Author: chucklevine

The Upper Montgomery Lightning exploded out to a giant lead for the second consecutive week. Unfortunately, unlike in the team’s season opening victory over the DC Stars, a horrendous third period handed the Silver Spring Blazers an implausible 8-7 win Friday night at the Rockville Ice Arena. Six third period goals including four over the final four minutes of regulation enabled Silver Spring to grab a win it did not deserve to earn. The Lightning student athletes must learn to finish games understanding that a high school hockey game is never over until the teams are being ushered off the ice. The Blazers huge comeback cements their team as the top squad in Division Two of the Montgomery Hockey Conference.

Not having senior team captain, top line center Owen Robbins for the game hurt the Lightning. Robbins is an excellent two way skater who reads the ice extremely well. He is a top notch back checker who interchanges with the defense very well. In his place, ninth grade center Wyatt Ostrander had to take a big step up, filling in admirably.

The game got off to a bit of a slow start with both teams missing out on some nice opportunities. Early on, Upper Montgomery realized areas that they could exploit against the Blazers. Six and a half minutes into the game, out of nowhere, Silver Spring jumped in front 1-0. From the left point in the offensive zone, Upper Montgomery’s defense fired a shot wide of the far side of the net. Silver Spring defender Simon Holland picked up the puck along the left wing boards in his defensive zone. He carried the puck out to center ice on the left side. He continued down ice into the Upper Montgomery defensive zone. Holland avoided an attempted stick check from a backchecking Upper Montgomery forward. From the left faceoff circle he fired a wrist shot high glove side on Upper Montgomery netminder, Porter Stutsrim-Lyons, starting in place of Ilan Shterenberg. The unassisted goal was his first of the season. It was also the first goal given up by the Lightning this year.

Upper Montgomery did not let the opening goal affect them. Indeed, only twenty seconds later the score was tied, the Lightning’s early deficit quickly erased. Lightning senior defender Brady Berkhammer had the puck in his own defensive zone on the left side. He fired a cross ice pass into the neutral zone looking for Upper Montgomery ninth grade forward Miles Gleason on the right wing. The pass was a little behind Gleason who made a nifty deflection of the puck to glance it forward in front of where he was skating. He streaked down the right side of the ice past the left Silver Spring defender into the offensive zone. Gleason unleashed a wrist shot from the bottom of the right faceoff circle which was saved by Blazers goalie Myle Amirthalingam. That sequence set up a faceoff in the right faceoff circle in the Blazers defensive zone. Ostrander won the draw to the right wing boards to Gleason. Gleason sent the puck cross ice to the left point for Berkhammer. Berkhammer took the puck down the left wing boards to the bottom of the left faceoff circle. From below the goal line, he sent the puck back into the slot where Gleason was cutting towards the net. From the right side of the slot, Gleason one touch shot the puck high over Amirthalingam’s glove hand into the top right corner of the net. Gleason’s first goal of the night, fifth of the season quickly took care of Silver Spring’s early advantage. For Ostrander, the assist was his first career high school point in either junior varsity or varsity competition.

Gleason’s goal seemed to unleash the Lightning. Thirty seconds later on the next shift, Upper Montgomery took the lead. A Blazers forward skated toward the blue line in their offensive zone. At the blue line he attempted to make a play. Upper Montgomery senior forward, Philip Shkeda blocked the play with his skates. With both Blazers defenders split wide along the blue line, Shkeda rocketed up ice straight down the middle. With two Silver Spring defenders chasing after him applying heavy back pressure, Shkeda entered the offensive zone. While being pushed wide of the left goal post, he shoveled a backhanded shot at the net. The puck glided along the ice going under the left leg pad of Amirthalingam. Shkeda’s fourth goal of the season had Upper Montgomery in front.

A minute later Upper Montgomery senior forward Jason Woodman was called for roughing on a play where the Silver Spring defender turned just prior to Woodman making contact. Before Woodman could return to the ice, Blazers defender Tobias Lin was called for an interference penalty while trying to slow down Gleason. With both teams having a skater in the penalty box, the teams skated four on four with Upper Montgomery to have a short powerplay in thirty seconds. Except, while at four on four, Berkhammer saw daylight open up as he skated down the left wing. He went all the way around the Blazers defender then cut toward the net. As he approached the goal crease, Amirthalingam attempted a poke check, but missed tripping up Berkhammer. The goalie’s penalty gave the Lightning a brief four on three powerplay for six seconds before Woodman returned to the ice making the Upper Montgomery powerplay a five on three advantage.

Woodman went straight to the front of the net which is his role on the powerplay. With Woodman causing all kinds of commotion in front of the net, getting outright tackled then getting back up and continuing to be pounded on, the Upper Montgomery shooters could not put the puck on net or they passed up shots looking for one great pretty play. As the second Blazers penalty was set to expire Upper Montgomery junior center Aiden Zheng won a faceoff in the defensive zone to Berkhammer in the left corner. Berkhammer slung the puck up ice out to the neutral zone. Gleason was able collect the puck after a fast charging Blazers defender missed it while rushing forward. Gleason was off to the races on a clear breakaway from inside the red line. Gleason came in directly at Amirthalingam, made a forehand fake shifting to his backhand. He deposited the puck over Amirthalingam outstretched right leg pad for a powerplay goal. Gleason’s second goal of the night, sixth of the season extended Upper Montgomery’s lead to 3-1. Although getting outshot by the Blazers eleven to eight during the first period, it was Silver Spring who were clearly dazed as they did not know who was sprinting past them up ice each shift.

The beginning of the second period was a carbon copy of the end of the first period. More high flying offense from the Lightning. A minute into the second period, Gleason was back at it. Goal number seven of the season, his hat-trick goal. The Blazers lost possession of the puck in the Lightning defensive zone. Berkhammer got to the puck first sending a pass up to Shkeda across the defensive blue line at center ice. Shkeda sent the puck wide to Gleason who entered the offensive zone along the right side of the ice. Coming with speed he again went around the Silver Spring defense reaching the bottom of the right faceoff circle. Gleason cut to the goal mouth where he faked an in close forehand shot. Amirthalingam was completely fooled by the fake. Gleason pulled the puck back, took a step to his left, before depositing a backhand shot into the wide open net left side of the net.

Three minutes later, Upper Montgomery extended the advantage to a 5-1 lead. A faceoff started from the right faceoff circle in the Upper Montgomery defensive zone. The Blazers controlled the draw. Berkhammer stole the puck behind the Lightning net. He skated out the left side of the defensive zone all the way up through the neutral zone. He was in with Gleason on a two on one rush. Berkhammer took the puck around the Blazers defense yet again. With Amirthalingam playing shot, Berkhammer laid a perfect pass across the slot to Gleason. With Amirthalingam honoring Berkhammer’s shot, the young goalie had no chance when Gleason’s wrist shot entered the goal just inside the near side right goal post. Gleason had exploded for four goals in back to back games bringing his total on the young season to eight.

