Category: Game Previews

The Upper Montgomery Lightning could not have been more pleased to discover that they will match up against the Blair Blazers in the Montgomery Hockey Conference Varsity Tournament Semifinals. The consensus opinion is that Blair was the best possible match up for Upper Montgomery. The other semifinal game features the Churchill Bulldogs hosting the Rockville / Magruder Rams. Friday’s game will be played at 8:10 pm at Rockville Ice Arena. In facing the Blazers, Upper Montgomery should be in the game for the entire evening. Blair has had difficulty scoring all season long. The Blazers have scored only 42 goals in fourteen games, an average of just three goals per game. Another benefit of facing the Blazers is that they have no AAA level student athletes. Both Churchill and Rockville / Magruder have multiple super high end talented AAA student athletes on their rosters.

Even though Blair is in division one of the Montgomery Hockey Conference and Upper Montgomery is in division two, the Lightning are slight favorites in the game. Upper Montgomery enters the clash with a 7-8-1 record while Blair sits at 5-8-1 on the season. Blair has given up 89 goals this year which is nine more than the Lightning who have played two additional games. Blair advanced to the semifinals of the varsity tournament based upon beating the DC Stars in the opening round of the Montgomery Hockey Conference playoffs. The Lightning were victorious last week in the varsity tournament quarterfinals easing past Northwest / Quince Orchard 8-4.

In net for the Lightning will be sophomore 16U AA goalie Ilan Shterenberg. Shterenberg has handled the majority of the goaltending duties this season for Upper Montgomery. His play has been typical for an underclass student athlete moving up from his staring role on the junior varsity last season. Some games have been very good. Other games there are goals that he wishes he had another chance at. Of more concern is defensively he has been left out to dry far too many times by the Upper Montgomery skaters playing in front of him. Costly defensive zone turnovers have negatively impacted his personal statistics.

Heading into the game, Shterenberg has a solid save percentage of .874. His goals against average is 5.04, having risen by nearly a goal per game over the last month due to the Lightning’s poor play. Shterenberg returned to action last week after missing the varsity playoff game against BCC due to an illness. His replacement ninth grade 14U Lower A goalie Porter Stutsrim-Lyons was excellent in the game against the Barons, and again later that evening playing back to back in the junior varsity’s semifinal playoff game. Although both games resulted in losses, it was not the play of Stutsrim-Lyons that was at fault.

In goal for the Blazers will be junior Sylvan Vernon. Vernon has started all of the games this season for Blair. He is a tall goalie therefore Upper Montgomery will need to move him from side to side in the net to enlarge the open portions of the goal. Straight on long range shots will not get past Vernon. His save percentage this season is .790, and his goals against average is 5.94. This will be his first meeting against Upper Montgomery in his high school career.

Defensively, junior 16U AA defender Brady Berkhammer will not be available for the rest of the season. It is a big loss for the Lightning moving forward in the tournament. Berkhammer finished his junior season with (15GP, 4G, 15A), all personal career highs in each offensive category. Berkhammer leads the team with his fifteen assists. Sophomore defender Miles Wendland (15GP, 2G, 4A) has played important minutes against the opposition’s top forward lines. Seeing additional ice time in Berkahmmer’s absence, Wendland had a goal and an assist in last week’s quarterfinal win over Northwest / Quince Orchard. Senior Cole Howerton has stepped into a regular role on the varsity in his final high school season. Howerton has been paired with Wendland playing almost exclusively on the second defensive tandem. Ninth grade 14U AA defender Lillian Robbins has seen regular action this season contributing five assists. Senior defender Patrick Sell scored his first career high school varsity goal early in the season against Northwest / Quince Orchard. His size and presence on the blue line has caused problems for the opposition especially on the penalty kill. Ninth grade defender Matt Rivera and sophomore 19U AA Avery Evans will see regular shifts on defense in the game.

Blair has two reasonably competent defenders in juniors Robert Woodward and Joseph Killebrew. Neither is flashy. Both do not contribute much offensively. What they do well is clear the defensive zone and hustle back to retrieve loose pucks. Each is an above average skater. The question will be can they keep up with Upper Montgomery’s talented offensive forwards. Expect that the Blazers will also use senior Rafi Shore and Daniel Sellers on the back end during the game. Look for Upper Montgomery to try and take advantage of the Blair defenders physically in an attempt to create defensive zone turnovers that can be converted into prime offensive chances.

Last season’s leading returning scorer Nathan Cassel (9GP, 9G, 7A) seems to have returned to form after tallying four points in the Lightning’s last game against Northwest / Quince Orchard with two goals and two assists. He is nearing the individual statistics necessary for inclusion in the Maryland Student Hockey League Hall of Fame. For his career, Cassel has produced 87 points on (48GP, 42G, 45A). He is five assists away from inclusion in the Hall of Fame. The Upper Montgomery coaching staff moved 16U AAA junior defender Owen Robbins to center as a means of generating additional offense. The move paid off early in the season as Robbins authored a hat-trick in the Lightning’s season opening win over BCC and he also scored four times against Richard Montgomery. Robbins has been near the top of the Lightning’s leading scorers the entire season with (11GP, 9G, 7A). He is tied for second on the team in goals behind Upper Montgomery’s leading offensive threat, senior center Henry Honacki. Robbins will see shifts at forward and on defense in the game.

Honacki returns to the lineup this week after having to sit out the game against the Jaguars serving his one game supplemental disciplinary suspension for a major boarding penalty and game misconduct late in the BCC playoff game. He has had an offensive explosion in his final high school season. He currently leads the team in goals and points with (15GP, 12G, 7A). Honacki was on a tear recently having scored in five consecutive games before the loss to Churchill. Honacki scored the game winning goal in two important Lightning victories, beating the overtime buzzer by scoring with eleven seconds remaining in the extra period to defeat the DC Stars. It was Honacki who scored on the powerplay late in the third period against BCC. He leads the team in powerplay goals with four. His production on the powerplay has helped the Lightning immensely. The team has more powerplay goals this season (11 for 34, 32.3%) than last year’s dismal performance with the extra attacker. It may be the success of the Upper Montgomery powerplay that determines the outcome of the game against the Blazers.

Junior forward Philip Shkeda has been an offensive threat all year long quietly putting up excellent offensive numbers (14GP, 6G, 14A) playing alongside Honacki and Cassel. Shkeda is second on the team to Berkhammer with his fourteen assists. If he has a big game and Cassel, Honacki, and Robbins complement that scoring, Blair could be in for a long evening. If the Upper Montgomery big four are contained, the Lightning will be in for a massive struggle against the well coached Blazers.

A couple of sophomores have stepped in and filled important roles on the team this season. Returning forward Aiden Zheng has (16GP, 3G, 6A) continuing his assent from last season’s breakout during the Montgomery Hockey Conference varsity playoff tournament. Newcomer Jake Hudson has used his size well getting pucks out of the defensive zone along the board. This board work has led to numerous scoring rushes up ice. He has (13GP, 2G, 7A). With depth an issue, several student athletes who have played the majority of their high school careers with the junior varsity team are receiving playing time this season at the varsity level; seniors TJ Gottesman, AJ Marks, and ninth grade forward Siddy Bhasin. Bhasin’s ice time has steadily increased throughout the season. His play is starting to ramp up (12GP, 1G, 4A). Senior Josh Nadler (11GP, 3G, 1A) missed the beginning of the season while he was out-of-the country. He looks to be back in the groove having finally found his game by scoring three goals in his last two games.

Blair has received evenly distributed offensive output this season from their top two forward lines. Sophomore center Mason Boucher (13GP, 5G, 4A) centers forward William Campbell (13GP, 5G, 3A) and tall lanky forward Michael Poresky (11GP, 4G, 2A). Jackson Martindill (13GP, 7G, 6A), the Blazers leading scorer, centers forward Chen Chen-Ye (14GP, 5G, 8A) and Quinn Streaker (13GP, 5G, 2A). On the third line senior forward Ari Gardner will mix it up and cause a commotion. He leads the Blazers with 56 penalty minutes, an extremely high individual total. When he is on the ice you will not miss him or his extracurricular antics.

The 2024 – 2025 season will conclude if the Lightning are unable to come away with a win on Friday night. It would be a rather unfortunate outcome as the favored Lightning are very much looking forward to a rematch against the Churchill Bulldogs next week in the varsity tournament championship game. It would be another chance to end ‘the streak’. It is anticipated that Churchill will have no difficulty advancing over Rockville / Magruder. Upper Montgomery is looking to repeat as varsity tournament champions, going back to back. The next step is to get past the Blazers. As with any playoff hockey contest, it doesn’t matter how, it just needs to get accomplished. The hope is for a win on Friday night to extend the season providing one final important game for the Lightning student athletes.

#Return to Finals, #Advance, #More Hockey, #UML, #Bleed Green, #Go Bolts!

The Upper Montgomery Lightning are gearing up to host the Northwest / Quince Orchard Jaguars for the third time this season on Friday night in the quarterfinal round of the Montgomery Hockey Conference season ending Varsity Tournament. Upper Montgomery will be looking to repeat as champions after blowing though the field last year to earn the most coveted championship that the program has ever accomplished. Coincidentally, last year’s varsity tournament began with the same matchup in the quarterfinal round. A game easily won by Upper Montgomery 14-1.

