Category: Game Previews

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!

The Upper Montgomery Lightning takes on their new archrival, Wootton on Friday night with each team vying for supremacy of division two of the Montgomery Hockey Conference. The game will be a tall task for Upper Montgomery as Wootton is averaging twelve goals per game so far this season. With Upper Montgomery missing last season’s leading returning scorer Nathan Cassel for some length of time as he deals with an upper body injury, the young Lightning will be sizeable underdogs in this game. Further adding to the drama surrounding this game is that Upper Montgomery has 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 after the Lightning’s 9-1 destruction of the Patriots in last year’s Montgomery Hockey Conference Varsity Tournament championship game.

Upper Montgomery has started the 2024 -2025 high school hockey season in fine fashion with a 2-0-1 record coming off of yesterday’s 7-3 victory over Northwest / Quince Orchard. Wootton destroyed that same Northwest / Quince Orchard team 14-0 on opening night and followed up with a 10-4 victory over BCC. Upper Montgomery also beat BCC, but only by a score of 4-3 to open the season. 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 dynamo that is piling up the goals early in the season from controlling the pace of the game.

Upper Montgomery’s goaltender, 16U AA Ilan Shterenberg was really good in the season opening win over BCC. Shterenberg made 31 saves, with a .912 save percentage, and he did not give up a goal while the Lightning were at even strength. BCC scored two powerplay goals and their last goal with the goalie pulled for an extra attacker. Against Rockville / Magruder Shterenberg was busy once again making 30 saves including some outstanding saves to deny Rockville / Magruder likely goals. Three goals that went in were the direct result of Upper Montgomery defensive zone turnovers. Shterenberg will need to be exceptionally sharp against the Patriots, and if Upper Montgomery prevails, it will likely be because Shterenberg stole the show. He will 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 2-1-2 on the season with a 1.96 goals against average and a .933 save percentage. He began his high school career with a shutout of Richard Montgomery and followed up that performance with a career high and junior varsity program record 47 saves against Wootton. Yesterday, Stutsrim-Lyons got his first taste of varsity action playing well in the third period against Northwest / Quince Orchard.

In net for Wootton will be sophomore 16U Upper A goalie Kevin Yu. The Lightning have faced Yu twice before, in the aforementioned Montgomery Hockey Conference Varsity Tournament championship game and earlier this season when Yu was backstopping the Wootton junior varsity team. He is a very solid netminder and it will be tough for Upper Montgomery to get many pucks past him. At the varsity level he sports a 2-0 record so far this season with a 2.00 goals against average and an .846 save percentage. Wootton’s opposition has not fired many shots on net as they have been overwhelmed by the Patriots offensive firepower.

On defense, the Lightning will have a full compliment of their defense available for the game. The Lightning’s most experience defender junior 16U AA Brady Berkhammer (two goals yesterday versus Northwest / Quince Orchard) will pair with ninth grade defender Lillian Robbins. Anticipate that 16U Lower A defender Miles Wendland (2GP, 3A) will skate with senior Cole Howerton. Ninth grade defender Matt Rivera may see some game action. Depth defenders Patrick Sell and Avery Evans may or may not play much depending upon score and circumstance.

Wootton’s most explosive skater is 18U AA senior defender Sam Hosier. Hosier is just about 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. Through two games, Hosier leads Wootton in scoring with eight goals and four assists. Hosier plays as a rover and he will be all over the ice during the game. Wootton has other capable defenders as well. Junior Nicholas Chung has experience to help lead younger defenders 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 for the next several weeks. With Cassel out of the lineup, junior forward Philip Shkeda and senior center Henry Honacki will be relied upon to provide the bulk of the team’s offensive production. With Upper Montgomery playing 16U AAA Owen Robbins at center this season, the junior has flourished scoring a hat-trick against BCC. Sophomore 16U Lower A Aiden Zheng had two point games against both BCC and Rockville / Magruder to start the season. Senior Josh Nadler finally returns to the lineup tonight 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 yesterday against Northwest / Quince Orchard), sophomore newcomer Jake Hudson (two assists in his first varsity game), and ninth grade 14U Lower A forward Siddy Bhasin. Bhasin and Hudson currently lead the junior varsity in scoring so far this season. 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 game conflicts.