The next eight minutes of the game saw Upper Montgomery continue to pressure Silver Spring. While the Blazers did generate shots, many of the shots were from distance or bad angles which Stutsrim-Lyons was able to easily shove aside. With under three minutes remaining in the second period, Silver Spring had possession of the puck behind the Lightning net. A stick check by Berkhammer jostled the puck loose. Berkhammer gained possession of the puck, reversing direction back into the right corner. Under pressure he pushed the puck forward to Gleason along the right wing boards. Gleason sent an outlet pass to Shkeda breaking behind the Blazers defense at center ice. Shkeda had to track down the aerial pass along the left wing boards in the Silver Spring defensive zone. At the bottom of the left wing faceoff circle he jump cut around the Blazers defender while stick handling past. He recovered the puck just outside the crease and shot to the near side of the net while being buried. The puck went low past Amirthalingam’s right leg pad for Shkeda’s second goal of the game, fifth on the season.

Upper Montgomery had what the students thought was an insurmountable lead, up 6-1 with under three minutes remaining in the second period. A minute later Silver Spring would get one back. Upper Montgomery dumped the puck deep into the Silver Spring defensive end. Blazers defender Ethan Hedberg collected the puck in his left defensive corner. He swung the puck to his defensive partner Joseph Killebrew in the right defensive corner. Killebrew absorbed a big hit from Upper Montgomery ninth grade forward Tima Zamaray. Zamaray took the brunt of the contact falling to the ice while Killebrew retained control of the puck. Killebrew found Blazers forward Alexander Azcarate in the neutral zone with his outlet pass. Azcarate was joined by fellow forward Victor Dvorson on a two on two rush into the Upper Montgomery defensive zone. The Lightning were in good position defensively. Dvorson skated wide around the Upper Montgomery right defender along the outside of the left faceoff circle. Once clear of the defense Dvorson sent a laser of a wrist shot near side high over Stutsrim-Lyons right shoulder to notch his third goal of the season. While being outshot 25-16 through two periods of play, Upper Montgomery maintained a large four goal lead entering the third period.

The third period saw Silver Spring come out with more passion and enthusiasm. Upper Montgomery was able to weather the storm chewing through the first five minutes of the period. An extremely questionable high sticking penalty on Berkhammer put the Blazers on the powerplay. Halfway through the penalty kill Upper Montgomery dumped the puck down ice and was putting pressure on the Blazers in their own defensive zone. Dvorson skated the puck out of the Silver Spring defensive zone. Reaching the neutral zone he sent a pass to the right wing boards for Holland. Holland entered the Upper Montgomery defensive zone on the right side. He curled up, drifting to the bottom of the right faceoff circle. Looking to pass he drew Stutsrim-Lyons off the angle before firing a wrist shot far side into the net past the Lightning goalie’s stick and blocker for his second tally of the evening and of the season. Silver Spring was now energized having scored the last two goals.

Twenty seconds later the Upper Montgomery let down was clearly evident. A Lightning turnover at center ice was picked up by Silver Spring forward Michael Poresky. The hulking forward entered the Lightning defensive zone along the left. Surrounded by three Upper Montgomery skaters who all swiped at the puck rather than playing the body, he was able to get free firing a wrist shot at the net. From the left faceoff circle, the shot went past a partially screened Stutsrim-Lyons and his glove to the right side of the net. With nine minutes remaining in regulation, Silver Spring was only down by two goals 6-4.

Upper Montgomery struggled through the next five minutes retaining its two goal cushion. With four minutes left in the game, a faceoff draw in the left faceoff circle in Upper Montgomery’s defensive zone was won by Shkeda. The puck went back to Upper Montgomery junior defender Max Curtusan. Curtusan fired the puck around the Lightning goal up the left wing boards to Gleason. Gleason received the puck along the right wing boards in the defensive zone. He shot up ice down into the Silver Spring defensive zone. Gleason curled up interchanging passes with Shkeda. Shkeda placed a pass to Ostrander in the high slot. Ostrander’s shot toward the net hit Gleason’s body in front. The puck dropped to the ice a foot from the goal crease where Gleason knocked it in for his fifth goal of the game, ninth of the season. The nine goals are the top total in the Montgomery Hockey Conference through two weeks of play.

With a three goal lead reestablished and just four minutes to play, Upper Montgomery’s students thought that the game was over even though the coaching staff was preaching in vain that the team still needed to play hard. The game was far from over. On the next shift, a mere twenty seconds after Upper Montgomery reclaimed their three goal lead, the score became 7-5. Holland’s hat-trick and third of the season kept the Blazers alive. Upper Montgomery shot the puck wide in the offensive zone. Inexplicably, with the Blazers headed out of their defensive zone, a Lightning defender pinched in at the blue line when all the team was supposed to do was play defense. Blazers defender Rakshay Narayanan sent a backhand pass up the boards to Dvorson. Dvorson got past the blue line pinch and gave the puck to Holland. He skated all the way into the Upper Montgomery defensive zone. Holland shot low to the far side from the left faceoff circle past Stutsrim-Lyons low glove hand. It was nearly an identical shot that Poresky scored on earlier in the period. With three and a half minutes left in regulation, the Lightning held a two goal lead.

On the next shift, Lin backhand lobbed the puck out of his defensive zone to the left wing in the neutral zone. Upper Montgomery dumped the puck back into the Silver Spring defensive zone. Narayanan passed to Holland in the neutral zone. Entering the offensive zone once again down the left side, he fired a shot from the side boards. Stutsrim-Lyons made a paddle save with his stick but did not control the rebound. The puck shot to the slot where Blazers forward Liam Redding chopped the puck back toward him. With Stutsrim-Lyons covering the left side of the net, Redding had a lot of space over to the right where the chop shot went. Redding’s second goal of the season brought Silver Spring back to within one goal at 7-6 with 2:45 minutes remaining.

Off the center ice faceoff, Blazers center William Campbell won the draw forward. Poresky grabbed the puck heading forward into the Upper Montgomery defensive zone. He split in between both Lightning defenders in alone on Stutsrim-Lyons. He elected to shoot from about ten feet in front of the goal. Stutsrim-Lyons made a very good right leg pad save. With both Lightning defenders converging on Poresky, Campbell was all alone in interior of the left faceoff circle. He fired the rebound past the Lightning goalie’s glove hand to tie the game. For Campbell it was his second goal on the season.

With the game tied and 2:30 left to go in regulation, both teams had multiple skaters back focusing on defense. It helped Upper Montgomery because Silver Spring changed their go forward at all costs strategy to play for the tie and overtime after coming back from being down by five goals. A shell shocked Upper Montgomery squad could not believe that the five goal led had slipped away. With twenty seconds to go in regulation time Silver Spring iced the puck. Upper Montgomery had a late chance with a faceoff in the right faceoff circle in the offensive zone. While Upper Montgomery won the offensive zone draw, they were outraced to the loose puck by Poresky. Poresky carried the puck forward into the neutral zone then into the Upper Montgomery defensive zone. The Lightning were able to stop Poresky’s offensive rush with the puck popping back out to neutral ice.

