The Upper Montgomery Lightning hockey program is back on the ice and looking forward to the 2022 – 2023 high school hockey season. The team began student athlete evaluations earlier this month. While official team placements are not permitted to be announced until after the last evaluation session, or in early October, most of the varsity squad returns from last season. As has been the case for the past two seasons, the team is very young, only three seniors departed the program from last season, and the team has only five seniors on the roster of thirty-three student athletes for this upcoming season.
In next month’s October blog, we will break down the team and the outlook for the upcoming season. The coaching staff is already excited by the growth of the team. Another year older and another year stronger. It is evident from the evaluation sessions that the team has gotten faster and deeper from a talent standpoint. Just three years ago the program had only 13 student athletes participating. When the team is separated into Varsity and Junior Varsity in early October, the program will almost be able to field two distinctly separate teams. There will likely be only a handful of student athletes playing for both teams.
The Lightning program is gaining the respect of other teams in the Montgomery Hockey Conference. The team also has earned respect and appreciation for playing non-conference games against the top public and private high school programs in Maryland. In scheduling these additional games against top tier competition, the program hopes to have its student athletes receive more playing time and competing against competition that will make the team better when conference playoffs arrive at the end of the regular season. This was true last season. The Varsity played at Washington County and was outplayed. But, that experience prepared the team for its two playoff games against Richard Montgomery and Wootton. Both games were very competitive until the final minutes of each game.
The Junior Varsity played a game non-conference game against Landon. The private school junior varsity teams are equivalent to some of the lower end varsity programs in the Montgomery Hockey Conference. Even though the junior varsity lost badly, that experience propelled the team forward and into a six game winning streak to finish the season and become Upper Montgomery’s first championship team.
As summer 2022 nears conclusion, the Upper Montgomery Lightning ice hockey team is hard at work preparing for the upcoming season. Off-ice dryland workouts for the team have begun with an eye toward another season of growth for the program. Just three years ago the program had only 13 student athletes participating in the program. When the team takes the ice next month for the beginning of on-ice practices, the program anticipates that there will be 33 student athletes participating for the 2022 – 2023 season, allowing the program to have a full varsity roster and a full junior varsity roster with very few student athletes having to play for both squads.
With the success achieved by the program last season; the varsity team qualifying for the Montgomery Hockey Conference Division One playoffs for the first time in program history, and the magical run at the conclusion of the season for the junior varsity team resulting in a Montgomery Hockey Conference Junior Varsity Championship, expectations will be different for the upcoming season. While it may be very difficult for the junior varsity to repeat as conference champions, the varsity will have a large spotlight on continued growth. A reasonable expectation is that the program will beat one of the upper echelon teams in the conference this season, and at a minimum reach the semifinals of the Montgomery Hockey Conference Division Two playoffs. A stretch goal would be to win a Division One first round playoff game and play for a spot in the Maryland Scholastic Hockey League State playoffs. Upper Montgomery has never won a Division One playoff game in program history.
With a young program, only five of the 33 student athletes are seniors, the team is primed for success in future years. However, the coaching staff is looking for the student athletes with varsity experience to step it up a notch even against teams with a significant number of seniors and juniors that complete as high-end travel level student athletes. Join us as the Lightning look to take another step forward and continue to gain the respect of the more established programs in the conference.
As summer is now halfway completed, we begin to turn attention to the upcoming 2022 – 2023 high school ice hockey season. The student athletes have been using the summer months to focus on their on-ice skills development and off-ice strength and conditioning. Many of the student athletes have attended skills training sessions to improve their play. Coach Todd ran another successful Premier Hockey Boot Camp in which several of the Lightning student athletes participated along with approximately thirty student athletes from other high school programs.
In another month the team will begin summer off-ice conditioning as hockey related activities ramp up in anticipation of the upcoming season.
The Spring 2022 high school hockey season has officially been reclassified as Titletown for the Upper Montgomery Lightning program. Both Upper Montgomery teams, Team White and Team Green won the spring league championships in their respective divisions. Congratulations to all the student athletes that participated on their success and achievement.
Upper Montgomery Team White dominated its division all season finishing with an undefeated record of 11-0. Team White completed its undefeated spring season with a thrilling 4-3 victory over a Sherwood team that played its entire varsity roster in the spring league finale.
Team White raced out to a 4-0 lead on goals by Olivia Robbins (wrist shot from the left faceoff circle), Chris Hassett (deflection from the high slot), Ryan Jacobson (slap shot from the high slot), and what turned into the eventual game winner from Adam Levine (rebound off a two on one rush with Hassett). Team White held on and prevailed, preventing Sherwood from tying up the game while dealing with some tough officiating calls going in Sherwood’s favor. Those calls allowed the Warriors to cut the lead to a single goal early in the third period. Freddie Horowitz made 41 saves for the victory. There was elite talent on the ice at the conclusion of the game with three AAA skaters and eight AA skaters playing out the final minute. Upper Montgomery played excellent defensive hockey over the final eight minutes of regulation to close out the game victorious.
Team Green performed better as the season progressed and entered the playoffs as the third seed in their playoff bracket. After a convincing 4-2 win over Rockville, Team Green next faced top seeded BCC in the spring league final. In a back and forth affair, Team Green won the game on a shorthanded goal by Hunter Cameron with one minute left. Team Green was able to prevent BCC from scoring on the last minute powerplay with their goalie pulled. The win gave the Upper Montgomery program a sweep of the high school spring league championships. Team Green goals were scored by Hunter Cameron (breakaway), Andrew Botti (wrist shot from the high slot), James Botti (deflection from the low crease area), and Cameron again (finished off a two on one pass from James Botti) for the shorthanded game winner. Landon Bernard recorded the win in net with 22 saves.
