomery will be looking to bounce back after two consecutive games where the team did not play well. It will be a tough ask facing a Rockets team that has only given up three goals on the season.

Upper Montgomery will need to be better offensively. The team is averaging only 2.5 goals per game and has scored just two goals in three of their first four games on the season. Henry Honacki has scored four of the teams ten goals and he has been by far the best skater on the ice for the Lightning. No other student athlete has more than one goal. TJ Gottesman has five points in three games and his play is much improved from last season. Josh Nadler, Stephen Shkeda, and Adam Levine need to increase their offensive production for the team to succeed this season.

Defensively, the team has played very poorly the past two games; a wipeout loss to Wootton and a close loss to BCC where the defense gave up a breakaway goal with two minutes remaining in the game. The penalty kill has been weak with the team giving up three power play goals in eight chances. The defense has to make better decisions and play the body. There is too much of an attempt by the defense to create offensive scoring chances rather than playing to keep the opponent from scoring. Landon Bernard’s goaltending has been solid with many of the oppositions’ goals coming in situations where he has had a very little chance to make the save.

The Rockets come into the game with a 3-1 conference record with their only loss a 1-0 decision to top ranked Walter Johnson. Richard Montgomery will be looking to avenge last year’s junior varsity championship game loss to Upper Montgomery. The Rockets are likely to be fired up for the match up as they seek revenge for Upper Montgomery’s upset win. In goal for the Rockets will be Gregory Saffell. Saffell has stopped 56 of 59 shot attempts for a .949 save percentage. He has a 0.94 goals against average and one shutout, giving up only three goals in four games. The Rockets defense is very stingy as they average giving up only 15 shots on goal per game.

Upper Montgomery will also have their hands full with the Rockets high powered offense. Richard Montgomery has scored 15 goals in four games and that includes their shutout loss to Walter Johnson. Otherwise, the Rockets are averaging five goals per game. The Rockets are led by senior Tyler Senko (4GP, 3G, 3A) and Ryan Jones (4GP, 2G, 2A). Four other Rockets’ student athletes have scored two goals on the season. The even distribution of scoring will make it difficult for Upper Montgomery to focus on any one line. Pressure will be on the Lightning to find a way to match Richard Montgomery’s skill and talent and come away with a victory.

Whitman Game Preview

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The Upper Montgomery Lightning return to game action on Friday evening versus the top ranked Whitman Vikings. Game time is 8:45 pm at Rockville Ice Arena. Fresh off their dismantling of bottom feeder Northwest, the Lightning will be severely tested by Whitman’s structured team defensive system. The game will finish off a stretch where the Lightning play each of the top four ranked teams in the first five weeks of the season.

The thrashing of Northwest should give the Lightning some confidence. Ten skaters had multiple point games against the Jaguars. Leading scorer Chris Hassett had a hat-trick and three assists. Ethan Hockey scored his first career high school hat-trick and added an assist. Nathan Cassel had two goals and three assists. Philip Shkeda had two goals and two assists. George Benedick had a goal and three assists. The team finally received depth scoring which it has lacked throughout the last several season. Brady Berkhammer had three assists. Brandon Bernard and Adam Levine each had a goal and an assist. Bradley Cupples and Stephen Shkeda each chipped in with two assists. But, it will be much, much tougher to score against Whitman even with the return of Ryan Jacobson to the lineup.

Whitman has given up only ten goals in five league games. If their game against Blair is excluded, the Vikings goals against drops to just four in four games. Their opponents in three of those four games were strong BCC, Walter Johnson, and Wootton, and then Rockville/Magruder. Certainly, the Vikings have played as a stingy defensive unit.

