Urbana Steamrolls Lightning

The Upper Montgomery Lightning are known as a program that will play any high school hockey program anywhere and at anytime. Often, the team plays against the top ranked opponents throughout the state. On Tuesday afternoon Upper Montgomery was steamrolled by the Urbana Hawks for the second consecutive season falling by a score of 7-0. For the Lightning it was not a very good performance coming on the heels of Friday evening’s excellent showing against archrival and highly ranked Wootton. Upper Montgomery’s excellent defensive effort stymied the Patriots holding them to only three goals, nine goals below their average heading into the contest. Against Urbana, Upper Montgomery had no answers and did not match the Hawks physicality or intensity. Additionally, the young Lightning defenders were often exposed and taken advantage of by the more experienced Hawks.

Urbana jumped on Upper Montgomery right from the outset of the contest cruising to a 3-0 lead after the opening fifteen minutes of action while outshooting the Lightning by a very lopsided eighteen to five margin. Upper Montgomery sophomore goalie Ilan Shterenberg must have felt like he was on the wrong end of a machine constantly firing pucks his way as Urbana controlled territorial play for the entire period.

It took only three and a half minutes for the Hawks to get on the board. A poor clearing attempt by the Lightning along the left wing boards in the defensive zone was intercepted by Urbana forward Matthew Browning-Elam. He skated behind the net from right to left all the way out to the left faceoff circle where he dropped the puck back to the left point to his brother, Andrew Browning-Elam. Andrew Browning-Elam dumped the puck into the left corner where Urbana forward Kendall Hanson sent a centering pass to the slot area looking for Urbana center Zachary Thayer. Thayer mishandled the puck as he was about to shoot on net. He recovered the puck in the left faceoff circle drawing the defense with him as he fired a cross crease pass over to Matthew Browning-Elam. The Hawks forward had gotten behind the Upper Montgomery defense and had no difficulty tapping the puck into the wide open right side of the net past Shterenberg.

A minute later the lead became 2-0. From a faceoff in the left faceoff circle in the Upper Montgomery defensive zone, the two centers tied each other up. Hanson swept in and got the puck. She sent a bank pass off the right wing boards back to the point. Urbana defender Michael Dye settled the puck and fired a long range wrist shot from just inside the blue line. The puck sailed high to the blocker side of Shterenberg. Partially screened, Shterenberg picked up the puck late and could not prevent the shot from landing in the top left corner of the net. With a two goal cushion and firmly in control of play, Urbana did not let up and continued to threaten offensively.

It took almost nine minutes but the Hawks finally scored again to take a commanding 3-0 lead with a minute and a half remaining in the first period. Urbana’s scoring sequence began with a faceoff in the offensive zone in the left faceoff circle. Hawks center Buck Vongnaraj won the draw to the left wing boards to Urbana forward Alexander Cheves. Cheves cut inside an Upper Montgomery forward to the left faceoff circle. He proceeded into the slot unencumbered and fired a backhand shot at the net through traffic. The puck squeezed past Shterenberg seven hole between his blocker and body.

Mercifully, the first period ended and the Lightning were able to clear their heads and settle down after getting outclassed through the first fifteen minutes of play. Play over the first ten minutes of the second period saw Upper Montgomery more actively compete for loose pucks and focus on getting the puck out of their defensive zone, reach center ice, and dumping the puck behind the Urbana net. At the halfway point of the period, Urbana removed starting goalie Mason Sebold and replaced him with backup netminder Chloe Hanson.

With five minutes remaining in the second period, Hawks forward Patrick Terrebonne scored to increase the margin to 4-0 Urbana. From a faceoff originating outside of the Upper Montgomery defensive zone on the right wing in neutral ice, Urbana won the draw back to the red line. A defense to defense pass positioned the puck on the left side of the ice where the puck was sent to Cheves coming down the left wing boards into the Upper Montgomery defensive zone. Cheves skated through the left faceoff circle into the left corner and turned to go around the net from left to right. Without a shooting lane he sent the puck to the right point to Dye. Dye’s long range shot from the point was deflected by Terrebonne at the edge of the crease up and over Shterenberg’s glove hand.

Two minutes later Cheves scored his second goal of the game to make the score 5-0. Another faceoff play began from the left faceoff circle in front of Shterenberg. Upper Montgomery won the draw but Cheves outraced the Lightning to the puck before sending the puck behind the net to Terrebonne. Terrebonne returned the puck to Cheves who took the puck out the other side of the net, left to right. Finding some open space, Cheves fired short side past Shterenberg’s glove.

With the game out of hand and the third period left to play, the Upper Montgomery coaching staff asked the team to focus on winning the third period. Unfortunately, the team was unable to generate much offensively. Urbana again began teeing off against Shterenberg firing pucks almost at will with little resistance from the Lightning. With nine minutes left in the game, Upper Montgomery backup goalie Porter Stutsrim-Lyons was inserted into the game to receive some varsity level experience and save Shterenberg from the barrage of shots he was facing.

The first shot on net against Stutsrim-Lyons went in to put the game into running clock as Urbana had a six goal lead. Andrew Browning-Elam had the puck behind his own net. He sent the puck to Dye in the left corner. Dye fired the puck up ice to the blue line finding Urbana forward Dimitri Kolmakov. Kolmakov’s cross ice pass to Urbana depth forward Matthew Albertson missed connecting. Trailing the play, Browning-Elam picked up the puck on the left wing boards. He cut to the inside of the ice heading down the slot through the Lightning defense. As he got to the top of the crease, Browning-Elam sent a backhand shot far side past Stutsrim-Lyons’ glove hand.

The only positive about running clock when a team is loosing badly is that it gets the game over sooner. But, not soon enough for the Lightning. Urbana’s forwards began cherry picking and trying to make highlight reel plays. Most did not work except for one play by Andrew Browning-Elam with six minutes remaining in the game. After the referees let a tripping penalty go against Urbana without a call, Dye took possession of the puck in the left corner of his defensive zone. He sent a homerun stretch pass to Browning-Elam at the Upper Montgomery defensive blue line. Browning-Elam was in all alone on a breakaway. He faked a shot causing Stutsrim-Lyons to go down early before firing high over the prone goalie’s glove.

Upper Montgomery will look to quickly flush the non-conference defeat as the team gears up to face Richard Montgomery on Friday. A win over the talented by struggling Rockets would conclude the Lightning’s swing though the other teams in division two of the Montgomery Hockey Conference with a 3-1-1 conference record and looking to break into the top half of the overall conference standings.

Game Notes:

  • Urbana badly outshot Upper Montgomery 41-16 for the game, including 18-5 in the first period.
  • Upper Montgomery was shutout for the first time this season and for the first time since losing to Churchill 8-0 last year.
  • Lightning senior center Henry Honacki’s three game goal scoring streak ended.
  • There were no penalties called during the game so neither team received a powerplay opportunity.
  • Upper Montgomery returns to action on Friday, November 8 when the Lightning take on the Richard Montgomery Rockets. Game time is 9:45 pm at Rockville Ice Arena.

Three Stars of the Game:

First Star—Alexander Cheves—Urbana Forward—2 Goals, 1 Assist
Second Star—Michael Dye—Urbana Defense—1 Goal, 2 Assists
Third Star—Andrew Browning-Elam–Urbana Defense—2 Goals

Lightning Smother Vikings to Claim Home Ice Advantage

The Upper Montgomery Lightning junior varsity returned to conference play after a long layoff skating to a 5-2 victory over the Whitman Vikings. The Lightning were not playing with their full junior varsity lineup as the coaching staff chose to hold out several student athletes. With a varsity contest later in the evening, the coaches did not want students to have to pull double duty and play two games in one day. Not having the entire squad did not matter. Upper Montgomery was clearly the better team playing one the team’s best games of the season. The Lightning played within the style and structure that the coaching staff implemented at the beginning of the first team practice session back in September. The victory propelled the team to the fourth seed in the conference standings with a 4-1-2 conference record and 4-2-2 overall.

The game started off ominously for Upper Montgomery as Whitman scored on their first shot of the game. After an Upper Montgomery icing there was a faceoff in the Lightning defensive zone in the left faceoff circle. A clean faceoff win by Vikings center Atticus Davis went to the inside of the ice and directly to Whitman’s right defender, Nicholas Naum. From the inside edge of the left faceoff circle Naum unleashed a wrist shot from the slot. With a direct look at the net, Naum’s shot went far side past Upper Montgomery’s ninth grade netminder Porter Stutsrim-Lyons’s glove hand. Under two minutes into the game, Upper Montgomery was behind.

The Whitman lead did not last long. With ten minutes remaining in the opening period the Lightning would strike to even the score at one. After a good save by Vikings’ netminder Alexander Minkoff on Lightning ninth grade forward Siddy Bhasin from close in front, Whitman failed to clear the defensive zone. The puck was kept in the offensive zone by Upper Montgomery junior forward Jason Woodman. He nudged the puck forward to Lightning ninth grade forward Max Israfilbek who touched the puck. Bhasin controlled the puck and fired at the net from the right faceoff circle. His shot was blocked into the right corner.

Bhasin retrieved the puck and took it behind the net from right to left where he then lost control of the puck. The Whitman defense cleared the puck to the left point where Lightning sophomore defender Avery Evans stopped the puck with her feet. She positioned her body and fired a left handed wrist shot at the net from a stride inside the blue line. Minkoff stuck out his stick to make the save. The puck hit his stick then rose into the air. As the puck fluttered up over his right shoulder it nestled across the goal line into the net for an unassisted goal, Evans’ second tally of the season.