With the playing portion of the 2021 – 2022 season now officially finished, the student athletes will use the summer months to focus on on-ice skills development and off-ice strength and conditioning. Coach Todd will again run his Premier Hockey Boot Camp in which several of the Lightning student athletes will participate along with approximately thirty student athletes from other high school programs.
The Upper Montgomery Lightning will feel the sting of Friday night’s loss to the Wootton Patriots all offseason. In a game in which the Lightning were the far better team, the Patriots’ best player Nathan Barrow rescued Wootton late and advanced the Patriots into a Montgomery Hockey Conference Division Two playoff semifinal game against Blair next Friday night.
The Lightning got off to a flying start and controlled the tempo of the game from the outset. It looked as if Wootton with its fourteen seniors was disinterested playing in the Division Two playoff matchup. A penalty to Wootton center Conor Harris gave Upper Montgomery an early powerplay. However, the skater advantage was short lived as Lightning defender George Benedick was called for holding less than a minute later. It was the beginning of a parade to the penalty box as the poorly officiated game resulted in 19 penalties and four separate ten minute misconduct penalties assessed.
After the penalty to Benedick completed, Upper Montgomery continued to attack and was rewarded with the first goal of the game. Andrew Botti skated the puck from center ice down the left wing boards into the offensive zone. He continued into the corner crossing the goal line. Cutting toward the net he passed the puck out into the high slot area and found Chris Hassett who had maneuvered into the slot. Hassett was wide open. He pivoted and fired a hard, rising wrist shot past the glove of Wootton netminder Julian Piche for the opening score.
Less than a minute later, the lead would grow to 2-0. Andrew Botti cleared the puck in the Lightning defensive zone up the right wing boards to Hassett. Hassett skated with the puck from just outside the blue line down the boards and into the offensive zone. James Botti cut down the slot toward the net. Hassett’s cross crease pass was a beauty, finding Botti’s backhand just inside the left post for a nifty bang-bang deflection past the stick side of Piche.
Maybe the Lightning’s offensive success got the better of the team. A defensive pinch in the offensive zone led to a deflected puck and a three on one Wootton rush up ice. Grady Sellman collected the puck in his defensive zone and centered the puck up ice into the neutral zone to Ilhom Abdulaev. Abdulaev skated down the right wing side and feathered a nice backhand pass through Andrew Botti to Julius Rubin who was in alone in the slot. Rubin swatted the puck five hole past Lightning netminder Landon Bernard to put the Patriots on the board.
With a minute to go in the first period, the Patriots would tie up the game. Just after a roughing penalty to Andrew Botti expired, Nathan Barrow evened the score at two. Martyn Ogorondnikov skated the puck from his defensive position down into the right corner. He lost the puck under pressure from Andrew Botti, but was able to push the puck behind the net. Barrow swooped in and carried the puck around the net from right to left. He open pivoted away from Bradley Cupples and had time and space from a bad angle just below the lower portion of the left faceoff circle. Even with a bad angle toward the net, he fired a wicked wrist shot far side, high and over Bernard’s shoulder for the tying goal. Shots on goal in the first period were even at seven for each team.
The second period was controlled by the Lightning who outshot Wootton fifteen to six. Upper Montgomery skated well and was often able to create good scoring opportunities. The Lightning were helped when Abdulaev took a boarding penalty and was assessed a ten minute misconduct for arguing the call. Then, while shorthanded, Barrow was given a ten minute misconduct for not wearing his mouthpiece despite being warned to do so in the first period. The absence of the two talented Wootton forwards contributed to their lack of offensive push in the second period.
The third period also started off well for the Lightning as they took the lead less than a minute into the frame on a goal by Hunter Cameron. Bradley Cupples won a defensive zone face off in the left faceoff circle directly to the left wing boards where it was picked up by Ethan Hockey. Hockey skated out of the defensive zone up ice. He dumped the puck into the left corner where Cameron collected the puck and skated it around the crease from left to right. Reaching the right faceoff circle, he spun and his attempted wrist shot deflected behind the net short side. Josh Nadler was first to the puck. He circled the net to the weak side moving across the flow of play from right to left. His pass into the slot reached a cutting Cameron whose quick shot beat Piche high to the blocker side.
A minute later Andrew Botti was called for a questionable slashing penalty. He argued the call and was handed an additional ten minute misconduct penalty, effectively keeping him off the ice for almost the remainder of the game. With a few seconds left in Botti’s penalty, Cameron was called for high sticking putting the Lightning down two skaters for eight seconds. Botti’s two minute penalty ended and the Lightning were just down one skater. Near the end of Cameron’s penalty, Wootton tied up the game. A quick passing sequence from Harris to Barrow to Abdulaev and Abdulaev’s shot beat Bernard tying up the game at three with 9:35 left.
Yet another penalty was called on the Lightning just after the two back-to-back Patriots’ powerplays. Again, a bad officiating decision on a non-high stick that was called a high stick on George Benedick. With that penalty winding down, a make up slashing call was assessed to Sellman. Off the defensive zone faceoff, Harris was called for a hit to the head of a Lightning forward. Harris’ penalty was a two minute minor and a ten minute misconduct eliminating him from the rest of the contest. Off the second offensive zone faceoff on the 4-3 powerplay, Barrow won the faceoff back to Walter Cederbrandt who passed the puck across his own crease to Ogorondnikov who skied the puck out of the defensive zone. Barrow outraced the Lightning defense and broke in alone on Bernard. He easily deked Bernard scoring to put the Patriots up 4-3 with six minutes left in the game.
