Category: Game Previews

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!

The Upper Montgomery Lightning varsity squad is back in action this Friday evening against the BCC Barons in a rematch of the season opener for both teams. Game time is 8:45 pm at Rockville Ice Arena. Upper Montgomery prevailed in mid-October by the score of 4-3 to claim the program’s first ever victory over BCC in the sixteen years that the Upper Montgomery ice hockey program has existed.

Upper Montgomery has reached the mid-point of the 2024 – 2025 season with a 4-2-1 conference record (4-3-1 overall) and is ranked sixth in the county. All three of Upper Montgomery’s losses are to teams ranked in the top fifteen in the state; Wootton twice and Urbana. Upper Montgomery has reversed a trend that developed over the past couple of seasons, very slow starts. Last year, the team began the season 1-7. In 2022 – 2023, the team began the season 1-4-1. While the Lightning eventually recovered nicely over the middle and second portion of each of those seasons, getting off to a better start this year puts the team in position to secure a top six seed in the season ending Montgomery Hockey Conference playoff tournament. Finishing sixth or higher eliminates having to face the top two teams in the county, Walter Johnson and Whitman in the playoffs.

Additionally, the Lightning will be looking to build off last week’s overtime buzzer beating win over the DC Stars and carry that momentum into this week’s game against BCC. Meanwhile, this is clearly a rebuilding season for the Barons who are playing many student athletes in their first and second years of high school. BCC has wins against the two bottom teams in the county; Northwest / Quince Orchard twice and Richard Montgomery who played against BCC with a depleted roster. The Barons are 3-5 on the season and have been really limited offensively against quality opponents. Most of the BCC offensive output has come against Northwest / Quince Orchard and Richard Montgomery.

Once again Upper Montgomery will not be at full strength as last season’s leading returning scorer Nathan Cassel continues to recover from an upper body injury. His likely return of after the Thanksgiving holiday has been pushed back until the start of the new year. Cassel may be available for the Lightning’s next game after the winter holiday break. However, this season’s leading scorer Owen Robbins will return after missing the DC Stars contest as he was out-of-town with his external travel team. Philip Shkeda also returns to face BCC after missing last week’s game with an illness. If the early season game between the two teams is any barometer, the game on Friday should be a physical low scoring affair. Expect a lot of play in the neutral zone and along the boards with each team trying to threaten the high danger scoring areas. Whichever goalie plays better and whichever team excels in special teams situations will likely win the game.

Upper Montgomery’s goaltender, sophomore 16U AA Ilan Shterenberg has been sound this season with a 4-3-1 record, a 4.32 goals against average, and an .888 save percentage. His statistics are a little misleading as two games, one against Wootton and the Urbana game skew his personal statistics dramatically. Shterenberg played well against the DC Stars making 44 saves (the second highest of his career) on 46 shots. He will again be backed up by ninth grade 14U Lower A netminder Porter Stutsrim-Lyons. Stutsrim-Lyons is 3-2-2 on the season with two shutouts. He sports a 1.98 goals against average and a .928 save percentage playing for the Lightning junior varsity.

In net for the Barons is expected to be senior 19U AA Vivienne Boyle. She took the loss in the season opener against Upper Montgomery. Last season, Boyle backstopped the Barons to a 7-2 victory over the Lightning in the team’s only meeting. She has played in all but one game for the Barons over the first portion of the season as her goaltending partner, Tycho Narrod-Malcolm finished up the high school football season. Boyle is solid in net and the Lightning will need to work hard to score against her. She has a 2-5 record with a 5.59 goals against average and a .793 save percentage.

On defense, the Lightning will be tested by the Baron’s forecheck. The Lightning’s most experienced defender junior 16U AA Brady Berkhammer (8GP, 2G, 7A) will pair with ninth grade 14U AA Lilian Robbins (4GP, 4A) Thus, sophomore 16U Lower A defender Miles Wendland (7GP, 3A) will skate with senior Cole Howerton. Howerton played the best game of his high school career recently against Richard Montgomery. Senior Patrick Sell will dress out for the game but may see limited action as he will pull double duty by also playing in the junior varsity game Friday afternoon.

The Barons most experienced skater is senior 18U AA defender Grady Jiggens (8GP, 4G, 3A). Jiggens and junior 16U Upper A defender Benjamin Lyons (6GP, 2G, 1A) give the Barons two very good pieces on the back end. Lyons scored against Upper Montgomery late in the season opener with the goalie pulled for an extra skater. Sophomore Nick Sexton is playing both varsity and junior varsity for the Barons this season as is ninth grade 14U Lower A defender Jacob Reitz (7GP, 1G, 3A). Teams usually do not like to play an entire game with only four defenders, so BCC may use some student athletes that had previously played forward to help out and take some shifts on defense like Jeronimo Castano-Tellez and David High.

Offensively, Upper Montgomery should be in much better shape this week with the return of juniors Owen Robbins and Shkeda. Robbins (6GP, 7G, 3A) scored a hat-trick against the Barons in the season opener. Shkeda (6GP, 4G, 5A) scored shorthanded in the second period for the goal that would ultimately stand up as the game winner. Senior 18U Upper A center Henry Honacki (8GP, 7G, 2A) shares the team lead in goals with Robbins. It was his offensive production against the DC Stars that propelled the Lightning to victory. Honacki potted two powerplay goals last week including the game winning overtime goal with eleven seconds remaining in the extra session. It was just the third overtime goal in team history. Honacki has scored three of the Lightning’s last four goals.

