chucklevine – Page 25 – UPPER MONTGOMERY LIGHTNING

Wootton Game Preview

December 20, 2022December 20, 2022 chucklevine Leave a comment

The Upper Montgomery Lightning bolt into Tuesday afternoon’s game against Wootton with two data points fresh in their mind. One, the team has now won three of their past four games. In each game that the team has been victorious, Upper Montgomery has given up either one or zero goals. To a person, the team would acknowledge that this past Friday’s 6-1 victory over the Sherwood Warriors was not their best effort. The Lightning finally found their legs in the second period in route to four consecutive goals and then opened up a comfortable lead. Second, in the previous fourteen years that the Montgomery Hockey Conference has existed, Upper Montgomery (or playing under the previous team name, Damascus, et al.) the program has never beaten the Wootton Patriots.

This is the year! The Lightning play Wootton in a home and home series split with Tuesday’s game played before the winter holiday break and concluding with the opening game after winter break on Friday, January 6. Historically, one of the best programs in the Maryland Scholastic Hockey League, the Patriots have fallen off over the past two seasons. Presently, the Patriots are one spot behind Upper Montgomery in the conference standings. While the Patriots long to return to the years of being a powerhouse along-side the Churchill Bulldogs, the Lightning are looking for a signature win to announce their arrival in the upper tier of the MHC.

Once again, Upper Montgomery’s leading scorers Nathan Cassel (6GP, 6G, 8A) and Chris Hassett (7GP, 6G, 7A) will need to carry the offensive load. The depth scoring this season has been excellent and shows just how much the team has matured over last season. Fourteen different skaters have scored a goal this season with ten of those skaters having found the net multiple times. Playing against a higher level of competition this season the team is averaging 5.25 goals a game.

The defense has also been more active offensively. Senior George Benedick continues to outpace his production from all prior years combined. He has picked up his scoring pace over his previous three seasons (6GP, 3G, 7A). Ethan Hockey, Andrew Botti, and Brady Berkhammer have at least five points each. Together, in eight games, the team’s defender have contributed (9G and 20A).

In goal, Landon Bernard will be looking to continue his strong performances. He has been very good in goal the past couple of weeks at both the varsity and junior varsity levels. He stopped 14 of 15 shots against Blair, just losing a shutout with less than a minute remaining in the game. Against Sherwood on Friday night, he stopped 21 of 22 shots. Bernard made an impressive and key save against Jeremy Isaacs, the Warriors high scoring forward, on a breakaway. Wootton is likely to start Jack Munini in one game and former Lightning goalie Will Mellen in the other game. Upper Montgomery will surely be on point in the game that Mellen starts. Both Wootton goalies have not played very well this season with a goals against over 5.00 and save percentages in the mid-.800s. Let’s hope that lack of success continues for two more weeks. Comparatively, Bernard has a goals against average of 3.75 and a save percentage of .851. For Bernard, his stats and play have gotten better as the season has progressed.

Wootton has some very talented student athletes in their program. The Patriots are led by a quartet of top-end skaters. Junior (16U AA) forward Grady Sellman leads the team is goals and points with (7GP, 8G, 3A). Speedy Conor Harris (18U AA) has (7GP, 3G, 4A). Junior IIhom Abdulaev, probably the Patriots most talented forward, has missed some games due to an injury suffered early in the season. Abdulaev (16U AA), (4GP, 3G, 3A) is a game time decision for Tuesday, but is likely back for the rematch in early January. Sam Hosier is an offensive minded defender. Hosier, a (16U AA) talent, has four goals in seven games. Wootton is a very physical team that has taken far, far too many penalties this season. Upper Montgomery will need to refrain from retaliating against the Patriots and must convert when the powerplay opportunities present. The Patriots are a young team and are weak defensively. Upper Montgomery should be able to take advantage of the Patriots back line. As with last week’s game, the Lightning will have to carefully determine when to press forward offensively. Keeping Wootton off the scoreboard will be the key to the outcome of the game.

The Lightning are starting to pile up the victories and get on a bit of a roll. This game against Wootton will go a long way in determining if the Lightning will finish as one of the top eight seeds in the conference and would then host a first round playoff game. If Upper Montgomery continues to play a strong, unselfish team game like the team has done the last couple of weeks against Blair and Sherwood, history could be made on Tuesday. The Lightning need to have the attitude of taking it right to the Patriots from the opening faceoff. The team needs to play with the lead and remove any doubt about who is the better team. A full effort for 45 minutes to snag the important victory. The Lightning need to get the win any way possible; high scoring, low scoring, it really does not matter. The only thing that is relevant is to win. Remain hungry, play with a swagger, and make other teams prove that they can beat you. Bring it home again this week Lightning!