In goal, Landon Bernard will be looking to build off of last week’s shutout over Northwest. He has been solid in net this season and needs to be sharp to limit Whitman’s attack. In a game that is expected to be a low scoring, tight checking defensive game, one goal could likely determine the winner. Whitman will counter in net with either Reed Chricton, 2-1 record, 4.32 goals against average, and .833 save percentage, or Ryan Graf, 2-2 record, 3.26 goals against average, and .888 save percentage. Both netminders have split time this season for the Vikings. The Whitman goalie statistics are inflated by two losses to top tier private schools.

Defensively, the Vikings are led by senior AA travel student athlete Walter Ingis (6GP, 3G, 2A) and sophomore AA travel student athlete Morrison Cohen (5GP, 1G, 8A). The Whitman defense is rounded out by AAA defender Zach Krauss and AA defender Rowan Miller. The Lightning are going to have to find ways to score a few greasy goals as the Vikings’ defense will likely prevent odd skater rushes and stymie fancy offensive play. It will be key for the Lightning to get off to a good start and play with a lead to force the Vikings to press forward and depart their defensive shell.

On offense, the Vikings are led by two AA level travel student athletes, senior Theo Hauptmann (7GP, 4G, 3A) and sophomore Charles Ingis (7GP, 4G, 3A). Nick Huguely and Andrew Fou have chipped in with (7GP, 3G, 4A) each and Jacob Lerman has (7GP, 3G, 3A). Whitman is a counter attack team. The Vikings played smothering defense, wait for the opposition to press offensively, and then take advantage of their odd skater opportunities. Upper Montgomery’s defense pinching in at the offensive blue line will need to be careful as missed pinches will jump start the Vikings offensive attack.

The Lightning should have a complete lineup for just the second time this season. With Upper Montgomery having beaten Whitman each of the last two seasons, the Vikings will be looking for revenge and to keep their number one ranking. This could also be a trap game for Whitman as they play perennial power Churchill next week. Friday night’s game will be a good measure of where the Lightning are as a team and if they should continue to be ranked as one of the top eight teams in the conference.

Lightning Strike Blog–November 2022

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Through the first third of the 2022 – 2023 high school hockey season, a few overarching themes have emerged:

  • Any of the top ten teams can beat any team in the Montgomery Hockey Conference (MHC). Although upsets are fairly uncommon, the number of close games demonstrates that the gap between the historical top four teams (Churchill, Wootton, BCC, and Walter Johnson) and the next five or six teams no longer exists. If the top teams do not bring it every game, they can easily lose. This speaks to the depth and talent of the next batch of teams, including the Upper Montgomery Lightning.
  • The Upper Montgomery Lightning are a much improved team from a season ago. The team’s record does not yet fully demonstrate the improvement. However, close losses and a tie earned against the brutal early season schedule point to the continued growth of the program. The team tied BCC 2-2 after having a lead with a minute left in regulation. BCC scored a pulled goalie power play goal to salvage the tie. Upper Montgomery was also leading then top ranked Walter Johnson 4-3 with eight minutes left in the third period before falling late.
  • The Lightning earned their first ever (dating to 2008) points against one of the top four teams in the MHC with their tie versus BCC. With two upcoming games against the Wootton Patriots, the team will be looking for its first ever victory against Wootton.
  • The first of the official mid-season rankings will be released in early December. Upper Montgomery is ranked seventh which would be the highest ever ranking for the program. The computer rankings program rates close losses against the top teams greater than wins earned against lower tier teams.

Next week’s game against new number one ranked Whitman concludes the season opening stretch of playing the top four teams within the first five weeks of the season. A daunting task for any program. If Upper Montgomery plays a structured, defensive minded muck it up style, it will be a very close game against the Vikings. Whitman likes to counter attack after playing a suffocating defensive style which forces teams to press and turn the puck over, leading to Whitman’s offensive chances.

Chris Hassett once again leads the team in scoring this season with four goals and four assists. Nathan Cassel and Philip Shkeda have seven points each with three goals and four assists. Ryan Jacobson is tied for the team lead in goals with four having played in just three games. Olivia Robbins, George Benedick, and Bradley Cupples each have contributed a goal and three assists. Ethan Hockey scored a hat-trick against Northwest from his defensive position. Depth scoring is much better this season with Brady Berkhammer, Brandon Bernard, Stephen Shkeda, Hunter Cameron, Andrew Botti, and Adam Levine all with multiple point games.