Sophomore 16U Lower A Aiden Zheng is averaging almost point a game (8GP, 2G, 4A) and seems more comfortable at the varsity level this season. He is a high energy forward who backchecks very well. Sophomore newcomer Jake Hudson has (6GP, 6A) but is still looking for his first career varsity goal. Ninth grade 14U Lower A forward Siddy Bhasin is also looking for his first career varsity goal. Bhasin’s performance last time out against the DC Stars was his best game of the season. Hudson and Bhasin are two of the top three scorers for the Lightning junior varsity with eight points each.

After these five forwards, it is going to be important for any of Upper Montgomery’s other forwards to step up and provide some offensive production. Senior center Josh Nadler and senior forward TJ Gottesman, both of whom are in the top five of the Lightning junior varsity’s all-time scoring list need to get going. Ninth grader Luke Hudson scored his first career varsity goal last week against the DC Stars. Senior AJ Marks, junior Jason Woodman, and ninth grade forward Decklin Hughes, really anyone outside of the top five forwards getting on the scoresheet would benefit the Lightning. Continuing to receive offense from Berkhammer and the rest of the defense would be a bonus and could alter the game in the Lightning’s favor.

The Lightning were two for three on the powerplay against the DC Stars and are producing at a 37.5% success rate. The downside is that the team has managed only sixteen powerplays in their first eight games of the season, an average of just two extra skater advantages per game. Potting a powerplay goal or two would be a key to sweeping the season series from the Barons.

BCC top returning scorer 16U Lower A forward Peter Lanpher, a point a game producer last year (16GP, 4G, 11A) has struggled this season (6GP, 2G, 2A). He was definitely helped last season by playing with several stud BCC seniors. Senior Evan Williams has always stood out in games played against Upper Montgomery (scoring in his last four games against the Lightning) and is the Barons second leading scorer this year (7GP, 9G, 6A). Sophomore 16U AA Leo Alley-Strocher is the Barons leading scorer (7GP, 13G, 5A), and he also scored in the season opener against Upper Montgomery. He is on the smaller side but has good speed and stickhandling skills. Expect senior Michael Kambouris (8GP, 2G, 2A) to continue to see lots of ice time throughout the rest of the season. Hard hitting sophomore 16U Lower A Brady Page (8GP, 3G, 4A) will be noticeable throwing his weight around. From there, the Barons will use a large number of young and inexperienced skaters. Sophomore 16U Lower A Ramin Jacobs (6GP, 1G, 3A) who scored a hat-trick against the Lightning junior varsity in October, and junior Kiran Maltby (6GP, 2G, 2A) will be featured throughout the contest against Upper Montgomery.

Coming out of the Thanksgiving break, the Lightning needed to ramp up their game. As teams gear up for the end of the season and the playoffs regular season games have more meaning and the competition intensifies as was evident in last week’s contest against the DC Stars. With a win over the Barons on Friday night, the Lightning are hoping to put some space between themselves and several of the teams just behind them in the conference standings. Getting two games over .500 and continuing their best start to a season in several years, the Lightning are hoping to head into the two week winter break on a role having won three of their last four games. Let’s hope the outcome of Friday’s game is a springboard for the second half of the season and that good things are in store for the program over the final month of the regular season.

#Season Sweep, #UML, #Bleed Green, #Go Bolts!

On Friday the Upper Montgomery Lightning junior varsity plays their final Montgomery Hockey Conference regular season game of the season against the Whitman Vikings. The two teams are separated by one point in the conference standings. The winner of the contest will finish in fourth place in the conference standings and the loser will finish in sixth place in the standings. Finishing in fourth place guarantees a home playoff game against Churchill, while the sixth place finisher will host an opening round game against the non-competitive last place team in the league, almost certainly Richard Montgomery. Then, the sixth place team would advance and play the third seeded team which will be the loser of Friday’s game between Walter Johnson and BCC. Upper Montgomery lost to Churchill in overtime playing with a depleted roster. The Lightning also lost to BCC by a score of 4-3 as the Barons came back in the third period to win in a very evenly played contest.

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 3-2-2 record, a very low 1.98 goals against average, and an eye popping .928 save percentage. Stursrim-Lyons has allowed more than two goals in a game during regulation only two times this season. He also has two shutouts to his credit. The Vikings are expected to play sophomore Alex Minkoff in goal. Minkoff has been outstanding this season posting a 3-1 record, a miniscule 1.00 goals against average, and a .935 save percentage. To be fair, Whitman has played a very, very weak junior varsity schedule with all four of its wins coming against Blair, Northwest / Quince Orchard, Richard Montgomery, and Rockville / Magruder. These are the bottom four teams in the county standings.

Because of the varsity game later in the evening, Upper Montgomery will play the junior varsity game against Whitman with a roster management rotation in place. Some of the more experienced students will be held out of the junior varsity contest or have their minutes severely restricted to rest them for the varsity game which begins just after the conclusion of the junior varsity game. In addition, the coaching staff will need to play certain students in order to have them meet the minimum game requirement to be junior varsity playoff eligible.