Junior Varsity Northwest/Quince Orchard Preview

December 15, 2022December 15, 2022 chucklevine Leave a comment

The Upper Montgomery Lightning junior varsity returns to action on Saturday, December 17th facing off against Northwest/Quince Orchard. Game time is 11:30 am at Laurel Ice Gardens.

Upper Montgomery enters the game having played better over the past few games. The team cannot be overconfident thinking the drubbing of Churchill means they are a really good team. Churchill’s junior varsity team is terrible and using that game as a measuring stick is not appropriate. Upper Montgomery needs to continue to play better and gain important conference standings points to finish the regular season with the best possible seeding heading into the junior varsity season ending conference playoff tournament. Playing well with momentum and confidence heading into the playoffs will provide the foundation for a deep playoff run.

As has been said many times this season, quite simply, Upper Montgomery needed to score more and generate more offensive chances. Against Churchill this was not a problem. The coaching staff told several of the skaters not to shoot the puck after the score got out of hand at the end of the first period. Upper Montgomery was never threatened during the game, stepping off the gas early in the 12-2 beat down of the Bulldogs. All but two student athletes in the lineup scored at least a point in the game. The score could have been much worse if not for the sportsmanship of Upper Montgomery.

TJ Gottesman leads the team with twelve points (6GP, 4G, 8A). He is averaging two points a game. His three goal, two assist, five point effort against Churchill set a program record for points in a junior varsity game. Henry Honacki leads the junior varsity in goals with five (7GP, 5G, 3A). Stephen Shkeda is the only other skater averaging at least a point a game (6GP, 2G, 4A). Against Churchill, Cole Howerton, Adam Levine, and Josh Nadler had multiple point games. It is hoped that their performances will carry forward into the upcoming games against Northwest/Quince Orchard and Rockville.

In goal, Landon Bernard will return to the net after a game off. He will be looking to build off of his best performance of the season. Last week he played superb in the junior varsity’s loss to top ranked Walter Johnson, stopping 37 of 39 shots and almost single handedly stealing a win for the Lightning. He stopped five breakaways throughout the game. The only two goals he gave up were also on breakaway chances. Bernard has been solid in net this season and provides the Lightning with a decided advantage in goal.

Northwest/Quince Orchard will counter with either Ryan Stillwell or Joseph Dean in net. Northwest/Quince Orchard has played only two junior varsity games so far this season, while Upper Montgomery has played seven. The Jaguars losses were to the two top ranked junior varsity teams, Walter Johnson and Richard Montgomery. Stillwell has a 4.91 GAA and a .786 save percentage. Contract those statistics with Bernard’s performance, 2.80 GAA and a .889 save percentage.

Offensively, the Jaguars have scored only one goal in their two games. However, their roster is comprised of student athletes that also play for the varsity teams. Therefore, Northwest/Quince Orchard has the ability to compete and win if the Lightning take them lightly. After dominating the Bulldogs, Upper Montgomery needs to build off that victory and play well again this week. The team needs wins of any kind, any way. Saturday’s contest will tell us a lot about the growth of the team over the past month and how the season is likely to turn out.

Sherwood Game Preview

December 15, 2022December 15, 2022 chucklevine Leave a comment

Fresh off their most impressive victory of the season, the Upper Montgomery Lightning return to game action on Friday evening December 16th versus the Sherwood Warriors. Game time is 8:15 pm at Cabin John Ice Rink. The Lightning will be looking to make it three wins over their last four games if they can beat the Warriors. Upper Montgomery is firmly in the Montgomery Hockey Conference season ending playoff tournament. The team’s performance over the next six games will determine if Upper Montgomery will host a first round playoff matchup. If Upper Montgomery plays a strong team game against Sherwood, the Lightning have the talent to come out on top.

Once again, Upper Montgomery’s leading scorers Nathan Cassel (5GP, 6G, 6A) and Chris Hassett (6GP, 4G, 6A) will need to carry the offensive load. Friday’s game will see the return to game action of Lightning center Ryan Jacobson (4GP, 4G, 2A). His return to action is welcomed and will help neutralize the Warrior’s highly skilled forward group. Junior forward Olivia Robbins, fresh off of her two goal game against Blair, will miss the Sherwood game as she is out-of-town with her external travel team. Depth scoring which had been a weakness of the team in previous seasons is more prevalent this year. Brandon Bernard has scored in all four games he has participated in this season (4GP, 4G, 2A). Philip Shkeda has complemented Cassel and Hassett nicely (7GP, 3G, 5A). Olivia Robbins (5GP, 3G, 4A) has increased her offensive production from last season.