The team has done a very good job at times of limiting the offensive chances against Landon Bernard. It is the penalty kill which has doomed the Lightning. A strength last season at 87.9%, the PK this year is atrocious at 55.6%. When the Upper Montgomery defense is not aggressive at the offensive blue line and has numbers back, the team is able to prevent goals. When the team becomes too offensive minded and gets involved in run and gun, up and down the ice hockey where it trades chances, the top-end talent of the top teams in the MHC makes the Lightning pay. Coming up in December and January with the more evenly matched opposition, expect very competitive and exciting games.

The Upper Montgomery junior varsity got off to a hot start to the season with road victories against the DC Stars 2-0 and Glenelg 4-2. These victories brought the junior varsity winning streak to eight games dating back to last season. Since those two opening games, the team has faltered; losing to both Wootton and BCC. There has been too much puck watching, bad defensive miscues, and stick swiping at the puck instead of taking the body and separating the opposition from the puck. Henry Honacki has been the best skater on the junior varsity with four goals in four games and numerous other breakaway chances. TJ Gottesman has improved in his sophomore season and has one goal and four assists in three games.

The junior varsity is finding that it is hard to repeat as MHC junior varsity champions. Every program is looking to take out the champions. It has been a disappointing start for several of the returning experienced student athletes, but there is still time for those skaters and the team to turn around the season. The junior varsity special teams have been awful, 10% power play success rate and 62.5% penalty kill rates, with several of the successful kills being truncated power plays. Landon Bernard has been solid in net. He will need to continue to play well to allow time for the team to get on a roll heading into the junior varsity playoff tournament.

Junior Varsity BCC Game Preview

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The Upper Montgomery Lightning Junior Varsity returns to game action on Tuesday afternoon against BCC. Game time is 2:30 pm at Rockville Ice Arena. Although BCC is in the Montgomery Hockey Conference, this game will be a non-league contest.

The Lightning will be looking to get back on track after being wiped out by Wootton in their last game. The loss to Wootton ended an eight game winning streak dating back to last season. In the Wootton game, the team was completely outplayed. The coaches will be looking to see which student athletes respond with a better effort versus BCC.

Landon Bernard will handle the goaltending duties for Upper Montgomery. Bernard is fresh off a shutout victory in last week’s varsity game against Northwest. His personal eight game winning streak in junior varsity games was halted in last week’s loss to the Patriots. BCC is expected to start Tycho Narrod-Malcolm in goal. He has a 2.40 goals against average and an .833 save percentage in two games this season. He was victorious versus bottom feeder Churchill, with a close loss to a strong Whitman team.

On defense, the Lightning will need to do a much better job of gap control and playing the body. Against Wootton, there was way too much swiping at the puck and getting skated around by Wootton’s speedy offensive forwards. The defensive corps of Cole Howerton, Patrick Sell, Jake Roth, Sean Levine, and Behr Schickler will need to play a more structured game where they play more conservatively and continue to knock the puck up to the forwards in the neutral zone. Peter Lanpher is the Baron’s top offensive threat with (2GP, 3G, 3A) with all of his production against Churchill.

Offensively, the Lightning need to generate more high quality chances. Outside of Henry Honacki (3GP, 3G, 1A) and TJ Gottesman (2GP, 1G, 3A), the team has had sporadic offensive production. Stephen Shkeda, Adam Levine, and AJ Marks have chipped in with a couple of points each, but the balance of the forwards need to do more. Josh Nadler returning to form after a long absence will surely help the team put the puck in the net.

In a pre-Thanksgiving matinee, the Lightning will be looking for a bounce back effort and a return to winning form.