With under four minutes remaining in the period, the teams traded powerplay opportunities. First, Naum was called for an interference penalty putting Whitman down a skater. Upper Montgomery’s powerplay barely had any zone time as dump in after dump in was smacked back down the ice by the Whitman defense. With thirty seconds left on Naum’s penalty, Israfilbek was called for hooking. As with the Upper Montgomery powerplay, Whitman was also unable to set up in the offensive zone. The Lightning stopped every Vikings rush up ice and sent the puck back down into the Whitman defensive zone. The first period ended with the score tied at one and with Upper Montgomery outshooting Whitman ten to seven.

The first half of the second period was played evenly. Then, Upper Montgomery exploded over the second half of the middle frame. Upper Montgomery’s second goal of the game came after the puck was kept in at the left point by Upper Montgomery senior defender Cole Howerton. Howerton rimmed the puck around the boards behind the Whitman net and over to the right corner. A weak Whitman defensive clear up the boards was kept in the offensive zone by Upper Montgomery sophomore defender Max Curtusan. He ticked the puck to Upper Montgomery senior center AJ Marks. Marks sent a seam pass to Bhasin cutting down the slot. Bhasin fired a wrist shot along the ice that went under the right leg pad of Minkoff into the back of the net. It was Bhasin’s fifth goal of the season and second in as many games. Marks’ assist was his team leading seventh of the season.

A minute later an individual play by Howerton increased the lead to 3-1. Whitman had possession of the puck at center ice. An attempted dump in deep into the Lightning defensive zone was intercepted by Howerton along the right side of the ice inside his blue line. Howerton took the puck up the middle of the ice into the offensive zone. He then cut left around the Whitman defense traveling down into the lower part of the left faceoff circle. He shot high to the far side of the net. The puck clipped off the top of Minkoff’s glove hand and tumbled past the Vikings goaltender into the net. It was Howerton’s fourth goal of the season.

Down three to one Whitman would not go away. Whitman forward Josephine Ingis helping out on defense had the puck in the right corner of her defensive zone. She made a smart looking outlet pass to her center Hugh Golub heading up the center of the ice in the defensive zone. Golub pushed the puck forward and then exploded up ice when the near side Upper Montgomery defender fell. Golub was in alone on a breakaway. From the bottom of the inner edge of the right faceoff circle he fired far side high over Stutsrim-Lyons’ blocker into the top left portion of the net.

A minute after Golub’s goal brought the Vikings closer, Upper Montgomery would extend the lead back to a two goal cushion. Another poor Whitman defensive clearing attempt was kept in the offensive zone at the right point by Lightning senior defender Patrick Sell. He sent the puck down the side boards to Marks coming out of the right corner. Marks dug the puck off the boards and pushed it toward the center of the ice to Lightning sophomore forward Mason Jagoz. Marks then moved into the high slot where Jagoz found him with a return pass. Marks sent a wrist shot low along the ice back across from the direction he had come from. The puck sailed past Minkoff’s glove hand into the net. It was Marks’ fifth goal of the season and team leading twelfth point. The Lightning’s impressive middle period where they scored on three of their five shots on goal provided a two goal margin with just fifteen minutes left to play.

The Upper Montgomery goal scoring spree continued in the first minute of the third period. Howerton blocked a Whitman offensive zone entry along the left wing boards in his defensive zone. He banked the puck off the boards up ice to Lightning sophomore forward Aiden Zheng. Zheng settled the puck and then headed up ice out of the Upper Montgomery defensive zone. He skated through the middle of the ice in the neutral zone and cut right entering the offensive zone. From the right faceoff circle he fired a wrist shot far side high over Minkoff’s blocker into the top left portion of the net. The goal was very similar to Golub’s goal for Whitman in the second period. For Zheng it was his team leading sixth goal of the season.

Upper Montgomery spent the final fourteen minutes of the game playing responsible defensive hockey. Defensive zone clears, reaching the red line, dumping the puck deep into the Whitman defensive zone, pressuring the Whitman defense, creating chaos, and repeating that pattern over and over again. There were two hooking penalties called late in the game, one on each team. Whitman’s Davis was sent to the penalty box with five minutes remaining. Upper Montgomery’s sophomore center Jackson Schicker got the gate with just less than four minutes left in the period. Each team was unable to generate any good scoring chances while with the extra skater.

The Lightning now turn their attention to the junior varsity playoffs. The Lightning will host a quarterfinal round game against the Churchill Bulldogs with the date and time to be announced after the winter break. It has now been three seasons since the Lightning captured the Montgomery Hockey Conference junior varsity championship. The Lightning have lost their last two playoff games while only mustering one goal total in those two games. A 4-1-2 conference record should give the Lightning confidence. Their excellent overtime loss performance versus Churchill earlier in the season should be motivation as well. A few weeks of practice commence after the winter holiday break for the Lightning to get ready for what is hopefully a long playoff run.

Game Notes:

  • Shots on goal were fairly even for the game with Upper Montgomery registering 25 and Whitman sending 23 at Lightning goalie Porter Stutsrim-Lyons.
  • The Lightning had five different goal scorers in the game.
  • Lightning defender Max Curtusan was credited with his first career point with an assist on Bhasin’s goal.
  • Lightning senior defender Cole Howerton scored for the third game in a row.
  • Lightning sophomore center Jackson Schickler returned to the Lightning’s lineup after a long injury absence.
  • Upper Montgomery’s junior varsity clinched the fourth seed in the Montgomery Hockey Conference junior varsity playoff tournament. The team will host the Churchill Bulldogs in a quarterfinal matchup with the date and time to be determined after the winter holiday break. Upper Montgomery lost to Churchill in overtime 2-1 during the regular season while playing with a depleted lineup.

Three Stars of the Game:

First Star—Avery Evans—Upper Montgomery Defense—1 Goal
Second Star—Siddy Bhasin—Upper Montgomery Forward—1 Goal
Third Star—Cole Howerton—Upper Montgomery Defense—1 Goal, 1 Assist

Wildcats Ease Past Lightning with Third Period Comeback

The Upper Montgomery Lightning junior varsity returned to action after a long layoff to face off against the Annapolis / Arundel Wildcats in a non-conference tilt of evenly matched programs. It was a wildly entertaining wide open game with plenty of up and down the ice rushes. The Wildcats scored two late third period goals to come back and prevail over Upper Montgomery. It was only the second regulation loss of the season for the Lightning who now sport a 3-2-2 record.

Upper Montgomery started off the game well, settling into the team’s desired playing style and structure. It led to the opening goal three and a half minutes into the game. Upper Montgomery exited the defensive zone led by Lightning ninth grade forward Siddy Bhasin in control of the puck along the right wing boards. He found Lightning sophomore center Jake Hudson exiting the defensive zone into neutral ice. Hudson’s return pass to Bhasin on the right side did not connect as Bhasin was knocked down as the puck approached. The puck slid down the ice into the right corner in the Annapolis / Arundel defensive zone.

A poor Wildcat defensive zone clear was kept in at the right point by Upper Montgomery senior defender Cole Howerton. Howerton dumped the puck down low behind the net to Bhasin. The puck hit Bhasin and bounced in front to Hudson. Hudson’s quick shot missed the mark wide of the net to the left, far side. Hudson retrieved the puck and sent it back to the left point to Lightning sophomore defender Avery Evans. Evans maneuvered around a Wildcat forward and went down the left wing boards. She passed the puck to Hudson in the left faceoff circle. Hudson’s snap shot through traffic was stopped by Annapolis / Arundel goalie Solomon Abramson. Lightning ninth grade forward Max Israfilbek, standing near the right goal post, jumped on the rebound and fired it past Abramson before the goalie could come across the net and get into position to make a save. For Israfilbek it was his first career high school goal.

The Lightning’s lead was short lived. Annapolis / Arundel scored on the next shift to even the score at one. An Upper Montgomery turnover exiting the defensive zone was intercepted by Wildcats forward Nicholas Turchetta. Turchetta headed forward into the offensive zone. His left handed wrist shot from the top of the faceoff circles was an easy stick save for Upper Montgomery ninth grade goaltender Porter Stutsrim-Lyons. The puck was directed into the right corner where Turchetta retrieved the puck. Near the right point the puck was kept in the offensive zone after Upper Montgomery failed once again to clear the defensive zone. Wildcat defender Peter Back dumped the puck back into the right corner to Annapolis / Arundel forward Benjamin Gendell. Gendell drove toward the net where he was cut off by Evans. Thus, he chose to pass the puck back to Back at the right point. Back’s slap shot from long range beat Stutsrim-Lyons low to the blocker side.

Just under seven minutes remaining in the first period, Evans was called for a slashing penalty. Annapolis / Arundel kept up the pressure with several excellent offensive chances with the extra skater. Upper Montgomery was in scramble mode with Stutsrim-Lyons making several saves from in tight to keep the game tied at one. Once the Wildcats powerplay ended, Upper Montgomery again settled into their game and did a nice job stifling the Wildcats until there were eighteen seconds remaining in the first period. A defensive breakdown led to the late Annapolis / Arundel goal after a nice passing play between forward Henry White, defender Robert Levin, and finally over to Kayleb Haley whose shot squirted past Stutsrim-Lyons. The Wildcats outshot Upper Montgomery ten to five in the opening fifteen minutes of play.

The Lightning controlled play during the second period. Halfway through the frame Howerton connected for his third goal of the season to knot the game at two. The scoring play began with a faceoff in the right faceoff circle in the offensive zone. Upper Montgomery senior center AJ Marks won the draw to the right wing boards. Ninth grade defender Lillian Robbins, playing forward in this game, sent the puck back to Howerton at the right point. Howerton’s weak snap shot toward the net found pay dirt low along the ice past Abramson’s feet with Lightning ninth grade defender Luke Hudson setting an excellent screen in front.

