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Varsity MHC Quarterfinal Round Playoff Whitman Game Preview

February 9, 2024February 9, 2024 chucklevine Leave a comment

The Upper Montgomery Lightning will play one of the most important games in program history on Friday evening when the team faces off against the Whitman Vikings. The matchup will be in the quarterfinal round of the Montgomery Hockey Conference (MHC) playoffs with the winner advancing to the Maryland high school hockey state playoffs. Game time is 8:15 pm at Cabin John Ice Rink. Whitman will be looking to return to the state playoffs again this season. The Vikings reached the quarterfinals last season after beating Leonardtown 4-0 in the sweet sixteen before losing to South River in the state quarterfinals by a score of 4-1. Upper Montgomery will be looking to make the state playoffs for the first time in program history. Last season, the Lightning were oh so close, losing to reigning state champion Churchill (winners of nine consecutive state titles) in this same round of the MHC playoffs. Upper Montgomery lost in a five round shootout (3-2 in the shootout) after a one all tie though regulation and overtime. If Upper Montgomery is able to prevail on Friday, it would be a historic accomplishment and the program would be celebrating for days if not weeks and months.

Friday will be the rubber match between the programs. These two teams have played many close games over the last four seasons. Whitman won the opening game this year by a score of 7-2, but the score was not indicative of how close the game really was. The teams were tied at one with one second left in the second period. Upper Montgomery turned the tables and beat the Vikings in mid-December by a score of 3-2. Last year, Whitman won 5-3. In 2022, Upper Montgomery won 2-1. In 2021, Upper Montgomery won 1-0. Both teams anticipate that it will be a low scoring game defined by puck battles all over the ice, the neutral zone being clogged up, lots of dump ins from the red line with forecheckers charging after the opposing defense, and then chip outs by the defensive side to clear the puck back out to neutral ice. This game will not be pretty to watch. It will be a grind for the full 45 minutes of regulation and maybe longer. An interesting twist to the game comes by way of an odd scheduling quirk. Whitman has played only once over the past five weeks. That game was a stellar effort in a one to one tie against top seeded Churchill.

Upper Montgomery’s play has evolved and transformed as the regular season progressed. The return of top defender, junior Andrew Botti has calmed the back end and provided additional confidence. At around the same time, Lightning senior goaltender Landon Bernard began playing much, much better in net. The Lightning are 6-1-1 over their last eight conference games. Further, Upper Montgomery played the top public high school team in the state, Oakdale, superbly leading 1-0 with under five minutes to play before Oakdale was able to prevail. Last week, against top private high school program Bullis, Upper Montgomery was tied with under one minute to play before succumbing. The Lightning must believe there is a chance to pull the upset and defeat Whitman, the third seed in the playoff tournament bracket.

The goaltending matchup will be same as in the team’s first two games this season. Landon Bernard will be in net for Upper Montgomery. He has posted terrific statistics in the MHC playoffs this season and last year. He enters Friday’s game with a .966 save percentage and a 0.98 goals against average in his three career playoff outings, never giving up more than one goal in a game. If Bernard again plays stellar, he can steal the game by himself. He would forever be known as the goalie who took Upper Montgomery to the state playoffs for the first time. Bernard also backstopped the Lightning junior varsity to the MHC junior varsity championship two years ago. He excelled in those playoffs as well giving up only four goals over three games, including posting a shootout victory. In net for Whitman will be Ryan Graf. Graf was recently named the first team MHC All Conference goalie. Graf is a solid netminder. He went 5-4-1 this season with a 2.64 goals against average and an .899 save percentage playing against the top teams in the county.

Whitman’s calling card is their team defense. The Vikings defensive structure and the forwards ferocious back checking are second to none in the league. The Lightning’s top forward line of senior co-captain and center Chris Hassett (16GP, 15G, 19A), playing between Nathan Cassel (15GP, 11G, 18A), and Philip Shkeda (16GP, 12G, 6A) will have their hands full trying to get into the high danger areas in the offensive zone. The team’s second line will be composed of senior co-captain and center Hunter Cameron (14GP, 5G, 4A) playing with Henry Honakci (17GP, 5G, 3A) and Olivia Robbins (9GP, 2G, 2A). Cameron scored two goals in the season opener against Whitman and missed the rematch as he was in Phoenix with his external travel team. The season ending loss of Ryan Jacobson (6GP, 4G, 1A) (out long term with a lower body injury) definitely has impacted the Lightning’s secondary offensive production.

Upper Montgomery’s third offensive line will be centered by senior Bradley Cupples (13GP, 2G, 7A) playing with Adam Levine (8G, 3A) including a career high two assist game in the opening round win over Blair last week and Josh Nadler. The objective of this line will be to provide energy and tireless effort on the forecheck and along the boards. Their focus will be on chipping pucks out of the defensive zone, dumping pucks in deep behind the Whitman net, and playing on the defensive side of the puck. Any offense provided by the third line is gravy. It will be up to the high powered first line to supply offense. The Vikings want to play low scoring, tight checking games and counter attack when their opponents try and rush up ice in hopes of generating more offensive chances. The Upper Montgomery game plan will counter the Vikings desired style of play.

On defense the return of top Upper Montgomery defender Andrew Botti really did stabilize the back end. He will log extensive minutes against Whitman and will play almost exclusively with 9th grade defender Miles Wendland. Wendland has a very bright future within the program as he gets stronger over the next several years. The other defensive pairing will feature a pair of AA external travel skaters, Brady Berkhammer and Brandon Bernard (17GP, 6G, 3A). Berkhammer (17GP, 1G, 7A) scored his first career high school goal last week against Blair in the playoff opener. Bernard is dropping back to play defense this week with the absence of Owen Robbins who will miss the game as he is out of town with his external travel team. Cole Howerton will play some to spell Wendland during the game. The defensive game plan will be simplified to allow the defenders to conserve energy.

Whitman is led in scoring by talented forward Andrew Fou who has (13 GP, 15G, 10A). He is the offensive dynamo for the Vikings and the rest of the forwards play off of his successes. He has torched the Lightning over the past two years totaling four goals. The second highest scoring forward on the team is Charles Ingis with (8GP, 8G, 2A). Ingis scored the back breaking goal for the Vikings in the season opener, a breakaway goal at the beginning of the third period where he fired top shelf high over Bernard’s glove hand. He has also scored four goals against the Lightning over the past two seasons. Jacob Lerman has (13 GP, 8G, 2A). From there, the rest of the Whitman scoring is spread throughout their lineup with no other skater having more than three goals on the season.

Defensively, the Vikings high level external travel skaters dominate their lineup. AAA defender Zach Kraus is the headliner (10GP, 3G, 9A). Morrison Cohen (12GP, 2G, 7A) and Rowen Miller both play AA and will play significant minutes. Upper A ninth grade defender Stephen Mah has come on strong over the last few games. The Whitman defense is not expected to provide offense. Their job is to limit the opposition and make it hard for the Lightning to get to the net and score.

The Lightning’s powerplay has come alive over the last two games, scoring goals in back to back contests. The team simplified their system and is getting more shots on net and traffic in front. Both powerplay goals have come off of puck retrievals of missed initial shots and then a secondary shot at the net with skaters in front. Upper Montgomery is now up to 3-46 on the powerplay for the season, 6.5%. A key powerplay goal in the playoff contest versus Whitman would be huge. Conversely, Whitman has scored eleven powerplay goals this season. Whitman has given up only six powerplay goals while the Vikings have scored six shorthanded goals of their own to even out the scoring while playing with one less skater.