This season, Upper Montgomery should once again easily advance to the tournament semifinals. The Lightning 6-8-1 seem to have lots of wiggle room to work past last place Northwest / Quince Orchard which enters the game with a 1-12 record having scored only 31 goals while giving up 114. The Lightning were victorious in both of the earlier meetings by scores of 7-3 and 7-4. Both games were not stupendous performances from the Lightning which kept the games tighter than they should have been.

In net for the Lightning will be sophomore 16U AA goalie Ilan Shterenberg. Shterenberg has handled the majority of the goaltending duties this season for Upper Montgomery. He has shined in some games such as making 49 saves in the Lightning’s 3-1 loss to Wootton early in the season and making 44 saves in the overtime victory over the DC Stars. He has been left out to dry far too many times by the skaters in front of him as costly defensive zone turnovers have negatively impacted his personal statistics. His play has been typical for an underclass student athlete moving up from his staring role on the junior varsity last season. Some games have been very good. Other games there are goals that he wishes he had another chance at.

At the end of the regular season, Shterenberg had a solid save percentage of .874. His goals against average was 5.04, having risen by nearly a goal over the last month due to the Lightning’s poor play. Shterenberg missed last week’s varsity playoff game against BCC due to illness. His replacement ninth grade 14U Lower A goalie Porter Stutsrim-Lyons was excellent in the game against the Barons, and again later that evening playing back to back in the junior varsity’s semifinal playoff game. Although both games resulted in losses, it was not the play of Stutsrim-Lyons that was at fault. If the game on Friday against the Jaguars is out of hand in the third period, the Upper Montgomery coaching staff may play Stutsrim-Lyons in the third period as a reward for his recent great play.

In goal for the Jaguars is expected to be senior Joseph Dean who is likely playing in his final game in silver and black. Dean was exceptional in goal during the team’s last meeting in early January on Upper Montgomery’s senior night. His personal statistics are poor simply because Northwest / Quince Orchard is such a prohibitive underdog in each game. While help is likely on the horizon for the Jaguars next season, they will simply be outclassed once again on Friday by Upper Montgomery.

Defensively, junior 16U AA defender Brady Berkhammer will not be available for the rest of the season. It is a big loss for the Lightning, not so much for this game but for moving forward in the tournament. Berkhammer finished his junior season with (15GP, 4G, 15A), all personal career highs in each offensive category. Berkhammer leads the team with his fifteen assists. Sophomore defender Miles Wendland has played important minutes against the opposition’s top forward lines. Expect that Wendland will see additional time on ice due to Berkhammer’s absence. Senior Cole Howerton has stepped into a regular role on the varsity playing mostly with Wendland. Howerton has played some of his best hockey in his final high school season. Ninth grade 14U AA defender Lillian Robbins has seen regular action this season and has contributed five assists. Senior defender Patrick Sell scored his first career high school varsity goal early in the season against this same Northwest / Quince Orchard squad. His size and presence on the blue line has caused problems for the opposition especially on the penalty kill. Ninth grade defender Matt Rivera will see regular shifts on defense in the game.

Northwest / Quince Orchard has two reasonably competent defenders in senior 18U Upper A Drew Blurton (13GP, 2G, 2A) and senior 18U AA Roman Martin (11GP, 4G, 5A). After those two skaters, there is a massive drop off in talent to the rest of the Northwest / Quince Orchard defenders. Anticipate that the Jaguar’s two better defenders will play with each other on the powerplay and at any crucial moments in the game. But, they will likely be split up and play with other defenders for most of the game in an attempt to keep at least one of them on the ice at all times. Junior Andrew Isaacson will also be heavily featured on the Jaguars back line. Look for Upper Montgomery to take advantage of the Jaguars inexperienced defenders and overload to that side of the ice on offensive zone entries.

Last season’s leading returning scorer Nathan Cassel (8GP, 7G, 5A). He is nearing the individual statistics necessary for inclusion in the Maryland Student Hockey Hall of Fame. For his career, Cassel has produced the following 83 points on (47 GP, 40G, 43A). The Upper Montgomery coaching staff moved 16U AAA junior defender Owen Robbins to center as a means of generating additional offense. The move paid off early in the season as Robbins authored a hat-trick in the Lightning’s season opening win over BCC and he also scored four times against Richard Montgomery. Robbins has been near the top of the Lightning’s leading scorers the entire season with (10GP, 7G, 4A). He is second on the team in goals behind Upper Montgomery’s leading offensive threat, senior center Henry Honacki.

Honacki has had an offensive explosion in his final high school season. He currently leads the team in goals and points with (15GP, 12G, 7A). H onacki was on a tear recently having scored in five consecutive games before the loss to Churchill. Honacki scored the game winning goal in two important Lightning victories, beating the overtime buzzer by scoring with eleven seconds remaining in the extra period to defeat the DC Stars. It was Honacki who scored on the powerplay late in the third period against BCC in the team’s prior meeting. He leads the team in powerplay goals with four. His production on the powerplay has helped the Lightning immensely. The team has more powerplay goals already this season (10 for 33, 30.3%) than all of last year’s dismal performance with the extra attacker. So, his absence on Friday would be felt against any other opponent. Honacki will miss the game serving his one game supplemental disciplinary suspension for a major boarding penalty and game misconduct late in the BCC playoff game last week.

Junior forward Philip Shkeda has been an offensive threat as well this year with (13GP, 5G, 12A) playing alongside Honacki and Cassel. Shkeda is second on the team to Berkhammer with his twelve assists. A couple of sophomores have stepped in and filled important roles on the team this season. Returning forward Aiden Zheng has (15GP, 3G, 6A) continuing his assent from last season’s breakout during the Montgomery Hockey Conference varsity playoff tournament. Newcomer Jake Hudson has used his size well to get the puck out of the defensive zone along the boards leading to numerous scoring rushes up ice. He has (12GP, 2G, 6A). With depth an issue, several student athletes who have played the majority of their high school careers with the junior varsity team are receiving playing time this season at the varsity level; seniors TJ Gottesman, AJ Marks, and ninth grade forward Siddy Bhasin. Bhasin’s ice time has steadily increased throughout the season and his play is starting to ramp up (11GP, 1G, 4A). Senior Josh Nadler missed the beginning of the season while he was out-of-the country and had been looking to find his groove all season long. In scoring last week against BCC, Nadler seems to have finally found his game

Northwest / Quince Orchard has only one offensive scorer of note, and he is an excellent student athlete, junior 16U AA center Ethan Custudio (12GP, 19G, 9A). He has potted three points in each of the two prior meetings with the Lightning. His individual production is simply not enough to change the Jaguars’ trajectory in any game. The key to limiting Northwest / Quince Orchard is to stop or contain Custudio. If Upper Montgomery handles Custudio, it will be a long, long night for the Jaguars. The Upper Montgomery rout will be on. Northwest / Quince Orchard’s only other forward with more than one goal is ninth grader Gabriel Carlos (13GP, 3G, 1A). Carlos had his breakout game of the season scoring twice in the January meeting with the Lightning.

The 2024 – 2025 season will conclude with the Lightning once again playing in the Montgomery Hockey Conference Varsity Tournament. The team is left looking to repeat as varsity tournament champions with qualifying for the Maryland Student Hockey League state playoffs now no longer a possibility. The Lightning need to play well against Northwest / Quince Orchard to get rid of the taste of the current five game losing streak. The hope is that a win on Friday night will extend the season and provide more hockey for the Lightning student athletes.

#More Hockey, #Advance, #UML, #Bleed Green, #Go Bolts!

The Upper Montgomery Lightning junior varsity faces off against the county’s top junior varsity team when they face the high powered Wootton Patriots late on Friday night. Game time is 10:15 pm at Cabin John Ice Rink.  The semifinal playoff matchup is between the fourth ranked Lightning and the top seeded Patriots. Although, many observers think the clash is between the top two junior varsity programs in the county. Upper Montgomery is the only team to have played Wootton tough this season, taking the Patriots to overtime in the team’s regular season matchup back in October. Upper Montgomery went up early on Wootton only to have the Patriots chip away and tie the game late in the third period. Patriots defender Jayden Ahn scored the game winner early in the three on three overtime session batting in a third rebound try. The winner of Friday night’s game will be a prohibited favorite to beat BCC in the Montgomery Hockey Conference junior varsity championship game.

In goal for the Lightning will be ninth grade netminder Porter Stutsrim-Lyons.  Stutsrim-Lyons plays for the Caps Academy 14U lower A external travel team. He has had an outstanding first high school season posting a 5-2-2 record, a very meager 1.87 goals against average, and an eye popping .930 save percentage. Stursrim-Lyons has allowed more than two goals in a game during regulation time only twice this season. He has two shutouts to his credit. Stutsrim-Lyons was solid last week stopping 24 of 25 shots on goal in the junior varsity’s 4-1 quarterfinal round win over Churchill. Wootton will counter in net with sophomore netminder Kevin Yu. Yu has experience at both the junior varsity and varsity level having been Wootton’s primary goalkeeper for the past two seasons. He is 7-0 at the junior varsity level with a 1.00 goals against average and a .925 save percentage. But, he statistics are more of a function of the Patriots dominant roster than his goaltending skill. The Patriots have averaged allowing only 13.43 shots on goal per game this season as they have puck possession throughout most of their games. Upper Montgomery is going to find it difficult to score on Friday night.