The Lightning still had a chance to even the score as they were on a 5-3 powerplay once Benedick’s penalty expired. Although the Lightning were able to gain the offensive zone and possess the puck, they did not convert. Instead, Barrow jumped on a loose puck and exited the defensive zone up the left wing boards with Abdulaev. They raced up ice on a two on one rush. Drawing the Lightning defender toward him, Barrow slide a pass across to Abdulaev. Abdulaev collected the pass, made a deke, and also slid the puck past Bernard. Two shot handed goals scored a minute apart when Wootton had only three skaters on the ice.
Down 5-3, the Lightning kept pressing. Piche made a few really good saves to maintain the Patriots’ lead. The penalty brigade kept coming as questionable call after questionable call landed additional student athletes in the penalty box. Lightning center Brandon Bernard was called for slashing. While Wootton was on the powerplay they mainly played keep away, passing the puck on the perimeter not allowing Upper Montgomery to gain control. With three minutes to go in the game, Hassett and Wootton defender Andrew Reynolds were called for coincidental minors, Hassett for roughing and Reynolds for high sticking. Just twenty seconds later, Abdulaev was called for roughing giving the Lightning one final chance to close the margin. The Lightning were unable to mount much pressure and the powerplay fizzled along with Upper Montgomery’s opportunity for their season of growth to continue next week. The game was salted away on an empty net goal scored by Abdulaev as he exited the penalty box on an assist from Barrow.
Game Notes:
With the loss, Upper Montgomery ends its season with a 5-9-1 record, similar to last season but a huge leap forward in growth and competitiveness, especially against the top tier teams in the conference.
The Lightning outshot Wootton 30-20.
Again, shorthanded goals doomed the Lightning who gave up two shorthanded goals in the closing minutes of the contest. Upper Montgomery gave up eight shorthanded goals during the season and lost all seven games in which they conceded a shorthanded goal.
The Lightning penalty kill, which has been outstanding all season, killed off six of the seven Wootton powerplays and finished the season 51-58, an excellent 87.9% kill rate.
The Lightning powerplay faltered in all five powerplay chances against Wootton and finished the season 12-54, 22.2% success rate.
Three Stars of the Game:
First Star—Nathan Barrow—Wootton Center—2 Goals, 2 Assists Second Star—IIhom Abdulaev—–Wootton Forward—3 Goals, 1 Assist Third Star—Chris Hassett—Upper Montgomery Center—1 Goal, 1 Assist
For most of Friday night’s Montgomery Hockey Conference Division One playoff game, Upper Montgomery went toe-to-toe with a more experienced and talented Richard Montgomery Rockets squad who had their sights set on returning to the Maryland Student Hockey League championship game for a second season in a row. The tenth seeded Lightning were out to prove they belonged in the Division One playoffs having qualified for the playoff tournament for the first time in program history. Judging by the large Richard Montgomery victory celebration it is safe to say that Upper Montgomery has earned the respect of the top teams in the Montgomery Hockey Conference.
The first five minutes of game action were tight checking with both teams looking to control the tempo and style of the game. Richard Montgomery desired a free flowing contest with lots of end to end rushes. Upper Montgomery wanted a tighter checking game with less action and a clogged up neutral zone. Six minutes into the game, Richard Montgomery struck first. Lucas Perkins dumped the puck from his right point position into the right corner. Dylan Goetz possessed the puck and found Mitchell Bobys on the left wing cutting toward the slot and net. Goetz’s pass was perfectly timed and Bobys wasted no time in slapping the puck past Lightning netminder Will Mellen from the low slot.
The early goal did not deter the Lightning who kept working hard. A tripping penalty to Nathan Lynch gave Upper Montgomery the first powerplay of the game. Ryan Jacobson gained the offensive zone and passed the puck back to James Botti at the point. Botti’s shot was stopped by Rockets netminder Henry Darko, but Chris Hassett was able to jump on the rebound and put it past Darko into the net to even the score at one. The balance of the first period was played evenly with both teams unable to create many good scoring chances. Shots on goal in the first period were ten for Richard Montgomery and eight for Upper Montgomery.
A few minutes into the second period, the Lightning almost took the lead. Hunter Cameron broke in down the left wing on a two on one rush with Bradley Cupples cutting down the slot. Cameron’s centering pass over to Cupples eluded the lone Rockets defender and was right on the money. Cupples shot back across from where Darko had just moved low and toward the left post. The shot from the low slot cleanly beat Darko, clanked off the inside of the post, and stayed out of the net. It was a great chance that just did not go in.
With nine minutes left in the second period, Lightning defender George Benedick was called for interference. Benedick is one of the top penalty killers for Upper Montgomery. The Lightning penalty kill which had been outstanding all season, 91.7% success rate coming into the game was broken down by the Rockets. From his left point position, Luke Guttman passed the puck into the corner to Mitchell Bobys. A whistle from the stands sounded and all student athletes on the ice stopped competing. The referees instructed the student athletes to play on and after a few seconds Bobys found Dylan Goetz cutting backdoor down the slot with a cross ice feed. A wide open Goetz buried the shot past Mellen who had little chance on the play for a 2-1 Richard Montgomery lead. A goal protested vociferously by the Lightning coaching staff.