Within the rules, Upper Montgomery must do everything possible to win this game. With a senior heavy lineup, the program has been looking toward this opportunity for the better part of four years. The game plan devised for this tilt against Whitman will match the Vikings style of play and will provide the team with a chance to pull the upset. Anticipate a low scoring, tight checking affair where Upper Montgomery focuses on defensive coverage and defensive zone clears. It will not be a visually pleasing game, but expect the Lightning to play committed team hockey where the students focus on neutralizing Whitman’s strengths. Can the Lightning push through and make history after being so close last year? It could be a lucky bounce that decides the game late. There could be an unsung hero who rises up with a key goal. We know for sure that there will be tears in the locker room after the game. The question is whether they will be tears of joy.

#Make States, #Continue the Streak, #Get it Done, #UML, #Bleed Green, #Go Bolts!

MoCo360 Sports: Upper Montgomery solves power play problems in win over Blair

February 7, 2024February 7, 2024 chucklevine Leave a comment

After struggling all season, Lightning has power play goals in two consecutive games.

by Shaun Chornobroff

February 5, 2024, 11:04 am

Christopher Hassett (#29, Green) prepares for a faceoff against Blair on February 2nd. Credit Shaun Chornobroff

Entering this week, the Upper Montgomery hockey co-op, a team made up of students from Clarksburg, Damascus, Poolesville and Seneca Valley high schools, had yet to score a power play goal this season.

Against Bullis on January 29th, the Lightning notched their first goal with a man advantage.

In the opening period of Friday’s matchup against Blair, a co-op consisting of players from Blair, Einstein, Wheaton, Northwood and Kennedy High Schools, a tripping penalty gave Upper Montgomery a man advantage with 4:43 on the clock.

As the power play dwindled, sophomore defender Brady Berkhammer drifted into the center of the attacking zone and flicked a shot into the top left corner with 2:59 remaining, scoring the first goal of Upper Montgomery’s 5-1 victory in the opening round of the Montgomery County Tournament.

Upper Montgomery’s Brady Berkhammer (#72, green) takes the puck behind the net as Blair defenders close in on Friday. Credit Shaun Chornobroff.

After a season of laboring through wasted power play opportunities, Upper Montgomery may have solved its man advantage woes at an ideal time.

“We went back and simplified it,” said head coach Todd Hassett. “We’re keeping the lines that play together, together … so there’s at least a little better communication and they’ve done a better job.”

Upper Montgomery went into the second period holding the 1-0 lead from Berkhammer’s first high school goal. With 6:35 remaining, Nathan Cassel raced down the right side during an odd man rush and found Christopher Hassett, who took advantage of his opportunity.

After a goal from Blair’s Zander Frey made the score 2-1, Cassel scored with 4:27 remaining in the second.

The top line of Christopher Hassett, Cassel, and sophomore Philip Shkeda have carried the offensive production for Upper Montgomery all season. With Shkeda out due to illness on Friday, the pair combined for three goals and three assists.

“The three of them, for whatever reason, they just work together,” said Todd Hassett, who is also Christopher’s father. “Anytime they’re in the game together, we put them together.”

Before the game, Blair celebrated its senior night. Among the honorees was two-year starting goaltender Lily Bendavid.

Despite being credited with the loss, Bendavid was a bright spot, stopping 28 shots, which included multiple close-range opportunities.

“It gives our team so much confidence when our goalie plays like that,” said Blair Head Coach Jim Caron, who described Bendavid as the bravest player he ever coached.

In two games this season, Upper Montgomery has accumulated 10 goals against Blair. Despite that fact, Caron said the defense was the strength of this Lightning team.

Since the team’s top defenseman, Andrew Botti, returned from injury on Dec. 8, Upper Montgomery has been among the stoutest teams in the county.

In six league games against Montgomery County foes since Botti’s return, the Lightning have given up less than two goals per game. On Friday, Upper Montgomery goaltender Landon Bernard stopped 29 shots.

The final four teams of the Montgomery County Tournament move onto the statewide MSHL playoffs. Upper Montgomery will face Whitman on Friday. To be one of the four teams that qualify, Todd Hassett says his team needs to play what he calls “muck it up hockey.”

“Smart simple hockey, making the right plays, get the puck down low … do the dirty work,” said Hassett. “Go at the boards hard, win the battle, win the races, and get pucks in the net.”

Article edited for factual accuracy.

#Playoff Wins, #Our Time, #UML, #Bleed Green, #Go Bolts!

Lightning Junior Varsity Suffers Untimely First Defeat

February 5, 2024February 5, 2024 chucklevine Leave a comment

The Upper Montgomery Lightning junior varsity completed a fabulous regular season finishing with a 9-0-1 record and earning the second seed in the Montgomery Hockey Conference junior varsity playoffs. The club eagerly awaited the announcement of the tournament bracket and quickly learned that it drew the worst imaginable opponent possible in the quarterfinal round of the junior varsity playoffs. Friday night’s game played out exactly how the coaching staff expected.

BCC is really not a bottom junior varsity squad. Within the rules, teams with varsity and junior varsity eligible student athletes pick and choose how to manage the maximum and minimum games requirement. BCC places a couple of dual varsity and junior varsity eligible students in their junior varsity game day lineup each game during the regular season to help stabilize the action. All student athletes play in enough games to become junior varsity playoff eligible. Then, when the playoff arrive, all of the BCC dual rostered students compete, often playing on the same line. Thus, BCC’s junior varsity playoff roster is much better than their results during the regular season would indicate.

The first period was full of hard hits which began right from the opening faceoff. The referees did not have control of the game right from the outset, and it would show later as the game continued. BCC forward Brady Page through a few nice big hits. While shots on goal in the period were fairly even, five for Upper Montgomery and four for BCC, the territorial play was constantly in the Upper Montgomery defensive zone. This was true even when Upper Montgomery was playing with an extra skater while on both of their first period powerplays. BCC forward Ramin Jacobs was called for tripping just over three minutes into the contest and BCC defender Benjamin Lyons was called for roughing halfway through the period. Upper Montgomery barely had possession of the puck in the offensive zone on either powerplay.

With just under five minutes remaining in the opening period, BCC jumped out to a one to zero lead. From deep in the BCC defensive zone to the left of his net, BCC defender Nathaniel Shullman sent a backhand pass up the left wing boards to BCC forward Kiran Maltby. Maltby skated the puck down the left side and into the Upper Montgomery defensive zone. He curled up in the left faceoff circle and looked back toward the left point. With the point empty, he fired a cross ice pass through the crease. The puck went directly to Page standing a few feet outside the right goal post. Page shot quickly after stopping the pass beating a sliding Lightning netminder Ilan Shterenberg low to the stick side.

At the beginning of the second period, Lightning defender Cole Howerton was called for roughing. The stellar Upper Montgomery penalty kill prevented BCC from increasing their lead. When Lightning defender Miles Wendland was called for roughing halfway through the second period, the Lightning penalty kill again came through stymieing the Barons once again. With five and a half minutes left in the second period, the game resembled so many of Upper Montgomery’s regular season games, low scoring with the Lightning defending all over the ice, unblemished penalty killing, and Shterenberg making saves to keep the team in the game. Then, disaster struck. BCC cleared the puck to just outside the Upper Montgomery defensive blue line. The puck was misplayed by a Lightning defender leading to a breakaway opportunity for BCC forward Henry Swann. Swann chose to shoot a forehand shot from the crease that beat Shterenberg five hole to open up a two goal lead for the Barons.

Trailing by two goals, Upper Montgomery got out of their structure and style of play trying to force offense. BCC netminder Tycho Narrod-Malcolm had a super easy game through two periods of play with five innocent shots on goal during the first period while making just three saves in the second period. Shterenberg on the other hand was incredibly busy making highlight reel saves in the second period as BCC fired seventeen shots at him.