Wootton has a dynamic duo of forwards in junior 18U AA Justin Heller and 16U Upper A Owen Goozh. Heller has two goals on the season and Goozh has three. Senior 18U AA Nathan Tai, a hulking monster who has played defense in prior seasons, has been moved to forward and he has scored five goals in the first two games. Sophomore 16U Upper A Nathan Geeng has scored three times. Michael Klimantov 16U AA has scored twice. AAA forwards Evan Batbold and Jaina Kronforst have not yet played for the Patriots making their lineup even deeper and stronger. With this much offensive potential, Upper Montgomery will be unable to take any shifts off and will need to clear the zone continuously without getting hemmed in defensively 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 right away.  If the Lightning are competitive with fourth ranked Wootton, the season would take a leap forward and prove that Upper Montgomery can compete with every team in the county. Headed into Friday’s late night tilt with high powered Wootton, the Lightning are off to their best start to a season in years. Let’s hope that a scary good day after Halloween performance is in store for Upper Montgomery!

#UML, #Bleed Green, #Go Bolts!

The Upper Montgomery Lightning varsity is looking to continue its strong start to begin the 2024 -2025 high school hockey season when the team returns to action on Thursday evening to face Northwest / Quince Orchard on Halloween. Game time is 7:00 pm at Rockville Ice Arena. Upper Montgomery has begun the season with an impressive victory over BCC, the first ever in program history, followed up by playing Rockville / Magruder to a tie this past Friday night. Upper Montgomery had the Rockville / Magruder game until giving up the game tying goal with 1.3 seconds remaining in regulation. The Lightning will be looking to make the game against Northwest / Quince Orchard a Halloween massacre as Upper Montgomery will be the far more talented team on the ice.

Northwest / Quince Orchard enters the game on a high, having secured a major upset of Richard Montgomery this past Friday night. Some prognostications had Northwest / Quince Orchard going winless this season and not being competitive in any game. Kudos to the Northwest / Quince Orchard student athletes for snagging a victory, scoring with 1:12 remaining in the game to break a four all tie and then finishing off the game into the empty net. Upper Montgomery faced Northwest / Quince Orchard only one time last season and the Lightning trounced Northwest / Quince Orchard 14-1 in the quarterfinal round of the Montgomery Hockey Conference Varsity Playoff Tournament.

Upper Montgomery’s goaltender, 16U AA Ilan Shterenberg was really good in the win win over BCC. Shterenberg made 31 saves, with a .912 save percentage, and did not give up a goal while the Lightning were at even strength. BCC scored two powerplay goals and a goal with the goalie pulled for an extra attacker. Against Rockville / Magruder Shterenberg was busy once again making 30 saves including some outstanding saves to deny Rockville / Magruder likely goals. Three goals that went in were the direct result of Upper Montgomery defensive zone turnovers. He will 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 has started off his high school career strongly playing for the junior varsity. Stutsrim-Lyons is 2-1-2 on the season with a 1.96 goals against average and a .933 save percentage. He began his high school career with a shutout of Richard Montgomery and followed up that performance with a career high and junior varsity program record 47 saves against Wootton.

In net for Northwest / Quince Orchard is likely to be ninth grade netminder Sean Wyatt. In securing the victory over Richard Montgomery, Wyatt made 47 saves while giving up only four goals for a .922 save percentage. Northwest / Quince Orchard senior goalie Joseph Dean played in the opener and surrendered fourteen goals to Wootton. If somehow there is rotation in place and the game against Upper Montgomery is Dean’s game, that would be a bonus for the Lightning. If the two netminders split the game, that would also be a boon for Upper Montgomery. Either way, for the third straight game, Upper Montgomery will again have a big advantage in net with Shterenberg.

On defense, the Lightning should finally have most of their defense available for a game. The Lightning’s most experience defender junior 16U AA Brady Berkhammer will pair with either ninth grade defender Lillian Robbins or senior stay at home defender Patrick Sell. Anticipate that 16U Lower A Miles Wendland (2GP, 3A) will skate with senior Cole Howerton. Ninth grade defender Matt Rivera will see regular action and he will play with either Robbins or Sell, depending upon matchups. With the loss of so many experienced skaters off last season’s roster, almost every skater in the program is likely to see some playing time on the varsity this season. Rivera and Sell look to be in line to dress out for this game. Sophomore Avery Evans would also play if she is available on Thursday evening.