The Lightning had a chance to tie the game when Guttman was called for interference, but were unable to convert. With three minutes remaining in the second period, Upper Montgomery was back on the penalty kill after another interference penalty, this time to Cupples. On the powerplay, Richard Montgomery brought the puck up ice. Zach Bulson exited the Rockets defensive zone and fed Daniel Martella in the neutral zone along the right wing board. Martella passed the puck to the center of the ice finding Goetz streaking up ice. Goetz took possession of the puck just outside the blue line. He took a couple of strides so that he was a few feet into the offensive zone and let loose with a slap shot. Mellen tracked the puck and stuck out his blocker to make an easy save and direct the puck to the corner boards. Unfortunately for Mellen and Upper Montgomery, the puck took a weird deflection off of Mellen’s blocker, rolled up a couple of inches and fell behind him into the net for a goal. The unforced error with a minute and a half left in the period deflated the Lightning. Shots on goal in the second period were nine for Richard Montgomery and five for Upper Montgomery.
The Lightning began the third period shorthanded after a roughing penalty to Nathan Cassel was assessed in the closing seconds of the second period. It was a critical penalty kill situation for Upper Montgomery as a fourth goal would surely have opened up the game and made a comeback extremely challenging. The Lightning penalty killers came through to keep the score 3-1. With 6:45 left in the game, the Lightning received a final powerplay chance when Paulina Utochkin was called for hooking. With a few seconds remaining on the powerplay Upper Montgomery converted.
It took some time for Upper Montgomery to gain possession of the puck in the offensive zone. Eventually the puck was kept in at the point by Ethan Hockey. His slap shot was saved by Darko who again left a juicy rebound. Hassett beat Darko’s attempt to cover and freeze the puck, again shoveling the puck past him to cut the Richard Montgomery lead to 3-2 with five minutes remaining in the game. After the goal, the Lightning pushed with everything they had. With just under three minutes to go in the game, Jacobson fired a slap shot from the top of the right faceoff circle that beat Darko. The puck ricocheted so hard off the crossbar that the puck cleared itself landing back in the neutral zone. The Lightning were so close to tying up the game.
With 1:40 remaining in the game, the Lightning bench called for Mellen to head to the bench for an extra attacker. Just as Mellen left the crease and started skating toward the bench, a turnover at the Richard Montgomery blue line turned into a two on one rush up ice. Gutmann easily slid the puck across to Bulson for a tap in goal at the right post as Mellen scrambled to get back into position and square up to the action. As the puck crossed the goal line into the net, Upper Montgomery’s hopes for the upset dissipated, but not for a lack of effort and some unlucky circumstances. Richard Montgomery received everything the Lightning had and were very happy to have survived and to advance on in the conference playoff tournament. The first ever playoff win in program history will have to wait at least one more season, but the team’s performance gained the respect of the entire conference.
Game Notes:
With the victory Richard Montgomery moves on to face second seeded Walter Johnson for a spot in the Maryland state playoff tournament.
The Lightning were outshot by the Rockets 31-18 and 21-10 over the final two periods.
The Lightning penalty kill which had been outstanding all season, faltered. Richard Montgomery connected for two powerplay goals in three chances. The Upper Montgomery penalty kill is now 45-51 on the season, still an excellent 88.2% kill rate.
The Lightning powerplay bounced back from last week’s poor performance and was 2-3 in the game.
The Lightning will next be in action on Friday night, February 18th at Rockville Ice Arena versus an undetermined opponent in the quarterfinal round of the Montgomery Hockey Conference Division Two playoffs.
Three Stars of the Game:
First Star—Dylan Goetz—Richard Montgomery Forward—2 Goals, 1 Assist Second Star—Mitchell Bobys—–Richard Montgomery Forward—1 Goal, 1 Assist Third Star—Chris Hassett—Upper Montgomery Center—2 Goals
In a game with several student athletes missing the contest due to travel team commitments, the St. Johns Cadets downed the Upper Montgomery Lightning 4-1 in the regular season finale for both teams. To a person, the student athletes and the coaching staff were not pleased with the performance against St. Johns, in what might have been the team’s weakest performance of the season. It was not the way to honor the program’s three seniors, James Botti, Adarsh Nair, and Joshua Miller who were each celebrated prior to the start of the game. With the loss, the Lightning will enter next week’s Montgomery Hockey Conference Division One playoffs on a four game losing streak. The playoff bracket will be released in the next few days, but expectations are that Upper Montgomery will open the playoffs as a road team seeded somewhere between nine and eleven out of the twelve team field.
The game started sluggishly with both teams struggling to find any rhythm. Three minutes into the game Cadet’s defender Joseph Krauth took a hooking penalty. Maybe it was the absence of having Ryan Jacobson and Nathan Cassel available that disrupted the Lightning’s flow with the advantage, but the powerplay fizzled with very little zone time. As Krauth’s penalty ended, Lightning Center Bradley Cupples was called for high sticking. It took only six seconds for the Cadets to capitalize. Blake Russell cleanly won a faceoff in the right faceoff circle. The puck went straight back to Krauth at the right point. He took one stride to the middle of the ice and blasted a snap shot through traffic and past Lightning netminder Will Mellen on the glove side.
The next six minutes of game action saw the Lightning struggle to enter the offensive zone against St. Johns’ smothering defense. When Upper Montgomery was able to generate some offensive zone time, the shots directed on net against Cadet’s netminder Julian Goodfellow were not high quality chances. With three and a half minutes left in the first period, Lightning forward Olivia Robbins was called for slashing in the neutral zone. Upper Montgomery’s best offensive chance came while shorthanded when Chris Hassett and Hunter Cameron came in alone on a two on zero rush. Hassett’s pass across the crease was just a bit too deep toward the net and Cameron did not have much net to shoot at. Goodfellow was able to make a left leg pad save on the chance. The Lightning were able to kill off the remainder of the shorthanded advantage, but just after Robbins was released from the penalty box, the St. Johns lead would grow.