Holland then collected the puck entering the Upper Montgomery defensive zone again on the left. His shot from the familiar left faceoff circle was wide of the net with the puck tumbling up the right wing boards to Poresky. Poresky swung the puck deep into right corner with the puck sliding all the way around the net. The puck traveled all the way up the opposite wing boards to near the left point. Holland stepped in to grab the puck then curled back once his path was cut off. From the boards just inside the blue line he sent a desperation shot toward the goal. Partially screened, Stutsrim-Lyons picked up the puck late as it flew past his right shoulder on his stick side and into the back of the twine. With under four seconds left, Silver Spring’s dramatic comeback had concluded. The Blazers had overcome a five goal deficit near the end of the second period. They had survived being down by three goals with four minutes remaining and had pulled out an improbable victory.

For Upper Montgomery it was a crushing defeat after having the game sewn up. While the coaching staff will spin the outcome as a teaching lesson, it is inexcusable to have such a large lead not come out with the victory. The loss was all due to lack of playing within the Lightning’s structure of play. The students collectively let each other down by deviating from the style of play that had given the the team a huge lead. What was also concerning was that the team reverted back to playing pretty hockey where offense was the focus. The lack of physicality over the back half of the game. The lack of focus on defense, first, second, and always were the root cause of the team’s demise. Hopefully, with a week off before their next game, Upper Montgomery can forget the collapse and move past this debacle.

Game Notes:

• Upper Montgomery was outshot by Silver Spring 38-24 for the game.
• Upper Montgomery gave up six goals in the third period, four in the last four minutes of regulation.
• Upper Montgomery senior defender Brady Berkhammer set a personal career high with five assists in the game. The five points were also a career high.
• Berkhammer leads the Montgomery Hockey Conference in assists with nine over two games.
• Lightning ninth grade forward Miles Gleason outscored his opening night performance with five goals. He now has nine goals on the season leading the Montgomery Hockey Conference in goals with nine and in points with twelve, six in each game.
• Lightning ninth grade center Wyatt Ostrander notched his first two career high school points with assists.
• Lightning junior center Aiden Zheng added an assist for his first point of the season.
• Upper Montgomery returns to action next Friday evening against the Northwest / Quince Orchard Jaguars. Game time is 6:40 pm at the Rockville Ice Arena.

Three Stars of the Game:

First Star—Simon Holland—Silver Spring Defense—4 Goals, 1 Assist, GWG with Four Seconds Remaining
Second Star—Miles Gleason—Upper Montgomery Forward—5 Goals, 1 Assist
Third Star—Brady Berkhammer—Upper Montgomery Defense—5 Assists

The Upper Montgomery Lightning junior varsity came off their first win of the season last week over the DC Stars looking to string together two consecutive victories. The team knew that playing the undefeated 3-0-1 Bulldogs was going to be a tall challenge but one the team felt they were ready to embrace. After a rocky first period where the Lightning were outshot fourteen to one, the team played with vigor and energy over the final two periods but could not overcome two own goals in the opening period before eventually falling to Churchill by a score of 3-1.

The first five minutes of the game were difficult for the Lightning as they adjusted to Churchill’s overall team speed and size. The team failed to play with a physical toughness that the coaching staff has instituted since the pre-season off ice practice sessions. Thus, the Bulldogs were able to skate around in the offensive zone continuingly firing pucks at Upper Montgomery ninth grade netminder George Schickler who was making his second career start for the Lightning. There was way too much sticking sticks out in an attempt to break up plays rather than sound fundamental defensive zone positioning with gritty toughness. Right when it looked like Upper Montgomery had settled down into the game disaster struck for the first time in the period.

Churchill forward Amelia Martin carried the puck down the left wing from Churchill’s defensive zone to the Upper Montgomery defensive zone. She cut toward the middle but was forced wide by the Upper Montgomery defense. Martin was eventually able to get off a weak shot from the lower right circle that was an easy stick save for Schickler. In the left corner the puck was retrieved by Churchill forward Jessica Tang. She sent a pass back to the point for monstrous Churchill defender Mingshuo Chang. His long range shot was blocked just in front of Schickler by the Lightning defense. Tang again was able to harness the loose puck, this time sending the puck far side to Churchill defender Olivia Hopkins at the right point. Hopkins sent a long range wrister at the net. Upon approach into the slot the puck deflected off of Upper Montgomery ninth grade center Wyatt Ostrander’s stick changing directions. With Schickler tracking the puck to his right, the deflection volleyed the puck in the other direction to the vacated near side of the goal. Before Schickler could react to the puck’s change of direction it was by him into the net. Hopkins’ first goal of the season put the Bulldogs in front 1-0.

A minute and a half later Churchill went on the powerplay when Upper Montgomery junior defender Max Curtusan was called for a roughing penalty. From a faceoff in the left faceoff circle in the Upper Montgomery defensive zone, Churchill center Saami Yousufi won the draw to the open left wing boards. Churchill forward Evan Chen was unopposed allowing him to easily gather the puck. His diagonal cross ice pass found Hopkins at the right point. Her pass down low to the right faceoff circle looking for the far side forward was intercepted by the Upper Montgomery defense. The attempted defensive zone clear hit Churchill forward Rama Allsopp in the hip. Allsopp dug the puck out of the right corner before sending a wild spinning pass up ice that almost cleared the offensive zone for Upper Montgomery. The puck was kept in the zone by Chang as the penalty to Curtusan expired. Chang skated in to the top of the faceoff circles where he sent a laser of a wrist shot to the top right corner of the net over Schickler’s glove hand for his third goal of the season.

Three minutes later the Bulldogs were back on the powerplay when Lightning ninth grade defender Lenny Roth was whistled for a high sticking penalty. Upper Montgomery scrambled through the second Churchill powerplay keeping the Lightning in the game only down two goals. As the opening period wound down to the final buzzer disaster struck again. Upper Montgomery skated the puck into the Bulldog defensive zone down the left wing boards. Hopkins stepped up, shutting off the rush in the left corner. She won a puck battle with Upper Montgomery skaters and kicked the puck over to Chang standing behind his net. As the clock ticked under four seconds to go in the first period Chang innocently banked the puck off the left wing boards in his defensive zone all the way down the ice. His objective was to kill off the remaining time in the period. Schickler tracked the puck realizing it was going on net. He seemed confused on how to stop the puck. Just before it reached him he lifted his goal stick off the ice to catch or smother the puck in his glove. The puck went under his goal stick, missed his glove, and squirted between his legs before settling into the back of the net. It could have been a back breaking goal with point two seconds left in the period. Chang’s second goal of the game and fourth on the season had the possibility of being a crushing knockout blow.