Northwest / Quince Orchard has two reasonably competent defenders in senior 18U Upper A Drew Blurton and junior 18U AA Roman Martin. After those two, there is a massive drop off in talent to the rest of the Northwest / Quince Orchard defenders. Anticipate that Northwest / Quince Orchard’s two stud defenders will play with each other on the powerplay and at any crucial moments in the game. But, they will likely be split 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 less experienced defense and overload to that side of the ice on offensive zone entries.

Offensively, Upper Montgomery returns its second and third leading scorers from a season ago. Senior 18U AA forward Nathan Cassel (15GP, 11G, 18A) and junior forward Philip Shkeda (20GP, 13G, 12A). This duo will be relied upon to lead Upper Montgomery offensively and they both will need to produce just like last year after loosing their center for the past two seasons, Chris Hassett to graduation. Cassel has an opportunity score enough goals (14) or hand out enough assists (11) to qualify for induction into the Maryland Student Hockey League Hall of Fame. He led the Lightning offensively with a hat-trick including two breakaway goals in the tie versus Rockville / Magruder. With Upper Montgomery playing Owen Robbins at center this season, the junior has flourished scoring a hat-trick against BCC. Senior center, Henry Honacki 18U Upper A (21GP, 7G, 8A) elevated his game last year and if he can increase his scoring production it will help supplement Cassel, Shkeda, and Robbins. With Shkeda returning to the lineup after missing the Rockville / Magruder game while he was out of town, Upper Montgomery should be at full strength offensively.

After these four students, there is a drop off in production to sophomore 16U Lower A Aiden Zheng (9GP, 3G, 5A) last year and who has contributed (2GP, 1G, 3A) this season. Senior Josh Nadler (13GP, 4A) last year returns to the lineup against Northwest / Quince Orchard after missing the first two 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, sophomore newcomer Jake Hudson (two assists in his first varsity game), and ninth grade 14U Lower A forward Siddy Bhasin. Bhasin and Hudson currently lead the junior varsity in scoring so far this season. 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 external travel team out-of-town game conflicts.

Northwest / Quince Orchard has only one offensive scorer of note, junior 16U AA center Ethan Custudio. He scored four times and assisted on the other two goals scored in Northwest / Quince Orchard’s game against Richard Montgomery. The key to limiting Northwest / Quince Orchard is to stop Custudio as Upper Montgomery did last season in the playoff game. If Upper Montgomery handles Custudio, it will be a long, long night and the 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, the year is quickly turning into an opportunity to compete right away.  If the Lightning can smoke Northwest / Quince Orchard, the team will be off to a 2-0-1 start to the campaign leading into Friday’s late night tilt with high powered Wootton. Let’s hope that a scary good Halloween performance is in store for Upper Montgomery!

# Halloween Massacre, #UML, #Bleed Green, #Go Bolts!

On Friday, the Upper Montgomery Lightning junior varsity plays against the Blair Blazers. Game time is 6:30 pm at Cabin John Ice Rink. As with last week’s schedule, the Upper Montgomery varsity plays at 10:00 pm that same evening. With a varsity game later in the evening, the coaching staff will be utilizing roster management tactics to make sure that students playing heavy minutes later in the evening in the varsity game are well rested. With the Blazers off to an 0-4 start to the season and being outscored 32-2, the game against Upper Montgomery will be a miss match. The Blazers have two additional games this week prior to the game against Upper Montgomery and seemingly could be 0-6 by game time.

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 2-1-2 record, a miniscule 1.96 goals against average, and an eye popping .933 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). The Blazers will play Crispin Mpoy in goal. Mpoy is playing behind an overmatched roster of skaters in front of him.

On defense the Lightning will sit their more experienced defenders. Anticipate that Cole Howerton and Miles Wendland will not play against the Blazers. Patrick Sell will likely skate with Avery Evans as the top defensive pair. Matt Rivera and Luke Hudson will skate together for much of the game as well. Lillian Robbins will be worked in some but not play regularly as the team will likely rest her for the varsity game later in the evening. Defensively, the Blazers will be hoping to stay out of running clock for as long as possible.