On defense the Lightning will play with four defenders. Cole Howerton, Miles, Wendland, and Lillian Robbins will likely sit out against the Vikings. Ninth grade 14U Lower A Matt Rivera (7GP, 5A) and sophomore Max Curtusan, who is fresh off his debut performance for the Lightning against Annapolis / Arundel, will play together. Senior Patrick Sell will play with 16U AA Avery Evans (4GP, 1G, 4A). Always a stout defensive squad, the Vikings are led by senior Mark Buckley. He is a hulking defender known for playing excellent defense. Sophomore Aaron Zhang is his likely defensive partner. Several ninth grade 14U Lower A defenders will also see action for Whitman; Jackson Klessman, Nicholas Naum, and William Betancourt. Bentancourt has lit it up offensively for the Vikings from the back line with (5GP, 3G, 5A). Anticipate a very low scoring game on Friday as Upper Montgomery will be looking to hang back and protect Stutsrim-Lyons and Whitman will play its usual tough defensive style of hockey. Overall, Whitman has given up only ten goals in their six games. Some of the lack of opposition scoring is due to the competition they have faced. Meanwhile, Upper Montgomery has given up only fourteen goals in its seven games for an average of two goals against each game.

On offense, the Lightning will be looking to see some depth scoring emerge on Friday. Several of the Lightning’s top scorers will be held out of action against Whitman; sophomore Jake Hudson (6GP, 5G, 3A), sophomore 16U Lower A Aiden Zheng (5GP, 5G, 1A), and ninth grade 14U Lower A Siddy Bhasin (5GP, 4G, 4A). Senior center AJ Marks who leads the team in scoring with (7GP, 4G, 6A) will center the top line playing along side Max Israfilbek, who scored his first career high school goal against Annapolis / Arundel, and Jason Woodman, who returns from a lengthy suspension to get back into game action prior to the start of the playoffs. The second line is likely to feature ninth grade forward Decklin Hughes centering sophomore Mason Jagoz and sophomore Jackson Schickler, who will be making his 2024 – 2025 season debut after returning from a long injury absence to rejoin the Lightning.

Sophomore forward Mason Brundige leads the Vikings in scoring with ten goals in six games. He scored five goals against Northwest / Quince Orchard. Ninth grade 14U AAA Grace Luo has faired well offensively this season having scored (4GP, 3G, 3A). Ninth grade 14U Upper A Dashiel Caruso has (3GP, 3G, 2A). Sophomore Henry Schadler has (4GP, 3G, 1A). Whitman’s other primary scorer is ninth grade 14U Lower A Atticus Davis who has scored four goals in five games played.

Friday’s game will be a good test for the depth of the Lightning junior varsity and an opportunity for several students to see extended game action. As the junior varsity regular season winds down, preparations for the playoffs are ramping up. A victory over the Vikings would guarantee the Lightning finish the 2024 – 2025 season with a winning record. It would be the second consecutive season the junior varsity would post a winning record after last year’s record breaking undefeated regular season. It is also a step up in competition for Upper Montgomery which always helps leading into the junior varsity playoffs which are expected to begin just after the turn of the new year.

#UML, #Bleed Green, #Go Bolts!

On Monday, the Upper Montgomery Lightning junior varsity plays their first game in six weeks when the team matches up against the Annapolis / Arundel Wildcats. The non-conference game is scheduled for 6:10 pm at Laurel Ice Gardens. With Skate Frederick closed due to ice surface issues for several weeks, Upper Montgomery was forced to push back several scheduled junior varsity games until later in the season resulting in the long gap in the schedule.

In goal for the Lightning junior varsity will again 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 3-1-2 record, a miniscule 1.64 goals against average, and an eye popping .939 save percentage. If Stutsrim-Lyons maintains his current save percentage it would break the junior varsity program record set last season by Ilan Shterenberg (.927). Stursrim-Lyons is coming off his second shutout of the season in the Lightning’s last game against the Blair Blazers. The Wildcats are expected to play 16U Lower A goalie Solomon Abramson. He has started all three of the Wildcats games this season with a 1-2 record. He has a 4.00 goals against average and a .769 save percentage.

On defense the Lightning will have a full complement of defenders for the first time this season. Senior Cole Howerton (4GP, 2G, 2A), sophomore 16U Lower A Miles Wendland (4GP, 3A), senior Patrick Sell, ninth grade 14U AA Lillian Robbins (2GP, 1G, 3A), ninth grade 14U Lower A Matt Rivera (6GP, 5A), sophomore 16U AA Avery Evans (3GP, 1G, 3A), and sophomore Max Curtusan who will be making his season debut. The Lightning will be well stocked on the back end with all seven defenders in attendance. Expect one of the defenders to skate up as a forward in the game. Likely defensive pairs against Annapolis / Arundel are Wendland with Curtusan, Evans with Sell, and Howerton with Rivera. Robbins might be the defender moved up to play forward. Defensively, the Wildcats have one point on the season from their collection of junior varsity defenders; Kylee Kulawiak, Robert Levin, Matthew Keys, Alexander Hillman, and Peter Back.