Showing resilience, the Lightning did not let the late goal diminish their spirits. The team started skating more. While not necessarily playing more physical, the team made more of an effort to obstruct Churchill offensive rushes up ice. Just under five minutes into the second period, Upper Montgomery sophomore defender Matt Rivera made an end to end rush that yielded his third goal of the season, all scored on similar end to end rushes. Rivera captured possession of the puck behind his own net. He sent a bank pass to himself off the right wing boards exiting the Upper Montgomery defensive zone. He travelled up ice down the right wing. Entering the Churchill defensive zone he cut wide around the Churchill defense. Gaining clearance of the Bulldogs defense, Rivera then cut to the net. As he skated through the lower right faceoff circle, Rivera sent a low wrist shot near side over Churchill senior goalie Nick Nelson’s catching glove to the back of the twine.

Upper Montgomery continued to push for more offense over the balance of the second period. Unfortunately, there was too much individual play which allowed the Churchill defense and back tracking forwards to easily break up scoring thrusts. A bright spot for the Lightning was the play of ninth grade goalie Stephen Rickman who replaced Schickler approximately halfway through the game on a planned goalie split. Rickman saw seventeen shots over his time in the game and he made all seventeen saves. It was his first career high school appearance for Upper Montgomery.

The third period was a continuation of the second period, Upper Montgomery attempted to generate offense without much success. Churchill attacked as well but was unable to increase their 3-1 lead. With four and a half minutes remaining in the game, Upper Montgomery was provided a golden opportunity to close the margin. Churchill’s top scorer, forward Kevin O’Connor was called for a boarding minor penalty for railing Upper Montgomery captain and senior forward Jason Woodman into the boards. Upper Montgomery was headed to their first powerplay of the game. Just as important, O’Connor was assessed the automatic misconduct penalty associated with the boarding minor. He would not be able to rejoin the game until late in overtime should the game reach that point. Unfortunately, the Lightning were unable to mount much pressure against the Bulldogs penalty killers. Upper Montgomery had one last chance in the final minute when Churchill forward George Kilavos was called for hooking. The Lightning pulled Rickman in favor of an extra skater. Even with a two skater advantage, the Lightning were not able to get a second goal.

The Lightning junior varsity has continued to improve each week. Up next will be the combined Northwest / Quince Orchard / Wootton junior varsity team. Another opponent which has won four out of their five games so far. For Upper Montgomery to be successful, the team will need to return to the strong physical style that has worked to keep faster more skilled teams at bay. It will be interesting to see what Halloween surprises come about as both programs’ varsity teams play directly after the junior varsity game. Many of the students play for both the junior varsity and varsity teams. Additionally, there is no school on the Monday following this weekend’s games. Many external travel teams will be out of town so roster composition next week will have a major impact on the results of all of the high school games.

Game Notes:

• Upper Montgomery was badly outshot during the game. Churchill had the advantage 37-8, including fourteen to one in the decisive first period and thirteen to four in the middle period.
• Lightning ninth grade goalie Stephen Rickman made his first career appearance for the team and stopped all seventeen shots he faced.
• The Lightning were two for two on the penalty kill increasing their success rate to nine for ten on the season.
• Upper Montgomery sophomore defender Matt Rivera scored on an end to end rush for the third consecutive game.
• It is the second consecutive season that Churchill senior goalie Nick Nelson held Upper Montgomery to one goal.
• The Upper Montgomery junior varsity plays their next game on Halloween afternoon, Friday, October 31st against the Northwest / Quince Orchard / Wootton combined team. Puck drop is 5:10 pm at Rockville Ice Arena.

Three Stars of the Game:

First Star—Mingshuo Chang—Churchill Defense—2 Goals, 1 Assist
Second Star—Olivia Hopkins—Churchill Defense—1 Goal, 1 Assist
Third Star—Stephen Rickman—Upper Montgomery Goalie—17 Saves, 100% Save Percentage

The Upper Montgomery Lightning varsity squad was anticipated to have a hard time scoring goals this season. With a roster littered with students that had not played meaningful minutes on the varsity team, the preseason poll had Upper Montgomery ranked eleventh out of the twelve teams in Montgomery County. The coaching staff changed the Lightning’s playing style to account for the team’s lack of experience. Upper Montgomery was going to have to play a more physical defensive style to remain competitive in games. Well, the program could not have asked for more in their season opener Friday evening against the DC Stars. It was a treat for both teams to play at the Medstar Iceplex (home of the Washington Capitals practice facility). Behind their top offensive line, the Lightning obliterated the DC Stars 8-0 in a game that was more lopsided than the final score indicates.

Honestly, the Lightning coaching staff had no idea what to expect of the team entering the game against the ninth ranked Stars. A dominant first two periods left the coaching staff uncertain of what this year’s Lightning could achieve. A four goal first period outburst gave notice to the rest of the county that Upper Montgomery needed to be taken seriously. The Lightning were going to be much better than the second to last ranked team.

Concluding the initial shift of the game, Lightning ninth grade forward Miles Gleason scored his first career high school goal. The play started with the DC Stars dumping the puck deep into the Upper Montgomery defensive zone. Junior goalie Ilan Shterenberg stopped the puck behind his own net before he handed the puck to senior defender Brady Berkhammer. Berkhammer continued to the right behind his own net before pivoting back to his left. He rushed up the left wing boards out of the Lightning defensive zone through neutral ice continuing down the boards into the DC Stars defensive zone. At the bottom of the left faceoff circle he sent a pass across the goal mouth toward Gleason cutting down the slot. Gleason fought through a Stars defender’s stick check banging in the pass past DC Stars backup goaltender Gabriel Sokol, a surprise starter in net for Lightning nemesis Anton Tracy.

Two and a half minutes later Gleason made it two for two. The Stars cleared their defensive zone carrying the puck into the Upper Montgomery defensive zone where they lost control of the puck in the right defensive corner. A Stars forward carried the puck around the back of the Lightning net toward the left corner where he was harassed by Upper Montgomery senior forward Philip Shkeda. Shkeda’s persistence on defense led to a turnover up the left wing boards. Lightning captain, senior center Owen Robbins gathered the puck feathering a beautiful bank pass up the left wing boards out of the defensive zone. Gleason used his speed to skate in from the right wing past all of the Stars defenders to collect the puck in the left faceoff circle in the Stars defensive zone. Gleason cut in on Sokol shooting low, far side past Sokol’s glove hand to extend the Lightning lead to 2-0.

After the two quick goals, the Stars were shell shocked. They played much more conservatively over the next eight minutes of game time. It still didn’t slow down Upper Montgomery as the top line, with Berkhammer’s contributions from the back end, flew into the offensive zone every shift. The only saving grace for the Stars was that many of the Lightning’s shots just missed the net high or wide, or on a few occasions, wide open empty net chances were thwarted by passes that just missed the mark by a fraction.