A minute and a half later Bhasin would put the Lightning in front with his fourth goal of the season. A flurry of pressure by Annapolis / Arundel was thwarted by Stutsrim-Lyons who made a save on a close range shot. The puck bounced behind the net where Evans and Marks converged on a Wildcat forward. Marks gained possession of the puck and came around the net to the left side of the ice. Marks fired the puck hard off the boards and out of the defensive zone. The puck went to Bhasin coming toward the defensive zone from the bench after a line change. Behind the Wildcats defense, Bhasin was in all alone on a breakaway coming down the left wing. He made a head fake as if he was going to go to his left on his backhand which froze Abramson. Bhasin then took a stride to the right and deposited the puck into the open far side of the net before Abramson could recover and come over to prevent the goal.

Over the final five minutes of the period Upper Montgomery had to kill off two penalties. The first was a tripping penalty to senior defender Patrick Sell. The Lightning did a much better job neutralizing the Wildcats and preventing several zone entries by hemming up the neutral zone. The second penalty with just under a minute remaining in the period was to Israfilbek for cross checking. Again, Upper Montgomery did the job while shorthanded with the teams retiring to their benches at the end of the second period with the Lightning holding on to their 3-2 lead.

After killing off the balance of Israfilbek’s penalty, the Lightning were at even strength for only a minute when Upper Montgomery ninth grade defender Matt Rivera was called for a tipping penalty in the neutral zone. It was a no doubt about it penalty and put the Lightning back on the penalty kill for the third time in the last seven minutes of game action. Upper Montgomery was not as clean on this Annapolis / Arundel extra skater advantage and struggled through the two minutes while shorthanded. But, the puck did not find the back of the net and eleven minutes remained in regulation when Rivera was released from the penalty box.

As the third period crossed the half way mark, Annapolis / Arundel ramped up the offensive pressure. From a faceoff in the left faceoff circle in the defensive zone, Upper Montgomery won the draw but was outraced to the puck in the left corner. The puck was played back to the left point before being dumped back down to the left corner again. The puck was thrown behind the net to the right corner. Upper Montgomery’s clear up the boards was kept in at the right point by Wildcats defender Matthew Keys. He sent the puck down to the right corner to Annapolis / Arundel forward Ethan Xie. Xie’s pass to the middle of the slot was shot wide of the net. The puck was retrieved by Haley who sent it back to the left point to Wildcats defender Samantha Scott. Scott sent the puck back down the boards to Haley. Haley’s short side shot from a bad angle was saved by Stutsrim-Lyons. White picked up the puck and went around the net from left to right. He curled the puck around the right goal post sneaking the puck inside the right post and Stutsrim-Lyons’ left skate for a wrap around goal to tie the score at three with seven minutes remaining in the game.

A minute and a half later the Wildcats jumped in front. An Upper Montgomery defensive zone clear to neutral ice was taken by Annapolis / Arundel forward Gavin Hare. From the right circle his wrist shot was saved by Stutsrim-Lyons. The puck landed behind the net and was reversed by Hare to the right point to Scott. Scott’s shot from the middle of the ice above the faceoff circles was deflected just below his shoulders by Wildcat forward William Woodson-Potter in the low slot. Woodson-Potter’s deflection changed the flight trajectory of the puck down past Stutsrim-Lyons body and into the net.

Now down by a goal with five minutes remaining in the game, Upper Montgomery went on the offensive pushing defenders forward looking for the game tying goal. There were several super chances generated by the Lightning. However, the puck either squirted just wide of the net or hit Abramson and somehow stayed out of the net with lots of Lightning skaters charging the front of the net looking for rebounds. With a minute left in the game Upper Montgomery pulled Stutsrim-Lyons replacing him on the ice with an extra skater. The team continued to apply pressure which led to a penalty being called on Wildcat defender Levin for cross checking. With 38 seconds left in the game and now with a two skater advantage, Upper Montgomery continued to shoot pucks toward the net. All available slaters crashed at Abramson’s feet looking for any loose pucks. Unfortunately, the puck deflected just over the net on one shot. A cross crease centering pass went just past Bhasin standing at the right post for potentially an easy tap in. The Wildcats were able to exhale after the final buzzer sounded with the Lightning buzzing all around the net unable to get the tying goal.

The Lightning must now look forward to trying to win their season concluding regular season game against the Whitman Vikings and advance their conference record to 4-1-2 on the season. A win likely guarantees the team a first round bye in the junior varsity playoffs. The Lightning will be looking to win their first playoff game in three seasons when the playoffs kick off in mid-January. A few weeks of practice commence after the winter holiday break for the Lightning to get ready for what is hopefully a long playoff run.

Game Notes:

  • Annapolis / Arundel outshot the Lightning 31 to 18 for the game.
  • Lightning ninth grader netminder Porter Stutsrim-Lyons gave up more than two goals in regulation for only the second time all season. He still sports an incredibly low 1.98 goals against average and a very high .928 save percentage.
  • Upper Montgomery was clean on the penalty kill subduing all four Wildcats powerplay opportunities.
  • It was the first ever meeting between the two programs.
  • Lightning defender Max Curtusan made his program debut in the game.
  • Upper Montgomery’s junior varsity team is scheduled to conclude regular season conference play on Friday, December 20th when the Lightning play an important contest against Whitman. An Upper Montgomery victory over the Vikings would secure the number four seed in the Montgomery Hockey Conference playoffs. It would guarantee that the Lightning are exempt from having to play an opening round playoff game and would give the Lightning the last line change in their quarterfinal matchup. Game time is 5:30 pm at Rockville Ice Arena.

Three Stars of the Game:

First Star—Henry White—Annapolis / Arundel Forward—1 Goal, 1 Assist
Second Star—Siddy Bhasin—Upper Montgomery Forward—1 Goal
Third Star—AJ Marks—Upper Montgomery Center—2 Assists

Varsity BCC Game Preview

The Upper Montgomery Lightning varsity squad is back in action this Friday evening against the BCC Barons in a rematch of the season opener for both teams. Game time is 8:45 pm at Rockville Ice Arena. Upper Montgomery prevailed in mid-October by the score of 4-3 to claim the program’s first ever victory over BCC in the sixteen years that the Upper Montgomery ice hockey program has existed.

Upper Montgomery has reached the mid-point of the 2024 – 2025 season with a 4-2-1 conference record (4-3-1 overall) and is ranked sixth in the county. All three of Upper Montgomery’s losses are to teams ranked in the top fifteen in the state; Wootton twice and Urbana. Upper Montgomery has reversed a trend that developed over the past couple of seasons, very slow starts. Last year, the team began the season 1-7. In 2022 – 2023, the team began the season 1-4-1. While the Lightning eventually recovered nicely over the middle and second portion of each of those seasons, getting off to a better start this year puts the team in position to secure a top six seed in the season ending Montgomery Hockey Conference playoff tournament. Finishing sixth or higher eliminates having to face the top two teams in the county, Walter Johnson and Whitman in the playoffs.

Additionally, the Lightning will be looking to build off last week’s overtime buzzer beating win over the DC Stars and carry that momentum into this week’s game against BCC. Meanwhile, this is clearly a rebuilding season for the Barons who are playing many student athletes in their first and second years of high school. BCC has wins against the two bottom teams in the county; Northwest / Quince Orchard twice and Richard Montgomery who played against BCC with a depleted roster. The Barons are 3-5 on the season and have been really limited offensively against quality opponents. Most of the BCC offensive output has come against Northwest / Quince Orchard and Richard Montgomery.

Once again Upper Montgomery will not be at full strength as last season’s leading returning scorer Nathan Cassel continues to recover from an upper body injury. His likely return of after the Thanksgiving holiday has been pushed back until the start of the new year. Cassel may be available for the Lightning’s next game after the winter holiday break. However, this season’s leading scorer Owen Robbins will return after missing the DC Stars contest as he was out-of-town with his external travel team. Philip Shkeda also returns to face BCC after missing last week’s game with an illness. If the early season game between the two teams is any barometer, the game on Friday should be a physical low scoring affair. Expect a lot of play in the neutral zone and along the boards with each team trying to threaten the high danger scoring areas. Whichever goalie plays better and whichever team excels in special teams situations will likely win the game.

Upper Montgomery’s goaltender, sophomore 16U AA Ilan Shterenberg has been sound this season with a 4-3-1 record, a 4.32 goals against average, and an .888 save percentage. His statistics are a little misleading as two games, one against Wootton and the Urbana game skew his personal statistics dramatically. Shterenberg played well against the DC Stars making 44 saves (the second highest of his career) on 46 shots. He will again be backed up by ninth grade 14U Lower A netminder Porter Stutsrim-Lyons. Stutsrim-Lyons is 3-2-2 on the season with two shutouts. He sports a 1.98 goals against average and a .928 save percentage playing for the Lightning junior varsity.

In net for the Barons is expected to be senior 19U AA Vivienne Boyle. She took the loss in the season opener against Upper Montgomery. Last season, Boyle backstopped the Barons to a 7-2 victory over the Lightning in the team’s only meeting. She has played in all but one game for the Barons over the first portion of the season as her goaltending partner, Tycho Narrod-Malcolm finished up the high school football season. Boyle is solid in net and the Lightning will need to work hard to score against her. She has a 2-5 record with a 5.59 goals against average and a .793 save percentage.