On offense, the Lightning will be looking to maintain their average of 4.5 goals per game. The Lightning’s top four scorers should be in action against the Wildcats. Senior center AJ Marks leads the team in scoring with (6GP, 4G, 4A). Newcomers sophomore Jake Hudson (5GP, 5G, 2A), and ninth grade 14U Lower A Siddy Bhasin (4GP, 3G, 4A) will look to continue to stay hot at the offensive end of the ice. Returning sophomore 16U Lower A Aiden Zheng (4GP, 5G, 1A) is coming off a hat-trick versus the Blazers and is tied with Hudson for the team lead in goals. Rounding out the forward rotation will be varsity goalie Ilan Shterenberg skating out as a forward, sophomore Mason Jagoz, and ninth grade forwards Decklin Hughes. Luke Hudson, and Max Israfilbek. It would help the confidence of this group of skaters to find their name on the score sheet. Jackson Schickler remains out with an upper body injury but is close to his return and Jason Woodman is serving the final game of his lengthy suspension.

Offensively, the Wildcats feature four primary forward threats who all play at the Lower A external travel level. William Woodson-Potter leads Annapolis / Arundel in scoring with (3GP, 2G, 2A). The team leader in goals scored is Kyler Porzillo with three goals in three games. Gavin Hare is averaging a point per game (3GP, 1G, 2A) and Kayleb Haley has scored twice.

Monday’s game will be a good test for the Lightning and a tune up for next Friday’s important final regular season Montgomery Hockey Conference league game against the Whitman Vikings. A win over the Wildcats would likely guarantee the Lightning would finish the 2024 – 2025 season with a winning record. It would be the second consecutive season the junior varsity would post a winning record after last year’s record breaking undefeated regular season.

#Rep MoCo, #UML, #Bleed Green, #Go Bolts!

The Upper Montgomery Lightning begins the second half of the Montgomery Hockey Conference schedule this Friday evening when the team clashes with the DC Stars. Game time is 8:45 pm at Rockville Ice Arena. Last season the Lightning dominated both games against the DC Stars only to be foiled by Stars goaltender Anton Tracy. Tracy outright stole game one and made countless saves in game two to snag important standings points for the Stars in a three all tie. Upper Montgomery has started the 2024 – 2025 high school hockey season in fine fashion with a 3-2-1 conference record (3-3-1 overall). All three losses have come against teams ranked in the top fifteen in the state; Wootton twice and Urbana. It will be the Lightning’s first game in three weeks since a very poor performance against Wootton. Meanwhile, the DC Stars have lost six games in a row since their program defining first ever victory against Churchill, a 1-0 overtime win back in October.

Once again Upper Montgomery will not be at full strength as last season’s leading returning scorer Nathan Cassel continues to recover from an upper body injury. His likely return of after the Thanksgiving holiday has been pushed back until the start of the new year. With this season’s leading scorer Owen Robbins (6GP, 7G, 3A) also missing the DC Stars contest as he is out-of-town with his external travel team, the young Lightning will need to step it up to be competitive against the Stars. The game is anticipated to be a very low scoring affair as Upper Montgomery will be missing its top two offensive threats and the DC Stars have managed to score only twelve goals over their first seven games of the season. Expect a lot of play in the neutral zone and along the boards with each team trying to threaten the high danger scoring areas.

Upper Montgomery’s goaltender, 16U AA sophomore Ilan Shterenberg has been sound this season with a 3-3-1 record, a 4.75 goals against average, and an .876 save percentage. Shterenberg will need to be exceptionally sharp to match Tracy in net at the other end of the ice. This is one of the few games where Upper Montgomery does not have a very distinctive advantage in goaltending. Shterenberg will again be backed up by 14U Lower A ninth grade netminder Porter Stutsrim-Lyons. Stutsrim-Lyons is 3-1-2 on the season (two shutouts), with a 1.64 goals against average, and a .939 save percentage playing for the Lightning junior varsity.

In net for the DC Stars will be junior goalie Anton Tracy. The Lightning struggled last season to get the puck past Tracy who stopped 78 of 82 shots, .951 save percentage, and who was the first star of the game in both meetings against Upper Montgomery. Tracy is massive and covers much of the net. With his sound positioning, there is very little open net to shoot at when coming in on Tracy. This season he has not faired as well going 1-4, with a 4.80 goals against average, and an .868 save percentage. Let’s hope it takes him one more week to find his groove and that the Lightning fair far better than they did in both games last season.

On defense, the Lightning will be tested. The Lightning’s most experienced defender 16U AA junior Brady Berkhammer (7GP, 2G, 5A) will pair with ninth grade defender Matt Rivera and senior Patrick Sell. Anticipate that 16U Lower A sophomore defender Miles Wendland will skate with senior Cole Howerton. Howerton played the best game of his high school career recently against Richard Montgomery.

DC Stars most explosive skater is 18U AA senior defender Leo Nyberg. Nyberg leads the Stars in scoring (7GP, 4G, 1A). The rest of the Stars defenders are more defensively minded; 18U Upper A senior Benjamin Lust, his younger brother 16U Upper A sophomore Jonathan Lust, 18U AA senior Fletcher Lyttleton, 18U AA senior Anna Mayer, and junior Samuel Bensky. The Stars defense will be packed in very tight against their goalie making it difficult for the Lightning to generate good quality scoring chances. The Stars are a very well coached team. The Lightning will need to play a clean game and avoid giving the Stars odd skater rushes which could assist them in creating easy offensive chances.

Offensively, Upper Montgomery will be challenged to score with Cassel and Robbins both out of the lineup. Junior forward Philip Shkeda (6GP, 4G, 5A) and 18U Upper A senior center Henry Honacki (7GP, 5G, 2A) will each need to find the back of the net for Upper Montgomery to have a chance at victory. Honacki scored Upper Montgomery’s only goal in the blowout loss against the Patriots.