With two and a half minutes remaining in the opening period, Upper Montgomery tallied again. The Stars defense reversed the puck in the left corner of their own defensive end managing to get the puck out to neutral ice. Lightning junior defender Miles Wendland gathered the puck in the neutral zone where he made a swift pass up to Robbins who was standing at center ice. Robbins deflected the puck off of his backhand deep into the Stars defensive end down the left wing boards. The puck spun all the way behind the Stars net where in error the Stars defense sent an attempted outlet pass directly to Robbins in the bottom of the left faceoff circle. Robbins fired a quick snap shot at Sokol. His shot was stopped by Shkeda in the slot, with the forward sending a spinning backhand shot past Sokol for his initial goal of the evening and season.

The Lightning were not done. With less than thirty seconds remaining in the first period the score bulged to 4-0. From a faceoff in the right faceoff circle in the offensive zone, Robbins won the draw to the right wing boards. A corner battle ensued where the Stars fired the puck to the right point where Robbins’ younger sister sophomore defender Lillian Robbins kept the puck in the offensive zone. Her shot sailed wide of the net caroming around to the Wendland at the left point. Wendland’s shot was blocked by the Stars defensive just outside the crease. Owen Robbins smacked the puck toward the goal were Sokol made a save with the puck returning to Robbins. He carried the puck around the net from left to right. Clearing the right goal post he centered the puck off of his backhand for Gleason in the slot. The pass banged off of Gleason’s legs toward the net where it eluded Sokol. Gleason’s first period hat-trick sent the teams to intermission with the Stars reeling, not knowing what ran through them over the opening fifteen minutes of action.

The second period was a repeat of the first fifteen minutes. A minute and a half into the second period, the score became 5-0. Shkeda carried the puck down the right wing into the Stars defensive zone. He layered the puck to Owen Robbins behind the net. Robbins took the puck out the right side where he reversed the puck back to Shkeda. While the DC Stars were puck watching, Shkeda had stepped out from behind the goal line right in front of the net. Shkeda’s backhand shot was blocked by the Stars defense. Gleason corralled the puck in the left faceoff circle. He dumped the puck down low to Berkhammer who had skated in from his left defensive position to support the play. Berkhammer had the puck below the goal line in the right corner. He took the puck behind the net to the left, then reversed and returned to the right where he sent a saucer pass over a Stars defender’s stick to Gleason still in the left faceoff circle. Gleason swung the puck across the ice to Robbins covering at the right point. Robbins’ shot through traffic hit pay dirt as it whizzed past Sokol seven hole between his body and stick side arm. After a three assist first period, Robbins had his initial goal of the season.

Four minutes later Gleason had his fourth goal of the evening. The Stars defense dumped the puck into the Upper Montgomery defensive zone. Berkhammer controlled the puck to the left of the Lightning net. He looked up ice spotting Gleason breaking down the right wing. A beautiful stretch pass hit him in stride between the red line and offensive blue line. Gleason accepted the pass heading in alone on a breakaway. With the Stars defense hustling back to try to cut off Gleason, the speedy forward stayed to the right. He made a quick head fake like he was going toward the middle of the net. Instead, he fired a wrist shot from six feet in front of the net high just inside the near side goal post, once again picking on Sokol’s glove hand. Before the second period was six minutes old, the game had transitioned into running clock. It also enabled the Upper Montgomery coaching staff to begin rolling forward lines giving the younger students regular shifts in a varsity game with little pressure attached.

Late in the second period, Shkeda would score his second goal of the evening. Off of a faceoff in the left faceoff circle in the Lightning offensive zone, Robbins won the draw to the left wing boards to Shkeda. Shkeda immediately sent the puck to the left point to Wendland. Wendland’s long range wrist shot was blocked by the Stars defense which allowed them to clear their defensive zone. Gleason backtracked to possess the puck in the neutral zone. He skated the puck into the offensive zone down the left wing boards. At the bottom of the left wing circle he sent a backhand pass toward Owen Robbins cutting toward the net from the right faceoff circle. Gleason’s pass was slightly off the mark, just a little behind Owen Robbins. The puck went all the way through to the right point where it was kept in the offensive zone by Lillian Robbins. She sent the puck low to the right corner finding Gleason. Gleason’s second attempt to find Owen Robbins in the right faceoff circle was successful, once both Stars defenders went after the puck and missed it. Owen Robbins fired past Sokol low to the near side with the puck striking iron. Shkeda hunted for the rebound sliding the puck low along the ice to the far side of the net before Sokol could locate the rebound.

The only question at the start of the third period was whether or not Shterenberg would earn his first career varsity shutout. At 7-0 the game was over. Two minutes into the third period, Shkeda tallied to earn his first career high school hat-trick. The Stars cleared their defensive zone. The attempted outlet pass was intercepted by Berkhammer in neutral ice. Berkhammer entered the offensive zone down the left side where he was stood up by the Stars defense. The puck was left for Shkeda just inside the offensive blue line. Shkeda sent the puck wide over to the right for Gleason in the right faceoff circle. Gleason’s quick release snapped a wrist shot high and wide of the net. The puck rolled around the boards all the way to Upper Montgomery sophomore defender Matt Rivera at the left point. Rivera dropped the puck to the left corner for Berkhammer. Berkhammer and Shkeda interchanged passing the puck back and forth. Berkhammer took the puck hard to the net where he lost possession. The puck tumbled into the slot where it caromed off the DC Stars defense until Shkeda backhand smacked the puck at the net. Sokol stood unsuspecting as the puck went past his skates into the goal. The only matter left to decide was whether the Lightning could play a solid thirteen minutes of defensive hockey to preserve Shterenberg’s first ever goose egg.

With the lopsided victory the Lightning served notice to the county that the team is far better than the second to last place team. The eight goals were the most scored in the county during the opening week of conference action. Upper Montgomery could have kept scoring, but pulled back once the game was out of hand. The only downside to the obliteration of the DC Stars is now the Lightning will not sneak up on any team in the county. Everyone will be prepared to play the Lightning keen on stopping the team’s offense. Will the offensive explosion continue next week against the Silver Spring Blazers, another team projected to be better than Upper Montgomery? Or, was the Lightning’s offensive performance a one time mirage due to how bad the DC Stars might be this season? Time will tell.

Game Notes:

• Upper Montgomery was outshot in the game 25-22. The Lightning scored eight goals on their 22 shots on net.
• Upper Montgomery forward Miles Gleason’s six points are a program record for a ninth grader. 
• Upper Montgomery forward Miles Gleason is the first Lightning ninth grade varsity student athlete to score a hat-trick in his first ever high school game.
• After the first week of the season, Upper Montgomery has the top three scorers in the county, Gleason, Owen Robbins, and Berkhammer.
• Upper Montgomery senior forward Philip Shkeda scored his first career high school hat-trick.
• Lightning junior goalie Ilan Shterenberg stopped all 25 shots on goal for his first career varsity shutout.
• With his four assists, senior defender Brady Berkhammer made a huge dent in closing the gap in the number of assists he needs to qualify for the Maryland Student Hockey League High School Hockey Hall of Fame.
• Upper Montgomery senior captain Owen Robbins’ five point evening set a personal career high for points a game.
• Upper Montgomery did not have a powerplay in the game.
• The Upper Montgomery varsity is next in action on Friday, October 24th when the team plays the Silver Spring Blazers. Game time is 8:30 pm at the Rockville Ice Arena.