On defense the Lightning will need to keep shifts short as several students will have already played in the varsity playoff game earlier in the evening. Playing two games back to back with travel in between rinks is not ideal. The Lightning will be dressing a full defensive corps for the first time in a while. Sophomore 16U Lower A Miles Wendland (5GP, 3A) will likely skate with sophomore 19U AA Avery Evans (5GP, 2G, 4A). Senior team captain Cole Howerton (7GP, 4G, 4A) who has freedom from the coaching staff to roam up ice to join offensive rushes will be paired with sophomore newcomer Max Curtusan, a stay at home defender. Senior stay at home defender and alternate captain Patrick Sell (7GP, 1G, 2A) will be paired with ninth grade Matt Rivera (9G, 5A). Out of necessity it will be necessary for the Upper Montgomery coaching staff to play all three defensive pairings. The earlier varsity game is anticipated to impact the students receiving significant ice time. If the Lightning trail late, the coaching staff may drop down to two defensive pairings with the more offensive defenders asked to push the pace of play.

Wootton’s defense will be a rotation of four primary defenders with several forwards dropping back at times to keep top end talent on the ice while providing some rest to their skaters. Wootton only receives occasional offensive production from their defense. However, the Patriots back end does an excellent job of moving the puck up ice, skating the puck out of the defensive zone, and backchecking to prevent their opponents from getting good looks at the net. This has resulted in shot suppression and low shots on goal totals from their opponents. The Lightning had only fifteen shots on goal in the regular season clash. Patriots ninth grade rearguard Isaac Greene is their top offensive defender (8GP, 2G, 5A). Greene’s defensive partner, ninth grade Nathan Tian (8GP, 3G, 3A) has provided nice support. The Patriots other primary defensive pair is sophomore Nicholas Chung (7GP, 2G, 3A) and sophomore Sam Rubinstein who has two goals in eight games.

On offense, the Lightning will need for depth scoring to emerge again on Friday. Several of the Lightning’s top scorers will be playing back to back in the varsity game as well. Therefore, if several of the junior varsity only skaters are able to step up and produce, it will lighten the load on the team’s top three or four scorers. Senior center AJ Marks leads the team in scoring with (9GP, 5G, 8A). He will center the top line playing alongside ninth grade 14U Lower A Siddy Bhasin (6GP, 5G, 4A). The third forward on that line is going to be junior Jason Woodman. The Lightning’s second line will feature sophomore Jake Hudson (7GP, 6G, 3A) centering his brother ninth grade Luke Hudson (7GP, 1G, 2A) and Jackson Schickler. The third line will be 16U Lower A Aiden Zheng (7GP, 8G, 1A) between sophomore Mason Jagoz (9GP, 1G, 3A) and Decklin Hughes (7GP, 1G, 2A). Ninth grade forward Max Israfilbek will miss the semifinal game while serving his one game supplemental disciplinary suspension resulting from the antics at the end of the Churchill quarterfinal game last week.

Unlike Churchill which had one primary offensive threat, Wootton possesses all kinds of firepower. The Patriots are led offensively by leading scorer, sophomore speedster Nathan Geeng. Geeng has gaudy offensive numbers at the junior varsity level (7GP, 9G, 6A). In the team’s regular season meeting Geeng had three points with a goal and two assists. The second leading Patriots forward scorer is sophomore Brendan Lau (8GP, 6G, 5A). Senior Mitchell Golub has scored plenty at the junior varsity level (8GP, 9G, 4A) with almost all of his offensive production coming against the bottom tier teams in the county. Jaina Kronforst will see action both at forward and on defense during the game. She has high end offensive skills with high scoring totals (5GP, 8G, 3A). Her brother, Drew Kronforst has also put up more than a point per game (7GP, 2G, 6A). The final super offensive minded forward for the Patriots is sophomore Jayden Ahn who also plays regularly for the Patriots varsity squad on defense. His personal statistics this season are (6GP, 4G, 2A) including the overtime game winner in the team’s regular season matchup.

On Friday night join us for a clash of the titans. The two programs that have become bitter rivals over the past few seasons. Expect an all out battle with the Lightning playing a suffocating defensive style mucking up play all over the ice simply chipping puck back to the neutral zone. Upper Montgomery will also be in the shooting lanes in their own zone looking to block shot after Patriots shot. The more the Lightning are able to frustrate Wootton keeping the Patriots from getting to their desired style of play, the greater the chance for Upper Montgomery to come out victorious. The Patriots will look to make the game a track meet going up and down the ice playing a fire wagon style of game with all five skaters constantly joining the rush. Whichever team is able to impose their will and playing style on the other team will come out with a hard earned win. Something to watch out for is whether or not the Lightning’s experienced skaters are able to withstand playing two games back to back. Will they they have enough energy and stamina as the game moves into the third period. It will be a heck of a high school hockey game on Friday night. Be sure to join us for some late night excitement.

#Playoff Wins, #Advance, #Don’t Let the Season End, #UML, #Bleed Green, #Go Bolts!

The Upper Montgomery Lightning begin their playoff march on Friday evening. Game time is 8:00 pm at Rockville Ice Arena. This will be the third meeting of the season between the programs. Until the teams met in mid-October to open the season, Upper Montgomery had never before beaten the Barons. The only time in the prior fifteen seasons that the Lightning were able to take points away from BCC was two seasons ago on Halloween when Upper Montgomery was able to scrounge out a 2-2 tie. That game set the barometer of what the Upper Montgomery program had become as the entire county thought the score was a misprint when it first was published.

This season, both teams have very young rosters with few upperclass students. Upper Montgomery prevailed in the season opener by a score of 4-3 fending off the Barons who scored with their goalie pulled to cut the margin to one. The Lightning then survived the frantic final seconds to claim their first ever victory over BCC. In late December, Upper Montgomery again beat the Barons by one goal, this time 3-2 to complete the season sweep. Lightning senior center and leading scorer Henry Honacki scored the game winning goal on the powerplay with under five minutes remaining in third period. Once again, the Lightning survived a frenetic final few minutes to pull out the win.

Since early January, the programs have been headed in different directions. Upper Montgomery (6-7-1), the seventh seed, has lost four games in a row. The team has given up bunches of goals in each game. Rockville / Magruder scored seven, Churchill scored seven, Whitman scored eight, and Oakdale scored eight times. If the Lightning believe they can beat tenth seeded BCC (4-8) by giving up a bucket full of goals, Upper Montgomery will get run out of the building. The good news is that BCC is somewhat limited offensively, especially against good quality opponents. In addition, Upper Montgomery will need to improve its offensive production. The team has been shutout the past two games, not having scored a goal in their last eight periods of game action. BCC is not going to make it easy for Upper Montgomery. In fact, even though the Barons have lost twice to the Lightning this season and are the lower seeded team, BCC has expressed that they believe they are the better squad showing a distinct lack of respect for the Lightning.

In net for the Lightning will be sophomore 16U AA goalie Ilan Shterenberg. Shterenberg has handled the majority of the goaltending duties this season for Upper Montgomery. He has shined in some games making 49 saves in the Lightning’s 3-1 loss to Wootton early in the season and 44 saves in the overtime victory over the DC Stars. He has been left out to dry far too many times by the skaters in front of him as costly defensive zone turnovers have negatively impacted his personal statistics. His play has been typical for an underclass student athlete moving up from his staring role on the junior varsity last season. Some games have been very good. Other games there are likely goals that he wishes he had another chance at. At the end of the regular season, Shterenberg has a solid save percentage of .874. His goals against average is 5.04 having risen by nearly a goal over the Lightning’s poor play over the last month. The young netminder will need to play a strong game to help Upper Montgomery defeat the Barons for the third time this season.

In goal for BCC is expected to be senior Vivienne Boyle. Boyle started the first game of the season against the Lightning. Her goalie partner Tycho Narrod-Malcolm played fantastic in the second game between the teams. It is a little surprising for Boyle to get the starting nod, however, BCC has been alternating netminders all season long. Boyle is 2-7 on the season, with a .791 save percentage and a 5.16 goals against average.

Defensively, junior 16U AA defender Brady Berkhammer has upped his game this season. He has set personal career highs in all offensive categories (14GP, 4G, 14A). He recently had a stretch of scoring eight points in four games, and eleven points in six games before the entire team’s recent offensive struggles. Berkhammer leads the team with fourteen assists. Sophomore defender Miles Wendland has played important minutes against the opposition’s top forward lines. He has accelerated his game from his ninth grade season and scored his first career varsity goal earlier in the month against Churchill. Senior Cole Howerton has stepped into a regular role on the varsity playing mostly with Wendland. Howerton has played some of his best hockey in his final high school season. Ninth grade 14U AA defender Lillian Robbins has seen regular action this season and contributed four assists on the season. Senior defender Patrick Sell scored his first career high school varsity goal early in the season against Northwest / Quince Orchard. His size and presence on the blue line has caused problems for the opposition especially on the penalty kill. Ninth grade Matt Rivera and 19U AA sophomore Avery Evans have each gained valuable experience at the varsity level in their limited game action. They will be held out of this game allowing them to maximize rest for the junior varsity semifinal game directly after the varsity’s playoff game.

On defense for BCC, junior 18U AA Grady Jiggens is by far their most experienced defender. He has led the unit offensively with (12GP, 6G, 5A). He will quarterback the BCC powerplay when the Barons are playing with the extra skater. He will also play on the penalty kill and double shift at even strength playing with a variety of different defensive partners. When he is off the ice, junior 16U Upper A Benjamin Lyons (10 GP, 2G, 2A) will be on the ice. Ninth grade defender Jacob Reitz will see plenty of game action for BCC on Friday night.