Sophomore 16U Lower A Aiden Zheng is averaging almost point a game (7GP, 2G, 4A) and seems more comfortable at the varsity level this season. Sophomore newcomer Jake Hudson has five assists in five games but is still looking for his first career varsity goal. Ninth grade 14U Lower A forward Siddy Bhasin is also looking for his first career varsity goal. Hudson and Bhasin are two of the top three scorers for the Lightning junior varsity with seven points each. After these five forwards, it is going to be important for any of the younger Upper Montgomery forwards to step up and provide some production. Getting some offense from the defense would be a bonus and could alter the game in the Lightning’s favor.

The Lightning have managed only thirteen powerplays in their first seven games of the season, less than two extra skater advantages per game. The Upper Montgomery powerplay has clicked at 30.8% in its limited opportunities. Potting a powerplay goal or two would also be a key to victory.

The Stars’ most accomplished forward is 16U Upper A junior Walter Bernstein. Bernstein is a quick shifty jitterbug who will push the pace of play up the ice. He has scored twice this season as has 16U AA ninth grade forward Gabriel Schon. The other fifteen forwards that have suited up for the Stars have scored a combined four total goals. Is it a lack of offense that is dooming the Stars? Or, is it simply playing a front loaded schedule that saw the Stars play Walter Johnson twice, Whitman, Churchill, and Sherwood before their squad had time to jell?

Coming out of the Thanksgiving break, the Lightning need to ramp up their game. As teams gear up for the end of season and playoffs the games have more meaning and the competition intensifies. Headed into Friday’s tilt with the Stars, the Lightning are hoping to jump a game over .500 and continue their best start to a season in several years. Let’s hope the outcome of Friday’s game is a springboard for the second half of the season and that good things are in store for the program as we move closer to winter break.

#Second Half Strong, #UML, #Bleed Green, #Go Bolts!

The Upper Montgomery Lightning takes on their new archrival Wootton on Friday night in a rematch of a game three weeks ago won by the Patriots 3-1. The game will be a tall task for Upper Montgomery as Wootton’s fast break style of play puts an enormous amount of pressure on the opposition. The Patriots have scored fourteen, ten, thirteen, and eight goals in their other four games against teams in the Montgomery Hockey Conference. Upper Montgomery’s excellent defensive performance held Wootton down and the Lightning only allowed three goals, which was 8.25 goals fewer than Wootton’s average so far this season. Upper Montgomery has started the 2024 -2025 high school hockey season in fine fashion with a 3-1-1 conference record (3-2-1 overall) coming off their last game, a 7-4 decision over Richard Montgomery two weeks ago.

Once again Upper Montgomery will not be at full strength as last season’s leading returning scorer Nathan Cassel continues to recover from an upper body injury. He will likely return after the Thanksgiving holiday. With this season’s leading scorer Owen Robbins (6GP, 7G, 3A) also missing the Wootton contest as he is out-of-town with his external travel team, the young Lightning will be severe underdogs in this game. Further adding to the drama surrounding this budding rivalry is that before this season Upper Montgomery had won the last three meetings between the teams after never having beaten Wootton in its first fourteen years of existence. Wootton will be looking for revenge and to assert its dominance after the Lightning’s 9-1 destruction of the Patriots in last year’s Montgomery Hockey Conference Varsity Tournament championship game. The game will be a contrast in styles as Upper Montgomery will look to suffocate the game defensively to keep the high powered Patriots offensive obstructed for as much of the game as is possible.

Upper Montgomery’s goaltender, 16U AA Ilan Shterenberg has been sound this season with a 3-2-1 record, a 3.80 goals against average, and an .895 save percentage. Shterenberg will need to be exceptionally sharp against the Patriots to steal the game. He will face continuous pressure and a high shot volume with the offensive advantage that the Patriots will possess. He will again be backed up by Lower A ninth grade netminder Porter Stutsrim-Lyons. Stutsrim-Lyons is 3-1-2 on the season, with a 1.64 goals against average, and a .939 save percentage playing for Lightning junior varsity. He also has authored two shutouts.

In net for Wootton will be sophomore 16U Upper A goalie Kevin Yu. The Lightning have faced Yu twice already this season, in game one of the home and home varsity series, and then when the Lightning junior varsity fell in overtime to Wootton’s junior varsity squad. Yu is a very solid netminder although he was pierced for seven goals by Richard Montgomery last Friday evening. He carries a 5-0 record, a 3.20 goals against average, and an .822 save percentage. He will be looking to bounce from last week’s shaky performance and help Wootton secure a victory over the Lightning. Wootton’s opposition has not fired many shots on net averaging only eighteen shots on goal per game as Wootton’s opponents have been overwhelmed by the Patriots offensive firepower and time of puck possession. Wootton outshot Upper Montgomery 52-26 in the first game doubling up on the Lightning.

On defense, the Lightning will be tested. The Lightning’s most experience defender junior 16U AA Brady Berkhammer (6GP, 2G, 5A) will pair with ninth grade defender Matt Rivera and senior Patrick Sell. Anticipate that 16U Lower A defender Miles Wendland (5GP, 3A) will skate with senior Cole Howerton. Howerton played the best game of his career last time out against Richard Montgomery.