The defense has also been more active offensively. Senior George Benedick has picked up his scoring pace over his previous three seasons (5GP, 3G, 5A). His eight points are a career high and are more points than he accumulated in his previous three seasons combined. Ethan Hockey, Brady Berkhammer, and Andrew Botti have tallied, five, five, and four points each. The third line was good this past Friday evening. Goals from Stephen Shkeda and Henry Honakci who notched his first career varsity goal against the Blazers helped. The depth scoring has taken the pressure off of the top line and has made the team more difficult to match up against. Playing mostly against the second division teams, Sherwood is averaging giving up 6.5 goals per game. The Lightning should be able to light the lamp on Friday night.

Sherwood has six very talented skaters. Jeremy Isaacs (18U AA) leads the team with (5GP, 10G, 7A). Grayson Winckler (16U AA) has (6GP, 9G, 6A). Noi Jonasson (16U AAA) has (5GP, 7G, 7A) and scored a ‘michigan goal’ last season against Upper Montgomery. Aidan Cook (16U AA) has (6GP, 7G, 3A). Oz Sacks (14U AA) has chipped in with (6GP, 4G, 3A). On defense the Warriors are led by Samuel Greenberg (18U AA), (7GP, 5G, 1A). Sherwood tries to win games by outscoring their opponents. The Warriors are weak defensively and Upper Montgomery should be able to take advantage of the Warriors back line. As with last week’s game, the Lightning will have to carefully determine when to press forward offensively while these skilled student athletes are on the ice. Keeping the Warriors out of transition attack mode will limit Sherwood’s ability to score goals.

Last week’s victory was a nice start. The Lightning need to pile up victories over the next few weeks against teams with similar talent. The Sherwood game could go either way and is entirely dependent upon if Upper Montgomery plays a strong, unselfish team game like the team did last week against Blair. The team needs to have the attitude of taking it right to the Warriors from the opening faceoff and playing good defensive hockey over the full 45 minutes to snag an important third win of the season. The Lightning will be able to score goals against Sherwood. The outcome of the game will be based on the team’s ability to keep Sherwood’s top skaters off the scoresheet. Upper Montgomery needs to forget about last week’s game and remain hungry for wins. It is time to gain a swagger and make other teams prove that they can beat Upper Montgomery. Bring it home again this week Lightning!

Bernard’s Heroics Fall Just Short in Junior Varsity’s Loss to Top Ranked Wildcats

December 11, 2022December 11, 2022 chucklevine Leave a comment

In what was his signature game at the junior varsity level, Upper Montgomery junior goaltender Landon Bernard stole the show Wednesday afternoon. His goaltending performance in the Lightning’s game against top ranked Walter Johnson was superb. Bernard stopped 37 of 39 shots on goal including five breakaway chances in Upper Montgomery’s 3-1 loss to the Wildcats. Both Wildcats goals were scored on two additional late third period breakaway chances. The final score was not representative of how the game played out as Upper Montgomery was winning with less than six minutes remaining in the game.

Going into the contest the coaching staff was expecting the game against Walter Johnson to be challenging. The Wildcats had only given up three goals in their four previous games. Upper Montgomery responded by playing better and tougher than they had in several games and that effort is what kept the team in the game in the opening period. Outshot 9-1 in the frame and having to kill off two Wildcats powerplay chances limited the team’s ability to get into the flow of the game. Still, finishing off the first period tied gave the Lightning confidence that they could compete against Walter Johnson.

Upper Montgomery jumped to the lead very early in the second period. Wildcats forward Sam Mayster was called for hooking 19 seconds into the period. The Lightning would capitalize immediately only ten seconds later while on the ensuing powerplay. Steven Shkeda won the faceoff directly behind him in the right faceoff circle. TJ Gottesman nudged the puck back a few feet to the right point. Behr Schickler was able to collect the puck at his defensive position along the blueline. He took one stride to the center of the ice and fired a wrist shot toward the net. The shot deflected off of a Wildcat defender and then Wildcats goalie Joseph Villatoro’s goalie stick. The puck ricocheted up in the air and into the far side of the net. For 9th grade defender Schickler, it was his first career high school goal and put Upper Montgomery in front 1-0.