The play that put the game out of reach occurred near the end of the second period when BCC scored what seemed to be an insurmountable third goal. BCC advanced the puck from their defensive zone in the right corner up the right wing. Inside the Upper Montgomery defensive zone, the puck was played toward the net from the right wing boards. The puck was cut off by Howerton who cleared the puck out of the slot back over to the right wing boards. Lukas Hartnett-Mueller then sent a cross ice pass to Nicholas Mencher standing alone just outside the left post. Unguarded, Mencher sent a one-time shot past Shterenberg stick side.

The Lightning were granted a late second period powerplay when Lyons was called for slashing. Upper Montgomery was not able to generate any offensive chances. After two periods of play BCC led three to zero and the Lightning’s cinderella season was slipping away. The Lightning, who were playing without three regular skaters, were tiring. Offensively, they could generate very few chances and only fifteen minutes remained in the season.

Early in the third period, Upper Montgomery began to pressure Narrod-Malcolm more than over the previous thirty minutes of play. With just under twelve minutes left in the game, Upper Montgomery would break through. Howerton picked up the puck in his defensive one and skated diagonally up ice from the right side of the ice down the left wing. Entering the offensive zone, he carried the puck to the left circle where he unleashed a wrist shot on goal. The rebound shot out to the opposite side of the ice and to Lightning forward Sean Levine. From in front, Levine was able to bunt push the puck with his forehand into the open portion of the net past Narrod-Malcolm’s glove.

At three to one the chance of a comeback was still alive. Then, with nine and a half minutes left, the comeback became much more difficult. Lightning defender Patrick Sell was called for a major penalty for checking from behind as he leveled BCC defender Jeronimo Castano-Tellez into the side boards. The five minute major penalty sidetracked the comeback effort as the Lightning would have to kill off the five minute penalty. Causing even more harm was that a second position skater was going to have to serve the penalty. So, starting the game with nine skaters, and then dropping down to eight with Sell’s ejection for the major penalty, and then having another skater serve the penalty left the Lightning with seven skaters to kill the five minute shorthanded situation.

Led by Adam Levine, Josh Nadler, Aiden Zheng, and AJ Marks up front and by Howerton and Wendland in back, the Lightning excelled. While shorthanded, Sean Levine was assessed an elbowing penalty putting the Lightning in an even more precarious position. BCC had a five on three skater advantage for one minute and eighteen seconds and Upper Montgomery had only six skaters to utilize to kill the BCC powerplays. It was an unbelievable display of effort and desire by the remaining Lightning skaters to fight through the BCC powerplay. Upper Montgomery first neutralized the remainder of the five on three advantage and then the rest of Sean Levine’s minor penalty. Having to utilize so much energy on the defensive side and having multiple skaters play extended long shifts with several of the skaters also having to double shift due to the lack of skaters negated any real opportunity for a comeback. Upper Montgomery was not able to generate an offensive thrust over the final four minutes of the game once Sean Levine returned to the ice and then when Jason Woodman who was serving Sell’s five minute major rejoined game action.

BCC would seal the game with an empty net goal with 45 seconds remaining. Mencher finished off a nice passing sequence off of another cross ice pass from Hartnett-Mueller. Shullman who had started the play up ice and fired wide of the net was credited with the secondary assist. Shortly thereafter, the buzzer sounded on Upper Montgomery’s magical season. With many of the student athletes eligible to return again next season, new rising incoming ninth graders, and an expected influx of several student athletes from other high schools, the bar set by the 2023 – 2024 Upper Montgomery Lightning junior varsity will be very difficult to replicate. Senior Adam Levine, junior Josh Nadler, junior Cole Howerton, junior Patrick Sell, and junior TJ Gottesman have the distinction of being on the 2021 – 2022 Upper Montgomery Lightning squad that won the Montgomery Hockey Conference Junior Varsity Championship and also being on the 2023 – 2024 squad that went undefeated during the regular season.

Game Notes:

Upper Montgomery junior Josh Nadler fell one goal short of tying the junior varsity program record for goals in a season.
Upper Montgomery senior Adam Levine fell one assist short of tying the junior varsity program record for assists in a season.
Shots on goal for the game were lopsided in favor of BCC with 27 and Upper Montgomery with only 14.
Upper Montgomery ninth grade goalie Ilan Shterenberg suffered his first career junior varsity loss.
Upper Montgomery’s penalty finished the regular season perfect with a true goalie in net killing off four more penalties in the game. The Lightning killed off a five minute major to Patrick Sell and a 5-3 disadvantage to close the regular season 27-27 on the penalty kill with a goalie in net.
Senior Sean Levine scored in his final high school hockey game.
The Upper Montgomery junior varsity concluded the season with a 9-1-1 overall record. The nine wins in a season are a program record. The .863 winning percentage is also a program record.

Three Stars of the Game:

First Star—Lucas Mueller—BCC Forward—2 Assists
Second Star—Ilan Shterenberg—Upper Montgomery Goalie—24 Saves, .899 Save Percentage
Third Star—Brady Page—BCC Forward—1 Goal

Lightning Junior Varsity Thrashes Oakdale

February 2, 2024February 2, 2024 chucklevine Leave a comment

The Upper Montgomery Lightning junior varsity faced off Tuesday evening against the Oakdale Bears a top non-conference opponent. Entering the game, the talent of Oakdale placed the Lightning’s eight game season opening undefeated streak in jeopardy. Further complicating Upper Montgomery’s chances of beating Oakdale was that Lightning varsity senior co-captain Chris Hassett (a position skater) would be playing goalie in place of standout ninth grade netminder Ilan Shterenberg. All of the pre-game worry was for naught as the game quickly turned into a blowout. With the victory, the Upper Montgomery junior varsity tied the program record for wins in a season with their eighth victory.

Entering the game Oakdale goalie Zachary Sanford seemed to give the Bears a decided advantage. He played goalie whereas Upper Montgomery would be hoping that Hassett could make enough saves to provide the squad with an opportunity to stay in the game. Maybe having a position player in net lit a fire in the Lightning. Maybe the opportunity to set the team record for wins in a season was the ignitor. Whatever the motivation, the team erupted offensively and shellacked the Bears, completely outplaying Oakdale in a one-sided 10-4 destruction.

Upper Montgomery scored its first goal on the second shift of the game. Upper Montgomery center Josh Nadler scored the first of his career high four goals. It was as if Sanford was allergic to stopping anything Nadler put toward the net. His first goal came off of a faceoff in the right circle where he won the puck to the side boards. Lightning forward Jason Woodman kicked the puck back to the point to Upper Montgomery defender Miles Wendland. Wendland dumped the puck down along the boards and around the net where Upper Montgomery’s other forward, TJ Gottesman rushed over to retrieve the puck. Gottesman tripped and fell. Upon standing up, Gottesman and Woodman worked the puck free of the Bears defense. Gottesman then pushed the puck to Nadler in the left faceoff circle. Nadler’s wrist shot from a bad angle went far side along the ice and past Sanford’s left leg pad.

At the tail end of the same shift, Nadler would increase the Lightning’s lead to two. Wendland sent the puck around the boards in the Upper Montgomery defensive zone. Nadler picked the puck up along the right wing boards. He then chipped the puck by the Bears defense into neutral ice. He raced after the puck and beat the Oakdale defense to the puck. Upon entering the offensive zone, he fired a wrist shot from the right faceoff circle. The shot went far side past Sanford’s blocker into the net.

Three minutes later the Upper Montgomery lead would swell to three. Lightning defender Patrick Sell held the puck at his own blue line along the right wing boards. He flung a pass cross ice to Upper Montgomery ninth grade forward Aiden Zheng. Zheng took possession of the puck at the red line along the left wing boards. Zheng skated the puck into the offensive zone and went around the net from left to right. Nearing the right corner he turned and centered the puck to the crease where Upper Montgomery center Adam Levine used his backhand to redirect the puck under Sanford’s right leg pad. The goal was Levine’s sixth straight game recording at least one point setting the Upper Montgomery junior varsity program record.