Cadet’s defender Thomas Pilkington collected the puck in the offensive zone along the left boards near his point position. He curled toward the middle of the ice along the blue line. He had time and space. He cut around a Lightning skater stickhandling into the high slot area, where he made another nifty move around a Lightning defender before finally snapping a shot far side past Mellen’s glove hand. It was a goal that never should have been scored as two Lightning student athletes had opportunities to body Pilkington and dislodge him from the puck. Shots on goal in the first period were nine to eight in favor of the Lightning.
The Lightning started the second period on the powerplay after a high sticking penalty to John Stanek. Upper Montgomery was unable to mount any real threat. In the middle of the second period, the Lightning were able to kill off a shorthanded situation after Andrew Botti was called for roughing. With just under three minutes remaining in the period, St. Johns would score an insurance goal, the result of poor defensive coverage by Upper Montgomery.
Off of a recoil in the neutral zone, Krauth passed the puck indirect off the left wing boards. The pass was collected by Austin Kirika who bumped the puck forward a few feet to William Spicer entering the zone with speed down the left wing side. Spicer cut in front of the Lightning defender which caused Andrew Botti to come over from his left defensive position to help stop Spicer. Spicer extended his stick and poked the puck toward the low slot area where Russell was all alone. Russell collected the puck, made a quick deke, and jammed the puck past Mellen’s right leg as Mellen shifted over toward the middle of the net in an attempt to stop Russell. Shots on goal in the second period were Lightning with eleven and St. Johns with nine.
The start of the third period saw Upper Montgomery with a shot lived sliver of hope. Chris Hassett scored early in the third period off of a nice pass from Hunter Cameron to cut the deficit to 3-1. Hassett’s shot beat Goodfellow low, stick side. Then, thirty seconds later, the Lightning went on the powerplay with an opportunity to further shrink the Cadets lead when Willem Desimone was called for tripping. However, it was the Cadets who took advantage scoring a shorthanded goal to salt away the game. Spicer took possession of the puck just inside his defensive blue line along the right wing boards. He exited the zone on a two on one advantage and rushed up ice. As he reached the top of the right faceoff circle in the offensive zone Spicer dished the puck over to Russell who tapped the puck past Mellen’s outstretched right leg into the wide open net for the final tally of the game.
Game Notes:
Upper Montgomery finished the regular season with a 5-7-1 record.
The Lightning outshot St. Johns 31-25.
The Lightning penalty kill was 4-5 for the game, allowing a powerplay goal for the first time in months. The Upper Montgomery penalty kill is now 44-48 on the season, an excellent 91.7%.
The Lightning powerplay struggled all night and was 0-3 in the game.
Another shorthanded goal given up by the Lightning, the sixth shorthanded goal allowed on the season. All six shorthanded goals against have come in games the Lightning have lost.
The Lightning will next be in action on Friday night, February 4th versus an undetermined opponent in the first round of the Montgomery Hockey Conference Division One playoffs. This season is the first time in program history that the Lightning have qualified for the Division One playoffs.
Three Stars of the Game:
First Star—Blake Russell—St. Johns Center—2 Goals, 1 Assist Second Star—Julian Goodfellow—–St. Johns Goalie–Win, 30 Saves, .968 Save% Third Star—Joseph Krauth—St. Johns Defense—1 Goal
The leadership of the Upper Montgomery Lightning hockey program knew Monday’s game versus Washington County was going to be a difficult game. The game was scheduled looking forward to the upcoming Montgomery Hockey Conference Division One and Division Two playoffs where Upper Montgomery was very likely to be facing off against very good opponents and some of the top tier teams in Montgomery County. Taking the young Lightning roster on the road to Hagerstown to face off against the second ranked, highly skilled and older Northstars is expected to pay dividends down the road. Washington County was never threatened in their 10-2 victory.
There were a few bright spots for the Lightning. Landon Bernard played very well in net. The score does not represent how well he played, making several highlight reel saves. The Lightning scored two powerplay goals in the game. Upper Montgomery also went long stretches of the game without conceding a goal, more than nine minutes to open the game, the first 12:30 of the second period, and the first ten minutes of the third period.
It was an avalanche of goals scored in bunches by the Northstars that did in the Lightning. The Northstars scored four goals in the final six minutes of the first period while outshooting the Lightning 21-4. In the second period it was three goals in the final three and a half minutes. Washington County closed out the game with three goals in the final five minutes of the game. Lucas Karlsson led the way with three goals and an assist, Ville Schoneborg had two goals and an assist, as did Tyler Bjerklie. Lochlan Joyce and Scott Blanchard were the other Northstars skaters with multiple points as each had a goal and an assist.
Upper Montgomery’s goals were both scored on the powerplay and from directly in front of the net. Bradley Cupples centered the puck from behind the net to Brandon Bernard at the right post. Bernard lifted the puck over Bryce Zeoli-Luisi’s shoulder to cut the Northstars lead to 4-1 mid-way through the second period. Chris Hassett finished out the scoring with 44 seconds remaining in the game. He received a nice centering pass from Hunter Cameron in the low slot near the right post. He also fired the puck over Zeoli-Luisi’s shoulder short side.
Game Notes:
The Lightning were badly outshot by Washington County 40-13 for the game.
The Lightning did not have to kill any penalties during the game.
The Lightning powerplay finished the game 2-6.
The Lightning are next in action on Senior Night on Friday, January 28th at 7:00 pm when they host St. John’s at Rockville Ice Arena. James Botti, Adarsh Nair, and Joshua Miller will be celebrated for their contributions to the Upper Montgomery hockey program during the team’s final regular season game.