Three Stars of the Game:

First Star—Miles Gleason—Upper Montgomery Forward—4 Goals, 2 Assists
Second Star—Brady Berkhammer—Upper Montgomery Defense—4 Assists
Third Star—Ilan Shterenberg—Upper Montgomery Goalie—25 Save Shutout, 1 Assist

The Upper Montgomery Lightning junior varsity played a team with comparable talent on Friday night when they met up with the DC Stars at the Medstar Iceplex (home of the Washington Capitals practice facility). Not having to play one of the top teams in the county was all the team needed to hear. The young Lightning took it from there burying the Stars with an avalanche of goals to earn their first victory of the season. Although the teams appeared to be evenly matched on paper, Upper Montgomery was by far the stronger team and had an enormous advantage in net.

The game got off to a bit of an odd start as Upper Montgomery sophomore forward Max Israfilbek encountered a skate problem that forced him to miss the entire first period of the game. With the coaching staff already having to adjust the lines to account for the absence of junior defender Max Curtusan, the list of available forwards had shrunk considerably. Senior captain Jason Woodman dropped back to play defense and with Israfilbek not out on the ice, the Lightning were down to six available forwards. After the first couple of shifts, the Lightning settled down into two cohesive forward lines.

Three and a half minutes into the game, Lightning sophomore defender, alternate captain Matt Rivera gave Upper Montgomery the lead. For the second consecutive game he raced up ice on an end to end rush something the coaching staff has been encouraging him to do more and more. The Stars had the puck in the Upper Montgomery defensive zone. A shot from the left faceoff circle flew wide of the net. Rivera picked up the puck in his left defensive corner. He carried the puck up ice out of the defensive zone down the left side of the ice. He traveled through neutral ice down into the DC Stars defensive zone. At the top of the left faceoff circle he he cut towards the slot before swerving back toward the left goal post. As he neared the crease he skated to the right while shooting with his forehand back against where he had skated in from. Stars goalie Rhys Seiden-Maloney hurried to his left in anticipation of Rivera continuing to go across the crease. He was caught by surprise and way out of position when Rivera lifted the puck into the wide open near side of the net for his second goal of the season.

The flow of the game for the next seven minutes was choppy. Upper Montgomery’s defensive style was out of sync with the lineup changes. With just under five minutes left in the first period, the Stars took advantage. A Stars defender took possession of the puck in his own defensive zone. He quickly passed the puck wide to the left wing to Stars forward Harry Fishman. Fishman was stood up in neutral ice so he fired the puck back over to the right where fellow forward Felix Fougere stood at the center red line. Fougere entered the Lightning defensive zone on the right side of the ice. With both Upper Montgomery defenders converging on him along with a back checking Lightning forward, Fougere sent a nifty centering pass to Robert Joachim. Joachim found himself all alone because of the overplay by the Upper Montgomery defense. He faked a shot deking around Lightning netminder Porter Stutsrim-Lyons to the right side of the net. With a prone Stutsrim-Lyons looking on hoping that Joachim would lose control of the puck, it was not to be as Joachim deposited the puck into the open net evening the score with his second goal of the season.

With the score tied Upper Montgomery showed a burst offensively over the final five minutes of the opening period, almost as if the DC Stars goal served as a wake up call. An Upper Montgomery dump into the DC Stars defensive end was stopped by Seiden-Maloney. He shifted the puck to his defense. Lightning ninth grade right wing Tima Zamaray came in hard on the forecheck. The Stars defender skated directly into Zamaray who lifted the puck off his stick. From the left faceoff circle, Zamaray sent a wrist shot high to the far side of the net. Seiden-Maloney got his glove up but not high enough. The puck clipped off the top of the goalie’s glove dropping down towards the goal line. It snaked across the goal line just before Upper Montgomery junior forward Mason Jagoz buried it to the back of the net. Zamaray’s first career high school goal gave Upper Montgomery the lead once again.

On the duo’s next shift they connected to increase Upper Montgomery’s lead to 3-1. Off of a faceoff in neutral ice outside the Stars defensive blue line, junior center Jackson Schickler won the faceoff forward. Zamaray reached the puck first heading down the right wing into the offensive zone. At the bottom of the right faceoff circle, he sent a spinning backhand pass to the slot. Jagoz controlled the sharp pass on his own backhand, took a step toward the net, and roofed a rising backhand shot high over Seiden-Maloney’s stick and blocker for his first goal of the season.

The second period saw Israfilbek return to active participation in the game. His arrival jumbled up the line combinations. It took the Lightning a few minutes to get settled back into their attack mode. Just as they were getting more comfortable Israfilbek was called for a roughing penalty. While shorthanded, Zamaray was penalized for interference. Down two skaters for the second time in three games, the Lightning deployed ninth grade center Wyatt Ostrander along with Rivera and ninth grade defender Dylan Kim to perform penalty killing duties. The trio was once again excellent at keeping the DC Stars to the perimeter allowing Stutsrim-Lyons to clearly see the Stars long-range shots.

After the successful penalty kill the Lightning went back on the offensive. Unfortunately, many good scoring chances flittered away shot wide of the goal or blocked in the slot in front of Seiden-Maloney. From a faceoff in the left faceoff circle in the offensive end, the Lightning lost the draw. With possession in the right defensive corner, the Stars defense wrapped the puck along the rim of the boards behind their net up the left side boards. Upper Montgomery ninth grade defender Lenny Roth charged in from his right point position cutting off the puck. In one motion he sent the puck up in the air toward the net. The shot from along the right wing boards outside the faceoff circle arched toward the net landing just as Seiden-Maloney reached out his glove to catch the puck. The puck squirted under Seiden-Maloney’s glove and between his legs. For Roth, his first career high school goal gives him bragging rights in the family as his older brother Jake concluded his Lightning hockey career having scored no goals. More importantly, the late second period unassisted strike gave Upper Montgomery some breathing room.

Upper Montgomery had fifteen minutes remaining to capture their first victory of the season. Roth’s goal was key as it gave the Lightning a bit of a cushion at 4-1. Five minutes into the third period, Roth’s goal took on additional importance as the Stars cut the Upper Montgomery lead to 4-2. The Lightning had the puck in the DC Stars defensive zone. A body check by the Stars defense jostled the puck loose just ahead of the goal line in the left defensive corner. The loose puck was picked up by Fougere. He traveled down the left wing all the way from his defensive end to the Upper Montgomery defensive zone. He cut wide outside of the Upper Montgomery defense. When he was at the top of the left faceoff circle he cut to the net. Woodman came over to poke check the puck instead twisting Fougere. As he was falling through the low slot area, Fougere shot a wrist shot high across his body to the top left corner of the net. The shot went over Stutsrim-Lyons’ stick and blocker for his first goal of the season.