Just five and a half minutes into the game Upper Montgomery led 3-0. To their credit, Oakdale did not quit on the game. With just under six minutes left in the first period, Oakdale cut the lead to 3-1. Off of a faceoff in the left faceoff circle, Oakdale won possession along the left wing boards. Joshua Rath skated the puck down into the left corner where he fought through the Upper Montgomery defense. As he headed toward the net underneath the red goal line he dished the puck over to Oakdale forward Ryan Baez. Baez then fed the front of the net where Bears center Shaun Hulton poked a quick backhand shot along the ice short side past Hassett.

Fifty seconds later Gottesman would provide Upper Montgomery with another three goal lead. Gottesman pressured at the right point in the Upper Montgomery defensive zone forcing a weak shot attempt towards Hassett. The shot was intercepted by Lightning forward AJ Marks. Marks skated until he was one step outside the defensive zone blue line and fired a pass up to Gottesman who had skated past the Bears defense. Marks’ pass was right on the money. Gottesman collected the puck as he crossed the offensive zone blue line onsides. Gottesman advanced to the top of the faceoff circles before he fired a wrist shot across his body to the far side of the net. The puck went low past Sanford’s glove hand just inside the right goal post.

With a minute and a half left in the period, Zheng would tally to finish the Lightning’s first period scoring onslaught. Wendland attempted to clear the puck out of the defensive zone. His clearing attempt hit Woodman and deflected over to Lightning forward Sean Levine in the right circle of the defensive zone. Levine banked the puck out of the defensive zone off the boards. Zheng chased the puck down and skated into the offensive zone down the right side of the ice. As he neared the right corner, he cut to the middle of the ice and sent a backhand shot five hole on Sanford. For a team that had difficulty scoring goals entering the game, Upper Montgomery had erupted for five goals on just eight shots on net in the period. Meanwhile, Hassett had made seven saves allowing only one goal. A couple of Hassett’s saves were of the high quality variety and earned him stick taps of appreciation from his teammates.

With a four goal bulge and the ability to play freely, Upper Montgomery began to press forward offensively. The game began to take on the appearance of a pick up game and play design details began to escape both teams. Nadler scored his third goal at the ten minute mark to push the Upper Montgomery lead to 6-1. Lightning defender Jake Roth kept the puck in at the blue line after a weak Oakdale clearing pass. He passed to Nadler wide open in the high slot. Nadler skated in a few steps closer down the slot. He fired a wrist shot low to the stick side along the ice just inside the left post for his hat-trick goal.

A minute and a half later a loud roar overtook the rink. Upper Montgomery ninth grade defender, Avery Evans picked up the puck in her defensive zone. She skated down the ice as if fired out of a cannon all the way through the neutral zone and into the offensive zone. From the bottom of the left circle and from a bad angle, Evans shot the puck toward the net. The puck went over Sanford’s leg pads and under his glove before settling over the goal line. It was Evans’ first career high school goal and the jubilant team celebration added to the night’s festivities.

With a six goal lead in the second period, the game turned into running clock. Oakdale was called for the first penalty of the game for too many skaters on the ice with just over three minutes left in the second period. Upper Montgomery’s condensed powerplay due to the running clock was disastrous. With the large lead, the Upper Montgomery coaching staff utilized skaters not normally used on the powerplay. The Bears took advantage. Oakdale defender Daniel King retrieved an Upper Montgomery dump in deep in the Bears defensive zone. From the right faceoff circle he skated up ice along the right wing boards heading out of his defensive zone. He skated past Upper Montgomery’s left defender and then the right defender overplayed the play. King cut around the second Lightning defender to the middle of the ice. Entering the offensive zone he drifted left to the inside edge of the left faceoff circle. King then shot back across from where he had just skated into the far side of the net. The puck whizzed past Hassett’s left leg pad under his glove for the unassisted shorthanded goal.

The second period ended with the score 7-2 in favor of the Lightning. Hassett again made seven saves. Through two periods he had stopped 14 of 16 shots on goal. Sanford had a better period making saves on five of the seven shots fired at him during the second period. However, through thirty minutes of game action he had made eight saves and had allowed seven goals.

At the end of the second period, Sell took an interference penalty. Up until this point in the season, Upper Montgomery had been perfect on the penalty kill. Oakdale would end that streak with the qualifier that Hassett was in net. The puck was dumped into the Upper Montgomery zone and went on net. Hassett steered the puck aside into the right corner. Hulton raced in and retrieved the puck before the unassuming Lightning penalty killers (who had all anticipated that Hassett would play the slow rolling puck up ice to one of the skaters or directly out of the zone on his own). Hulton skated behind the net with the puck, then reversed course and came out in front near side. His short pass to Oakdale forward Morgan Venezie at the right post was immediately wristed past Hassett’s glove as Hassett was trying to track down where the puck might be on the transition from behind the net to out in front.

The score had closed to 7-3 with nearly the entire third period to be played. A minute later any Oakdale comeback thoughts were erased by Nadler. Nadler broke up the play in the Upper Montgomery defensive zone. Woodman made an outlet pass up to Gottesman through neutral ice. Gottesman took the puck into the offensive zone along the right side. Gottesman’s pass from the right side was behind both Nadler and Woodman. Woodman hustled to the left wing boards and crashed into the boards and the Bears defending forward. While doing so, he was able to knock the puck further down the boards to Nadler. Nadler took the puck directly at the net shooting into and ultimately past Sanford’s feet.

Two minutes later Gottesman would score his second goal of the night off of a Bears turnover. The puck was in the Oakdale defensive zone behind the net. The Bears defender chipped the puck off the boards on the left wing side. Nadler stepped in front of the puck and played the puck forward a few feet to Gottesman in the left faceoff circle. Gottesman fired far side into Sanford’s leg pads. He followed up his shot and knocked the rebound into the net five hole.

Even though there was still 11:30 left in the game, at 9-3 with running clock the game was effectively over. Gottesman threw a bad hit in the corner to earn a boarding penalty and a ten minute misconduct ending his evening early. The Lightning easily killed off the Bears powerplay this time. Then, after Upper Montgomery returned to even strength, Wendland was called for tripping. It was more a penalty in light of the score rather than an actual penalty. With the game out of hand, and with back to back penalty kills, the Upper Montgomery coaches utilized different skaters on the second penalty kill. King would score his second unassisted goal of the game with six minutes left. He had possession of the puck behind his own net and went end to end on a rush up ice. Entering the Lightning defensive zone down the left wing, he skated around the Lightning defender and cut to the net. He sent a backhand shot far side past Hassett’s left leg pad.

As the clock wound down with under two minutes left, Marks would tally Upper Montgomery’s tenth and final goal of the game. After Hassett made a save, Roth banged the puck around the net up the right wing boards. Sean Levine carried the puck up to the blue line along the right wing boards. Levine was tripped up. The puck was then swatted out of the defensive zone by Roth and went straight to Marks in the neutral zone. Marks stickhandled and weaved his way up ice into the Upper Montgomery offensive zone. From the inner edge of the right faceoff circle, he shot far side low over Sanford’s left leg pad.

Upper Montgomery closes the regular season with an important game against the Blair Blazers. The team has earned an opening round bye in the upcoming Montgomery Hockey Conference junior varsity playoffs. A victory over the Blazers would set the junior varsity program record for wins in a season and would earn the Lightning a top two seed in the playoff tournament. On Thursday, history could be made!