Three Stars of the Game:
First Star—Lucas Karlsson—Washington County Defense—3 Goals, 1 Assist Second Star—Ville Schoenborg—–Washington County Defense–2 Goals, 1 Assist Third Star—Landon Bernard—Upper Montgomery Goalie—30 Saves
Looking to bounce back from last week’s loss to Richard Montgomery, its first loss since early November, the Upper Montgomery Lightning came out flat Friday night. A talented Sherwood Warriors team took advantage scoring three goals in the first ten minutes of the game on their way to a 6-4 victory in the cross division matchup. With the loss the Lightning drop to 5-5-1 on the season with a tough contest looming on Monday night at the Washington County Northstars.
Jeremy Isaacs got the Warriors off to a quick start scoring an unassisted goal just 1:11 into the contest. A turnover in the defensive zone squirted over to Isaacs unguarded in the lower right circle. He made no mistake quickly firing a shot past Lightning netminder Will Mellen to put Sherwood out in front early. Exactly five minutes later the Lightning were caught up ice. Thomas Russell made a save on a shot from the high slot. Riley Shearer outraced the Lightning forwards to the puck in the right corner. His stretch pass up the left wing boards found Jarden Reed in the neutral zone. Coming down the left wing on a two on one break, Reed pulled up at the top of the left faceoff circle and ripped a snapshot high, short side above Mellen’s blocker and into the net for a 2-0 Sherwood lead.
Three minutes later, Christian Winckler finished off a nice passing sequence. Ryan Warner started the scoring play in the neutral zone along the right wing boards. His pass was on the money for Grayson Winckler who skated into the offensive zone and found his brother in the slot with a nifty pass. Christian Winckler’s shot beat Mellen glove side and the Warriors were threatening to turn the game into a rout.
Just before the end of the first period, the Lightning got on the board to cut the lead to 3-1 at intermission. Nathan Cassel passed the puck into the slot area for Chris Hassett. Hassett’s shot attempt was blocked in front with several bodies crowded in the crease area. The puck bounced loose to the right side of the net where Ryan Jacobson was waiting. His quick wrist shot, low and to the glove side of Russell, found the back of the net. Right after Jacobson’s shot went in the goal, he was leveled by Warriors defender Payton Mages. George Benedick took exception. Both Mages and Benedick were sent to the penalty box for coincidental roughing minors. Upper Montgomery had some hope heading into the second period. Shots on goal in the first period were Sherwood 18 and Upper Montgomery 16.
The Lightning went on the powerplay very early in the second period after a slashing penalty was assessed to Christian Winckler. With an opportunity to cut into the Warriors lead, Upper Montgomery was instead caught pinching to keep the puck in the offensive zone. Isaacs collected the puck and skated up ice with Reed on another two on one break. Isaacs slid the puck over to Reed who easily converted past Mellen and the Warriors had reclaimed their three goal lead.
After giving up the shorthanded goal, the Lightning carried play for the next ten minutes of game action clawing their way back into the contest. Off of an offensive zone faceoff from in left faceoff circle, Chris Hassett won the draw into the slot, directly to Jacobson. He wasted no time and fired the puck low, glove side past Russell for his second goal of the game. A minute later the Lightning went on an important penalty kill as Bradley Cupples was called for roughing. The outstanding Lightning penalty kill was up to the task, keeping the Warriors at bay and the team seemed to gain momentum from the shorthanded effort.
With five minutes remaining in the second period, the Lightning would strike to pull within one goal at 4-3. James Botti kept the puck in the offensive one at the left point. He was able to swipe the puck forward a few feet to Nathan Cassel. Cassel collected the bouncing puck along the right wing boards and fired a shot wide of the net on the short side. The puck caromed around back to James Botti at his left point position. He shoveled the puck down low into the left corner finding Hassett. Hassett stick handled along the boards and pushed the puck over to Cassel behind the net. Cassel tried a stuff attempt that was blocked off and the puck flipped high in the air through the slot toward Ethan Hockey at the right point. Hockey judged the arc of the puck. Just as the puck bounced off the ice he unloaded a booming slap shot from the right faceoff dot that went flying past Russell high, glove side for his second goal of the season. While still trailing by one goal, the Lightning had all the momentum.
With two minutes remaining in the second period a defensive zone coverage breakdown doomed Upper Montgomery. The Warriors gained possession of the puck in the Lightning defensive zone, working the puck down low in the right corner. The puck was then centered into the slot where it eluded two Lightning skaters and found Christian Winkler alone in front. Mellen made a terrific save on Winckler’s quick shot from the low slot. The puck bounced up and off the back end boards where Aidan Sachs fired a quick wrist shot past Mellen low, glove side as he scrambled back into position. The failed clear deflated the Lightning who had fought so hard to get back in the game. The Lightning outshot Sherwood by a wide margin, 19 to 8 in the second period.
Four minutes into the third period Noi Jonasson ended the competitive portion of the game scoring a “Michigan Goal”, lacrosse style to add insult to Upper Montgomery. Warriors’ defender Timothy Rocca retrieved the puck in the neutral zone along the right wing boards. He passed the puck up ice to Jonasson at the attacking blue line. Jonasson skated past three Lightning defenders and curled around the net on his backhand from left to right. He collected the puck, then scooped and spun, flinging the puck past Mellen’s left shoulder into the net making the score 6-3.
Upper Montgomery would score a power play goal with 29 seconds remaining to close out the scoring. Hassett scored on a wrist shot from just right of the slot off assists from James Botti and Benedick. But, by then, it was just a matter of the final score in a game in which the Lightning started slowly and could never quite get over the hump.
Game Notes:
The loss was the Lightning’s second straight defeat since a five game winning streak ended.
The Lightning outshot Sherwood 46-34 for the game.