On defense, the Lightning will be tested by the Baron’s forecheck. The Lightning’s most experienced defender junior 16U AA Brady Berkhammer (8GP, 2G, 7A) will pair with ninth grade 14U AA Lilian Robbins (4GP, 4A) Thus, sophomore 16U Lower A defender Miles Wendland (7GP, 3A) will skate with senior Cole Howerton. Howerton played the best game of his high school career recently against Richard Montgomery. Senior Patrick Sell will dress out for the game but may see limited action as he will pull double duty by also playing in the junior varsity game Friday afternoon.

The Barons most experienced skater is senior 18U AA defender Grady Jiggens (8GP, 4G, 3A). Jiggens and junior 16U Upper A defender Benjamin Lyons (6GP, 2G, 1A) give the Barons two very good pieces on the back end. Lyons scored against Upper Montgomery late in the season opener with the goalie pulled for an extra skater. Sophomore Nick Sexton is playing both varsity and junior varsity for the Barons this season as is ninth grade 14U Lower A defender Jacob Reitz (7GP, 1G, 3A). Teams usually do not like to play an entire game with only four defenders, so BCC may use some student athletes that had previously played forward to help out and take some shifts on defense like Jeronimo Castano-Tellez and David High.

Offensively, Upper Montgomery should be in much better shape this week with the return of juniors Owen Robbins and Shkeda. Robbins (6GP, 7G, 3A) scored a hat-trick against the Barons in the season opener. Shkeda (6GP, 4G, 5A) scored shorthanded in the second period for the goal that would ultimately stand up as the game winner. Senior 18U Upper A center Henry Honacki (8GP, 7G, 2A) shares the team lead in goals with Robbins. It was his offensive production against the DC Stars that propelled the Lightning to victory. Honacki potted two powerplay goals last week including the game winning overtime goal with eleven seconds remaining in the extra session. It was just the third overtime goal in team history. Honacki has scored three of the Lightning’s last four goals.

Sophomore 16U Lower A Aiden Zheng is averaging almost point a game (8GP, 2G, 4A) and seems more comfortable at the varsity level this season. He is a high energy forward who backchecks very well. Sophomore newcomer Jake Hudson has (6GP, 6A) but is still looking for his first career varsity goal. Ninth grade 14U Lower A forward Siddy Bhasin is also looking for his first career varsity goal. Bhasin’s performance last time out against the DC Stars was his best game of the season. Hudson and Bhasin are two of the top three scorers for the Lightning junior varsity with eight points each.

After these five forwards, it is going to be important for any of Upper Montgomery’s other forwards to step up and provide some offensive production. Senior center Josh Nadler and senior forward TJ Gottesman, both of whom are in the top five of the Lightning junior varsity’s all-time scoring list need to get going. Ninth grader Luke Hudson scored his first career varsity goal last week against the DC Stars. Senior AJ Marks, junior Jason Woodman, and ninth grade forward Decklin Hughes, really anyone outside of the top five forwards getting on the scoresheet would benefit the Lightning. Continuing to receive offense from Berkhammer and the rest of the defense would be a bonus and could alter the game in the Lightning’s favor.

The Lightning were two for three on the powerplay against the DC Stars and are producing at a 37.5% success rate. The downside is that the team has managed only sixteen powerplays in their first eight games of the season, an average of just two extra skater advantages per game. Potting a powerplay goal or two would be a key to sweeping the season series from the Barons.

BCC top returning scorer 16U Lower A forward Peter Lanpher, a point a game producer last year (16GP, 4G, 11A) has struggled this season (6GP, 2G, 2A). He was definitely helped last season by playing with several stud BCC seniors. Senior Evan Williams has always stood out in games played against Upper Montgomery (scoring in his last four games against the Lightning) and is the Barons second leading scorer this year (7GP, 9G, 6A). Sophomore 16U AA Leo Alley-Strocher is the Barons leading scorer (7GP, 13G, 5A), and he also scored in the season opener against Upper Montgomery. He is on the smaller side but has good speed and stickhandling skills. Expect senior Michael Kambouris (8GP, 2G, 2A) to continue to see lots of ice time throughout the rest of the season. Hard hitting sophomore 16U Lower A Brady Page (8GP, 3G, 4A) will be noticeable throwing his weight around. From there, the Barons will use a large number of young and inexperienced skaters. Sophomore 16U Lower A Ramin Jacobs (6GP, 1G, 3A) who scored a hat-trick against the Lightning junior varsity in October, and junior Kiran Maltby (6GP, 2G, 2A) will be featured throughout the contest against Upper Montgomery.

Coming out of the Thanksgiving break, the Lightning needed to ramp up their game. As teams gear up for the end of the season and the playoffs regular season games have more meaning and the competition intensifies as was evident in last week’s contest against the DC Stars. With a win over the Barons on Friday night, the Lightning are hoping to put some space between themselves and several of the teams just behind them in the conference standings. Getting two games over .500 and continuing their best start to a season in several years, the Lightning are hoping to head into the two week winter break on a role having won three of their last four games. Let’s hope the outcome of Friday’s game is a springboard for the second half of the season and that good things are in store for the program over the final month of the regular season.

#Season Sweep, #UML, #Bleed Green, #Go Bolts!

Junior Varsity Whitman Game Preview

On Friday the Upper Montgomery Lightning junior varsity plays their final Montgomery Hockey Conference regular season game of the season against the Whitman Vikings. The two teams are separated by one point in the conference standings. The winner of the contest will finish in fourth place in the conference standings and the loser will finish in sixth place in the standings. Finishing in fourth place guarantees a home playoff game against Churchill, while the sixth place finisher will host an opening round game against the non-competitive last place team in the league, almost certainly Richard Montgomery. Then, the sixth place team would advance and play the third seeded team which will be the loser of Friday’s game between Walter Johnson and BCC. Upper Montgomery lost to Churchill in overtime playing with a depleted roster. The Lightning also lost to BCC by a score of 4-3 as the Barons came back in the third period to win in a very evenly played contest.

In goal for the Lightning junior varsity will be ninth grade netminder Porter Stutsrim-Lyons.  Stutsrim-Lyons plays for the Caps Academy 14U Lower A external travel team. He has begun his high school career in excellent style with a 3-2-2 record, a very low 1.98 goals against average, and an eye popping .928 save percentage. Stursrim-Lyons has allowed more than two goals in a game during regulation only two times this season. He also has two shutouts to his credit. The Vikings are expected to play sophomore Alex Minkoff in goal. Minkoff has been outstanding this season posting a 3-1 record, a miniscule 1.00 goals against average, and a .935 save percentage. To be fair, Whitman has played a very, very weak junior varsity schedule with all four of its wins coming against Blair, Northwest / Quince Orchard, Richard Montgomery, and Rockville / Magruder. These are the bottom four teams in the county standings.

Because of the varsity game later in the evening, Upper Montgomery will play the junior varsity game against Whitman with a roster management rotation in place. Some of the more experienced students will be held out of the junior varsity contest or have their minutes severely restricted to rest them for the varsity game which begins just after the conclusion of the junior varsity game. In addition, the coaching staff will need to play certain students in order to have them meet the minimum game requirement to be junior varsity playoff eligible.

On defense the Lightning will play with four defenders. Cole Howerton, Miles, Wendland, and Lillian Robbins will likely sit out against the Vikings. Ninth grade 14U Lower A Matt Rivera (7GP, 5A) and sophomore Max Curtusan, who is fresh off his debut performance for the Lightning against Annapolis / Arundel, will play together. Senior Patrick Sell will play with 16U AA Avery Evans (4GP, 1G, 4A). Always a stout defensive squad, the Vikings are led by senior Mark Buckley. He is a hulking defender known for playing excellent defense. Sophomore Aaron Zhang is his likely defensive partner. Several ninth grade 14U Lower A defenders will also see action for Whitman; Jackson Klessman, Nicholas Naum, and William Betancourt. Bentancourt has lit it up offensively for the Vikings from the back line with (5GP, 3G, 5A). Anticipate a very low scoring game on Friday as Upper Montgomery will be looking to hang back and protect Stutsrim-Lyons and Whitman will play its usual tough defensive style of hockey. Overall, Whitman has given up only ten goals in their six games. Some of the lack of opposition scoring is due to the competition they have faced. Meanwhile, Upper Montgomery has given up only fourteen goals in its seven games for an average of two goals against each game.

On offense, the Lightning will be looking to see some depth scoring emerge on Friday. Several of the Lightning’s top scorers will be held out of action against Whitman; sophomore Jake Hudson (6GP, 5G, 3A), sophomore 16U Lower A Aiden Zheng (5GP, 5G, 1A), and ninth grade 14U Lower A Siddy Bhasin (5GP, 4G, 4A). Senior center AJ Marks who leads the team in scoring with (7GP, 4G, 6A) will center the top line playing along side Max Israfilbek, who scored his first career high school goal against Annapolis / Arundel, and Jason Woodman, who returns from a lengthy suspension to get back into game action prior to the start of the playoffs. The second line is likely to feature ninth grade forward Decklin Hughes centering sophomore Mason Jagoz and sophomore Jackson Schickler, who will be making his 2024 – 2025 season debut after returning from a long injury absence to rejoin the Lightning.

Sophomore forward Mason Brundige leads the Vikings in scoring with ten goals in six games. He scored five goals against Northwest / Quince Orchard. Ninth grade 14U AAA Grace Luo has faired well offensively this season having scored (4GP, 3G, 3A). Ninth grade 14U Upper A Dashiel Caruso has (3GP, 3G, 2A). Sophomore Henry Schadler has (4GP, 3G, 1A). Whitman’s other primary scorer is ninth grade 14U Lower A Atticus Davis who has scored four goals in five games played.