Game Notes:

Josh Nadler set a career high in goals with four. He also added an assist for a five point game, tied for second all time in program history for points in a game.
Josh Nadler now has a team leading eleven goals on the season.
Adam Levine scored a goal increasing his consecutive game points streak to six straight games with at least one point, also a junior varsity team record.
Jason Woodman had three assists, a career high in assists in a game and points in a game.
TJ Gottesman leads the junior varsity in scoring with eight goals and five assists for thirteen points. His eight goals extend his career high.
Shots on goal for the game were basically even, Oakdale with 24 and Upper Montgomery with 22.
Upper Montgomery’s penalty kill gave up two goals with Chris Hassett in net ending a run of 22 straight successful penalty kills to begin the season.
The Lightning need to win their final conference game of the season to secure a top two seed in the upcoming Montgomery Hockey Conference junior varsity playoffs.
The Upper Montgomery junior varsity returns to game action on Thursday evening, January 4th for their final regular season conference game against Blair. A victory over the Blazers would set a program record for wins in a season with nine. A victory over the Blazers would cap an undefeated regular season at 9-0-1. Game time is 5:45 pm at Wheaton Ice Rink.

Three Stars of the Game:

First Star—Josh Nadler—Upper Montgomery Center—4 Goals, 1 Assist
Second Star—TJ Gottesman—Upper Montgomery Forward—2 Goals, 2 Assists
Third Star—Jason Woodman—Upper Montgomery Forward—3 Assists

Varsity MHC Opening Round Playoff Game Blair Preview

February 1, 2024February 1, 2024 chucklevine Leave a comment

The Upper Montgomery Lightning open the Montgomery Hockey Conference playoffs hosting the Blair Blazers. The game will be a rematch of a late January game won by Upper Montgomery 5-0. Game time on Friday is 8:20 pm at Rockville Ice Arena. The Lightning finished the regular season strong with a 5-1-1 conclusion to the conference schedule and very close losses to both Oakdale (led 1-0 with under five minutes remaining) and to Bullis this past Monday (tied with 40 seconds remaining). Blair is the third lowest ranked team in the conference having only beaten the lowest ranked team (Churchill 2) three times and edging past Northwest/Quince Orchard (second lowest ranked team) playing without its starting goalie. Upper Montgomery needs to guard against playing down to Blair’s level and being overconfident. The Lightning will need to bring it and dominate right from the beginning of the game and not let off the gas.

In net for Upper Montgomery will be senior Landon Bernard. Bernard has played very well of late and was stellar in Monday’s game against Bullis making 41 saves. His goals against average has shrunk by two goals per game over the back half of the season. His save percentage over his past seven starts is a stalwart .906. His 24 save shutout over Blair on senior night will make for a nice memory years from now. Upper Montgomery will only go as far in the playoffs as Bernard’s play takes the team. The Blazers will play Lily Ben David in net. She has a 5.71 goals against average and a .729 save percentage. She plays behind a porous defense and does well just to provide her team a chance to win against the lower competition Blair has faced this season. In the recent game against Upper Montgomery, she stopped 17 of 22 shots on goal. Upper Montgomery will need to do a much better job generating offense this time around and getting shots on goal.

Upper Montgomery may be dangerous while shorthanded as Ben David has been beaten ten times while Blair has been on the powerplay. On the flip side, Blair has done a nice job on the penalty kill giving up just two powerplay goals on the season. This does not bode well for the Lightning who have a ghastly powerplay currently sitting at 1-44 on the season after finally cashing in versus Bullis on Monday. Anticipate major changes to the Upper Montgomery powerplay including personnel changes to try and spark the dormant Lightning powerplay. To say Upper Montgomery has been challenged all season long while on the powerplay is certainly an understatement.

Upper Montgomery had hoped this season for balanced goal scoring throughout its lineup. Last season’s top line of Chris Hassett, Nathan Cassel, and Philip Shkeda has continued to produce again this season. Unfortunately, it has been a continual search for other student athletes to step up and match last year’s offensive production. In last Friday’s game against Rockville, the top line scored all five goals. Against Bullis, the top line scored both goals. There was no secondary scoring. Hassett (15GP, 13G, 17A) and Cassell (14GP, 10G, 17A) have alternated the team lead in assists and points throughout the season. A beautiful give and go passing sequence between the two led to Cassel’s overtime winner on Friday night. A very nice passing sequence between Shekda and Cassel led to the late game tying goal against Bullis with a minute and a half remaining in the game. Shkeda (16GP, 12G, 6A) had been tied for the team lead in goals until Friday. The season ending injury to Ryan Jacobson (6GP, 4G, 1A) drastically impacted the Lightning’s secondary offense. Hunter Cameron has chipped in nicely with (13GP, 5G, 4A). He has scored two goals in two different games, and Cameron scored the tying goal late in the third period against the DC Stars. Each of the team’s other forwards, Brandon Bernard (16G, 5G, 3A), Bradley Cupples (12GP, 2G, 5A), Olivia Robbins (8GP, 2G, 2A), and Henry Honacki (16GP, 5G, 3A) have each played well in a few games where they have accumulated the majority of their points on the season.

The Blazers are led offensively by Jackson Martindill (9GP, 7G, 4A). Chen Chen-Ye is next with (9GP, 4G, 5A). Long-time agitator Ari Garnder leads the team in goals (8GP, 8G, 1A). The Blazers defense has chipped in offensively. Joseph Killebrew (11GP, 4G, 4A), Wyatt Bakalis (9GP, 2G, 2A), and Danilo Azcarate (10GP, 3G, 1A) have provided some complementary scoring. BUT, it is hard to judge these offensive figures as most of the games Blair has played is against very weak competition. Against stronger competition Blair has been involved in one sided games, with the Blazers getting destroyed and scoring two or fewer goals.

On defense the Lightning struggled out of the gate. With top defender Andrew Botti out for the first eight games of the season, Upper Montgomery had difficulty keeping teams out of the high danger areas. With Botti back, the team has played much more responsibly. Senior co-captain Cameron has played several games on defense to help anchor and provide stability on the back end. Sophomores Brady Berkhammer and Owen Robbins will see substantial playing time against the Blazers. Ninth grader Miles Wendland will likely pair with Botti. Expect Cole Howerton to play as the game progresses. If the game tightens up, Olivia Robbins may join her brother on the back end. Outside of Cameron’s production in October’s season opener against Whitman where he scored both Upper Montgomery goals, all other Upper Montgomery defensive skaters have contributed no goals and 17 assists in 61 combined games played.

It’s time to prove it. The playoffs are here. There is no tomorrow for the teams that lose in the opening round of the Montgomery Hockey Conference playoffs. The Lightning have begun to show much more fight and desire as the season has progressed. The effort against Bullis was outstanding. Now, the team needs to back up that performance. Blair does not care about how well Upper Montgomery has been playing. The Blazers are going to look at the matchup as their state playoff game. Blair is going to try and stymie the Lightning, do to Upper Montgomery what Upper Montgomery has been doing to other teams. Blair has nothing to lose and will come to play. Upper Montgomery must dig deep and perform. Whatever it takes. There is no tomorrow, just move on and advance to the Montgomery Hockey Conference quarterfinals. Anyhow, Anyway!

#Advance, #Extend the Streak, #UML, #Our Time, #Bleed Green, #Go Bolts!

Breaking News: Chris Hassett to be Inducted into the Maryland Student Hockey League Hockey Hall of Fame.

January 28, 2024March 18, 2024 chucklevine Leave a comment

Upper Montgomery Lightning senior co-captain, center Chris Hassett will be inducted into the Maryland Student Hockey League Hall of Fame in the spring of 2024. Hassett will be the sixth member of the Upper Montgomery program to receive this prestigious honor.