On offense, the Lightning will likely rest Jake Hudson and Aiden Zheng. Anticipate that leading scorer, ninth grade forward Siddy Bhasin (4GP, 3G, 4A) will play along with senior AJ Marks. Rounding out the forward rotation will be sophomore Mason Jagoz, and ninth grade forwards Decklin Hughes and Max Israfilbek. Jackson Schickler remains out with an upper body injury and Jason Woodman is continuing to serve his suspension.

Friday’s game is definitely a miss match and one that should advance the Lightning record to 3-1-2 on the season. It will be a hard game on everyone and should be a day after Halloween destruction. If somehow this game is relatively close, Upper Montgomery will use some of the students that are anticipated to be rested for the game.

#Day After Destruction, #UML, #Bleed Green, #Go Bolts!

The Upper Montgomery Lightning varsity returns to action on Friday night to face the Rockville / Magruder Rams in a game of unbeaten programs. Continuing an early season theme for the Lightning, game time is late night, 10:00 pm at Cabin John Ice Rink. Upper Montgomery successfully kicked of its 2024 – 2025 regular season campaign with the program’s first ever victory over BCC, 4-3. The Rockville / Magruder Rams began the season easing to a 6-2 win over Richard Montgomery. Historically, games between the two programs have been extremely close. Upper Montgomery defeated the Rams 5-4 on Nathan Cassel’s goal in overtime to close out the Montgomery Hockey Conference regular season last winter. The team’s prior meeting was a 3-2 decision in favor of Rockville / Magruder with the game winning goal scored in the final minute of regulation. This game will likely be decided by the presence of Rockville / Magruder senior defender Drew Pfeufer. Pfeufer (10GP, 18G, 9A) last season will be the most talented student athlete on the ice if he plays. The big question will be if he is in town or out-of-town with his AAA external travel team, Team Maryland.

Upper Montgomery’s goaltender, 16U AA Ilan Shterenberg was really good in last week’s win over BCC. Shterenberg made 31 saves, with a .912 save percentage, and did not give up a goal while the Lightning were at even strength. BCC scored two powerplay goals and a goal with the goalie pulled for an extra attacker. Shterenberg will need to be sharp once again for the Lightning to be competitive against the Rams. He will be backed up by ninth grade netminder Porter Stutsrim-Lyons.  Stutsrim-Lyons plays for the Caps Academy 14U Lower A external travel team and has started off his high school career strongly playing for the junior varsity. Stutsrim-Lyons is 1-1-2 on the season with a 2.18 goals against average and a .927 save percentage. He began his high school career with a shutout of Richard Montgomery and followed up that performance with a career high and junior varsity program record 47 saves against Wootton.

In net for Rockville / Magruder will be senior Sean Connelly. Connelly had an impressive outing against the Rockets last week stopping 27 of 29 shots. Last season, Connelly backstopped the Rams to the seventh seed in the county rankings. He has experience playing at the varsity level and is a steady, unspectacular netminder. Upper Montgomery has an advantage in net with Shterenberg.

On defense, the Lightning have most of their backline returning with the exception of junior defender Andrew Botti who chose not to play high school hockey during his season year of high school. Returning are top rising juniors, rugged defensive defender 16U AAA Owen Robbins (14GP, 3A) and smooth skating cool customer 16U AA Brady Berkhammer (21GP, 1G, 12A). They will be joined in the regular defensive rotation by sophomore 16U Lower A Miles Wendland (18GP, 6A) and senior Cole Howerton. Anticipate the Lightning defense to be more offensive minded this season after the defenders scored only five goals in 91 total defensive games played last year. In the season opener, the defense contributed four assists with Wendland involved in two of the scoring plays. Rounding out the defensive corps will be a rotation of junior varsity call ups; 14U AA Lillian Robbins, 14U Lower A Matt Rivera, Patrick Sell, Luke Hudson, and 19U AA Avery Evans. With the loss of so many experienced skaters off last season’s roster, almost every skater in the program is likely to see some some playing for the varsity this season. Rivera and Sell look to be in line to dress out for this game.

With Pfeufer alone the Rams are all set on defense. They will also deploy tough customer senior Aiden Ward, an 18U AA 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 will 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 experienced than what Upper Montgomery faced last week against BCC.

