Category: Game Previews

The Upper Montgomery Lightning junior varsity finds itself in an unfamiliar position. It has been almost two years since the team suffered a regular season defeat. The Upper Montgomery junior varsity program had been 12-0-4 in its prior sixteen games over the past three seasons prior to last Friday’s 4-3 loss to the BCC Barons. The team will look to rebound this upcoming Friday against the Churchill Bulldogs. Game time is 10:00 pm at Cabin John Ice Rink. 

Both teams enter the early season matchup in the middle of the standing having similar results against the same opponents. Churchill lost their opening game of the season against BCC by one goal giving up the game winning goal with 45 seconds remaining in the game. Churchill then beat Richard Montgomery by a score of 11-1. Upper Montgomery had beaten Richard Montgomery 8-0 to open the season and lost to the aforementioned BCC Barons by one goal. In their other contest, the Lightning took last season’s top regular season team, the Wootton Patriots to overtime, before eventually falling 3-2. Churchill was the only junior varsity team not to lose to Upper Montgomery last season as the Bulldogs eeked out a 4-4 overtime tie after being soundly outplayed by the Lightning.

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 BCC last week and currently sports a 2.27 goals against average and a .929 save percentage. Churchill will start a ninth grade goalie of their own, Cooper Glazer. Glazer has allowed three goals in his first two high school hockey games and sports a 1.50 goals against average and a .927 save percentage. The outstanding goalie matchup should lead to a low scoring contest Friday night.

On defense the Lightning will again play without a full compliment of defenders. Missing this week will be a sizeable contingent of the Upper Montgomery defensive corps. Upper Montgomery will dress three core defenders, senior captain Cole Howerton who scored his first goal of the season late in the game against BCC, senior alternate captain Patrick Sell, and ninth grade newcomer Matt Rivera. Missing will be sophomores Miles Wendland (an assist in each game this season), Avery Evans, and Max Curtusan as well as ninth grade defenders Lillian Robbins and Luke Hudson.

Churchill will be led on the back line by junior Samuel Lifsey. Joining Lifsey on the top defensive pairing is expected to be sophomore Andrew Liu. The Bulldogs second defensive pairing will be sophomores Cyrus Sawyer who registered a goal and an assist against Richard Montgomery and Gabriel Li who also found the back of the net against the Rockets.

Offensively, the Lightning will be missing two top scorers in ninth grade forward Siddy Bhasin (3GP, 3G, 4A) and sophomore Jake Hudson (3GP, 3G, 2A). It is expected that Aiden Zheng will return to the lineup after missing the last two games. Zheng scored twice in the season opening win over Richard Montgomery. Newcomer, sophomore Mason Jagoz has contributed (3GP, 1G, 2A). Senior AJ Marks will need to step up on the offensive end. He has transitioned to playing a lot of center the past two games and he is more productive offensively on the wing. Lightning varsity goalie Ilan Shterenberg is likely to skate out and play forward against the Bulldogs. Shterenberg has some experience as a forward having played forward for Upper Montgomery in spring league. Upper Montgomery will be without junior forward and alternate captain Jason Woodman who will begin serving the first game of a multiple game suspension for the game misconduct penalty he was assessed against the Barons. Other Lightning forwards who will miss the Churchill game are Max Israfilbek, Decklin Hughes, and Jackson Schickler.

Churchill has one primary offensive threat. Sophomore Elias Elhallou has scored five goals in two games and he has added four assists. He had eight points against Richard Montgomery last time out and he scored the Bulldogs only goal against BCC in the season opener. Sophomore Rama Allsopp had a three point game versus the Rockets, the beneficiary of Elhallou’s performance.

Friday’s game might be a tough one as the Lightning roster will be vastly depleted. Let’s see how the available student athletes perform in a trying situation with the odds stacked against them.

#UML, #Bleed Green, #Go Bolts!