Just prior to the winter break Chris recorded his 50^th career varsity assist. On senior night in January, Chris notched his 100^th career varsity point. In the opening round of the Montgomery Hockey Conference playoffs in early February, Chris scored his 50th career varsity goal. These historic achievements result in an automatic induction into the Maryland Student Hockey League Hockey Hall of Fame. Chris will receive his induction plaque and other commemorative memorabilia later this spring during the Upper Montgomery year end team celebration.

In his storied high school career Chris finished by scoring 62 goals (third in program history) and adding 64 assists (second in program history), for 126 points (third in program history).

Outside of high school hockey, Chris plays for the Tri-City Eagles 18U AA external travel team where he leads the Eagles in scoring.

The Upper Montgomery program is proud of Chris’s accomplishment and this very special recognition.

Varsity Bullis Game Preview

January 28, 2024January 28, 2024 chucklevine Leave a comment

The Upper Montgomery Lightning close out the regular season when they face off on Monday afternoon against the Bullis Bulldogs. Game time is 3:15 pm at Rockville Ice Arena. It will be an incredibly difficult task for the Lightning as the Bulldogs are 4-0-1 against public high school competition. Bullis is in the middle of the pack in the much more competitive Maryland private high school league. Bullis would be comparable to the very top teams in the Montgomery Hockey Conference. The coaching staff intentionally scheduled the Bulldogs as the final regular season game to prepare Upper Montgomery to be playoff ready at the end of the week when the Lightning host a first round playoff matchup. The opening round playoff opponent, location, and game time will be released later in the week. The Lightning have been playing much better of late. Upper Montgomery is 5-1-1 in its last seven conference games advancing up the conference standings. The Lightning’s lone conference loss since very early in November was against Churchill.

Upper Montgomery may use both of its goalies in the game. It has been a while since ninth grade netminder Ilan Shterenberg has seen game action. The coaching staff will want to make sure he is ready if needed during the Montgomery Hockey Conference playoffs. Senior Landon Bernard has played very well of late and made four huge saves Friday evening in the thrilling overtime win over Rockville. He also recently shutout Blair. His goals against average for the season is shrinking and his save percentage is climbing. Upper Montgomery will only go as far in the upcoming conference playoffs as Bernard’s play takes the team. The Bulldogs are expected to play Jacob Lang in net. Against public high school competition he has a 2.00 goals against average, a .902 save percentage, and he recorded a shutout against BCC. In Private school play, Bullis has used Andrew Hookman-Vass as their primary goalie.

Upper Montgomery had hoped this season for balanced goal scoring throughout its lineup. Last season’s top line of Chris Hassett, Nathan Cassel, and Philip Shkeda has continued to produce again this season. Unfortunately, it has been a continual search for other student athletes to step up and match last year’s offensive production. In Friday’s game against Rockville, the top line scored all five goals. There was no secondary scoring. Hassett (14GP, 13G, 16A) and Cassell (13GP, 9G, 16A) have alternated the team lead in assists and points throughout the season. A beautiful give and go passing sequence between the two led to Cassel’s overtime winner on Friday night. Shkeda (15GP, 11G, 5A) had been tied for the team lead in goals until Friday. The season ending injury to Ryan Jacobson (6GP, 4G, 1A) drastically impacted the Lightning’s secondary offense. Hunter Cameron has chipped in nicely with (12GP, 5G, 4A). He has scored two goals in two different games, and Cameron scored the tying goal late in the third period against the DC Stars. Each of the team’s other forwards, Brandon Bernard (15G, 5G, 3A), Bradley Cupples (12GP, 2G, 5A), Olivia Robbins (7GP, 2G, 1A), and Henry Honacki (15GP, 5G, 3A) have each played well in a few games where they have accumulated the majority of their points on the season.

The Bulldogs are led offensively by star defender Davian Peretti (8GP, 7G). Next in line is another defender, Avery Brown with (6GP, 2G, 6A). Bullis’ top scoring forward is Matt Halle (11GP, 6G, 3A). Liam Grapes who transferred from Urbana to Bullis this offseason has tallied (11GP, 1G, 6A). The remainder of the Bulldogs have scored five or fewer points on the season.

On defense the Lightning have played better lately after struggling through the early portion of the season. With top defender Andrew Botti out for the first eight games of the season, Upper Montgomery had difficulty keeping teams out of the high danger areas. With Botti back, the team has given up far fewer goals. Senior co-captain Cameron has played several games on defense to help anchor and provide stability on the back end. Sophomores Brady Berkhammer and Owen Robbins will see substantial playing time against the Bulldogs. Ninth grade defender Miles Wendland and junior Cole Howerton will also see game action. Outside of Cameron’s production in October’s season opener against Whitman where he scored both Upper Montgomery goals, all other Upper Montgomery defensive skaters have contributed no goals and sixteen assists in 64 combined games played. Getting shots through from the points and contributions offensively from the defense will definitely help Upper Montgomery.

It should be a rewarding experience for the Lightning to play such a top level team just prior to the start of playoff action. Upper Montgomery should have fun with the game and play free with no stress. There are no expectations on the team other then to play hard and compete for the entire game. The primary objective is for the student athletes to get used to the speed of playing against tougher competition.

#Extend the Streak, #UML, #Bleed Green, #Go Bolts!

Lightning Strike Blog–January 2024

January 25, 2024January 25, 2024 chucklevine Leave a comment

The Upper Montgomery Lightning varsity squad enters the last few games of the regular season with all of its pre-season goals still within reach. Although the first portion of the regular season did not go as anticipated, the Lightning have played much better of late. The team has a 3-2-1 record over its last six games with the only losses to perennial powerhouse Churchill and the top public high school team in the state of Maryland, Oakdale. The Lightning had a one to zero lead on Oakdale with five minutes remaining in the game before conceding two late powerplay goals, including a five on three advantage. The team comes into the final regular season conference games on a roll having beaten fourth ranked Whitman and also top ranked Walter Johnson. The team enters the final stretch of regular season games with an overall record of 3-8-1 while being 3-5-1 in conference play.

Upper Montgomery’s goalies have struggled in net all season long. Senior Landon Bernard has played much better of late. His goals against average for the season is shrinking. He has posted a 2.16 goals against average over his last six appearances. His save percentage is climbing. Over his past six games Bernard has a stalwart .916 save percentage. Upper Montgomery will only go as far in the upcoming conference playoffs as Bernard’s play takes the team. Ninth grade goalie Ilan Shterenberg has a bright future in the program. He has played in four varsity games this season after dominating at the junior varsity level. He has two wins, including his first career victory over the Walter Johnson Wildcats.

Upper Montgomery had hoped this season for balanced goal scoring throughout its lineup. Last season’s top line of Chris Hassett, Nathan Cassel, and Philip Shkeda has continued to produce again this season. Unfortunately, it has been a continual search for other student athletes to step up and match last year’s offensive production. Hassett (13GP, 10G, 14A) and Cassell (12GP, 8G, 15A) have alternated the team lead in assists and points throughout the season. Shkeda (14GP, 10G, 3A) is tied for the team lead in goals. The season ending injury to Ryan Jacobson (6GP, 4G, 1A) has drastically impacted the Lightning’s secondary offense. Hunter Cameron has chipped in nicely with (11GP, 5G, 3A). He has scored two goals in two different games, and Cameron scored the tying goal late in the third period against the DC Stars. Each of the team’s other forwards, Brandon Bernard (14G, 5G, 3A) with goals in his past two games, Bradley Cupples (11GP, 2G, 5A), Olivia Robbins (7GP, 2G, 1A), and Henry Honacki (14GP, 5G, 3A) have each played well in a few games where they have accumulated the majority of their points on the season. The top depth forwards called upon to play in varsity game action have all stepped up and played well lately. Junior Josh Nadler, senior Adam Levine, and ninth grade forward Aiden Zheng have all contributed important assists lately in limited game action. Their hustle and adherence to the coaches’ game plan has infused some energy into the lineup.