From there it was the Landon Bernard show. The ice was tilted, and Walter Johnson dominated the rest of the period. Among his 17 saves in the second period, Bernard stopped three Wildcat breakaway chances and he made several additional acrobatic saves. Meanwhile, after Schickler’s goal, Upper Montgomery managed just two shots on goal over the remainder of the period. This included spending time on a short lived 5-3 powerplay opportunity that was wiped out by a tripping penalty called against Lightning defender Cole Howerton.

The Lightning had a powerplay early in the third period as well when Gianluca Megna was called for roughing. Upper Montgomery could not capitalize. As Megna’s penalty was expiring, Shkeda was called for roughing on a good hard back check that should not have been ruled a penalty. The Lightning and Bernard held strong and limited the Wildcats to puck possession around the perimeter and long range shots from the points.

Halfway through the third period Walter Johnson would finally break through against Bernard. Walter Johnson defender Patrick Murphy blocked a Lightning shot attempt deep in the crease area in front of Villatoro. Unassisted, Murphy skated the puck up ice on the right wing. He skated past the Lightning defense and curved in alone on Bernard. A lefty shot, Murphy flicked a wrist shot far post above Bernard’s leg pad and past his blocker to tie up the game.

With 3:07 left in regulation, Wildcats defender Jaden Luskin was called for interference as he tussled with Lightning forward Jason Woodman. The late powerplay was an opportunity for the Lightning regain momentum. Possibly, if they could put a late goal past Villatoro, maybe come away with the upset win.

A weak Wildcat clearing attempt went toward the left point where Howerton had a bead on the puck. As he skated in, he attempted to one time the puck toward the net. In one of those hockey plays, the puck slid under his stick and out into the neutral zone. With Howerton’s momentum heading into the offensive zone, Wildcat forward Megna was heading out of the zone in the same direction as the puck. Megna collected the puck and raced up ice by himself. Lightning defender Jake Roth skated hard up the ice and he tried to impede Megna from getting off a clean shot on Bernard. With Roth bothering him, Megna was still able to get off a backhanded shot that somehow got between Bernard’s glove side and his body. The puck barely tricked over the goal line before Bernard could turn and keep the puck out of the net. The shorthanded goal put the Wildcats in front with 2:09 left in the game.

The late shorthanded goal was demoralizing, but the Lightning kept up the pressure for the second half of the powerplay and continuing with Bernard pulled for the extra attacker. With timing running down, Wildcat defender Lucas Chang was able to gain possession of the puck deep in the Wildcat defensive zone and bang the puck up the right wing boards. Megna won a puck battle at the defensive blue line. He skated up over the red line before shooting from next to the boards into the empty net to seal the Wildcats’ hard fought victory.

The effort from the Lightning junior varsity student athletes was non-stop throughout the entire game. Although more talented, Walter Johnson barely escaped with the victory thanks to Bernard’s performance. The last three games, all against the top teams in the Montgomery Hockey Conference, should prepare Upper Montgomery for the remainder of the schedule which begins this upcoming Sunday versus bottom dweller Churchill. The Lightning will need to avoid complacency and playing down to Churchill’s level. The team needs to bring it right from the start of the game and not let up to rack up the two standings points.

Game Notes:

The Lightning were badly outshot by the Wildcats by a wide 40-8 margin.
Behr Schickler scored his first career high school goal, a powerplay goal early in the second period.
TJ Gottesman extended his personal career high points streak to all five games he has played in this season (5GP, 1G, 6A). His seven points on the season leads the Lightning junior varsity.
Upper Montgomery killed off all five Wildcat powerplays and has now successfully killed off ten straight opponents’ powerplay opportunities.
The Upper Montgomery junior varsity next returns to action on Sunday afternoon against lowly Churchill. Game time is 1:30 pm at Laurel Ice Gardens.

Three Stars of the Game:

First Star—Landon Bernard—Upper Montgomery Goalie—37 Saves, 2 GA, .949 Save Percentage
Second Star—Gianluca Megna—Walter Johnson Forward–2 Goals including SH GWG
Third Star—Lucas Chang—Walter Johnson Defense–1 Assist

Junior Varsity Plays Tough in Loss to Rockets

December 10, 2022December 10, 2022 chucklevine Leave a comment

In a rematch of last season’s junior varsity championship game, the Upper Montgomery Lightning dropped a tight game against the Richard Montgomery Rockets Sunday morning at Wheaton Ice Rink. Absent a consistent offensive attack, the Lightning lost 3-1 after Richard Montgomery scored into an empty net with twenty seconds left to clinch the victory. For the Rockets, it was a measure of revenge after their undefeated season last year was ruined by the Lightning in the junior varsity championship game. Junior goaltender Landon Bernard played well once again stopping 22 of 24 shots. As with the last few games, he was let down by the team’s play in front of him on both Richard Montgomery goals.