Friday’s game will be a good test for the depth of the Lightning junior varsity and an opportunity for several students to see extended game action. As the junior varsity regular season winds down, preparations for the playoffs are ramping up. A victory over the Vikings would guarantee the Lightning finish the 2024 – 2025 season with a winning record. It would be the second consecutive season the junior varsity would post a winning record after last year’s record breaking undefeated regular season. It is also a step up in competition for Upper Montgomery which always helps leading into the junior varsity playoffs which are expected to begin just after the turn of the new year.

#UML, #Bleed Green, #Go Bolts!

Junior Varsity Annapolis / Arundel Game Preview

On Monday, the Upper Montgomery Lightning junior varsity plays their first game in six weeks when the team matches up against the Annapolis / Arundel Wildcats. The non-conference game is scheduled for 6:10 pm at Laurel Ice Gardens. With Skate Frederick closed due to ice surface issues for several weeks, Upper Montgomery was forced to push back several scheduled junior varsity games until later in the season resulting in the long gap in the schedule.

In goal for the Lightning junior varsity will again be ninth grade netminder Porter Stutsrim-Lyons.  Stutsrim-Lyons plays for the Caps Academy 14U Lower A external travel team. He has begun his high school career in excellent style with a 3-1-2 record, a miniscule 1.64 goals against average, and an eye popping .939 save percentage. If Stutsrim-Lyons maintains his current save percentage it would break the junior varsity program record set last season by Ilan Shterenberg (.927). Stursrim-Lyons is coming off his second shutout of the season in the Lightning’s last game against the Blair Blazers. The Wildcats are expected to play 16U Lower A goalie Solomon Abramson. He has started all three of the Wildcats games this season with a 1-2 record. He has a 4.00 goals against average and a .769 save percentage.

On defense the Lightning will have a full complement of defenders for the first time this season. Senior Cole Howerton (4GP, 2G, 2A), sophomore 16U Lower A Miles Wendland (4GP, 3A), senior Patrick Sell, ninth grade 14U AA Lillian Robbins (2GP, 1G, 3A), ninth grade 14U Lower A Matt Rivera (6GP, 5A), sophomore 16U AA Avery Evans (3GP, 1G, 3A), and sophomore Max Curtusan who will be making his season debut. The Lightning will be well stocked on the back end with all seven defenders in attendance. Expect one of the defenders to skate up as a forward in the game. Likely defensive pairs against Annapolis / Arundel are Wendland with Curtusan, Evans with Sell, and Howerton with Rivera. Robbins might be the defender moved up to play forward. Defensively, the Wildcats have one point on the season from their collection of junior varsity defenders; Kylee Kulawiak, Robert Levin, Matthew Keys, Alexander Hillman, and Peter Back.

On offense, the Lightning will be looking to maintain their average of 4.5 goals per game. The Lightning’s top four scorers should be in action against the Wildcats. Senior center AJ Marks leads the team in scoring with (6GP, 4G, 4A). Newcomers sophomore Jake Hudson (5GP, 5G, 2A), and ninth grade 14U Lower A Siddy Bhasin (4GP, 3G, 4A) will look to continue to stay hot at the offensive end of the ice. Returning sophomore 16U Lower A Aiden Zheng (4GP, 5G, 1A) is coming off a hat-trick versus the Blazers and is tied with Hudson for the team lead in goals. Rounding out the forward rotation will be varsity goalie Ilan Shterenberg skating out as a forward, sophomore Mason Jagoz, and ninth grade forwards Decklin Hughes. Luke Hudson, and Max Israfilbek. It would help the confidence of this group of skaters to find their name on the score sheet. Jackson Schickler remains out with an upper body injury but is close to his return and Jason Woodman is serving the final game of his lengthy suspension.

Offensively, the Wildcats feature four primary forward threats who all play at the Lower A external travel level. William Woodson-Potter leads Annapolis / Arundel in scoring with (3GP, 2G, 2A). The team leader in goals scored is Kyler Porzillo with three goals in three games. Gavin Hare is averaging a point per game (3GP, 1G, 2A) and Kayleb Haley has scored twice.

Monday’s game will be a good test for the Lightning and a tune up for next Friday’s important final regular season Montgomery Hockey Conference league game against the Whitman Vikings. A win over the Wildcats would likely guarantee the Lightning would finish the 2024 – 2025 season with a winning record. It would be the second consecutive season the junior varsity would post a winning record after last year’s record breaking undefeated regular season.

#Rep MoCo, #UML, #Bleed Green, #Go Bolts!

Wootton Surges Past Upper Montgomery into First Place

The Upper Montgomery Lightning entered Friday night’s contest against Wootton knowing that they would need to excel defensively in order to slow down Wootton’s high powered offensive attack. Wootton had scored fourteen and ten goals in their first two games of the season. Upper Montgomery largely succeeded in holding Wootton down by surrendering only three goals. However, Upper Montgomery was unable to convert on several net front scrambles and other prime scoring opportunities flittered away in a 3-1 loss to the highly ranked Patriots. It was a good showing by the young Lightning squad in their first test against a highly rated team.

The contrast in styles made for a very busy night in net for Upper Montgomery sophomore goalie Ilan Shterenberg, who made a career high 49 saves during the game. Upper Montgomery was outshot 52-26 for the game with Shterenberg having to make save after save on Wootton fast break rushes up ice. The game played out exactly how the Upper Montgomery coaching staff prepared the Lightning. Wootton would gain possession of the puck in their defensive zone and all of their skaters would fire up ice looking to outnumber the Lightning defenders. Upper Montgomery countered with a defensive game plan seeking to frustrate the Patriots by clearing the defensive zone and forcing the Patriots to constantly rewind at center ice and re-enter the Lightning defensive zone time and again with layers of green shirted defenders protecting the net.

The opening half of the first period was played entirely in the Lightning defensive zone. Wootton had long stretches, shift after shift, of offensive zone time with frequent shots fired at Shterenberg. At times it looked like a shooting gallery. As the game neared ten minutes of action, Upper Montgomery cleared their defensive zone. The Patriots all world senior defender Sam Hosier collected the puck in his own zone and circled around with possession. His pass up ice was broken up by Lightning sophomore forward Aiden Zheng. Zheng dumped the puck back into the Patriots defensive zone to the right corner. Wootton advanced the puck to neutral ice and the puck was again slammed back into the Wootton defensive zone by Upper Montgomery ninth grade defender Matt Rivera. Hosier gained the puck behind his own net. He dumped the puck out the defensive zone and immediately Upper Montgomery sent the puck deep for a third consecutive time.

At that point, Hosier had had enough. He jumped up and intercepted the last dump in on the left wing at his own defensive blue line. Hosier circled in his own zone to the right and headed up ice. He individually advanced the puck out of the Wootton defensive zone, through neutral ice, and then into the bottom of the left faceoff circle in the Lightning defensive zone. He unleashed a rocket of a wrist shot that went high to the far side of the net. As the puck went past Shterenberg blocker it hit the bottom of Shterenberg’s water bottle sitting on the top of the net.

Forty seconds later the Patriots were on the powerplay after Lightning senior center Josh Nadler was called for tripping. The target practice continued with shot after shot attempt directed at the Lightning’s goalie. With Shterenberg’s fine goaltending display, and a few shots sent just wide, Upper Montgomery survived the penalty kill. The final three minutes of the first period ticked away enabling the Lightning to reach the end of the period down by only one goal even through they had been outshot seventeen to four in the first fifteen minutes of game action.

The second period was more of the same. Target practice, with 25 more shots fired on Shterenberg who was excellent again in the middle period making several outstanding saves. Upper Montgomery was becoming a little more comfortable with and adjusted to the pace of play. Wootton’s speed advantage while noticeable no longer fully controlled the action. Upper Montgomery was able to counter with some goal mouth flurries that produced nine shots on goal. The Lightning were helped by an early second period powerplay opportunity when Wootton sophomore defender Jayden Ahn was called for a roughing penalty just over three minutes into the period. While Upper Montgomery was unable to cash in, the extra skater and Wootton’s focus on the penalty kill momentarily interrupted their go for broke fast pace style of play.

Halfway through the period, Wootton went to their second powerplay of the game when Lightning junior forward Philip Shkeda was called for roughing. Complicating matters was that Upper Montgomery junior center Owen Robbin, a primary penalty killer for the Lightning, was whistled for a cross checking penalty with forty second remaining on Shkeda’s penalty. The rest of the Lightning penalty killers rose to the challenge and Shterenberg made a huge save to get through the five on three portion of Wootton’s powerplay to get Shkeda back on the ice.

As the clock ticked under five minutes remaining in the second period and with thirty seconds still remaining on Robbins’ penalty, Wootton broke down the Lightning penalty killers to increase their lead to 2-0. Upper Montgomery cleared the puck down ice to the Wootton defensive blue line. Hosier retrieved the puck and did his customary circle to generate some speed. He made a backhand pass to Wootton forward Owen Goozh on the right side of the defensive blue line. Goozh traveled through the neutral zone down the middle of the ice. He made a move around the Lightning penalty killers but in doing so lost the puck into the left corner in the Upper Montgomery defensive zone. With Goozh and Lightning senior defender Cole Howerton battling for the puck, Wootton forward Justin Heller jumped in and helped dislodge the puck loose. Heller fired the puck behind the Lightning net to Patriots senior center Nathan Tai. Tai came around the goal toward the right corner and then further around the outside of the right faceoff circle. Coming at the net with speed, Tai snapped off a sharp wrist shot that went far side seven hole into Shterenberg’s body under his blocker and stick. The pace of the shot propelled the puck past the young goaltender’s body and into the net.