Offensively, Upper Montgomery returns its second and third leading scorers from a season ago. Senior 18U AA forward Nathan Cassel (15GP, 11G, 18A) and junior forward Philip Shkeda (20GP, 13G, 12A). This duo will be relied upon to lead Upper Montgomery offensively and they both will need to produce just like last year after loosing their center for the past two seasons, Chris Hassett to graduation. Cassel has an opportunity score enough goals (17) or hand out enough assists (11) to qualify for induction into the Maryland Student Hockey League Hall of Fame. Senior center, Henry Honacki 18U Upper A (21GP, 7G, 8A) elevated his game last year and if he can increase his scoring production it will help supplement Cassel and Shkeda. With Shkeda missing the game while he is out of town, anticipate that Owen Robbins will again play center this week coming off his career best hat-trick plus an assist performance against the Barons.

After these three students, there is a drop off in production to sophomore 16U Lower A Aiden Zheng (9GP, 3G, 5A) who contributed two assists last time out, and senior Josh Nadler (13GP, 4A). 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. He will miss the game on Friday as he is currently out of the country. Joining them on the varsity roster are forwards; TJ Gottesman, the junior varsity’s career points leader with 32 points, sophomore newcomer Jake Hudson, and ninth grade 14U Lower A forward Siddy Bhasin. Bhasin and Hudson currently lead the junior varsity in scoring so far this season. 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 external travel team out-of-town game conflicts.

The Rams top returning forward scorer is senior Brendyn Iliff (14GP, 7G, 12A). He scored in the Rams’ season opener and he will play plenty with junior Toyin Okunseinde (13GP, 4G, 3A) who scored twice versus the Rockets. Cameron Gifford, a 14U AAA skater, chipped in with two assists in his first varsity game. Rowen Pierson and Ryan Hurley, two 16U Lower A sophomores with a full year of varsity experience last season will be teamed up on the second line. Ninth grade 14U AA Alexander Johnston scored in his first career high school game against Richard Montgomery. Upper Montgomery will have to contend with these talented skaters while at the same time being hyper aware of where Pfeufer is at all times.

The 2024 – 2025 season will be one of growth and development for the green and gold’s younger student athletes.  It should be exciting and rewarding as the younger skaters grow and blossom. How quickly the team develops the defensive habits necessary to lead the program forward will determine if the Lightning can again challenge the upper echelon varsity teams in the county.  Or, is the team simply too young to compete right now this season.  Friday night will give us some additional answers against another quality opponent. Come along for the ride, (if you can stay up that late). It should be an entertaining and close contest between two evenly matched squads.

#UML, #Bleed Green, #Go Bolts!

After a week off the Upper Montgomery Lightning junior varsity returns to action on Friday evening versus the DC Stars. A win would advance the Lightning’s record to 2-1-2 at the likely halfway juncture of the regular season. Game time is 6:30 pm at Cabin John Ice Rink. Upper Montgomery will be looking to replicate the heroic performance displayed against the Churchill Bulldogs where the team scraped out a point by getting to overtime utilizing just seven skaters due to external team out-of-town travel commitments, student illnesses, and injuries. With a varsity game later in the evening, the coaching staff will be utilizing roster management tactics to make sure that students playing heavy minutes later in the evening in the varsity game are well rested.

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 fine 22 save shutout performance in the season opening win over Richard Montgomery followed up by making a career high and junior varsity program record 47 saves to keep the team in the game against Wootton. Stutsrim-Lyons also played well against both BCC and Churchill. He has a 1-1-2 record, a very low 2.18 goals against average, and a stout .927 save percentage. If Stutsrim-Lyons maintains his current save percentage, it would tie for the junior varsity program record set last season by Ilan Shterenberg. The DC Stars will have a choice of goalie to start in net. Sophomore 16U Lower A Liam Parkinson started the Stars opening game of the season. Junior Gabriel Sokol has played the Stars’ last two contests. The DC Stars were competitive against both Walter Johnson and Wootton to open the season and then beat Churchill who was playing without their most talented student athlete. Sokol has the better statistics with a 2.50 goals against average and an .894 save percentage.

On defense the Lightning will again play without a full compliment of defenders. With the varsity game later in the evening, anticipate that both Miles Wendland and Cole Howerton will see limited minutes if they play at all. Both may only play on special teams to maximize their rest and help out the team in those key circumstances. Senior alternate captain Patrick Sell will lead a Lightning defense that will contain sophomore Avery Evans and ninth grade defenders Matt Rivera and Luke Hudson. Sell is likely to pair with Evans with the two young ninth graders playing together as they have at times earlier in the season.