Wootton’s most explosive skater is 18U AA senior defender Sam Hosier. Hosier is a lock to be one of the two defenders on the Montgomery Hockey Conference All-Conference first team at the conclusion of the season. He may also be voted an all state defender as well. Hosier leads Wootton in scoring (5GP, 19G, 6A). He is second in all of the Maryland Student Hockey League in points produced and he is third in goals scored. In the earlier meeting between the programs, Hosier scored two of Wootton’s three goals. Hosier plays as a rover more than a defender. He will be all over the ice during the game focusing on pushing the puck up ice and generating offensive chances. Wootton has other capable defenders aside from just Hosier. Junior Nicholas Chung has experience to help lead younger defenders, sophomore 16U AAA Jaina Kronforst, ninth grade 14U Upper A Isaac Greene, and 14U Lower A Nathan Tian. The Wootton defensive corps is mobile and will cause problems for the Lightning forwards on transitions up the ice.

Offensively, Upper Montgomery will be challenged to keep pace with the Patriots. With Cassel and Robbins out of the lineup, junior forward Philip Shkeda (5GP, 4G, 5A) and senior center Henry Honacki (6GP, 4G, 2A) will be relied upon to provide the bulk of the team’s offensive production. Honacki scored Upper Montgomery’s only goal in the earlier meeting against the Patriots.

Sophomore 16U Lower A Aiden Zheng is averaging a point a game (6GP, 2G, 4A) and seems more comfortable at the varsity level this season. He had two point games against both BCC and Rockville / Magruder to start the season. Senior Josh Nadler is getting his legs under him after finally returning to the lineup recently. Both Zheng and Nadler will play heavy minutes in Friday’s game. Sophomore newcomer Jake Hudson has five assists in four games and is coming off of a three assist outing versus Richard Montgomery. Ninth grade 14U Lower A forward Siddy Bhasin will have an opportunity to showcase his talents for the program he will play for next season after he transfers to Wootton. Hudson and Bhasin are two of the top three scorers for the Lightning junior varsity with seven points each.

Wootton has a dynamic duo of forwards in juniors 18U AA Justin Heller (5GP, 5G, 3A) and 16U Upper A Owen Goozh (4GP, 4G, 4A). Senior 18U AA Nathan Tai is a hulking monster who played defense in prior seasons. He has been moved to forward this year and he has scored consistently (5GP, 8G, 5A). Sophomore 16U Upper A Nathan Geeng has (5GP, 4G, 2A). Sophomore 16U AA Michael Klimantov has (5GP, 4G, 3A). Ninth grade 14U AAA forward Evan Batbold has not played very much this season, but if he suits up for Friday’s game it gives Wootton an additional offensive threat that Upper Montgomery will need to contain. With this much offensive potential and Wootton’s aggressive offensive style of play, Upper Montgomery will be under duress the entire game. The Lightning will need to cleanly and constantly clear the defensive zone without getting hemmed in for long periods of play.

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, the year is quickly turning into an opportunity to compete now.  If the Lightning are competitive with third ranked Wootton while playing with such a depleted lineup, it may be a springboard for the second half of the season. After Thanksgiving break, the competition increases and the intensity revs up as teams gear up for the end of season and playoff seeding. Headed into Friday’s tilt with high powered Wootton, the Lightning are off to their best start to a season in years. Let’s hope the outcome of Friday’s game does not diminish the team’s psyche and that good things are in store for the program after the Thanksgiving holiday break.

#UML, #Bleed Green, #Go Bolts!

The Upper Montgomery Lightning are eager to return to the ice and conference play after a dud of a performance on Tuesday afternoon against the high powered Urbana Hawks. The Lightning did not show very well in losing 7-0 to the top ranked team in the Monocacy Valley Conference. Up this Friday night is a game against the Richard Montgomery Rockets, a team that is 0-3 on the season and which has given up at least six goals in each game. Game time is 9:45 pm at the Rockville Ice Arena. Upper Montgomery will be looking to get back on track after losing two straight games. The Lightning skate into the contest with a 2-2-1 record on the season and 2-1-1 in conference play. A win over Richard Montgomery would push Upper Montgomery’s conference record to 3-1-1.

In both the loss to Wootton and the tie versus Rockville / Magruder, Upper Montgomery played better than they did in both of their wins, 4-3 over BCC and 7-3 over Northwest / Quince Orchard. Last Friday’s 3-1 loss to Wootton showed the young Lightning roster what it takes to compete with one of the top four teams in the county rankings. Upper Montgomery’s defense was solid and the Lightning generated several good chances that they just could not punch over the goal line. The team will be seeking to significantly limit the number of shots on goal given up after sophomore Ilan Shterenberg made 49 saves against the Patriots. Upper Montgomery will need to bring full intensity and jump out to an early lead against the Rockets. At times, the Lightning have made it a habit of playing down to the level of their competition. Richard Montgomery is in a rebuilding season and they are not very talented compared with previous years. In its first three games to open the season, Richard Montgomery has lost to Rockville / Magruder, BCC, and lowly Northwest / Quince Orchard.

Upper Montgomery’s starting goaltender, 16U AA Ilan Shterenberg has been really good so far this season with a 2-2-1 record, a 3.75 goals against average, and a .897 save percentage. He made 49 saves, many of them on high quality chances, in the Lightning’s 3-1 loss last Friday to Wootton. Shterenberg has been sharp early this season and is a significant reason why the Lightning have gotten off to a quicker start this season than in past campaigns.