Late Friday evening, the Upper Montgomery Lightning junior varsity looks to keep the momentum going when the team faces off against the BCC Barons. Game time is 10:00 pm at Cabin John Ice Rink.  Both teams enter the early season matchup looking to separate themselves from the rest of the junior varsity programs in the league. BCC won their opening game 2-1 over Churchill. Upper Montgomery has started the season very strongly after smashing the Richard Montgomery Rockets 8-0 and then taking last season’s top regular season team, the Wootton Patriots to overtime, before eventually falling 3-2. The overtime loss extended the Lightning junior varsity’s undefeated streak to sixteen regular season outings (12-0-4). The Lightning junior varsity has also killed off their past 33 shorthanded situations. The meeting between the two programs will be a rematch of last season’s junior varsity quarterfinal game won by BCC 4-1. Upper Montgomery won the regular season matchup 3-2 early in the season.

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 win over Richard Montgomery followed up by making 47 saves to keep the team in the game against Wootton. He currently sports a 1.43 goals against average and a .958 save percentage. BCC will start a ninth grade goalie of their own, 16U lower A Blake Schoenebeck. Schoenebeck was solid in net for the Barons making 18 saves in their 2-1 victory over Churchill.

On defense look for the Lightning to play a more regular defensive lineup. Playing against both Richard Montgomery and Wootton with only four defenders in the lineup was not ideal. Missing on Friday will be ninth grade defender Lillian Robbins (one goal and one assist versus the Rockets) and sophomore defender Max Curtusan. However, two defenders are expected to return to the Lightning lineup. Senior Cole Howerton and sophomore Avery Evans. Senior Patrick Sell returned to the Lightning lineup against Wootton after having served his one game game suspension for a major game misconduct penalty he received in the third period of last season’s playoff game against these same Barons. Howerton has played some at the varsity level over the past two seasons and will be looked upon to take on a bigger role this season.  At the junior varsity level Howerton (10GP, 5G, 4A) last year will be looked upon for offensive output and to use his smooth skating to assist with defensive zone breakouts.  

Sophomore 16U lower A defender Miles Wendland, the Lightning’s most sound defender, will again likely be paired with ninth grade defender Luke Hudson. Matthew Rivera (two assists against Richard Montgomery) will likely play with Avery Evans. Howerton and Sell will likely play against BCC’s top offensive skaters. BCC will counter with sophomore Nick Sexton and ninth grade defender Jacob Reitz 16U lower A paired together. Junior Jeronimo Castano Tellez (one goal and one assist versus Churchill) will pair with sophomore Zach Leblanc. BCC may also use a rotation of forwards to help out on the blue line.

Offensively, the Lightning have had balanced scoring. Sophomore Jake Hudson and ninth grade forward Siddy Bhasin both lead the junior varsity in scoring (2GP, 2G, 2A). Newcomer, sophomore Mason Jagoz has contributed (2GP, 1G, 2A). Aiden Zheng who only played in the season opening game against Richard Montgomery is the other skater with two goals. All of the Lightning skaters dressed for the game against Richard Montgomery registered at least one point. Senior forward AJ Marks has scored as has ninth grade forward Decklin Hughes. Defenders Wendland and Rivera have both recorded two assists. BCC will employ a nice mix of returning forwards and incoming ninth grade forwards. The experienced forwards are senior Michael Kambouris, juniors Nick Hartnett-Mueller, David High, Kiran Maltby, and Nick Mencher, and sophomores Ramin Jacobs, Brady Page, and Ava Summerfield. They will be joined by a bevy of new student athletes; Camille Boyle, Ryan Duffy, Sam Lane, Juliana Langley, Hannah Moss, and Julia Reitz. Mencher scored with 38 seconds remaining in the contest to record the game winning goal last Friday in BCC’s season opening win against Churchill.