With renewed energy by cutting the score to 4-2 the Stars started to increase their physical play. Upper Montgomery focused solely on defense and getting the puck out of the defensive zone. The defensive alignment worked perfectly as it neutralized the Stars over the next seven minutes of game action. As the clock ticked under three minutes remaining, Zamaray controlled the puck at the center red line. He carried the puck through the neutral zone down the middle of the ice to the Stars defensive zone. As a DC Stars defender fell, Zamaray lost control of the puck attempting to stickhandle through the entire Stars defense. The puck made its way into the left corner. Zamaray kept his legs moving beating the DC Stars to the puck. He centered a pass to the slot. The puck went straight through the slot to Roth at the right point. Roth’s shot went high and well wide of the net. A Stars forward failed to clear the puck with Woodman keeping the puck in at the left point. Woodman sent the puck bouncing into the slot where it was picked up by Zamaray. He backhand shuffled the puck toward the net where it somehow trickled through Seiden-Maloney’s five hole for his second goal of the game. The Upper Montgomery lead was 5-2 with 2:39 remaining.

Twenty seconds later on the next shift the Lightning salted the game away. Jagoz won the center ice faceoff forward. He retrieved the puck between the DC Stars defenders carrying the puck into the Stars defensive zone. He traveled into the left corner, then around the net coming out into the right faceoff circle. He passed the puck into the slot for Zamaray. The puck ricocheted off Zamaray’s stick to the center point of the blue line. Kim smacked the puck forward toward the slot where it deflected off a Stars defender bouncing right to the feet of Upper Montgomery ninth grade forward Miriam Baron. Baron played the puck as she was blown up by a massive illegal check. The puck went past the last Stars defender to Jagoz all alone in the low slot. He had no trouble elevating a wrist shot over Seiden-Maloney’s glove hand to the top right corner of the net for his second goal of the game.

Jagoz finished the scoring thirty seconds later with his first career hat-trick. The puck was played to the right defensive corner by Stutsrim-Lyons. Zamaray picked up the puck carrying it back around the Lightning net up ice down the left wing boards. As he traveled through the left faceoff circle in the offensive zone he went around the Stars defender cutting toward the goal looking for his own hat-trick. Zamaray tried to stuff the puck past Seiden-Maloney stick side at the near post. The goalie who was under fire all game stopped the stuff attempt. Jagoz, following the play to the doorstep of the crease, slid the rebound between his legs.

The Lightning junior varsity was only able to celebrate their victory for a few minutes before the team had to change locker rooms and get ready for the varsity game directly following the win. Getting their first win of the season should give the junior varsity a boost of confidence moving forward. The outcome was huge for qualifying for the season ending junior varsity playoffs as the Lightning will likely be battling the Stars and the Whitman Vikings for one of the final playoff spots.

Game Notes:

• Upper Montgomery outshot the DC Stars 35-26 for the game. It was a turnaround from the first two games of the season where the Lightning were badly outshot by the opposition.
• Lightning junior forward Mason Jagoz scored his first career hat-trick by scoring all three of his goals within eight feet of the net.
• Upper Montgomery ninth grade forward Tima Zamaray scored his first career high school goal as part of a four point evening on two goals and two assists.
• Upper Montgomery ninth grade defender Lenny Roth scored his first career high school goal.
• Lightning sophomore defender Matt Rivera scored on an end to end rush for the second consecutive game.
• In addition to earning the victory, Lightning sophomore goaltender Porter Stutsrim-Lyons was credited with an assist on the last goal of the evening.
• Upper Montgomery ninth grade forward Miriam Baron collected her first career high school point with an assist.
• Lightning ninth grade defender Dylan Kim had an assist notching his first career high school point.
• Upper Montgomery killed off yet another 5-3 powerplay, increasing their powerplay effectiveness to 87.5% for the season.
• Upper Montgomery played without their most hulking defender when junior Max Curtusan missed the game with an upper body injury.
• The Upper Montgomery junior varsity is next in action the afternoon of Friday October 24th when the team plays the undefeated 3-0-1 Churchill Bulldogs. Game time is early, a 4:05 pm puck drop at the Rockville Ice Arena.

Three Stars of the Game:

First Star—Tima Zamaray—Upper Montgomery Forward—2 Goals, 2 Assists
Second Star—Mason Jagoz—Upper Montgomery Forward—3 Goals
Third Star—Felix Fougere—DC Stars Forward—1 Goal, 1 Assist

The 2025 – 2026 Upper Montgomery Lightning junior varsity played a whale of a first half of the game on Friday evening versus the Rockville / Magruder Rams. The team played outstanding defensive hockey. The forwards came back into the defensive zone well. The defenders played tough in the defensive zone. The entire team hit everything that moved. Then, one bad bounce of the puck midway through the second period turned what was a close game into a deluge of Rockville / Magruder goals that made the 7-1 final score look more lopsided than the game really was.

In what was a much better performance by the Lightning than a week ago in their 3-2 season opening loss to the Silver Spring Blazers, the young Lightning roster seemed to thrive playing its brand of physical hockey. As the game remained close, the Upper Montgomery skaters gained confidence playing with the older, more experienced Rams. Even though the game was quite physical on both sides, the game was cleanly played. Each team had only one powerplay opportunity. Both infractions wound up being stick related, tripping and hooking.

The Rams had the better of play early on in the game badly outshooting the Lightning fifteen to four in the opening period. Right from the start Upper Montgomery laid the body. For one short instance in the first two minutes of the game the Lightning failed to contain in the defensive end. The Rams immediately took advantage. Upper Montgomery cleared the puck to the neutral zone. Rams forward Keaton Spence possessed the puck bringing it into the Upper Montgomery defensive zone down the right wing. He cut to the middle of the ice and moved the puck over to Rockville / Magruder forward Daniel Cleary. Cleary’s wrist shot from the left circle was blocked by the Lightning defense in front of the net. Cleary regained possession of the puck before sending it to the left point to Rams forward Kamea Case. Case rang a shot high off the crossbar where it caromed to the right wing. Rams defender Adam Suitor snuck in from his right point position. While positioned outside of the outer edge of the right faceoff circle, he fired a shot high to the short side past Lightning ninth grade goalie George Schickler for his third goal of the season. Schickler making his first career start for Upper Montgomery had gone down a tad early which opened up the top right corner of the net.

Outside of that one blip, the Lightning continued to pound the body with an effectiveness not regularly seen from Upper Montgomery over the past several seasons. As the game progressed to the end of the first period, Lightning sophomore center Decklin Hughes was called for tripping. Unlike in their season opener, Upper Montgomery’s penalty killers stayed in position keeping the Rams to the outside. Schickler had no trouble making saves on the long range chances. A minute into the second period Hughes returned to the ice allowing Upper Montgomery to get back to their hard physical defensive play.