Last season’s leading returning scorer Nathan Cassel (7GP, 6G, 5A) is back to full strength after missing most of the early portion of the season with an upper body injury. His hat-trick against Rockville / Magruder early in the season helped the Lightning to a 5-5 tie against the Rams. He is nearing the individual statistics necessary for inclusion in the Maryland Student Hockey Hall of Fame. For his career, Cassel has produced the following 82 points (46 GP, 39G, 43A). The Upper Montgomery coaching staff moved 16U AAA junior defender Owen Robbins to center as a means of generating additional offense. The move paid off early in the season as Robbins authored a hat-trick in the Lightning’s season opening win over BCC and he also scored four times against Richard Montgomery. Robbins has been near the top of the Lightning’s leading scorers the entire season with (10GP, 7G, 4A). He is second on the team in goals behind Upper Montgomery’s leading offensive threat, senior center Henry Honacki.

Honacki has had an offensive explosion in his final high school season. He currently leads the team in goals and points with (14GP, 12G, 7A). Honacki was on a tear recently having scored in five consecutive games before the loss to Churchill. Honacki scored the game winning goal in two important Lightning victories, beating the overtime buzzer by scoring with eleven seconds remaining in the extra period to defeat the DC Stars. It was Honacki who scored on the powerplay late in the third period against BCC in the team’s prior meeting. He leads the team in powerplay goals with four. His production on the powerplay has helped the Lightning immensely. The team has more powerplay goals already this season (10 for 31, 32.2%) than all of last year’s dismal performance with the extra attacker. Junior forward Philip Shkeda has been an offensive threat as well with (12GP, 5G, 11A) playing alongside Honacki and Cassel. Shkeda is second on the team to Berkhammer with his eleven assists.

A couple of sophomores have stepped in and filled important roles on the team this season. Returning forward Aiden Zheng has (14GP, 3G, 6A) continuing his assent from last season’s breakout during the Montgomery Hockey Conference varsity playoff tournament. Newcomer Jake Hudson has used his size well to get the puck out of the defensive zone along the boards leading to numerous scoring rushes up ice. He has (11GP, 2G, 6A). With depth an issue, several student athletes who have played the majority of their high school careers with the junior varsity team are receiving playing time this season at the varsity level; seniors TJ Gottesman, AJ Marks, and ninth grade forward Siddy Bhasin, Bhasin’s ice time has steadily increased throughout the season and his play is starting to ramp up (10GP, 1G, 4A). Senior Josh Nadler missed the beginning of the season while he was out-of-the country and has been looking to find his groove all season long.

BCC has two primary scoring threats starting with sophomore 16U AA center Leo Alley-Strocher (10GP, 17G, 7A). Alley-Strocher has added a goal and an assist in both games versus Upper Montgomery this season. The Barons second leading scorer is senior Evan Williams (11GP, 12G, 8A). Both Alley-Strocher and Williams have each scored two hat-tricks on the season. Williams in particular has tormented the Lightning over the years tallying in every game but one he has played against Upper Montgomery. After BCC’s dynamic duo, hard nosed customer sophomore Brady Page (12GP, 5G, 7A), follows in scoring. Page will not be afraid to throw his weight around and lay the body. The last true offensive threat for BCC is small, shifty skater, junior Peter Lanpher (10 GP, 4G, 3A).

The Upper Montgomery coaching staff has been sending the same message to the team all week long. BCC does not care about Upper Montgomery. Just because the Barons have lost to the Lightning twice this season does not mean a thing. BCC is going to come out hard on Friday night and will play physical the entire game. If Upper Montgomery wants to advance to the quarterfinal round of the Montgomery Hockey Conference playoffs earning a chance at the state playoffs, the team will need to take the game away from BCC. If Upper Montgomery tries to either be too cute with the puck or becomes passive in their game play, BCC will sneak through with the upset win. Upper Montgomery needs to understand that they will have to bring maximum effort for the entire game, play the correct way, and force BCC to play under stress. Let’s hope that the team’s seniors understand the urgency of the matchup as there is no longer any margin for error.

#Need to Advance, #Playoff Wins, #UML, #Bleed Green, #Go Bolts!

The Upper Montgomery Lightning face another extremely tough challenge on Wednesday afternoon when the team faces off against the Oakdale Bears. Game time is late afternoon, a 4:40 pm puck drop at Rockville Ice Arena. The Lightning enter the contest after getting blown out last Friday night against the Whitman Vikings, the second ranked team in the state. The reward, a matchup versus last year’s state champion and the top ranked team in the state, Oakdale. The Oakdale game is an annual non-conference matchup that the Upper Montgomery program schedules as a way to get the student athletes prepared for playoff hockey against the top teams in the Montgomery Hockey Conference. Upper Montgomery concluded conference play against Whitman finishing with a winning record (and best record) since the 2018 – 2019 season at 6-5-1.

In net for the Lightning will be sophomore 16U AA goalie Ilan Shterenberg. Shterenberg has handled the majority of the goaltending duties this season for Upper Montgomery. He has shined in some games making 49 saves in the Lightning’s 3-1 loss to Wootton early in the season and 44 saves in the overtime victory over the DC Stars. His play is typical for an underclass student athlete moving up from his staring role on the junior varsity last season. Shterenberg set or tied numerous junior varsity program records; tying for most wins in a season, and setting the lowest goals against average and highest save percentage in program history. This year, Shterenberg has a solid save percentage of .878 facing tougher competition. His goals against average is a strong 4.80 having been negatively impacted by several of the Lightning’s poor defensive performances in front of him; Urbana, the second Wootton game, Churchill, and Whitman. For Upper Montgomery to have any shot against Oakdale, the young Lightning netminder will have to be the star of the evening.

In goal for Oakdale should be senior all conference netminder, Charles Forino. Forino is an 18U AA netminder who has sat behind last year’s all state goaltender Devin Brown for the last few seasons. Given the opportunity to start this year, he has thrived. His personal statistics are outstanding. He has a 4-1-1 record. His goals against average is 2.78 and his save percentage is .892. He is backed up by Oakdale’s junior varsity netminder Zachary Sanford who only plays when Forino misses a game due to his external travel team being out of town.

Defensively, junior 16U AA defender Brady Berkhammer has upped his game this season. He has set personal career highs in all offensive categories (13GP, 4G, 14A). He has been on a tear recently with a four point game earlier in the season against Northwest / Quince Orchard with two goals and two assists. He has eight points in his last four games, and eleven points in his last six games. Berkhammer leads the team with fourteen assists. Sophomore defender Miles Wendland has played important minutes against the opposition’s top forward lines. He has accelerated his game from his ninth grade season and scored his first career varsity goal recently against Churchill. Senior Cole Howerton has stepped into a regular role on the varsity playing mostly with Wendland. Howerton has played some of his best hockey in his final high school season. His play stood out in the Lightning’s win over Richard Montgomery. Ninth grade 14U AA defender Lillian Robbins has seen regular action this season and contributed three assists in the game against Richard Montgomery. She has played in nine games and has dished out four assists. Senior Patrick Sell scored his first career high school varsity goal in the Northwest / Quince Orchard game. His size and presence on the blue line has caused problems for the opposition. Ninth grade Matt Rivera and 19U AA sophomore Avery Evans have each gained valuable experience at the varsity level in their limited game action. Getting time in varsity games now will help them in future seasons as they take on larger roles with the team.

On defense for the Bears it will seem as if senior 18U AA defender Timothy Farley never leaves the ice. The Bears rotate the rest of their defenders with him. Farley has had an excellent finish to his high school career (8GP, 5G, 8A) playing against the top forward lines of the opposition. The next leading defensive scorer is junior 16U AA Ayden Rowe (7GP, 4G, 5A). Other defenders who will see game action will be Jacob Rollins, Noah Cardarella, and Jayden Price. It has been a tough slog for Oakdale this season as their home rink, Skate Frederick has been closed all year due to an ice surface malfunction. Oakdale has had to play all of their games on the road with other teams benefitting from the last line change. It has also caused Oakdale to schedule many games against private school foes. The Bears have performed admirably this year. It is everyone expectation that Oakdale will be right in the mix to win the state championship for the second consecutive year.

Offensively, the Lightning knew they would have to replace Maryland Student Hockey League Hall of Fame standout Chris Hassett who graduated after last season. Unexpectedly, junior Ryan Jacobson left to play junior hockey in Michigan. Then, last season’s leading returning scorer Nathan Cassel (6GP, 6G, 5A) missed most of the early portion of the season with an upper body injury. His hat-trick against Rockville / Magruder helped the Lightning to a 5-5 tie against the Rams. Cassel just returned to game action this month with his presence on the ice giving Upper Montgomery a shot of confidence offensively.

The Upper Montgomery coaching staff moved 16U AAA junior defender Owen Robbins to center as a means of generating additional offense. The move has paid off as Robbins authored a hat-trick in the Lightning’s season opening win over BCC and scored four times against Richard Montgomery. The Lightning’s season opening victory over BCC was the program’s first ever win against the Barons. The team followed that win up with a hard-fought 3-2 victory over BCC to complete the season sweep. Robbins has been near the top of the Lightning’s leading scorers the entire season with (9GP, 7G, 4A). He is second on the team in goals behind Upper Montgomery’s leading offensive threat, senior center Henry Honacki. Honacki has had an offensive explosion in his final high school season. He currently leads the team in goals with (13GP, 12G, 7A). He was on a tear recently having scored in five consecutive games before the loss to Churchill. Honacki scored the game winning goal in two important Lightning victories, beating the overtime buzzer by scoring with eleven seconds remaining in the extra period to defeat the DC Stars. Then, Honacki scored on the powerplay late in the third period against BCC. Honacki leads the team in powerplay goals with four. His production on the powerplay has helped the Lightning immensely. The team has more powerplay goals already this season (10 for 29, 34.5%) than all of last year’s dismal performance with the extra attacker. Junior forward Philip Shkeda has also been an offensive threat with (11GP, 5G, 11A) playing alongside Honacki and Cassel.