On defense the Lightning have played better lately after struggling through the early portion of the season. With top defender Andrew Botti out for the first eight games of the season, Upper Montgomery had difficulty keeping teams out of the high danger areas. With Botti back, the team has given up far fewer goals, and only two goals while he has been on the ice at even strength. Senior co-captain Cameron has played several games on defense to help anchor and provide stability on the back end. Sophomores Brady Berkhammer and Owen Robbins have been playing together as a regular pairing all season seeing substantial playing time in all phases. Ninth grade defender Miles Wendland and junior Cole Howerton have also seen game action with their time on ice increasing as the season has gone on. Outside of Cameron’s production in October’s season opener against Whitman where he scored both Upper Montgomery goals, all other Upper Montgomery defensive skaters have contributed no goals and fourteen assists in 59 combined games played. Getting shots through from the points and contributions offensively from the defense will definitely help the team.

The main achilles heel for the Lightning has been a dreadfully awful powerplay. The Lightning have not scored at all this season when on a traditional powerplay with the extra skater, currently sitting at 0-37 on the season. The team’s only ‘powerplay’ goal was scored on a penalty shot converted by Nathan Cassell against Good Counsel. Anticipate personnel changes as well as a change to the powerplay structure in the games ahead.

The Lightning have a few games left in the regular season before the program defining Montgomery Hockey Conference playoffs begin at the start of February. The Upper Montgomery program had very high expectations for this season after the conclusion to last year and with so many highly talented student athletes returning. Fortunately, the team’s primary goal remains attainable. The Lightning still have a great opportunity to make the state playoffs, but it will take complete team dedication, playing hockey the right way, dogged puck support all over the ice, a 1000% commitment to team defense, and making good decisions that will put the team on the precipice of history.

Going into the season, the junior varsity was expected to be better than last year with the team needing talented 9th grade goaltender Ilan Shterenberg to be a difference maker in net. The junior varsity games were expected to be lower scoring as the team used its defensive strength to focus on preventing the opposition from scoring. This is exactly how the season played out. Shterenberg played excellent in net for the junior varsity this season. His finished the regular season with an 8-0-1 record and three shutouts. He gave up more than two goals in a game only twice, one time when playing against Churchill 2’s varsity squad. Shterenberg finished the season with a .927 save percentage and a tidy 1.80 goals against average. His played admirably in net during the junior varsity quarterfinal playoff game against BCC.

The other core reasons for the junior varsity’s 8-0-1 undefeated regular season were the team’s leadership and team defensive play. The junior varsity was not worried about who scored the goals and how the game looked visually. Some of the games were downright awful from an artistic sense, but played right into the Lightning’s strategy of getting the other teams frustrated. Once frustrated, the other teams took risks opening up for Upper Montgomery to counter attack. The junior varsity worked hard each game and focused on defense only giving up 22 goals in its eleven game season. The penalty kill was a perfect 27-27 on the season (when not using a position skater in net) including a couple of long five on three kills and a five minute major powerplay against.

The Lightning junior varsity finished the regular season second in the conference standings, a half game behind Wootton. Unfortunately, finishing second matched the junior varsity against the one team that was not truly a bottom team in the conference. Having to face BCC in the quarterfinal round of the junior varsity playoffs, was just an awful draw. BCC uses a strategy in the regular season of not playing all of their top available junior varsity students. Then, when playoff time comes, all of their top skaters are dressed, and the top talent receives an over abundance of ice time in the playoff games. Thus, playing against the only ‘bottom’ team with a chance at advancing, the Lightning junior varsity lost in the quarterfinal round to BCC, four to one. The 2023 – 2024 junior varsity squad did set an Upper Montgomery program record for most wins in a season with nine. The team’s overall record of 9-1-1 was the team highest winning percentage, .863.

The junior varsity’s offense scored just enough with the team averaging 3.91 goals per game, aided by the ten goals scored against Oakdale. Junior TJ Gottesman (9GP, 11G, 5A) and junior co-captain Josh Nadler (10GP, 11G, 1A) led the team in goals with eleven. Gottesman was the team’s top point getter with sixteen. Senior co-captain Adam Levine (11GP, 3G, 8A) lead the team in assists. He finished one assist off the program record for assists in a season while he did set the program record with points in consecutive games at seven straight games. Levine also proved to be awesome in the faceoff circle winning over 70% of his faceoffs with seven Lightning goals scored directly off of faceoff wins. The team’s depth scoring picked up as the season went on with junior Cole Howerton (10GP, 5G, 4A), senior Sean Levine (11GP, 3G, 5A), junior AJ Marks (9GP, 3G, 4A), and ninth grade forward Aiden Zheng (11GP, 4G, 2A) chipping in and contributing. Jason Woodman had a three assist game against Oakdale to increase his scoring to (10GP, 1G, 4A). Sean Levine scored a pretty breakaway goal against the DC Stars deking to his backhand before lifting the puck. He also scored the Lightning’s only goal in the playoff game against BCC. Adam Levine’s dazzling push through, walk around, far side, top shelf marker also in the DC Stars game was the goal of the season for the program.

Defensively, the Lightning’s experience and team defense stood out. Jake Roth, Cole Howerton, Patrick Sell, Miles Wendland, Avery Evans (8GP, 1G, 4A), and Behr Schickler limited the opposition’s quality scoring chances. When breakdowns occurred, the forwards were routinely in position defensively to block shots and clear the high danger areas getting pucks out of the defensive zone. The combination allowed the Lightning to play with the lead or tied for most of the entire season. The team competed with maximum effort, commitment to each other, and with the stellar defensive play. It was this attitude that allowed the junior varsity to thrive all season long culminating with an undefeated regular season.

#Playoff Wins, #Our Time, #UML, #Bleed Green, #Go Bolts!

Varsity Rockville Game Preview

January 25, 2024January 25, 2024 chucklevine Leave a comment

The Upper Montgomery Lightning face off against the Rockville / Magruder Rams in a very important matchup Friday evening at Rockville Ice Arena. Game time is 9:00 pm. The winner of Friday’s matchup will have an easier road in the upcoming Montgomery Hockey Conference playoffs. It is the final regular season conference game for both teams, and on paper they appear to be evenly matched. The Lightning have been playing much better of late. Upper Montgomery is 4-1-1 in its last six conference games advancing up the conference standings and rankings to the middle of the pack.

In net for Upper Montgomery will be senior Landon Bernard. Bernard has played very well of late culminating with Monday’s senior night shutout of Blair. His goals against average for the season is shrinking. He has posted a 2.16 goals against average over his last six appearances. His save percentage is climbing. Over his past six games Bernard has a stalwart .916 save percentage. Upper Montgomery will only go as far in the upcoming conference playoffs as Bernard’s play takes the team. The Rams will play Sean Connelly in net. He has a 3.59 goals against average and an .848 save percentage. His record is 7-3, however, that is skewed by the weak conference opponents Rockville has faced playing against mainly lower level division two competition.

Upper Montgomery had hoped this season for balanced goal scoring throughout its lineup. Last season’s top line of Chris Hassett, Nathan Cassel, and Philip Shkeda has continued to produce again this season. Unfortunately, it has been a continual search for other student athletes to step up and match last year’s offensive production. Hassett (13GP, 10G, 14A) and Cassell (12GP, 8G, 15A) have alternated the team lead in assists and points throughout the season. Shkeda (14GP, 10G, 3A) is tied for the team lead in goals. The season ending injury to Ryan Jacobson (6GP, 4G, 1A) has drastically impacted the Lightning’s secondary offense. Hunter Cameron has chipped in nicely with (11GP, 5G, 3A). He has scored two goals in two different games, and Cameron scored the tying goal late in the third period against the DC Stars. Each of the team’s other forwards, Brandon Bernard (14G, 5G, 3A) with goals in his past two games, Bradley Cupples (11GP, 2G, 5A), Olivia Robbins (7GP, 2G, 1A), and Henry Honacki (14GP, 5G, 3A) have each played well in a few games where they have accumulated the majority of their points on the season.