At the eight minute mark of the second period, the Lightning pushed the puck out of their defensive zone. The bouncing puck was touched by Suitor to Rams forward Dylan Singer. Singer brought the puck into the Upper Montgomery defensive zone. From the high slot, he sent a wrist shot at Schickler. The young netminder made the initial save with the puck shooting out into the slot. The bouncing puck jumped over Upper Montgomery ninth grade defender Dylan Kim’s stick as he was trying to swat the puck into the corner. Cleary was trailing Kim as he went to the net. As he closed in toward the puck it was laying nicely along the ice. Cleary had time to push the puck at the net where it went past Schickler’s left leg pad for his fifth goal of the season.

Now down by two goals, the young Lightning deviated from the game plan trying to make something happen thinking they were falling out of the game. Upper Montgomery tried to push play up ice. Rams forward Arle Madrigal collected the puck after it was batted around by the Lightning forwards. He entered the Upper Montgomery defensive zone down the left side. His initial centering pass was blocked by the backtracking Lightning defense. The puck deflected right back to Madrigal who then sent it into the slot. Rams forward Alexander Dos Santos was on the door step of the goal. From the crease he sent the puck low past Schickler’s right leg pad for his second goal of the season.

With three and a half minutes remaining in the second period, Upper Montgomery went on the powerplay when Rams defender David Schnanzer was called for a hooking penalty. Unlike in the season opener when Upper Montgomery converted on both of their powerplays, the Lightning rarely were able to gain possession of the puck. Rockville / Magruder easily killed off Schnanzer’s penalty without allowing a shot on goal. The lone offensive bright spot for the Lightning came just before the end of the second period.

Rockville / Magruder had the puck in the Upper Montgomery defensive zone. Schickler made a save on the Rams’ twentieth shot of the period. Upper Montgomery sophomore defender Matt Rivera retrieved the puck behind his own net. He skated down the right wing out of the defensive zone. As he moved through the neutral zone he veered to the middle of the ice. At the attacking blue line he cut back to the right side of the ice. Rivera went around the Rams defense before cutting to the left in front of the net. He lifted a left handed forehand shot up over the stick and blocker of Rams goalie Daniel Gargarin who had replaced Rockville / Magruder’s starting netminder Nathaniel Khasilev halfway through the second period. For Rivera it was his first career high school goal after several golden opportunities in his ninth grade season. He just beat the buzzer scoring with two seconds left in the middle period on the Lightning’s ninth shot against the Rams goalies.

Feeling like they had momentum, Upper Montgomery was eager to get the third period started. Once the period began, Rockville / Magruder took a stranglehold on the game in under a minute. From the center ice faceoff, the puck was taken at the Rams defensive blue line by forward Violet Pfeufer. She skated down the right wing into the Lightning defensive zone where she cut to the slot. The puck came loose as she continued to stickhandle. Schickler paddled the puck to the right corner in the defensive zone. Pfeufer retrieved the puck before centering it to a wide open uncovered Jacob Sausser in the slot. Sausser fired over Schickler’s glove short side to extend the Rams lead to 4-1. It was his second goal on the season.

On the same shift with the same students on the ice, the Lightning’s deficit extended to 5-1. This time Pfeufer went down the left wing into the Upper Montgomery defensive zone. Her speed allowed her to go around the Lightning defense and separate. Her centering pass was chipped wide of the net far side. Rams forward James Berube came out of the right corner with the puck. No Lightning defender went hard after Berube so he skated near the slot before he also sent a shot short side high over Schickler’s glove to the top of the net. Berube celebrated in style after scoring his first goal of the year.

Down 5-1, with fourteen minutes remaining in the game, the Lightning got completely out of their systems and structure. This permitted the Rams to control play throughout the remainder of the game continuing to badly outshoot Upper Montgomery. Third period shots were nineteen to four in favor of Rockville / Magruder as Lightning forwards cheated up ice and gave the Rams free reign in the Lightning defensive zone.

Thirty seconds later Cleary had his second goal of the game and sixth of the season. The wheels had come off. Down by two goals entering the third period, a minute and ten seconds later Upper Montgomery was behind by five goals. From the center ice faceoff, the Rams sent the puck into the Upper Montgomery defensive zone. Suitor gained possession of the puck along the right wing boards. He passed the puck back to the center point to his defensive partner Keaton Spence. Spence cut around an onrushing Lightning forward who overcommitted coming out to guard him. From the faceoff dot inside the left faceoff circle, he flung a wrist shot on net. Schickler made yet another save. Standing in front, Cleary shoveled in the rebound.

Rockville / Magruder finished up the scoring with five minutes left in the contest. From a faceoff outside the Rams defensive blue line, the Rams won the draw. Case carried the puck along the right wing boards all the way down to the Lightning defensive end. His wrist shot from the right faceoff circle missed the net wide to the short side. Lightning ninth grade defender Lenny Roth took down a Rams forward earning a delayed penalty for roughing. With Case’s shot missing the net wide right, the puck came out the other side of the goal directly to Cleary in the slot. Cleary sent a snap shot low to the far side of the net past Schickler’s right leg pad to complete his hat-trick and increase his goal total for the season to seven.

In practice this upcoming week, the Lightning will work to correct some of the issues from their first two outings. Look for the team to bring high energy and play a full forty five minute game next week. Expect the physical approach to continue in next week’s game against the DC Stars. It should be a favorable matchup for the Lightning as the Stars are a team with comparable talent. Upper Montgomery should have a big advantage in net with sophomore goaltender Porter Stutsrim-Lyons likely getting the nod in goal. It will be an important matchup as the winner will have an inside track toward a season ending playoff birth. The loser will be hard pressed to secure enough standings points to qualify for the playoffs.

Game Notes:

• Upper Montgomery was once again badly outshot. Rockville / Magruder had the shots on goal advantage 54-17. The Rams held a nineteen to four shots on goal advantage the third period as they pulled away by scoring four goals.
• Upper Montgomery ninth grade netminder George Schickler tied a junior varsity program record with the 47 saves he made.
• It was the second straight game that Upper Montgomery permitted a hat-trick to be scored against.
• Lightning sophomore defender Matt Rivera scored his first career high school goal on an end to end rush to beat the buzzer ending the second period.
• The Upper Montgomery junior varsity plays their next game on Friday evening, October 17th against the DC Stars. The game will be played at the Washington Capitals practice facility inside the Medstar Iceplex. Game time is 5:00 pm.

Three Stars of the Game:

First Star—Daniel Cleary—Rockville / Magruder Forward—3 Goals, 1 Assist
Second Star—Adam Suitor—Rockville / Magruder Defense—1 Goal, 2 Assists
Third Star—George Schickler—Upper Montgomery Goalie—47 Saves