Will Mellen gave up the most goals he has allowed all season (six). He made 28 saves on the night.
The Lightning penalty kill was excellent once again smothering all three Warriors’ powerplay opportunities. The Upper Montgomery penalty kill is now 40 of 43 on the season, 93.0%.
The Lightning powerplay finished the game 1-4, but the powerplay tally came with 29 seconds remaining in the game after the outcome had been decided.
The Lightning gave up their fifth shorthanded goal of the season in the second period. Upper Montgomery has lost all five games in which they have allowed a shorthanded goal.
The Lightning are next in action on Monday, January 24th at 7:00 pm when they travel to Hagerstown to take on the Washington County Northstars.
Three Stars of the Game:
First Star—Jarden Reed—Sherwood Forward—2 Goals Second Star—Ryan Jacobson—Upper Montgomery Forward–-2 Goals Third Star—Thomas Russell—Sherwood Goalie—Win, 42 Saves, .913 Save%, 1 Assist
She’s always been first. First to the rink. First out on the ice. First to offer encouragement to her teammates. First to celebrate her teams’ goals. Whether encouraging her teammates or providing instruction and direction on the ice, Olivia Robbins is no ordinary student athlete. She is in constant motion on and off the ice.
It has been that way since Olivia was six years old and was introduced to ice hockey when the family lived in Seattle, Washington. For the past decade, the Robbins family has been immersed in the sport of hockey. With all three of their children playing on different travel hockey teams, Emily and Scott Robbins are constantly on the go. Although neither Scott nor Emily played hockey competitively, they are mainstays at their children’s games cheering and offering encouragement.
Olivia is the oldest sibling. Her brother Owen is two years younger, and her sister Lillian is four years younger. All three will play with their individual travel hockey teams once again in the fall of 2022. Olivia and Owen will also play together for the first time in years with the Upper Montgomery Lightning high school varsity hockey team. For Emily and Scott, the new season will bring renewed travel across the United States and into Canada depending upon where Olivia’s 19U Washington Pride AAA travel team is scheduled to play. The Washington Pride is the pre-eminent women’s college prep ice-hockey program in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. The Pride plays in the Junior Women’s Hockey League as well as participating in multiple invitational tournaments across North America.
Olivia immediately took to hockey. She found the games exciting and liked the physical aspect of the sport. As she began advancing through the younger age groups it was easy to see her enthusiasm for the game and that she didn’t have a problem competing against the boys she was playing with and against. When initially eligible, she tried out for the Washington Pride women’s hockey program and was invited to join the elite hockey club to play on their 14U Major team. Mainly playing left wing for the Pride, she logs heavy minutes and is a mainstay on the Pride’s powerplay and penalty killing units. According to her coaches, Olivia’s style is hard-nosed and relentless on the puck. She excels at retrieving pucks in the corners and turning those winning puck battles into high quality scoring chances for her teammates. Olivia describes her role with the Pride as the playmaker on her line. She is good with puck possession, zone entry, and excellent at puck retrievals, battling down low, and in the corners. She is always looking to establish offensive zone possession for her line and to distribute the puck to her teammates.
A typical hockey week during the school year is three practices a week with the Washington Pride, one hour on the ice and one hour of dryland workouts, either conditioning or in the gym. Olivia also does additional one-on-one skills development sessions with the local coaches either before practice or on an off day. These individual sessions include film review of the past weekend’s games and skill development. Then, Monday evening there is a separate practice with the Lightning. The Pride’s practices consist of individual skill work, full-ice flow drills, working on situational play, and various small area games. During weeks where the Pride are out of town for league play or at a tournament, the team practices Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, then travels to the location of the weekend games Thursday evening. Pride league and tournament games are played Friday, Saturday, and Sunday during the day, with return travel back to the Washington, DC area on Sunday evening. During out-of-town travel the Pride has scheduled mandatory study halls that enable the girls to keep up with their school work.
On weeks where the Pride have home games or travel closer to the Washington, DC area, games are usually just on Saturday and Sunday. Those weeks, on Friday night Olivia is dressed in her green, gold, and white number 25 Upper Montgomery jersey with the Poolesville letter P patch on her left shoulder. She is seen streaking around the ice playing on one of the top two forward lines for the Lightning against other high school teams in the Montgomery Hockey Conference, often battling toe to toe with older and more physically mature opponents. In her ninth grade season with the Upper Montgomery Lightning, Olivia led the varsity team in assists with seven in twelve games, including a four assist game versus Blair. In addition, Olivia chipped in and scored three goals.
Olivia’s exploits on the ice are well known within the hockey community and to her family and close friends. However, many of her fellow students at Poolesville High School are unaware of her hockey accomplishments. At the age of 12, Olivia first participated in a USA Hockey development camp. As part of the Southeast District, she participated in a week-long multi-district camp held at Kent State University in Ohio run by USA hockey and college hockey head coaches. The ladies selected for the camp were separated into four teams and lived together in dorm rooms, spending all on-ice and off-ice hockey related activities with their teammates. Progressing through her age 12, 13, and 14 seasons, Olivia’s skill and talents were being noticed. In her age 15 season, after a weekend tryout camp in Nashville, Tennessee, Olivia was one of a limited few young ladies selected to participate in the USA Hockey Girls 15s National Development Camp held in St. Cloud, Minnesota. A huge accomplishment for Olivia as she takes steps forward in progressing up through the women’s hockey national system in the United States.