A couple of sophomores have stepped in and filled important roles on the team. Returning forward Aiden Zheng has (13GP, 3G, 6A) continuing his assent from last season’s breakout during the Montgomery Hockey Conference varsity playoff tournament. Newcomer Jake Hudson has used his size well to get the puck out of the defensive zone along the boards leading to numerous rushes up ice. Several of the odd skater rushes have directly led to goals. He has (10GP, 2G, 6A) including dishing out three assists against Richard Montgomery and scoring twice against Northwest / Quince Orchard. With depth an issue, several student athletes who have played the majority of their high school careers with the junior varsity team are receiving playing time this season at the varsity level. Senior forward TJ Gottesman scored his first career varsity goal in the Northwest / Quince Orchard game and senior forward AJ Marks contributed an assist in that same game. Ninth grader Siddy Bhasin’s play is starting to ramp up as he has (9GP, 1G, 4A). Senior Josh Nadler missed the beginning of the season while he was out-of-the country. He is looking to elevate his game heading into the playoffs.

Oakdale’s experienced squad will have plenty of offensive firepower. Senior 18U AA all conference forward Kyle Metzler leads the Bears in overall scoring. He has torched the opposition this season with (8GP, 12G, 8A) in leading the Bears to their 6-1-1 record. Another high flying forward is junior 16U AA skater, Gavin Timberlake. This season he has contributed (7GP, 5G, 2A). Oakdale has received outstanding secondary scoring with sophomore 16U AA Chase Layer (8GP, 2G, 9A), Micah Venezie (7GP, 2G, 4A), Mason Macera (7GP, 4G, 1A), sophomore 16U AA Christian Swanson (10GP, 4G, 3A), and Tyler Yuhas (4GP, 3G, 2A) all providing necessary offensive production that great teams have to be successful. Oakdale will look to pressure the Lightning defense in waves. Upper Montgomery will need to play the exact same way as last year when the Lightning played the Bears even. Upper Montgomery held a 1-0 lead with less than five minutes to play by stifling Oakdale with is smothering defensive performance frustrating the Bears. Ultimately, the Bears scored back to back powerplay goals on a five on three and then on the remainder of the five on four powerplay to squeak by Upper Montgomery.

The Lightning need a good performance to wash away the feeling of last Friday’s rout. The performance will need to be much better against Oakdale or the Lightning may suffer a similar blowout defeat. To go on a long playoff run, the Lightning will need to clamp down defensively and make it more difficult for the opposition to score. It was far too easy for Whitman to penetrate into the offensive zone. Conversely, on offense, Upper Montgomery will need to drive more to the net and score ugly goals. The total of nine shots on goal against Whitman, one of them coming on a penalty shot, is simply not acceptable. While finishing the regular season strong is important, the team will need to increase its overall level of play to match that of the top teams in the county. It should now be an expectation that the Lightning advance out of the opening round of the Montgomery Hockey Conference playoffs. Playing in the quarterfinal round of the playoffs with an opportunity to qualify for the Maryland Student Hockey League state playoffs (for the first time ever) should be an annual destination for the program.

#Finish Strong, #Playoff Prep, #UML, #Bleed Green, #Go Bolts!

The Upper Montgomery Lightning are preparing for a tough challenge on Friday night when the team takes on the Whitman Vikings. Game time is 9:00 pm at Rockville Ice Arena. The Lightning enter the contest after a ten day layoff following a disappointing loss to Churchill when the team was positioned to end the program’s long sixteen year streak of never having beaten the Bulldogs.

Upper Montgomery will finish conference play with a winning record (and best record) since the 2018 – 2019 season. Even if the Lightning losses is final regular season conference game to Whitman, the team will finish with a 6-5-1 conference record. The finish to the regular season will be extremely tough for Upper Montgomery as the squad faces the top two teams in the state over the next week. First up is Whitman followed by a non-conference game against Oakdale, last year’s state champion. It would not shock anyone to see Whitman and Oakdale meet late next month in the Maryland Student Hockey League state championship game. These two late season matchups against high quality opponents should help the Lightning prepare for their own playoff journey.

In net for the Lightning will be sophomore 16U AA goalie Ilan Shterenberg. Shterenberg has handled the majority of the goaltending duties this season for Upper Montgomery. He has shined in some games making 49 saves in the Lightning’s 3-1 loss to Wootton early in the season and 44 saves in the overtime victory over the DC Stars. His play is typical for an underclass student athlete moving up from his staring role on the junior varsity last season. Shterenberg set or tied numerous junior varsity program records; tying for most wins in a season, and setting the lowest goals against average and highest save percentage in program history. This year, Shterenberg has a solid save percentage of .887. His goals against average is a strong 4.38 having been negatively impacted by the Lightning’s poor defensive performances against both Urbana and in the second Wootton game. For Upper Montgomery to have any shot against Whitman, the young Lightning netminder will have to be the star of the evening.

In goal for Whitman should be senior all conference netminder, Ryan Graf. Graf is an 18U AA netminder who has three full years of varsity experience under his belt. His personal statistics are outstanding this season. He has an 11-1 record with four shutouts. His goals against average is 1.50 and his save percentage is .917. He is backed up by sophomore netminder, Alexander Minkoff. Minkoff has seen very limited varsity action this season only playing against the weaker competition that the Vikings have faced.

Defensively, junior 16U AA defender Brady Berkhammer has upped his game this season. He has set personal career highs in all offensive categories (12GP, 4G, 14A). He has been on a tear recently with a four point game earlier in the season against Northwest / Quince Orchard with two goals and two assists. He has eight points in his last three games, and eleven points in his last five games. Berkhammer leads the team with fourteen assists. Sophomore defender Miles Wendland has played important minutes against the opposition’s top forward lines. He has accelerated his game from his ninth grade season and scored his first career varsity goal last time out against Churchill. Senior Cole Howerton has stepped into a regular role on the varsity playing mostly with Wendland. Howerton has played some of his best hockey in his final high school season. His play stood out in the Lightning’s win over Richard Montgomery. Ninth grade 14U AA defender Lillian Robbins has seen regular action this season and contributed three assists in the game against Richard Montgomery. She has played in eight games and has dished out four assists. Senior Patrick Sell scored his first career high school varsity goal in the Northwest / Quince Orchard game. His size and presence on the blue line has caused problems for the opposition. Ninth grade Matt Rivera and 19U AA sophomore Avery Evans have each gained valuable experience at the varsity level in their limited game action. Getting time in varsity games now will help them in future seasons as they take on larger roles with the team.

On defense the Vikings excel. Quite frankly they are loaded and are the stingiest team in the county having given up only 23 goals in 14 games. Whitman shines in shot suppression, which is a function of the Vikings having puck possession for the majority of the game. Their defense also contributes heavily to their offense. The Vikings defensive leader is senior 18U AA Zachary Kraus. He happens to be related to Upper Montgomery junior varsity sophomore center Jackson Schickler. Kraus has (12GP, 7G, 13A) so far on the season. He will be looking to push forward and attack offensively on Friday night. Fellow senior 18U AA Morrison Cohen will also flash offensively. So far this season he has scored (12GP, 8G, 8A). Both Kraus and Cohen have scored more individually than the entire Upper Montgomery defense has scored combined, six goals. Sophomore Steven Mah will take on a much larger role next season after Kraus and Cohen have graduated. The rest of Whitman’s defense will rotate in during the game.

Offensively, the Lightning knew they would have to replace Maryland Student Hockey League Hall of Fame standout Chris Hassett who graduated after last season. Unexpectedly, junior Ryan Jacobson left to play junior hockey in Michigan. Then, last season’s leading returning scorer Nathan Cassel (5GP, 6G, 5A) missed most of the early portion of the season with an upper body injury. His hat-trick against Rockville / Magruder helped the Lightning to a 5-5 tie against the Rams. Cassel just returned to game action this month. He has scored in all three games in which he has participated. His presence on the ice has given Upper Montgomery a shot of confidence offensively.

The Upper Montgomery coaching staff moved 16U AAA junior defender Owen Robbins to center as a means of generating additional offense. The move has paid off as Robbins authored a hat-trick in the Lightning’s season opening win over BCC and scored four times against Richard Montgomery. The Lightning’s season opening victory over BCC was the program’s first ever win against the Barons. The team followed that win up with a hard-fought 3-2 victory over BCC to complete the season sweep. Robbins has been near the top of the Lightning’s leading scorers the entire season with (8GP, 7G, 4A). He is second on the team in goals behind Upper Montgomery’s leading offensive threat, senior center Henry Honacki. Honacki has had an offensive explosion in his final high school season. He currently leads the team in goals with (12GP, 12G, 7A). He has been on a tear recently having scored in five consecutive games before the loss to Churchill. Honacki scored the game winning goal in two important Lightning victories, beating the overtime buzzer by scoring with eleven seconds remaining in the extra period to defeat the DC Stars. Then, Honacki scored on the powerplay late in the third period against BCC. Honacki leads the team in powerplay goals with four. His production on the powerplay has helped the Lightning immensely. The team has more powerplay goals already this season (10 for 25, 40.0%) than all of last year’s dismal performance with the extra attacker. Junior forward Philip Shkeda has also been an offensive threat with (10GP, 5G, 11A) playing alongside Honacki and Cassel.