The DC Stars back line is solidified by senior defender Samuel Bensky. Bensky connected twice to beat Churchill netminder Nicholas Nelson last time out. Sophomore Upper A Jonathan Lust would normally see significant minutes in the game as will ninth grade defender Alexander Smith. Sophomore Charles Laski and Thatcher Norton along with junior Roman Stoinski round out the Stars defensive unit if all are available to play. Lust played in the DC Stars varsity game last weekend so the Stars may consider sitting him out so he does not play two games in the same evening.

Offensively, the Lightning will have available their two leading scorers in ninth grade forward Siddy Bhasin (3GP, 3G, 4A) and sophomore Jake Hudson (3GP, 3G, 2A). With both skating in the varsity game later that evening, it is unknown at this time if either will play in the junior varsity contest. It could also be a special teams only situation for both students. Aiden Zheng will likely dress for the junior varsity game, but his participation will also be a game time decision based upon the junior varsity roster needs as he will receive regular shifts in the varsity game later that evening. Newcomer, sophomore Mason Jagoz has contributed (4GP, 1G, 2A). Senior AJ Marks is stepping up on the offensive end with two goals in four games. He has transitioned to playing a lot of center this season and he is more productive offensively on the wing. Upper Montgomery is without junior forward and alternate captain Jason Woodman who continues to serve his multiple game suspension for penalties he was assessed against BCC. Other Lightning forwards who will return to the lineup after missing the Churchill game are Max Israfilbek and Decklin Hughes. Jackson Schickler remain out long term with an upper body injury.

The DC Stars have been led offensively by sophomore 16U Upper A forward Callum Cochran who has three goals in three games. He scored twice versus Churchill and added an assist. Theo Goldman leads the Stars in assists with two. The rest of the Stars’ lineup has sporadic scoring sprinkled in.

Friday’s game might be a tough one as the Lightning’s roster management decisions may once again lead to a vastly depleted lineup. Let’s see if the available student athletes can once again perform in a trying situation with the odds stacked against them.

#UML, #Bleed Green, #Go Bolts!

The Upper Montgomery Lightning varsity squad kicks off its 2024 – 2025 regular season campaign on Friday night when the Lightning host the BCC Barons. In the sixteen years of its existence, the Upper Montgomery program has never beaten BCC. The Barons have owned Upper Montgomery surrendering only a single tie two years ago on Halloween. Game time is late night, 10:00 pm at Cabin John Ice Rink.  The team will be trying to once again advance through the regular season and the opening round of the Montgomery Hockey Conference playoffs to earn the chance to play for a spot in the Maryland Student Hockey League high school state playoff tournament. BCC qualified for the state playoffs last season, but this season will be a rebuilding year for BCC as they graduated many of their most talented student athletes. The Lightning have never advanced to the state playoffs, and are in the same boat having lost nine seniors and two top juniors from last year’s experienced squad.

This season, it is expected that Churchill, Whitman, and Walter Johnson will again be at the top of the conference standings. With the exception of Northwest/Quince Orchard (who is anticipated to be by far the worst team in the county), the other eight teams are fairly evenly matched. Any of these eight teams could make a run and qualify for the state playoffs. Upper Montgomery will also be focused on bucking 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 recovered nicely over the middle and second portion of the season, getting off to a better start this season is a must.

Upper Montgomery’s primary goaltender will be sophomore 16U AA Ilan Shterenberg. Shterenberg takes over the reigns from Landon Bernard who graduated. Last season, Shterenberg shined at the junior varsity level setting or tying junior varsity program records for wins in a season (8), lowest goals against average (1.80), and highest save percentage (.927). At the varsity level, Shterenberg got his feet wet last season participating in five games, with four starts. He was 2-1 with a 4.44 goals against average and a .829 save percentage. Shterenberg will be heavily counted upon to keep the young Lightning roster in games all season long. He will be backed up by ninth grade netminder Porter Stutsrim-Lyons.  Stutsrim-Lyons plays for the Caps Academy 14U Lower A external travel team and has started off his high school career strongly playing for the junior varsity. Stutsrim-Lyons is 1-1-2 on the season with a 2.18 goals against average and a .927 save percentage. He began his high school career with a shutout of Richard Montgomery and followed up that performance with a career high and junior varsity program record 47 saves against Wootton.