In net for Richard Montgomery will be either ninth grade goalie Brent Schoenebeck who stopped 15 of 20 shots in the game against Northwest / Quince Orchard (.750 save percentage and 5.23 goals against average) or sophomore Liam Parkinson (.732 save percentage and 7.50 goals against average) who suited up for the Rockets against Rockville and BCC. If Richard Montgomery continues their goalie rotation, it will be Schoenebeck’s turn. Both goalies are 16U Lower A netminders and are playing behind a very shallow and inexperienced defense.

On defense, the Lightning will have most of their starting defenders available for the game. Junior 16U AA Brady Berkhammer (5GP, 2G, 4A) coming off of a career high four point game against Northwest / Quince Orchard) will pair with ninth grade 14U AA defender Lillian Robbins. Sophomore 16U Lower A defender Miles Wendland (4GP, 3A) and senior Cole Howerton, both of whom were held out of the lineup against Urbana for roster management considerations will return for the game against the Rockets. Senior Patrick Sell who scored his first career varsity high school goal in the game against Northwest / Quince Orchard will also be involved in the defensive rotation.

Richard Montgomery’s defense consists of 16U Lower A Brody Evans and juniors Ryan Jones and Samir Wang. Both Jones and Wang played for the Rockets junior varsity team that loss to Upper Montgomery’s junior varsity 8-0 in a non-competitive game to open the season. The Rockets defense is very thin. As Richard Montgomery can’t play with only three defenders, look for forwards to slide back and play shifts on defense. It shouldn’t matter. Upper Montgomery should be able to pressure the Rockets defense into regular turnovers and have their way in and around the crease area.

Offensively, Upper Montgomery will continue to be challenged for the next several weeks. With high scoring senior forward Nathan Cassel out of the lineup, junior forward Philip Shkeda (5GP, 2G, 3A) and senior center Henry Honacki (4GP, 4G, 2A) will be relied upon to provide the bulk of the team’s offensive production. With Upper Montgomery playing 16U AAA Owen Robbins (5GP, 3G, 2A) at center this season, the junior has flourished scoring a hat-trick against BCC. Sophomore 16U Lower A Aiden Zheng (5GP, 1G, 4A) had two point games against both BCC and Rockville / Magruder to start the season. Senior Josh Nadler finally returned to the lineup against Wootton after missing the first three games of the season while he was out of the country.

Both Zheng and Nadler will play heavy minutes with the varsity this season and both will need to increase their offensive output. Nadler is the junior varsity’s all-time leading goal scorer with 20 career junior varsity goals. Joining them on the varsity roster are forwards TJ Gottesman, the junior varsity’s career points leader with 32 points (and who scored his first career varsity goal against Northwest / Quince Orchard), sophomore newcomer Jake Hudson (two assists in his first varsity game), and ninth grade 14U Lower A forward Siddy Bhasin. AJ Marks and his big frame will get a look in varsity competition as well. Other junior varsity student athletes may get called up as the season progresses when the core of the varsity squad is missing due to out-of-town external travel team conflicts.

Richard Montgomery has one forward of note, senior Tom Stone. Stone played for several years at the AA travel level. Thus far this season he has scored five goals in three games (3GP, 5G, 3A). Sophomore hard edged Bennett Parisi has been the beneficiary of Stone’s offensive explosion. He has tallied four assists to lead the Rockets in helpers. The rest of the Rockets have three or fewer points with Henry Wang and Caleb Liu putting up more production than the other forwards that will be utilized by Richard Montgomery. To overpower the Rockets, Upper Montgomery will need to consistently get the puck in deep, forecheck hard, and make the Rockets go the length of the ice to generate scoring chances. All of the Lightning defenders will need to be aware of where Stone is at all times. Shutting him down will be the key to keeping the Rockets off the scoreboard.

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, the year is quickly turning into an opportunity to compete right away.  The Lightning will continue to face top competition over the middle portion of the season. Playing those high quality teams will help prepare Upper Montgomery for the end of season county playoffs. A good start to the season is nice, but the Lightning can’t let up now. More wins are needed with a prime opportunity to take advantage of a down Richard Montgomery program on Friday. A big win over the Rockets would set the tone before a week off.

#Back on Track, #UML Victories, #Bleed Green, #Go Bolts!

After Friday evening’s hard luck loss to rival Wootton, the Upper Montgomery Lightning step out of conference to take on the top team from Frederick County. At the top of the Monocacy Valley Conference standings is Urbana. Upper Montgomery looks to exact revenge on the Hawks when the two teams faceoff on Tuesday afternoon, election day, at 3:10 pm, taking advantage of the day off from school for both school systems. Expect this year’s matchup to unfold similar to last season’s tilt. Urbana will play a physical brand of hockey and will take the body on Upper Montgomery skaters at every opportunity. If prior form holds, Upper Montgomery should be given a fair amount of powerplay opportunities in the game. A twist on this year’s matchup is that Urbana has not played or practiced in over two weeks as their home ice rink, Skate Frederick has experienced technical difficulties and the ice surface has been unavailable. Thus, Tuesday’s game has been moved to Rockville Ice Arena.