A couple of sophomores have stepped in and filled important roles on the team. Returning forward Aiden Zheng has (12GP, 3G, 6A) continuing his assent from last season’s breakout during the Montgomery Hockey Conference varsity playoff tournament. Newcomer Jake Hudson has used his size well to get the puck out of the defensive zone along the boards leading to numerous rushes up ice. Several of the odd skater rushes have directly led to goals. He has (10GP, 2G, 6A) including dishing out three assists against Richard Montgomery and scoring twice against Northwest / Quince Orchard. With depth an issue, several student athletes who have played the majority of their high school careers with the junior varsity team are receiving playing time this season at the varsity level. Senior forward TJ Gottesman scored his first career varsity goal in the Northwest / Quince Orchard game and senior forward AJ Marks contributed an assist in that same game. Ninth grader Siddy Bhasin has dressed and played in several varsity games. His play is starting to ramp up as he has (9GP, 1G, 4A). Senior Josh Nadler missed the beginning of the season while he was out-of-the country. He is looking to elevate his game heading into the playoffs.

Whitman’s senior laden squad will have plenty of firepower offensively as well. Senior 18U AA Charles Ingis leads the Vikings in overall scoring. He has torched the Montgomery Hockey Conference this season with (14GP, 23G, 8A) in leading the Vikings to their 12-2 record. Another senior 18U AA skater, Nicholas Huguely, has terrorized Upper Montgomery over the years. This season he has contributed (13GP, 8G, 9A) and he must have been eagerly awaiting Upper Montgomery showing up on the schedule. Another Lightning killer, senior 18U AA Trevor Fay (14GP, 7G, 6A) is also licking his chops for the game on Friday night. Whitman’s second forward line of junior 16U AA Benjamin Luo (10GP, 8G, 6A), Andrew Kaplan (14GP, 5G, 4A) and Henry Herdman (14GP, 4G, 3A) can’t be ignored either. Whitman will look to pressure the Lightning defense in waves on Friday. Upper Montgomery will need to play low event hockey. Just get the puck back over the defensive blue line.

It’s time for the Lightning to ramp up their play as the playoffs are approaching. To go on a long playoff run, the Lightning will need to clamp down defensively and make it more difficult for the opposition to score. Conversely, on offense Upper Montgomery will need to drive more to the net and score ugly goals. While finishing the regular season strong is important, the team will need to increase its overall level of play to match that of the top teams in the county. These next two games should go a long way in determining if the Lightning are up for once again advancing out of the opening round of the Montgomery Hockey Conference playoffs and then playing for an opportunity to qualify for the Maryland Student Hockey League state playoffs for the first time ever.

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

With extremely high anticipation, the Upper Montgomery Lightning junior varsity has been looking forward to once again taking on the Churchill Bulldogs this season. The teams earlier match up back in early October saw the Lightning compete in the game with only seven available skaters. Upper Montgomery’s students valiantly played that game virtually even with the Bulldogs before falling in overtime by a score of 2-1. Playing with such a depleted roster, the Lightning believe they would be able to turn the tables on the Bulldogs if they got a chance to meet in the playoffs. As luck would have it, the Lightning and the Bulldogs will play on Friday night in the quarterfinal round of the Montgomery Hockey Conference playoffs.

The Lightning finished fourth in the junior varsity conference standings with a 4-1-2 conference record. Upper Montgomery will host the fifth place Bulldogs who finished the regular season campaign with a 4-2-1 conference record. Churchill beat up on several of the lower ranked teams to secure their spot in the quarterfinal round of the playoffs. The winner of Friday’s game will advance to play top ranked Wootton in the semifinals of the playoff unless Wootton is somehow felled by eighth seeded Northwest / Quince Orchard who won only three games all season.

In goal for the Lightning junior varsity will be ninth grade netminder Porter Stutsrim-Lyons.  Stutsrim-Lyons plays for the Caps Academy 14U Lower A external travel team. He has begun his high school career in excellent style with a 4-2-2 record, a very low 1.98 goals against average, and an eye popping .927 save percentage. Stursrim-Lyons has allowed more than two goals in a game during regulation only twice this season. He also has two shutouts to his credit. Churchill is expected to play ninth grade goalie Cooper Glazer in net. Glazer has been solid this season only allowing nine goals over five games for a 1.80 goals against average. He has a 2-2-1 record due to Churchill’s rather anemic offensive output. Glazer sports a .903 save percentage. In the earlier matchup between the teams, senior Nick Nelson stopped 28 of 29 shots to secure the overtime victory. It is certainly an interesting coaching decision from the Churchill coaching staff to start Glazer.

On defense the Lightning will again play without a full compliment of defenders. Missing this week will be two key defenders, 16U Lower A Miles Wendland (5GP, 3A) and 19U AA Avery Evans (5GP, 2G, 4A). Upper Montgomery will dress three core defenders; senior captain Cole Howerton (6GP, 4G, 3A) who has freedom from the coaching staff to roam up ice to join offensive rushes, stay at home senior defender and alternate captain Patrick Sell (6GP, 1G, 1A), and ninth grade newcomer Matt Rivera (8G, 5A). Max Curtusan, who will be playing in only his third high school game will see regular action on the back line. It would not be shocking to see the Lightning bring back some forwards to play defense during penalty kill situations.

Churchill will be led on the back line by junior Samuel Lifsey. Joining Lifsey on the top defensive pairing is expected to be sophomore Andrew Liu. The Bulldogs second defensive pairing will be sophomores Cyrus Sawyer paired with Gabriel Li. The focus of the Churchill defense will be on stopping the Lightning, as during regular season action the Bulldog defenders contributed next to nothing offensively.

On offense, the Lightning will be looking to see some depth scoring emerge on Friday. Several of the Lightning’s top scorers return after being held out of action against Whitman in the regular season finale. Senior center AJ Marks, who leads the team in scoring with (8GP, 5G, 7A), will center the top line playing along side Max Israfilbek (7GP, 1G, 2A). Israfilbek recently scored his first career high school goal against Annapolis / Arundel. The third forward on that line Jason Woodman returns from a lengthy suspension after getting back into game action last time out versus Whitman. Sophomore Jake Hudson (6GP, 5G, 3A) will center sophomore 16U Lower A Aiden Zheng (6GP, 6G, 1A), and ninth grade 14U Lower A Siddy Bhasin (6GP, 5G, 4A). The third line is likely to feature sophomore Jackson Schickler centering ninth grade forward Decklin Hughes (6GP, 1G, 1A) and sophomore Mason Jagoz (8GP, 1G, 3A). Ninth grade forward Luke Hudson will cycle in and play on the third line. Schickler will be playing in just his second game this season after returning from a long injury absence to rejoin the Lightning forward rotation.

Churchill has one primary offensive threat, sophomore 16U Lower A Elias Elhallou. Elhallou has scored or assisted on more than half of the Bulldogs goals this season (7GP, 12G, 4A). If the Lightning are able to contain Elhallou, the rest of Churchill’s forward group is not likely to seriously threaten Stutsrim-Lyons. The Lightning coaching staff has been working all week to devise a strategy to limit Elhallou’s impact on the game.

It has been two consecutive playoff appearances with a quick ending for the Lightning junior varsity. Both of the past two seasons the team has played its quarterfinal round playoff game without a full roster. In both games Upper Montgomery struggled to score or generate any offensive pressure. Getting on the scoreboard first and playing with a lead will be critical for the Lightning. Being ahead in the game will allow the team to implement its clamp down defensive style. Getting to three goals should be enough to secure a victory on Friday night considering Stutsrim-Lyons’ stingy play this season. This year’s Lightning is poised to go on a long playoff run and challenge for the junior varsity championship. It all starts late Friday night with a 10:00 pm puck drop at Cabin John Ice Rink.

#Advance to Semis, #Revenge, #UML, #Bleed Green, #Go Bolts!

The Upper Montgomery Lightning will attempt once again to make history by beating the Churchill Bulldogs for the first time in program history. Until Tuesday evening’s game, the closest Upper Montgomery has been to beating the Bulldogs was in the quarterfinal round of the 2022 -2023 Montgomery Hockey Conference playoffs. Churchill was the nine time consecutive defending state champion and Upper Montgomery had won its first ever playoff game in overtime the week prior. The winners in the quarterfinal round games of the Montgomery Hockey Conference playoffs advance to the Maryland Student Hockey League state playoffs. Upper Montgomery played Churchill to a one all tie through regulation and overtime before falling in a five round shootout by a score of three to two. Similar to soccer, the score is officially recorded as a tie with Churchill advancing on penalty shots.

Outside of that one game, the next closest performance for the Lightning has been a four goal loss. Last season, Churchill triumphed by a score of 8-0 in a game that was never close. But, this year’s Churchill squad is not nearly as formidably as some of the historically great Bulldog teams. The Bulldogs lost in overtime to the DC Stars for the first time ever early in the season, and they have looked underwhelming in other games such as a one goal win over Blair. Churchill enters the game with a 5-4-1 conference record, and 6-6-1 overall. If Upper Montgomery plays hockey the correct way, getting the puck out of the defensive zone and getting the puck in deep against Churchill, the Lightning should be right there with an opportunity to win the game.