BCC is expected to start senior 19U AA Vivienne Boyle in net. Last season, Boyle backstopped the Barons to a 7-2 victory over the Lightning in the team’s only meeting. She has the net for the Barons for the first portion of the season as her goaltending partner, Tycho Narrod-Malcolm finishes up the high school football season. Boyle is solid in net and the Lightning will need to work hard to score against her.

On defense, the Lightning have most of their backline returning with the exception of junior defender Andrew Botti who chose not to play high school hockey during his season year of high school. Returning are top rising juniors, rugged defensive defender 16U AAA Owen Robbins (14GP, 3A) and smooth skating cool customer 16U AA Brady Berkhammer (21GP, 1G, 12A). They will be joined in the regular defensive rotation by sophomore 16U Lower A Miles Wendland (18GP, 6A) and senior Cole Howerton. Anticipate the Lightning defense to be more offensive minded this season after the defenders scored only five goals in 91 totals defensive games played last year. Rounding out the defensive corps will be a rotation of junior varsity call ups; 14U AA Lillian Robbins, 14U Lower A Matt Rivera, Patrick Sell, Luke Hudson, and 19U AA Avery Evans. With the loss of so many experienced skaters off last season’s roster, almost every skater in the program is likely to see some some playing for the varsity this season.

BCC will be led on defense by two of their experienced skaters, juniors 18U AA Grady Jiggens (16GP, 6G, 8A) and 16U Upper A Benjamin Lyons (15GP, 4A). Sophomore Nick Sexton is likely to play both varsity and junior varsity for the Barons this season as is 14U Lower A ninth grade defender Jacob Reitz. Both Sexton and Reitz played in the junior varsity game between the two programs two weeks ago. 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.

Offensively, Upper Montgomery returns its second and third leading scorers from a season ago. Senior 18U AA forward Nathan Cassel (15GP, 11G, 18A) and junior forward Philip Shkeda (20GP, 13G, 12A). This duo will be relied upon to lead Upper Montgomery offensively and they both will need to produce just like last year after loosing their center for the past two seasons, Chris Hassett to graduation. Cassel has an opportunity score enough goals (17) or hand out enough assists (12) to qualify for induction into the Maryland Student Hockey League Hall of Fame. Senior center, Henry Honacki 18U Upper A (21GP, 7G, 8A) elevated his game last year and if he can increase his scoring production it will help supplement Cassel and Shkeda.

After these three students, there is a drop off in production to sophomore 16U Lower A Aiden Zheng (9GP, 3G, 5A) and senior Josh Nadler (13GP, 4A). 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, sophomore newcomer Jake Hudson, and ninth grade 14U Lower A forward Siddy Bhasin. Bhasin and Hudson currently lead the junior varsity in scoring so far this season. 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 external travel team out-of-town game conflicts.

BCC top returning scorer is junior forward Peter Lanpher, a point a game producer last year (16GP, 4G, 11A). He was definitely helped by playing with several stud BCC seniors. Senior Evan Williams has always stood out in games played against Upper Montgomery and he finished with (14GP, 8G, 6A). Expect senior Michael Kambouris to see lots of ice time early in the season. Hard hitting sophomore 16U Lower A Brady Page will be noticeable throwing his weight around. From there, the Barons will use a large number of young and inexperienced skaters, 16U AA Leo Alley-Strocher, 16U Lower A Ramin Jacobs who scored a hat-trick against the Lightning junior varsity two weeks ago, and junior Kiran Maltby will be featured throughout the contest against Upper Montgomery.

The 2024 – 2025 season will be one of growth and development for the green and gold’s younger student athletes.  It should be exciting and rewarding as the younger skaters grow and blossom. How quickly the team develops the defensive habits necessary to lead the program forward will determine if the Lightning can again challenge the upper echelon varsity teams in the county.  Or, is the team simply too young to compete right now this season.  Friday night will give us some answers as the season finally gets underway.  Come along for the ride, it should be a fun season!

#Season Opening Win, #UML, #Bleed Green, #Go Bolts!