Upper Montgomery would get a late powerplay of their own to close out the second period when Tai was called for a hooking penalty. Upper Montgomery continued to threaten the crease area but time after time the puck squirted just wide of the net or was blocked away when seemingly headed toward an open net. The Lightning were unable to cash in with the extra skater and entered the third period down by two goals while having been outshot 42-13 through thirty minutes of action.

The Lightning again had a golden opportunity to tighten up the game at the beginning of the third period when Hosier was called for a slashing penalty just seconds into the period. Upper Montgomery put on a significant amount of pressure while on the powerplay with Hosier off the ice. There was a goal mouth scramble with Wootton goalie Kevin Yu bobbling the puck behind him. However, the puck was steered just wide of the net. As Hosier’s penalty ended, the puck was stolen by Wootton forward Michael Klimantov at the red line along the right wing boards. Klimantov skated into the Upper Montgomery defensive zone where he passed the puck to his left finding Hosier open in the high slot. Hosier shot the puck back across his body toward Shterenberg. The perfectly placed shot wound up going under Shterenberg’s outstretched glove hand. It was a deflating moment as Upper Montgomery had an opportunity to climb back into the game, and then seconds after Wootton returned to even strength the Lightning was staring at a three goal deficit.

At the eight and a half minute mark of the third period, Upper Montgomery would use a fine set of passes to finally convert on one of their high danger opportunities. Lightning senior center Henry Honacki poke checked the puck loose from Hosier just inside the Wootton defensive blue line. Upper Montgomery sophomore forward Jake Hudson picked up the puck just outside the blue line. He sent a pass back to Upper Montgomery ninth grade defender Lillian Robbins standing at the Lightning’s defensive blue line along the right wing boards. Robbins swung the puck left to her defensive partner junior Brady Berkhammer who read a slow developing Wootton line change. Berkhammer fired the puck up to Honacki who had managed to get behind all Wootton skaters. From the offensive blue line in, Honacki was in alone on a breakaway. Honacki faked from forehand to backhand and easily outmaneuvered Yu carefully sliding the puck into the yawning open net.

With Upper Montgomery trailing by just two goals, an all out offensive push provided a lifeline when Wootton’s Tai was called for a tripping penalty on the next shift. Another opportunity with the extra skater to try and claw closer. The right goal post was as close as the Lightning would come with several more chances that just would not go in. After Tai’s penalty ended, Wootton spent the final six minutes of the game focusing on playing sound defense.

For Wootton, their best defense is their potent offense and puck possession. The Patriots struggled to clear their defensive zone, but did manage to block several Upper Montgomery shots to help protect Yu. Even when Upper Montgomery pulled Shterenberg with two minutes left in the game, Wootton had trouble finishing the game. The Lightning applied constant pressure which Wootton relieved with several icings over the final two minutes of the game. But, it was enough as the Patriots found a way to win a game where their offensive output was nine goals lower than their season average. The Lightning have little time to appreciate how well they played against a very good opponent. A clash against another top ranked team, the Urbana Hawks comes up on Tuesday afternoon.

Game Notes:

  • Wootton badly outshot Upper Montgomery 52-26 for the game, including 42-13 over the first two periods of play.
  • Lightning sophomore goalie Ilan Shterenberg made a career high 49 saves with a .942 save percentage.
  • Lightning senior center Henry Honacki scored for the third consecutive game.
  • Upper Montgomery ninth grade defender Lillian Robbins notched her first career varsity point with an assist on Honacki’s goal.
  • Upper Montgomery returns to action early Tuesday afternoon facing off against another powerhouse team in the Urbana Hawks. Game time is 3:10 pm at Rockville Ice Arena.

Three Stars of the Game:

First Star—Ilan Shterenberg—Upper Montgomery Goalie—49 Saves, .942 Save Percentage
Second Star—Sam Hosier—Wootton Defense—2 Goals
Third Star—Kevin Yu–Wootton Goalie—Win, 1 Goal Against, 25 Saves, .962 Save Percentage

Varsity DC Stars Game Preview

The Upper Montgomery Lightning begins the second half of the Montgomery Hockey Conference schedule this Friday evening when the team clashes with the DC Stars. Game time is 8:45 pm at Rockville Ice Arena. Last season the Lightning dominated both games against the DC Stars only to be foiled by Stars goaltender Anton Tracy. Tracy outright stole game one and made countless saves in game two to snag important standings points for the Stars in a three all tie. Upper Montgomery has started the 2024 – 2025 high school hockey season in fine fashion with a 3-2-1 conference record (3-3-1 overall). All three losses have come against teams ranked in the top fifteen in the state; Wootton twice and Urbana. It will be the Lightning’s first game in three weeks since a very poor performance against Wootton. Meanwhile, the DC Stars have lost six games in a row since their program defining first ever victory against Churchill, a 1-0 overtime win back in October.

Once again Upper Montgomery will not be at full strength as last season’s leading returning scorer Nathan Cassel continues to recover from an upper body injury. His likely return of after the Thanksgiving holiday has been pushed back until the start of the new year. With this season’s leading scorer Owen Robbins (6GP, 7G, 3A) also missing the DC Stars contest as he is out-of-town with his external travel team, the young Lightning will need to step it up to be competitive against the Stars. The game is anticipated to be a very low scoring affair as Upper Montgomery will be missing its top two offensive threats and the DC Stars have managed to score only twelve goals over their first seven games of the season. Expect a lot of play in the neutral zone and along the boards with each team trying to threaten the high danger scoring areas.

Upper Montgomery’s goaltender, 16U AA sophomore Ilan Shterenberg has been sound this season with a 3-3-1 record, a 4.75 goals against average, and an .876 save percentage. Shterenberg will need to be exceptionally sharp to match Tracy in net at the other end of the ice. This is one of the few games where Upper Montgomery does not have a very distinctive advantage in goaltending. Shterenberg will again be backed up by 14U Lower A ninth grade netminder Porter Stutsrim-Lyons. Stutsrim-Lyons is 3-1-2 on the season (two shutouts), with a 1.64 goals against average, and a .939 save percentage playing for the Lightning junior varsity.

In net for the DC Stars will be junior goalie Anton Tracy. The Lightning struggled last season to get the puck past Tracy who stopped 78 of 82 shots, .951 save percentage, and who was the first star of the game in both meetings against Upper Montgomery. Tracy is massive and covers much of the net. With his sound positioning, there is very little open net to shoot at when coming in on Tracy. This season he has not faired as well going 1-4, with a 4.80 goals against average, and an .868 save percentage. Let’s hope it takes him one more week to find his groove and that the Lightning fair far better than they did in both games last season.

On defense, the Lightning will be tested. The Lightning’s most experienced defender 16U AA junior Brady Berkhammer (7GP, 2G, 5A) will pair with ninth grade defender Matt Rivera and senior Patrick Sell. Anticipate that 16U Lower A sophomore defender Miles Wendland will skate with senior Cole Howerton. Howerton played the best game of his high school career recently against Richard Montgomery.

DC Stars most explosive skater is 18U AA senior defender Leo Nyberg. Nyberg leads the Stars in scoring (7GP, 4G, 1A). The rest of the Stars defenders are more defensively minded; 18U Upper A senior Benjamin Lust, his younger brother 16U Upper A sophomore Jonathan Lust, 18U AA senior Fletcher Lyttleton, 18U AA senior Anna Mayer, and junior Samuel Bensky. The Stars defense will be packed in very tight against their goalie making it difficult for the Lightning to generate good quality scoring chances. The Stars are a very well coached team. The Lightning will need to play a clean game and avoid giving the Stars odd skater rushes which could assist them in creating easy offensive chances.

Offensively, Upper Montgomery will be challenged to score with Cassel and Robbins both out of the lineup. Junior forward Philip Shkeda (6GP, 4G, 5A) and 18U Upper A senior center Henry Honacki (7GP, 5G, 2A) will each need to find the back of the net for Upper Montgomery to have a chance at victory. Honacki scored Upper Montgomery’s only goal in the blowout loss against the Patriots.

Sophomore 16U Lower A Aiden Zheng is averaging almost point a game (7GP, 2G, 4A) and seems more comfortable at the varsity level this season. Sophomore newcomer Jake Hudson has five assists in five games but is still looking for his first career varsity goal. Ninth grade 14U Lower A forward Siddy Bhasin is also looking for his first career varsity goal. Hudson and Bhasin are two of the top three scorers for the Lightning junior varsity with seven points each. After these five forwards, it is going to be important for any of the younger Upper Montgomery forwards to step up and provide some production. Getting some offense from the defense would be a bonus and could alter the game in the Lightning’s favor.

The Lightning have managed only thirteen powerplays in their first seven games of the season, less than two extra skater advantages per game. The Upper Montgomery powerplay has clicked at 30.8% in its limited opportunities. Potting a powerplay goal or two would also be a key to victory.

The Stars’ most accomplished forward is 16U Upper A junior Walter Bernstein. Bernstein is a quick shifty jitterbug who will push the pace of play up the ice. He has scored twice this season as has 16U AA ninth grade forward Gabriel Schon. The other fifteen forwards that have suited up for the Stars have scored a combined four total goals. Is it a lack of offense that is dooming the Stars? Or, is it simply playing a front loaded schedule that saw the Stars play Walter Johnson twice, Whitman, Churchill, and Sherwood before their squad had time to jell?