Both teams have seen up and down goalie play this season. Upper Montgomery sophomore 16U AA goalie Ilan Shterenberg has been outstanding in several games this season backstopping the Lightning. He enters the final games of the season with a 6-4-1 record, a 4.14 goals against average, and an .890 save percentage. In his first year as a starter at the varsity level, Shterenberg will be looking to do what no other Lightning goalie has ever done, defeat the Bulldogs. He will again be backed up by ninth grade 14U Lower A netminder Porter Stutsrim-Lyons.  Stutsrim-Lyons has started off his high school career strongly playing for Upper Montgomery’s junior varsity. Stutsrim-Lyons is 4-2-2 on the season with a 1.98 goals against average and a .927 save percentage. He has helped lead the Lightning junior varsity to the number four seed in the upcoming Montgomery Hockey Conference junior varsity playoffs.

In net for Churchill will be Macallister Glazer. Glazer enters the game with a 4-3 record, with two shutouts, a 3.32 goals against average, and an .883 save percentage. In his last outing, Glazer gave up three goals to Landon in relief of backup goalie Cameron Shure. Last season, Glazer had an easy time of it needing to only make eighteen saves to blank the Lightning in the Bulldogs 8-0 victory.

On defense, the Lightning have all of their defense available for the game. The Lightning’s most experienced defender, junior 16U AA Brady Berkhammer (11GP, 4G, 12A) has set career highs in goals and points this season. He will pair with ninth grade defender 14U AA Lillian Robbins (7GP, 4A). Berkhammer has had back-to-back three point games against Northwest / Quince Orchard and Rockville / Magruder. Sophomore 16U Lower A Miles Wendland (10GP, 3A) will skate with senior Cole Howerton (10GP, 2A). Both defenders are still looking for their first ever varsity goals. Senior Patrick Sell and sophomore 19U AA defender Avery Evans will likely see limited action.

With mega star 18U AAA senior defender Kobe Esko-Himmelfarb (13GP, 5G, 1A) the Bulldogs are all set on defense. They will also deploy tough customer 16U AA sophomore Alexander Bazyluk (6GP, 1G, 5A). The other Churchill defenders will rotate with Esko-Himmelfarb on the ice offering support and coverage; Tyler Long, Atahun Saydam, and Michael Dong. The Churchill defense is very mobile and they will attempt to join the play offensively. They will also continually pinch in at the offensive blue line looking to create offensive chances. The Bulldogs have given up 48 goals already this season compared with fifty goals total all of last season in 22 games.

Offensively, Upper Montgomery will look to consistently roll three lines during the game. Senior 18U AA forward Nathan Cassel returned to the lineup recently. He has scored in both games since his return, putting up six points in those two games with two goals and four assists. His season offensive numbers are (4GP, 5G, 5A). Cassel will again play with senior 18U Upper A center Henry Honacki (11GP, 12G, 5A) and left wing Philip Shkeda (9GP, 5G, 11A). Honacki leads the team in goals with twelve, having scored eight goals during his five game consecutive goal scoring streak. Honacki has scored four powerplay goals to go along with his two game winning goals. He scored the game winning goal in two of the last three Upper Montgomery wins. His game winning overtime goal with eleven seconds remaining in the extra period helped the Lightning overcome the DC Stars in Mid-December.

The Lightning will have junior 16U AAA center Owen Robbins (7GP, 7G, 4A) for the matchup against Churchill after he missed the previous two games. Thus, it will be imperative for the second and third lines to contribute offensively against Churchill. No offensive production came outside of the top line and Berkhammer against Rockville / Magruder. Sophomore 16U Lower A forward Aiden Zheng (11GP, 3G, 6A) and senior forward Josh Nadler will need to contribute additional scoring. Sophomore center Jake Hudson (9GP, 2G, 6A) scored two goals against Northwest / Quince Orchard. He has begun to feel more comfortable on the ice since being moved back to center. He has become more involved and noticeable using his size and strength to create opportunities. Ninth grade 14U Lower A forward Siddy Bhasin (8GP, 1G, 4A) and senior forwards AJ Marks and TJ Gottesman will need to provide energy and play excellent defense when on the ice.

The Bulldogs top forward scorer is junior Qin Lai (11GP, 7G, 4A). He scored a hat-trick recently against Wootton. His offensive production has increased over last year with expanded ice time. Lai will play on a line with sophomore 16U AA Liam Naughton (12GP, 6G, 3A) and speedy 16U Upper A Aiden Pham (11GP, 5G, 5A). Churchill’s second line will include ninth grade 14U AAA Tristan Xu, 18U AAA Ryan Wees, and 18U AA Shogo Okayama. Even with their speed and highly talented forwards, Churchill’s scoring is significantly down this year. The Bulldogs have averaged 4.6 goals per game this season compared with 5.36 goals per game last season due to the attrition of a high caliber graduating senior class.

The Lightning are already assured of their first conference winning record since the 2018 – 2019 campaign. Upper Montgomery has an opportunity to secure the sixth seed in the conference rankings with a win over Churchill. But it won’t be easy considering Upper Montgomery has never beaten Churchill in its sixteen year existence. The overtime loss still haunts the Lightning as they were so very close to pulling off the biggest upset in the history of high school hockey in the state of Maryland. The Lightning’s student athletes will need to put together a great effort. If they do, this long painful mark of the Bulldogs remaining the only team that the Lightning have never beaten will end.

#Make History, #UML, #Bleed Green, #Go Bolts!

The Upper Montgomery Lightning play a critical contest against the Rockville / Magruder Rams on Friday night in a game that will likely determine which program finishes with the all important sixth seed in the Montgomery Hockey Conference rankings. Game time is 9:00 pm at Rockville Ice Arena. It will be a rematch of an early season thriller that ended up tied 5-5. Rockville / Magruder sent the game into overtime by scoring with the goalie pulled in favor of an extra skater with 1.4 seconds remaining in regulation. Upper Montgomery dominated the overtime period with several great scoring chances but could not put another shot past Rams senior goaltender Sean Connelly.

The programs are headed in opposite directions. Upper Montgomery has won four of its last five games with its only loss to highly ranked Wootton. The Lightning will also be looking to play much better than their performance last week against Northwest / Quince Orchard when Upper Montgomery struggled to a 7-4 victory over the last place team in the conference. Rockville / Magruder has lost three of its last four outings getting blown out by top ranked teams, Walter Johnson, Whitman, and Churchill. The Rams currently have the inside track on the sixth seed by virtue of their 8-6 win over Sherwood. The Sherwood win is the best victory that any of the division two teams have secured this season. After next week’s clash, Rockville / Magruder has only last place Northwest / Quince Orchard left on their schedule. Upper Montgomery would have two opportunities to jump ahead of Rockville / Magruder with a victory against either Churchill or Whitman.

Upper Montgomery has a distinct advantage in net. Sophomore 16U AA goalie Ilan Shterenberg has been steady this season with a 6-3-1 record, a 4.05 goals against average, and an .890 save percentage. There have been games in which Shterenberg has been really, really good (Wootton, BCC, DC Stars) and there have been some games that an extra save or two would have made the game a little easier for the Lightning (Rockville / Magruder, Northwest / Quince Orchard). In his first year as a starter at the varsity level, Shterenberg will be looking to build upon some recent good outings and gain additional consistency. He will again be backed up by ninth grade 14U Lower A netminder Porter Stutsrim-Lyons.  Stutsrim-Lyons has started off his high school career strongly playing for Upper Montgomery’s junior varsity. Stutsrim-Lyons is 4-2-2 on the season with a 1.98 goals against average and a .927 save percentage in leading the Lightning junior varsity to the number four seed in the upcoming Montgomery Hockey Conference junior varsity playoffs.

In net for Rockville / Magruder celebrating their senior night will be senior goaltender Sean Connelly. Connelly has been up and down all season. He has a 5-3-1 record, a 4.46 goals against average, and an .830 save percentage. In his last four games he has given up six, six, seven, and nine goals. Against the top teams in the county, Connelly has struggled. Against the bottom two or three teams in the county, Connelly has played well. He gave up five goals on twenty two shots in the first game against Upper Montgomery.

On defense, the Lightning have all of their defense available for the game. The Lightning’s most experienced defender, junior 16U AA Brady Berkhammer (10GP, 3G, 10A) will pair with ninth grade defender 14U AA Lillian Robbins (6GP, 4A). Berkhammer had a three point night against Northwest / Quince Orchard last week and has tied his career high in point for a season with thirteen. His first career two goal game against the Jaguars on Halloween as part of a four point game. Sophomore 16U Lower A Miles Wendland (9GP, 3A) will skate with senior Cole Howerton (9GP, 2A). Senior Patrick Sell and ninth grade defender Matt Rivera will likely see limited action.

With mega star senior defender 18U AAA Andrew Pfeufer (6GP, 12G, 4A) the Rams are all set on defense. They will also deploy tough customer senior 18U AA Aiden Ward (10GP, 5G, 6A). Ward is a wide body defender who hits like a mack truck. Juniors Max Yuen (16U Lower A) and Lincoln Herrick are entering their third season of varsity competition and they provide excellent depth on defense. Ninth grade defender 16U Lower A Lukas Aagaard and Senior Calder Wilcox will see game action this week against the Lightning as well. The Rams defense will be much more talented than what Upper Montgomery faced last week against Northwest / Quince Orchard.