As Olivia remembers the camp, the USA Hockey Girls 15s National Development Camp was like the other regional camps she had previously participated in, but more comprehensive. In addition to the on-ice and off-ice training, there were lectures on nutrition, mental health and well-being, the college recruiting process, and what it takes to be a successful student athlete with the time commitment both academics and hockey require. It was understandable that being invited to the camp for the first time was a little overwhelming. Olivia admitted to being nervous at the beginning of the camp, with all the USA Hockey personnel present and with over ninety percent of the Division 1 and Division 3 college coaches in attendance scouting and analyzing the play of each camp participant.
Thinking back on the National Camp, Olivia brought up “The speed, skill, compete level, and hockey IQ of all the girls were off the charts good. It was full speed and maximum effort the entire time. It was a great experience for me to know that I can compete at that level. At the same time, it helped me know that I need to work harder with the Pride to improve all areas of my game.”
At the end of April 2022, Olivia was in Florida trying out again for a spot in the USA Hockey National Camp for the upcoming summer. She is now in the 16-17 age group and the number of slots available to advance back to the National Camp are greatly reduced. In late June, Olivia will be notified of the results of her tryout. About that same time, colleges which have been scouting student athletes in Olivia’s age group at the various camps, showcases, and tournaments will begin making contact. NCAA rules governing recruiting for women’s ice hockey allow college coaches to begin contacting recruits after June 15th following a student athlete’s sophomore year in high school. It promises to be a very busy summer in the Robbins household.
The practices and the sport keep Olivia busy and help balance out her schoolwork, much of which is done while on long bus trips or in hotels far away from Poolesville High School. It is common for Olivia to use her phone to record video dictations for classes from the passenger seat of her parent’s car. While much time is spent at the rink honing her game, Olivia devotes even more time to her academic studies. This dedication has led to scholastic achievement in the classroom. Olivia has been recognized by the Maryland Student Hockey League for her outstanding academic performance in both of her high school seasons. She has earned straight As all throughout high school and carries a weighted grade point average well above the standard 4.0 associated with straight As. So, it was no surprise that she has received the Maryland Student Hockey League academic achievement award.
At the end of the 2021-2022 hockey season the Washington Pride were traveling to play in the Women’s Tier One 14U National Championship Tournament outside of Philadelphia. Olivia was remotely dialed in to her biology class while traveling to the tournament. Unexpectedly, the vehicle went through some patchy zones which caused the internet connection to fade in and out. Olivia messaged her teacher apologizing for the difficulties. The biology teacher direct messaged Olivia asking her where she was going. Upon learning of her destination, the teacher blurted out over the open mic “Wow, Olivia!!! Don’t worry about biology right now.” The entire class had just learned of Olivia’s hockey talents!
Once the Pride’s and the Lightning’s regular seasons conclude, hockey is not finished. Olivia plays in the spring for the 14/94s Elite 16U AAA team, which is a team made up of young women from around the DC Metro area and north into Philadelphia and New Jersey. There are two weekend training camps and then three tournaments planned, in Detroit, in Philadelphia, and in Chicago. And, while not out-of-town, there is the Upper Montgomery Lightning spring season where Olivia is a key contributor. She enjoys the spring teams because she can meet and play with different teammates and receives exposure to different coaches and styles of play.
Once school ends and the summer begins, there is no break from hockey. The Pride has two separate weeklong training camps, one at the beginning of the summer and the other at the end of the summer. To supplement this training, Olivia works out at First-Line Training Center in small group and individual one-on-one sessions to continuously work on her game. She is looking to improve the velocity on her shot, work on a quicker release, and enhance her evasiveness with the puck. This level of commitment is necessary as the number of young female hockey student athletes grows.
Olivia has noticed the increase in interest as popularity in the women’s game grows from just a few short years ago. “I think last year there were a record number of girls at tryouts for the Pride 14U team which means more girls must be playing. Locally, the Chesapeake Bay Hockey League (CBHL) has more and more clubs offering girls hockey teams every year. Some of the top girl’s teams in the CBHL have started to play in the very competitive Mid-Atlantic Women’s Hockey Association against teams from Eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York.”
In part, this competition motivates Olivia to continue to improve. She has her sights set on playing Division 1 college hockey, however, with her outstanding academic credentials, academically prestigious Division 3 programs will also be under consideration and would make an excellent college choice. With the professional women’s game growing and more teams being added each year, the post college opportunity to continue to play high level hockey is a possibility, one that Olivia would find “very, very cool”.
While women’s hockey is where Olivia’s future lies, she is extremely happy playing with “the boys” for Poolesville High School as part of the Upper Montgomery Lightning program. With the Pride there are multiple practices a week and in high school hockey there are only a few practices each month. The most noticeable difference to Olivia is that with high school hockey there is a four year age difference between some student athletes who are seniors and other student athletes who are just entering high school in 9th grade. With the Washington Pride travel program, the participants are all within one year in age, so everyone is more similarly developed. With the high-end travel programs, it is common for the participants to have been teammates for many years, playing the same system in 12U, 14U, 16U, etc. There is more compact play, more movement without the puck, one touch passing, and quick puck movement. While the high school games are more open with stretch passing through the neutral zone and the shots are harder.
When she finally leaves the rink and finishes training, Olivia can be found watching hockey on television. She watches as much hockey on television as she can. Olivia’s favorite teams are the US Women’s National team and, of course, the Washington Capitals. When finally pried away from hockey, her outside interests are being with her friends, being part of her local swim team in the summer, going to amusement parks and riding the roller coasters, and watching exciting movies.
For the Upper Montgomery faithful, the excitement will be in watching Olivia over the next two seasons as she endeavors to help the Lightning advance to the Maryland High School state playoffs for the first time in program history while simultaneously pursuing her dream of landing a coveted position with a college ice hockey program.
This article will be updated as details on Olivia’s collegiate hockey plans are revealed.