The start of the game got off to a sleepy start. Not surprising considering the 9:15 am Sunday morning start time. Richard Montgomery was able to get their legs going first and broke on top a little over three minutes into the game. Off a faceoff in the Lightning defensive zone, the puck was won sideways to the left wing boards by Rockets forward Jack Evans. Connor Rosier sent the puck from the side boards into the low slot on a shot or pass that went right to Jaxson Hartle. Hartle was unguarded at the back post. He had plenty of time, enough to settle the puck and push it into the open far side of the net. Upper Montgomery musted just one shot during the opening period.

In the second period, the Lightning played better and began to take the body more frequently. The game stalemated for most of the period which was mainly played in the neutral zone. Each team failed to convert on their lone powerplay opportunity. Just after the Rockets killed off a tripping penalty to Evans, a defensive breakdown gave the Rockets the break they needed to extend their lead. Evans controlled the puck in the Rockets defensive zone along the left wing boards. He skated up ice and was able to clear the Lightning defense at the offensive zone. He cut toward the net from the left wing boards in alone on Bernard. His forehand shovel shot was a body blow that squirted between Bernard’s glove hand arm and his side, just nudging over the goal line for an unassisted goal.

Two minutes later Upper Montgomery cut the lead in half. Similar to the Rockets first goal, Upper Montgomery scored off of a faceoff from the left wing circle. Stephen Shkeda won the face off to the left wing boards. TJ Gottesman controlled the puck and sent it around the boards behind the net to Shkeda. Shkeda sent a perfect centering pass from the right corner boards out front. Standing alone in the slot was Branson Hughes. Hughes had his stick on the ice and fired a quick snap shot along the ice five hole through the pads of Rockets’ netminder Gregory Saffell to bring Upper Montgomery to within one.

The third period was a quagmire with neither team able to generate many high quality scoring chances. Richard Montgomery had the better of play simply because of two powerplay opportunities over the first half of the third period. The Lightning killed off both penalties with Bernard making a few nice saves to keep the score 2-1. With a late powerplay opportunity of their own, Upper Montgomery was not able to capitalize. Needing to push at the end to tie up the game, the Lightning were not able to generate much offensive flow finishing the third period with just three shots on goal. A late empty net goal scored by the Rockets’ Benjamin Giblin cemented the win for the Richard Montgomery.

The Lightning’s collective team play was much better against Richard Montgomery. The game followed a practice session where the coaching staff focused on body checking, positional play, and being more responsible with the puck. Competing hard against the second place team in the conference was a step in the right direction for the young junior varsity squad. The effort and compete factor will need to ramp up even further for Upper Montgomery in the upcoming week. Next up on the schedule is a non-conference game against Walter Johnson’s top ranked junior varsity team.

Game Notes:

The Lightning were outshot 25-8 by the Rockets.
TJ Gottesman extended his personal career high points streak to all four games he has played in this season (4GP, 1G, 5A).
The Lightning penalty kill had its best performance of the season killing off all three Rockets’ powerplay opportunities.
The Upper Montgomery junior varsity next returns to action against Walter Johnson in a non-league game on Wednesday afternoon. Game time is 1:45 pm at Rockville Ice Arena.

Three Stars of the Game:

First Star—Jack Evans—Richard Montgomery Forward—GWG Goal, 1 Assist
Second Star—Landon Bernard—Upper Montgomery Goalie—2 GAA, 22 Saves, .917 Save Percentage
Third Star—Jaxson Hartle—Richard Montgomery Forward–1 Goal

Junior Varsity Churchill Preview

December 9, 2022December 15, 2022 chucklevine Leave a comment

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

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

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

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

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

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

Blair Game Preview

December 9, 2022December 9, 2022 chucklevine Leave a comment

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

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

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

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

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

Late Defensive Miscue Dooms Lightning JV in Loss to Barons

December 7, 2022December 7, 2022 chucklevine Leave a comment

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Game Notes:

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

Three Stars of the Game:

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

Junior Varsity Walter Johnson Preview

December 6, 2022December 6, 2022 chucklevine Leave a comment

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

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

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

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

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

Wootton Wipes out Lightning JV Ending Eight Game Win Streak

December 4, 2022December 4, 2022 chucklevine Leave a comment

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

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

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

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

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

Game Notes:

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

Three Stars of the Game:

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