The 2024 – 2025 junior varsity season was thought to be one of growth and development for the green and gold’s younger student athletes.  While those primary expectations remain, the early season success that the Lightning have experienced have somewhat lifted expectations. Upper Montgomery is able to compete with all of the junior varsity teams in the county. The team’s success will come down to how well the team plays in the defensive zone each game and whether the forwards are able to clear the zone getting the puck out of danger. The recent game against the Patriots provided the coaching staff with a tremendous amount of knowledge of what the team will be focusing on to get better as the season progresses. Friday night should be another hard fought close contest that could be won by either team. The winner will likely be assured of a high finish in the regular season league standings when the season concludes several months from now.

#UML, #Bleed Green, #Go Bolts!, #Continue the Streaks

The Upper Montgomery Lightning junior varsity faces off against one of the county’s top junior varsity teams when they face the high powered Wootton Patriots this Wednesday evening. Game time is 6:30 pm at Cabin John Ice Rink.  Both teams enter the early season matchup after coasting to season opening wins. The Lightning smashed the Richard Montgomery Rockets 8-0 while Wootton dismantled the Rockville / Magruder Rams 8-1. Upper Montgomery’s junior varsity brings a couple of long streaks into the game. The Lightning junior varsity is undefeated in its past fifteen regular season outings (12-0-3). The Lightning junior varsity has also killed off their past 31 shorthanded situations.

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 and began his high school career with a fine shutout performance in the win over the Rockets this past Friday. He made a terrific save on a breakaway opportunity and was otherwise positionally sound making routine saves along the way to his 22 save shutout. He will need to play even better against the Patriots. Wootton will counter in net with sophomore netminder Kevin Yu. Yu has experience at both the junior varsity and varsity level having been Wootton’s primary goalkeeper last season and again this year. He played very well in the Montgomery Hockey Conference Varsity Tournament championship game against Upper Montgomery even through he surrendered nine goals. He made plenty of highlight worthy saves to keep Wootton from having the score go further off the rails. Upper Montgomery is going to find it much more difficult to score on Wednesday night.

On defense look for the Lightning to play a more regular defensive lineup. Playing against Richard Montgomery with only four defenders in the lineup was not ideal. Missing on Wednesday will be ninth grade defender Lillian Robbins (one goal and one assist versus the Rockets) and sophomore defender Max Curtusan. However, three defenders are expected to return to the Lightning lineup. Senior Cole Howerton, senior Patrick Sell, and sophomore Avery Evans. Sell is eligible to return to the Lightning lineup after having served his one game game suspension for a major game misconduct penalty he received in the third period of last season’s playoff game. Howerton has played some at the varsity level over the past two seasons and will be looked upon to take on a bigger role this season.  At the junior varsity level Howerton (10GP, 5G, 4A) last year will be looked upon for offensive output.  

Sophomore 16U lower A defender Miles Wendland, the Lightning’s most sound defender, will again likely be paired with ninth grade defender Luke Hudson. Matthew Rivera (two assists against Richard Montgomery) will likely play with Avery Evans. Howerton and Sell will likely play against Wootton’s top offensive skaters. Wootton will counter with two pairs of defenders. Junior defender Nicholas Chung will likely play with ninth grader Nathan Tian and ninth grade 14U upper A defender Isaac Greene will likely play with sophomore defender Sam Rubinstein. Chung led the way for the Wootton defense with a goal and an assist against Rockville / Magruder.

All of the Lightning skaters dressed for the game registered at least one point against Richard Montgomery. The team was led by sophomore Jake Hudson who scored twice and also hit the goal post on two other occasions. Sophomore forward Aiden Zheng also potted two goals in addition to a phenomenal backchecking performance. Ninth grade forward Siddy Bhasin added a goal and an assist. Sophomore forward Mason Jagoz contributed two assists. Senior forward AJ Marks scored as did ninth grade forward Decklin Hughes. Wootton will be led by four primary offensive threats; sophomore AAA forward Jaina Kronforst who scored a hat-trick on Friday against Rockville / Magruder. Sophomore forward Jayden Ahn scored twice while fellow sophomore forward Nathan Geeng added a goal and an assist. Senior forward Mitchell Golub brings experience as well as a scoring punch. He also contributed a goal and an assist against the Rams.