Coming out of the Thanksgiving break, the Lightning need to ramp up their game. As teams gear up for the end of season and playoffs the games have more meaning and the competition intensifies. Headed into Friday’s tilt with the Stars, the Lightning are hoping to jump a game over .500 and continue their best start to a season in several years. Let’s hope the outcome of Friday’s game is a springboard for the second half of the season and that good things are in store for the program as we move closer to winter break.

#Second Half Strong, #UML, #Bleed Green, #Go Bolts!

Upper Montgomery Dispatches Northwest / Quince Orchard Remains Undefeated

The Upper Montgomery Lightning entered Thursday’s game against Northwest / Quince Orchard knowing that they were the more talented squad. Hoping for a Halloween massacre, the team settled for a ho hum sloppily played victory over the overmatched but pesky Jaguars. While Upper Montgomery dominated play for much of the evening, the coaching staff was not pleased with how the team seemed to go through the motions with a distinct lack of intensity. With the victory, Upper Montgomery advanced its record to 2-0-1 on the season and cemented its place among the top half of the teams in the county.

The first half of the opening period was filled with individualism and very little team play. The individualism led to many turnovers with skaters out of position not knowing where the puck carrier was going with the puck in the offensive zone. These continuous turnovers led to easy defensive zone clears for the Jaguars. Of note, Lightning junior center Owen Robbins twice hit the goal post with wicked wrist shots. Unfortunately for him and the Lightning, both shots harmlessly clanged away from the net after easily beating Northwest / Quince Orchard senior goalie Joseph Dean.

The Lightning opened the scoring with eight and a half minutes left in the first period. Northwest / Quince Orchard dumped the puck into the Upper Montgomery defensive zone to the left corner. Lightning junior defender Brady Berkhammer chipped the puck off the corner boards to Upper Montgomery senior center Henry Honakci. Using his backhand, Honakci dug the puck up ice to senior forward AJ Marks making his varsity debut. Marks touched the puck before over skating the puck in his haste to exit the defensive zone. Berkhammer, trailing the play, jumped on the puck and skated out of the defensive zone up ice. He maneuvered down the left wing boards into the offensive zone. Entering the left faceoff circle with the puck on his forehand, he shed the Northwest / Quince Orchard defender with a shoulder lean and cut toward the front of the net. Berkhammer skated around Dean and slid a backhand shot along the ice to the far side of the net.

Having finally taken the lead Upper Montgomery seemed to relax just a bit. That exhale of relief seemed to jump start the team. Two minutes later, the score increased to 2-0. The Northwest / Quince Orchard defense slung the puck around the curve behind their own net. The puck was cut off by Upper Montgomery junior forward Philip Shkeda along the left wing boards. He returned the puck low behind the Northwest / Quince Orchard net. The Northwest / Quince Orchard defense attempted a defensive zone breakout up the other side of the ice. This fling of the puck was kept in at the right point by Upper Montgomery senior defender Patrick Sell. From midway between the top of the right faceoff circle and the blue line, Sell lined up a wrist shot and fired at the net. His shot traveled high toward the top right corner of the net. Dean could not get his glove hand up high enough to stop the puck leading to Sell’s first career varsity goal and a rousing celebration from the Lightning bench.

With three and a half minutes remaining in the opening period Northwest / Quince Orchard clawed back into the game. A shot by Lightning sophomore forward Jake Hudson was blocked by Northwest / Quince Orchard defender Roman Martin. The puck bounded slightly forward toward the Northwest / Quince Orchard net. Martin poked the puck to Northwest / Quince Orchard center Ethan Custudio. Custudio took the puck up the left side of the ice through the neutral zone and into the Upper Montgomery defensive zone. From the top of the left faceoff circle he fired a wrist shot past the leg of a Lightning defender to the short side of the net. The puck squirted past Upper Montgomery sophomore goalie Ilan Shterenberg’s blocker and his side and then into the net. It was a goal that Shterenberg would tell you never should have gotten past him.

The soft goal against seemed to fire up the Lightning. On the very next shift Upper Montgomery restored the two goal lead. Northwest / Quince Orchard iced the puck. Off the offensive zone faceoff in the right faceoff circle, Honacki shot the puck toward the net. The puck went wide short side and rebounded off the back wall to Shkeda in the left corner. Shkeda sent a bank pass off the boards to Berkhammer at the left point. Berkhammer sent a return pass off the boards back down to Shkeda. Shkeda fired a cross ice pass looking for senior forward TJ Gottesman. Gottesman chunked the cross crease feed wide of the net past the right goal post. Gottesman hurried to the puck and went around the back of the net from right to left. He lost control of the puck as he came around the net. Retaining possession he then passed the puck into the slot. The puck was grabbed by Honacki on his backhand. Honacki spun away from the Northwest / Quince Orchard defense and fired a wrist shot that went top shelf near side past Dean’s blocker.

Nineteen seconds later, with the same forward trio remaining on the ice, Gottesman scored his first career varsity goal to extend the lead to 4-1 putting Upper Montgomery firmly in control. Northwest / Quince Orchard won the center ice faceoff following Honacki’s goal. From the right wing boards along the defensive zone blue line, the Jaguars defense cleared the puck up ice. Berkhammer stole possession of the puck inside his own defensive zone blue line. He advanced the puck up the left wing boards to Shkeda in neutral ice. Shkeda skated through the middle of the ice and cut to the left entering the offensive zone. Shkeda stickhandled in and lost the puck as he closed in on the goal. Dean swatted at the puck which went to Gottesman on the right side of the slot. Gottesman shot high over Dean’s glove hand to find the back of the net. Shots on goal in the first period were sixteen for Upper Montgomery and four for Northwest / Quince Orchard. As previously mentioned, it was a period that Upper Montgomery seemed to go through the motions and still the Lightning dominated play.

The second period saw a continuation of the same. Upper Montgomery outshot Northwest Quince Orchard by a similar fifteen to four margin. Off the opening faceoff to start the second period, Martin was called for a roughing penalty putting Upper Montgomery on the powerplay for what would be their only opportunity of the evening. Robbins again hit the goal post and the Lightning had several other threatening opportunities but could not cash in with the extra skater.

A minute after the Lightning’s powerplay concluded, Shkeda scored his second goal of the season. A shot from the point by Northwest / Quince Orchard defender Andrew Isaacson was saved by Shterenberg. The puck bounced into the slot near Shkeda who was covering for the defense. Shkeda corralled the puck and headed up the right wing. He made a self pass off the boards as he stepped around the Northwest / Quince Orchard defender. He came in on a two on one rush with Hudson. Choosing to shoot, Shkeda fired a wrist shot from the bottom of the right faceoff circle. The puck went far side under Dean’s blocker for the unassisted goal.

With four minutes remaining in the period, Berkhammer would tally his second goal of the game to extend the Lightning’s lead to 6-1. Berkhammer began the play firing a diagonal cross ice pass from his left defensive corner to Upper Montgomery sophomore forward Aiden Zheng on the right wing at the Lightning defensive blue line. Zheng skated the puck all the way down the right wing into the Upper Montgomery offensive zone. He traveled into the right wing corner and then around the net. Coming around the net, Zheng sent a backhand pass to Berkhammer at the left point. Berkhammer skated around the approaching Northwest / Quince Orchard forward and then to the inside of the defense before he fired a wrist shot short side over Dean’s blocker.

With under two minutes remaining in the second period, Honacki scored his second goal of the game and third of the season to bring the game temporarily into running clock with Upper Montgomery ahead 7-1. Berkhammer again started the play beginning with the puck behind his own net. He sent a bank pass up the left wing boards to Shkeda. Shekda made a nice pick up of the pass while skating backwards. He pivoted forward into a two on one rush with Honacki. Shekda again chose to shoot, this time from the low portion of the left faceoff circle. Dean made a pad save with the puck rebounding immediately back to Shkeda. This time Shkeda passed across the crease to Honacki alone at the right goal post for an easy tap in goal.

With a six goal lead, the Upper Montgomery coaching staff inserted ninth grade netminder Porter Stutsrim-Lyons to play the third period. The coaching staff also began to give some of the depth skaters more playing time as the victory was securely in hand with fifteen minutes left in the game. The game began to have the flow and nature of a friendly scrimmage. Three and a half minutes into the third period Hudson was called for a hooking penalty putting Northwest / Quince Orchard on the powerplay for the first time in the game. With Upper Montgomery using skaters who do not normally kill penalties, the Lightning penalty kill was scattered and chaotic, but did enough to keep the Jaguars off the scoreboard.

With five and a half minutes remaining in the game, Lightning senior defender Cole Howerton was called for a roughing penalty. Thirty seconds later, Northwest / Quince Orchard scored to get the game out of running clock with five minutes remaining. Off of a faceoff in the Upper Montgomery defensive zone to the right of Stutsrim-Lyons, the Lightning lost the draw to the side wall. The puck found its way back to the left point to Isaacson. He stepped around the Upper Montgomery forward and fired a wrist shot from the top of the left faceoff circle through a screen in front. Stutsrim-Lyons made the initial save but could not control the rebound which fell in front of the net. Custudio found the puck through some legs and skates and slid a pass across the front of the crease to Miriam Birck standing behind the Lightning netminder. Birck slammed home the puck to the far side of the goal.

With less than two minutes to play, Northwest / Quince Orchard was back on their third powerplay of the period. A frame in which Upper Montgomery just went through the motions gearing up for the monumental tilt tomorrow evening against highly ranked Wootton. Sell took an interference penalty in front wiping out a Northwest / Quince Orchard forward. Similar to the last Northwest / Quince Orchard powerplay, Upper Montgomery was hemmed in the defensive zone.