Offensively, Upper Montgomery will look to consistently roll three lines during the game. With senior 18U AA forward Nathan Cassel returning to the lineup last week and putting up four points with a goal and three assists, (3GP, 4G, 4A) he will again play with senior 18U Upper A center Henry Honacki (10GP, 11G, 4A) and left wing Philip Shkeda (8GP, 4G, 9A). Honacki leads the team in goals with eleven, having scored two goals in each of the past three games. Honacki has scored four powerplay goals to go along with two game winning goals. He has scored the game winning goal in two of the last three Upper Montgomery wins. His game winning overtime goal with eleven seconds remaining in the extra period helped the Lightning overcome the DC Stars in Mid-December. Honacki is on a four game goal scoring streak. Cassel had a hat-trick in the earlier matchup against the Rams.

Meanwhile, depth scoring came to the forefront last week against Northwest / Quince Orchard. The Lightning will be playing without junior 16U AAA center Owen Robbins (7GP, 7G, 4A). Thus, it will be imperative for the second and third lines to contribute offensively against Rockville / Magruder. Sophomore 16U Lower A forward Aiden Zheng (10GP, 3G, 6A) and senior forward Josh Nadler will need to contribute additional scoring. Sophomore center Jake Hudson (8GP, 2G, 6A) scored two goals last week. He has begun to feel more comfortable on the ice since being moved back to center. He has become more involved and noticeable using his strength and size to create opportunities. Ninth grade 14U Lower A forward Siddy Bhasin (7GP, 1G, 4A) and senior forwards AJ Marks and TJ Gottesman will need to provide energy and play excellent defense when on the ice.

The Rams top returning forward scorer from last season senior Brendyn Iliff (10GP, 5G, 6A) is on a similar scoring pace as last season. He had two assists in the earlier season matchup with the Lightning. Iliff will play plenty with junior Toyin Okunseinde (8GP, 4G, 4A). Cameron Gifford (10GP, 9G, 5A), a 14U AAA center, scored a hat-trick against the Lightning in October including the game tying goal with 1.4 seconds remaining to burst the Lightning’s bubble and salve standings points for the Rams. Rowen Pierson, a 16U Lower A center out long term with an upper body injury will return against Upper Montgomery. Ninth grade 14U AA forward Alexander Johnston (8GP, 3G) scored in the first game against the Lightning. Upper Montgomery will have to contend with these talented Rams’ skaters while at the same time being hyper aware of where Pfeufer and Ward are at all times.

The first half of the 2024 – 2025 season started out well for Upper Montgomery. Once thought of as a season of growth and development for the green and gold’s younger student athletes, this year is quickly turning into an opportunity to compete deep into the Montgomery Hockey Conference playoffs.  The Lightning are already assured of their first conference winning record since the 2018 – 2019 campaign. Upper Montgomery has an opportunity to secure the sixth seed in the conference rankings with a win over Rockville / Magruder. It won’t be easy. These two programs are the most similarly matched of any two teams in the county. The last two games between the squads have gone to overtime. The game between the teams three years ago was won in the last minute by the Rams. The Lightning’s student athletes better understand the stakes of the matchup and come ready to play with urgency. History between the teams tells us that the game will be very close late into the third period. The green and gold’s faithful spectators will be on the edge of their seats cheering on their team to what will hopefully be a hard fought victory.

#Second Half Surge, #Four Game Winning Streak, #UML, #Bleed Green, #Go Bolts!

The Upper Montgomery Lightning will celebrate its seven seniors on Friday night when the team faces off against Northwest / Quince Orchard. The Lightning will be looking to continue their best start to a season in years when they play the last place Jaguars. Game time is at 8:10 pm at Rockville Ice Arena with the senior night celebration prior to puck drop. The Lightning will be looking to accomplish several objectives in the game; advance the team’s record to 6-3-1 overall (and 6-2-1 in conference play), play a complete team game, and atone for Upper Montgomery’s ho hum performance against Northwest / Quince Orchard on Halloween evening where the Lightning did not play well at all and still walked away with a 7-3 victory.

For only the second time all season Upper Montgomery will dress its full lineup. Lightning senior forward Nathan Cassel will return from an upper body injury to face Northwest / Quince Orchard. His return will allow the Lightning coaching staff to slot the forward lines appropriately and his individual skill should help jump start the Lightning’s offense. The Jaguars upset Richard Montgomery early in the season but have gone winless since. Northwest / Quince Orchard enters the game with a 1-8 record having scored 22 goals and having allowed 76 goals against. Some prognostications had Northwest / Quince Orchard going winless this season while not being competitive in any game. Kudos to the Northwest / Quince Orchard student athletes for snagging a victory.

Upper Montgomery’s goaltender, sophomore 16U AA Ilan Shterenberg has been really good over his last two outings allowing only two goals in each game and stopping 72 of 76 shots (.947 save percentage). His play in net has helped Upper Montgomery win each of their last two games. On the season, Shterenberg sports a respectable 4.05 goals against average and a strong .892 save percentage. Shterenberg will be looking for his sixth victory of the campaign. He will again be backed up by ninth grade 14U Lower A netminder Porter Stutsrim-Lyons.  Stutsrim-Lyons has started off his high school career strongly playing for Upper Montgomery’s junior varsity. Stutsrim-Lyons is 4-2-2 on the season with a 1.98 goals against average and a .927 save percentage. He has seen limited varsity action this year and could enter the game if the Lightning open up a large lead.

In net for Northwest / Quince Orchard will be ninth grade netminder Sean Wyatt. In securing the Jaguars victory over Richard Montgomery, Wyatt made 47 saves while giving up only four goals for a .922 save percentage. For the season Wyatt has a 5.63 goals against average and a .877 save percentage. Upper Montgomery will have a huge advantage in net with Shterenberg. Northwest / Quince Orchard’s defense has been overwhelmed all season causing their goalies’ statistics to suffer tremendously.

On defense, the Lightning have all of their defense available for the game. The Lightning’s most experienced defender, junior 16U AA Brady Berkhammer (9GP, 2G, 8A) will pair with sophomore 16U AA Avery Evans. Berkhammer had his first career two goal game against the Jaguars on Halloween as part of a four point game. Ninth grade defender 14U AA Lillian Robbins (5GP, 4A) will pair with sophomore 16U Lower A Miles Wendland (8GP, 3A). Seniors Cole Howerton and Patrick Sell will play together on senior night. With the loss of so many experienced skaters off last season’s roster, almost every defender in the program has seen playing time on the varsity this season.

Northwest / Quince Orchard has two reasonably competent defenders in senior 18U Upper A Drew Blurton and junior 18U AA Roman Martin (9GP, 4G, 5A). After those two skaters, there is a massive drop off in talent to the rest of the Northwest / Quince Orchard defenders. Anticipate that Northwest / Quince Orchard’s two better defenders will play with each other on the powerplay and at any crucial moments in the game. But, they will likely be split up and play with other defenders for most of the game in an attempt to keep at least one of them on the ice at all times. Look for Upper Montgomery to take advantage of the Jaguars inexperienced defenders and overload to that side of the ice on offensive zone entries.

Offensively, Upper Montgomery will look to consistently roll three lines during the game. With senior 18U AA Cassel returning to the lineup (2GP, 3G, 1A) he will play with 18U Upper A Henry Honacki at center (9GP, 9G, 2A) and left wing Philip Shkeda (7GP, 4G, 6A). Honacki leads the team in goals with nine having scored two goals in each of the last two games. Honacki has scored four powerplay goals and he has scored the game winning goal in each of Upper Montgomery’s last two wins. His game winning overtime goal with eleven seconds remaining in the extra period helped the Lightning overcome the DC Stars. He is also on a three game goal scoring streak. Meanwhile, in the earlier meeting against the Jaguars Shkeda had four points with a goal and three assists. The second line will be centered by junior captain 16U AAA Owen Robbins (7GP, 7G, 4A). Robbins has produced two hat-tricks so far this season. He will play with sophomore 16U Lower A Aiden Zheng (9GP, 2G, 5A) and senior Josh Nadler. The third line will see sophomore Jake Hudson (7GP, 6A) and ninth grade 14U Lower A Siddy Bhasin (6GP, 1G, 3A) center seniors AJ Marks and TJ Gottesman.

Northwest / Quince Orchard has only one offensive scorer of note, and he is a good one, junior 16U AA center Ethan Custudio (8GP, 13G, 7A). He scored once and assisted on the other two Jaguars goals in the earlier matchup against the Lightning. The key to limiting Northwest / Quince Orchard is to stop or contain Custudio. If Upper Montgomery handles Custudio, it will be a long, long night for the Jaguars and the Upper Montgomery rout will be on.

The 2024 – 2025 season has started out well for Upper Montgomery. Once thought of as a season of growth and development for the green and gold’s younger student athletes, this year is quickly turning into an opportunity to compete deep into the Montgomery Hockey Conference playoffs.  If the Lightning can smoke Northwest / Quince Orchard, the team will be assured of a winning record in conference action. After the Jaguars game, the schedule toughens significantly with a rematch against Rockville / Magruder, and then games against division one foes third ranked Churchill and second ranked Whitman. Let’s hope the seniors’ send off is one to remember and that Upper Montgomery rings in calendar year 2025 in style.

#Senior Night, #Three Game Winning Streak, #UML, #Bleed Green, #Go Bolts!