Upper Montgomery skates in to the contest with a 2-1-1 record to begin the season. In both the loss and the tie, Upper Montgomery has played better than they have in both of their wins. Friday’s 3-1 loss to Wootton showed the young Lightning roster what it takes to compete with one of the top four teams in the county rankings. Upper Montgomery’s defense was solid and the Lightning generated chances that they just could not punch over the goal line. The team will be seeking to significantly limit the number of shots on goal given up after sophomore Ilan Shterenberg made 49 saves against the Patriots. Urbana rolls into the contest having won both of their early season games against Frederick County 4-2 and Washington County 7-0.

Upper Montgomery’s starting goaltender, 16U AA Ilan Shterenberg has been really good so far this season with a 2-1-1 record, a 3.21 goals against average, and a .907 save percentage. He made 49 saves, many of them on high quality chances, in the Lightning’s 3-1 loss to Wootton. Shterenberg will need to be exceptionally sharp against the Hawks in order for Upper Montgomery to prevail. He will once again be backed up by ninth grade netminder Porter Stutsrim-Lyons.  Stutsrim-Lyons plays for the Caps Academy 14U Lower A external travel team and he has started off his high school career strongly playing for the junior varsity. Stutsrim-Lyons is 3-1-2 on the season with a 1.64 goals against average and a .939 save percentage including two shutouts. Stutsrim-Lyons saw his first varsity action earlier in the week at the end of the Northwest / Quince Orchard game where he played well in the third period.

In net for Urbana will be sophomore 16U Upper A goalie Mason Sebold. In his first outing of the season Sebold gave up two goals against Frederick County while making 23 saves. The Lightning have the better goaltender in the matchup and will need to exploit any weakness in Sebold game. Backing up Sebold will be junior Chloe Hanson. Hanson faced the Lightning in last season’s game playing the final two periods in Urbana’s 5-2 victory. She stopped thirteen of the fourteen shots she faced and was very solid during the outing.

On defense, the Lightning will once again be piecemealing the defensive pairings. Junior 16U AA Brady Berkhammer (4GP, 2G, 4A) coming off of a career high four point game against Northwest / Quince Orchard) will pair with ninth grade defender Matt Rivera and sophomore Avery Evans. Ninth grade AA defender Lillian Robbins will skate with senior Patrick Sell. Sell scored his first career varsity high school goal in the game against Northwest / Quince Orchard. Sophomore 16U Lower A defender Miles Wendland (4GP, 3A) and senior Cole Howerton will be held out of the game for roster management considerations.

Urbana’s defense consists of several young but experienced sophomore defenders. The most accomplished of whom is Robert Radtke who plays for the Philadelphia Junior Flyers 16U travel team. He is joined on the blue line by Zi Yang Wang, who plays for the Frederick Freeze 16U travel team. Joining those two defensive stalwarts are Michael Dye, Daniel Summers, and Mason Garmon. Mainly because of their strong defensive play, the Hawks have given up only two goals total on the season in their two games.

Offensively, Upper Montgomery will continue to be challenged for the next several weeks. With high scoring senior forward Nathan Cassel out of the lineup, junior forward Philip Shkeda (3GP, 2G, 3A) and senior center Henry Honacki (4GP, 4G, 2A) will be relied upon to provide the bulk of the team’s offensive production. With Upper Montgomery playing 16U AAA Owen Robbins (4GP, 3G, 2A) at center this season, the junior has flourished scoring a hat-trick against BCC. Sophomore 16U Lower A Aiden Zheng (4GP, 1G, 4A) had two point games against both BCC and Rockville / Magruder to start the season. Senior Josh Nadler finally returned to the lineup against Wootton after missing the first three games of the season while he was out of the country.

Both Zheng and Nadler will play heavy minutes with the varsity this season and both will need to increase their offensive output. Nadler is the junior varsity’s all-time leading goal scorer with 20 career junior varsity goals. Joining them on the varsity roster are forwards TJ Gottesman, the junior varsity’s career points leader with 32 points (and who scored his first career varsity goal against Northwest / Quince Orchard), sophomore newcomer Jake Hudson (two assists in his first varsity game), and ninth grade 14U Lower A forward Siddy Bhasin. AJ Marks and his big frame will get a look in varsity competition as well. Other junior varsity student athletes may get called up as the season progresses when the core of the varsity squad is missing due to out-of-town external travel team conflicts.

Urbana has some dynamic forwards in their lineup. Junior 16U AA Matthew Elam-Browning leads the Hawks in scoring with (2GP, 4G, 3A). He is closely followed by junior 16U AA Zachary Thayer (2GP, 3G, 4A). Last season, Thayer lit up the Frederick County high school hockey scene with (19GP, 19G, 23A). Elam-Browning’s younger brother Andrew has three assists in the two games. Speedy forward Alexander Cheeves has scored twice. Controlling these four talented forwards will be crucial to Upper Montgomery’s success on Tuesday. With this much offensive potential, Upper Montgomery will be unable to take any shifts off and will need to clear the defensive zone continuously. If the Lightning get hemmed in defensively for long periods of play, Urbana will surely capitalize. Upper Montgomery chip outs off the boards and full length icing clears to slow the pace of play will be frequent occurrences.

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, the year is quickly turning into an opportunity to compete right away.  The Lightning will continue to face top competition over the middle portion of the season and that will only help Upper Montgomery prepare for the end of season county playoffs. A good start to the season is nice, but the Lightning can’t let up now. A statement win over Urbana would be a nice springboard into resuming conference play later in the week.

#UML, #Bleed Green, #Go Bolts!