With a minute remaining in the game and from a faceoff originating outside of the Upper Montgomery defensive zone along the right side of the ice, Custudio won the draw back to Martin. Martin entered the Upper Montgomery zone and fired the puck wide of the net. The puck was kept in at the left point by Isaacson. He dumped the puck down into the left corner. An Upper Montgomery defensive zone clear was kept in at the left point by Isaacson. This time he fired at the net where the shot hit Martin and deflected high off Stutsrim-Lyons’s stick to the left side of the ice. The Lightning defense possessed the puck and attempted to skate the puck out of the defensive zone rather than simply immediately icing the puck as the coaching staff has instilled in all Lightning penalty killers. Custudio snuck in and stole the puck. He passed to the slot with Upper Montgomery’s skaters heading up ice anticipating the puck would be cleared down the ice. Martin was all alone in front of Stutsrim-Lyons for a layup goal to conclude the scoring. It proved to be an anticlimactic end to the ho-hum evening which produced an Upper Montgomery victory that was hardly celebrated.

Game Notes:

  • Upper Montgomery outshot Northwest Quince Orchard 37-20 for the game, including 31 to 8 over the first two periods of play.
  • Lightning junior defender Brady Berkhammer had his first career high school multi-goal game and he added two assists for a career high four point game.
  • Lightning senior defender Patrick Sell scored his first career high school varsity goal.
  • Lightning senior forward TJ Gottesman scored his first career high school varsity goal and added an assist for his first two career varsity points.
  • Playing in his first ever varsity game, Lightning senior forward AJ Marks registered an assist for his first career varsity point.
  • Upper Montgomery ninth grade netminder Porter Stutsrim-Lyons entered the game and played the entire third period seeing his first career varsity action. Stutsrim Lyons made ten saves and played well.
  • Upper Montgomery returns to action late tomorrow night facing off against arch rival and undefeated Wootton. Puck drop is scheduled for 10:00 pm at Cabin John Ice Rink.

Three Stars of the Game:

First Star—Philip Shkeda—Upper Montgomery Forward—1 Goal, 3 Assists
Second Star—Henry Honacki—Upper Montgomery Center—2 Goals, 1 Assist
Third Star—Ethan Custudio—Northwest / Quince Orchard Center—1 Goal, 2 Assists

Lightning Strike Blog-November 2024

The first half of the 2024 – 2025 high school ice hockey season has zoomed past with the Upper Montgomery Lightning varsity and junior varsity squads right in the thick of the conference standings. As the Thanksgiving holiday break concludes, the sprint to the Montgomery Hockey Conference post season playoff tournament is in full flight with both Upper Montgomery teams looking make some noise and finish the season strong.

The Lightning junior varsity has received outstanding goaltending from ninth grade goalie Porter Stutsrim-Lyons coupled with some timely goal scoring to begin the season with a 3-1-2 record. Stutsrim-Lyons has posted two shutouts along with a 1.64 goals against average and a .939 save percentage. He has a chance over the remainder of the season to set junior varsity program records for goals against average and save percentage. Upper Montgomery’s junior varsity extended the program record unbeaten streak to sixteen games, 12-0-4 over three seasons, until inevitably, all things must come to an end. The long undefeated streak vanished in a 4-3 loss to BCC, the Lightning’s only regulation loss of the season. In the BCC game, the Lightning’s string of 36 consecutive shorthanded situations killed off also ended.

In a heroic effort, Upper Montgomery took Churchill to overtime playing with only seven available skaters. It was a monster performance to gut out a point with such a depleted roster. Up next for the Lightning junior varsity is a non-conference matchup against Annapolis / Arundel before closing out the regular season playing a very strong Whitman team. With the start of the playoffs just six weeks away, the Lightning junior varsity will need to continue to receive contributions from up and down the lineup. The junior varsity’s leading scorer is senior forward AJ Marks (6GP, 4G, 4A). He is followed in scoring by two newcomers to the Lightning program, sophomore Jake Hudson (5GP, 5G, 2A), and ninth grade forward Siddy Bhasin (4GP, 3G, 4A). Bhasin scored in his first three high school hockey games. Sophomore Aiden Zheng has stood out offensively and with his hustle and effort. He scored a hat-trick versus Blair and has (4GP, 5G, 1A). Lightning varsity goalie Ilan Shterenberg has skated out as a forward in some junior varsity games scoring two goals.

Defensively, the junior varsity has been led by sophomore Miles Wendland (4GP, 3A) and senior Cole Howerton (4GP, 2G, 2A), two varsity skaters who have played down to assist the junior varsity’s young defenders. Senior Patrick Sell is playing the best hockey of his high school career. Young defenders Avery Evans (3GP, 1G, 3A), Lillian Robbins (2GP, 1G, 3A), and Matt Rivera (6GP, 5A) have all contributed while gaining key experience. Due back to the lineup in time for the Lightning’s next junior varsity game are sophomore center Jackson Schickler and sophomore defender Max Curtusan.

The Upper Montgomery varsity is off to its best start in the last four seasons playing to a 3-3-1 record over the first half of the schedule. The teams only losses are against teams ranked in the top fifteen in the state; Wootton twice and Urbana. With a reasonable second half schedule, the Lightning have a chance to finish the 2024 – 2025 regular season with a winning record. It would be the first time since the 2018 – 2019 season that the Lightning could finish the season above .500.

In net, sophomore Ilan Shterenberg has handled the majority of the goaltending duties. He has shined in some games, making 49 saves in the Lightning’s 3-1 loss to Wootton early in the season, and he has struggled in other games. His play is typical for an underclass student athlete moving up from his staring role on the junior varsity where he set or tied numerous program records last season; tying for most wins in a season, and setting the lowest goals against average and highest save percentage in junior varsity program history. Shterenberg has a solid save percentage of .876. His goals against average which had been in the three’s ballooned to 4.75 after the Lightning’s poor defensive performances against both Urbana and in the second Wootton game. The three week Thanksgiving holiday break should provide him the opportunity to re-set and focus on the second half of the season.

Defensively, junior AA defender Brady Berkhammer has upped his game this season. He is providing much more offense (7GP, 2G, 5A) than in his first two seasons of varsity play. He had a four point game against Northwest / Quince Orchard with two goals and two assists. Sophomore defender Miles Wendland has played important minutes against the opposition’s top forward lines. He has accelerated his game from his ninth grade season. He has also contributed offensively with three assists in six games. Senior Cole Howerton has stepped into a regular role on the varsity playing mostly with Wendland. Howerton has played some of the best hockey in his final high school season. His play stood out in the Lightning’s win over Richard Montgomery. Ninth grade AA defender Lillian Robbins has seen regular action in the first half of the season and contributed three assists in the game against Richard Montgomery. She has played in four games and has dished out four assists. Senior Patrick Sell scored his first career high school varsity goal in the Northwest / Quince Orchard game. His size and presence on the blue line has caused problems for the opposition. Ninth grade Matt Rivera and sophomore Avery Evans have each gained valuable experience at the varsity level in their limited play. Getting time in varsity games now will help them in future seasons as they take on larger roles on the team.

Offensively, the Lightning knew they would have to replace Maryland Student Hockey League Hall of Fame standout Chris Hassett who graduated after last season. Unexpectedly, junior Ryan Jacobson left to play junior hockey in Michigan. Then, last season’s leading returning scorer Nathan Cassel (2GP, 3G, 1A) has missed most of the early portion of the season with an upper body injury. His hat-trick against Rockville / Magruder helped the Lightning to a 5-5 tie against the Rams. The Upper Montgomery coaching staff moved AAA junior defender Owen Robbins to center as a means of generating additional offense. The move has paid off as Robbins authored a hat-trick in the Lightning’s season opening win over BCC and scored four times against Richard Montgomery. The Lightning’s victory over BCC was the program’s first ever win against the Barons. Robbins has paced the Lightning in scoring with (6GP, 7G, 3A). He is followed closely by junior forward Philip Shkeda with (6GP, 4G, 5A) and senior center Henry Honacki (7GP, 5G, 2A).

A couple of sophomores have stepped in and filled important roles on the team. Returning forward Aiden Zheng has (7GP, 2G, 4A) continuing his assent from last season’s breakout during the Montgomery Hockey Conference varsity playoff tournament. Newcomer Jake Hudson has used his size well getting the puck out of the defensive zone along the boards leading to numerous rushes up ice. Several of the odd skater rushes have led to goals. He has five assists in five games including dishing out three assists against Richard Montgomery. With depth an issue, several student athletes who have played the majority of their high school careers with the junior varsity team are receiving playing time this season with the varsity. Senior forward TJ Gottesman scored his first career varsity goal in the Northwest / Quince Orchard game and senior forward AJ Marks contributed an assist in that same game. Ninth grader Siddy Bhasin has dressed and played in several varsity games earning an assist. Senior Josh Nadler missed the beginning of the season while he was out-of-the country. He will be looking to elevate his game over the second half of the year.

A positive for the program, the powerplay. Last season, the anemic Upper Montgomery powerplay went zero for its first 46 chances with the extra skater before finally scoring in the regular season finale versus Bullis. Early in the season this year, the Lightning have converted on four of their thirteen powerplays, a 30.8% success rate. Now it is time for the squad to turn it up, not just on the powerplay, but on the penalty kill and at even strength. It’s time to go on a run over the second half of the season and be playing excellent hockey as the conference playoffs close in.

#Second Half Fury, #UML, #Bleed Green, #Go Bolts!