The Rams are led offensively by 18U AAA star defender senior Drew Pfeufer (7GP, 15G, 6A). Pfeufer plays on the same external travel team (The Washington Little Capitals) as the Lightning’s Cameron. The top scoring forward for the Rams is senior Brendan Iliff (11GP, 7G, 12A). His linemate Lukas Gold has (8GP, 10G, 6A). Rounding out the Rams scoring threats is another defender, Aiden Ward (7GP, 8G, 6A). There is then a drop off to the Rams depth scorers, Toyin Okunseinde (10GP, 4G, 2A), Cole Cohen (7GP, 5G), and Brendan Kalinock (10GP, 2G, 3A).

On defense the Lightning have played better lately after struggling through the early portion of the season. With top defender Andrew Botti out for the first eight games of the season, Upper Montgomery had difficulty keeping teams out of the high danger areas. With Botti back, the team has given up far fewer goals, and only two while he has been on the ice at even strength. Senior co-captain Cameron has played several games on defense to help anchor and provide stability on the back end. With a full compliment of defenders available on Friday evening, anticipate that Cameron will play forward. Sophomores Brady Berkhammer and Owen Robbins will see substantial playing time against the Rams. Ninth grade defender Miles Wendland and junior Cole Howerton will also see game action. Outside of Cameron’s production in October’s season opener against Whitman where he scored both Upper Montgomery goals, all other Upper Montgomery defensive skaters have contributed no goals and fourteen assists in 59 combined games played. Getting shots through from the points and contributions offensively from the defense will definitely help Upper Montgomery.

With all but one student athlete expected to be in attendance on Friday night, the Upper Montgomery coaching staff can use their full bench including its depth skaters against Rockville. This will provide sufficient rest for the team’s top student athletes. If the team’s second and third lines do not produce early against the Rams or if a student tries to do too much individually, expect the coaching staff to sit skaters and use students who will follow the system and play hockey the Lightning way.

This past Tuesday’s game against top non-conference foe Urbana helped identify the areas that Upper Montgomery needs to shore up heading into the final regular season games and the upcoming playoffs. The Lightning have begun to show much more fight and desire as the season has progressed. These traits have led to better results. The team’s play needs to be cohesive, with the students playing for one another. The Lightning have played more focused and with more belief in each other, but will need to ramp up their play to another level if they want to have playoff success. While not an elimination game, Friday night’s matchup will go a long way towards putting the remainder of the season into focus.

#Extend the Streak, #UML, #Bleed Green, #Go Bolts!

Varsity Urbana Game Preview

January 21, 2024January 21, 2024 chucklevine Leave a comment

With the recent inclement weather in the Washington DC area, the Upper Montgomery Lightning will play on back-to-back days when taking on the Urbana Hawks on Tuesday afternoon at Skate Frederick. Game time is early, a 3:40 pm puck drop. Fresh off the annual senior night celebration against Blair on Monday evening, the Lightning have a quick turnaround. It is an important non-league contest for the Lightning who are looking to keep building on their recent better play of late. The team is 3-1-1 in its last three conference games and is coming off of a terrific effort last Monday against the top high school team in the state, Oakdale. The Lightning held a 1-0 lead with five minutes remaining in the game before succumbing. Upper Montgomery has also beaten two highly regarded teams in Walter Johnson and Whitman during the stretch. Urbana is the second highest ranked team in the Monocacy Valley Conference. The Hawks lost to Oakdale in overtime on Friday after staging a third period rally to force the overtime session. It was an emotionally draining game which saw Oakdale prevail on a shorthanded goal in the extra frame.

In net for Upper Montgomery will be senior Landon Bernard. Bernard has played very well of late. His goals against average is shrinking and is under three over his last four appearances. His save percentage over his past four games is a stalwart .915. Upper Montgomery will only go as far in the upcoming conference playoffs as Bernard’s play takes the team. The Hawks will play Abby Tanner in net. She has a miniscule 1.91 goals against average and a .928 save percentage. She has given up only 19 goals in the ten games she has played in. If unavailable, Chloe Hanson will step in and backstop the Hawks.

Upper Montgomery had hoped this season for balanced goal scoring throughout the lineup. Last season’s top line of Chris Hassett, Nathan Cassel, and Philip Shkeda has continued to produce again this season. Unfortunately, it has been a continual search for other student athletes to step up and match last year’s offensive production. Hassett (11GP, 9G, 13A) and Cassell (11GP, 7G, 15A) have alternated the team lead in assists and points throughout the season. Shkeda (12GP, 9G, 2A) is tied for the team lead in goals. From there the season ending injury to Ryan Jacobson (6GP, 4G, 1A) has drastically impacted the Lightning’s secondary offense. Hunter Cameron has chipped in nicely with (9GP, 5G, 3A). He has two different games where he scored two goals, and Cameron scored the tying goal late in the third period against the DC Stars. Each of the team’s other forwards, Brandon Bernard, Bradley Cupples, Olivia Robbins, and Henry Honacki have each played well in one or two games where they have accumulated the majority of their points on the season.

The Hawks are led offensively by 18U AA star forward Cody Keegan. Keegan has (11GP, 18G, 11A). His linemates, 16U AA Zachary Thayer (11GP, 12G, 16A) and Max Dubruzzo (12GP, 9G, 16A) have really benefitted from Keegan’s presence on the ice. There is a sizeable drop off to the Hawks second line with ninth grade forward Alexander Cheves (10GP, 6G, 3A) leading the way. Be on the lookout for the Hawks defenders to join the rush with Seamus McGee (12GP, 6G, 4A), Thomas Alexander (12GP, 2G, 4A), and Brady Gardiner (12GP, 2G, 4A) contributing as well.

On defense the Lightning have struggled all season. With top defender Andrew Botti out for the first eight games of the season, Upper Montgomery had difficulty keeping teams out of the high danger areas. With Botti back, the team has given up only six goals in three games, none while he has been on the ice at even strength. Senior co-captain Cameron has played several games on defense to help anchor and provide stability on the back end. Sophomore Brady Berkhammer will again see substantial playing time against the Hawks after playing every other shift against the DC Stars and Oakdale. Outside of Cameron’s production in October’s season opener against Whitman where he scored both Upper Montgomery goals, all other Upper Montgomery defensive skaters have contributed no goals and twelve assists in 49 combined games played.

In almost every game this season, the Upper Montgomery coaching staff was going to be forced to supplement the usual varsity squad with several student athletes called up from the junior varsity. After Adam Levine and Aiden Zheng performed admirably against the DC Stars and Oakdale, expect that these two student athletes to play a more prominent role over the closing games of the season. As a senior, Levine may receive a regular shift on Tuesday. If the team’s second and third lines do not produce early against Urbana, expect the coaching staff to begin whittling down ice time and inserting additional student athletes into the game.

The game against Urbana will help identify where Upper Montgomery will need to focus heading into the final regular season conference game against Rockville. The Lightning have begun to show much more fight and desire as the season has progressed. These traits have led to better results. The team’s play is becoming more cohesive and the total team effort has been better. The Lightning have played more focused and with more belief in each other. If the Lightning continue to play this way, they may have an outside shot to beat Urbana.

#Extend the Streak, #UML, #Bleed Green, #Go Bolts!