The 2024 – 2025 junior varsity season was thought to be one of growth and development for the green and gold’s younger student athletes.  While those primary expectations remain, Wednesday’s contest will help determine how close Upper Montgomery is to the top junior varsity team in the county. How quickly the team develops the defensive habits necessary to lead the program forward will determine if the Lightning can challenge and beat the upper echelon junior varsity teams in the county.  The game against the Patriots will be a measuring stick kind of game providing the coaching staff with a tremendous amount of knowledge of what the team will need to focus on to get better as the season progresses. On Wednesday night join us for a clash of two programs that have become bitter rivals over the past two seasons.

#UML, #Bleed Green, #Go Bolts!

The Upper Montgomery Lightning’s 2024 – 2025 regular season kicks off on Friday night when the junior varsity hosts the Richard Montgomery Rockets.  Game time is 6:30 pm at Rockville Ice Arena.  The team will be trying to duplicate last season’s fine showing culminating with an undefeated regular season record of 9-0-1.  An unfortunate loss in the quarterfinal round of the Montgomery Hockey Conference junior varsity playoffs ended Upper Montgomery’s title hopes.

The junior varsity roster is a good mixture of older students pairing with many new incoming students to the program.  With the graduation of last season’s three seniors, co-captain center Adam Levine (11GP, 3G, 8A) and defenders Sean Levine and Jake Roth, and with three additional students prevented from continuing to participate at the junior varsity level having a designation of impact participant; sophomore goalie Ilan Shterenberg (8 wins, 1.80 GAA, .927 Save %), junior co-captain center Josh Nadler (10GP, 11G, 1A), the junior varsity’s all-time leading goals scorer, and senior forward TJ Gottesman (9GP, 11G, 5A), the junior varsity’s all-time leader in points, there will be plenty of ice time for students to earn.

In net for the Lightning junior varsity all season long will be ninth grade netminder Porter Stutsrim-Lyons.  Stutsrim-Lyons plays for the Caps Academy 14U lower A external travel team.  He will have ginormous shoes to fill as Shterenberg set or tied junior varsity program records for wins in a season (8), lowest goals against average (1.80), and highest save percentage (.927).  Richard Montgomery will counter in net with Thomas Richardson.  Richardson will be making his first ever appearance as a goalie in a high school hockey game.  It would appear on paper that the Lightning have an advantage in net.

On defense Friday night, look for the Lightning to be playing only two pairings as four Upper Montgomery junior varsity defenders will miss the opening game of the season.  Senior Cole Howerton has played some at the varsity level over the past two seasons and will be looked upon to take on a bigger role this season.  At the junior varsity level Howerton (10GP, 5G, 4A) will be looked upon to take a leadership role and assist the many new incoming ninth grade defenders.  He will be out-of-town on travel this weekend.  Senior defensive defender Patrick Sell will miss the game serving his one game suspension for a major game misconduct penalty he received in the third period of last season’s playoff game.  Sophomore Avery Evans will miss the game out-of-town with her external travel team, and sophomore defender Max Curtusan will miss the game recovering from an illness.

Sophomore16U lower A defender Miles Wendland will be the only experienced defender the Lightning will dress on Friday.  He will be joined by three promising ninth graders in 14U AA defender Lillian Robbins, 14U lower A defender Matthew Rivera, and former lower A defender Luke Hudson who has decided to play just high school hockey this season.  Short shifts will be necessary for the defensive corps to remain fresh for the entirety of the game.  The Upper Montgomery coaching staff may also drop back a forward or two at times to give the defense a bit of an extra breather.  It is anticipated that Wendland will pair with Hudson and Robbins will pair with Rivera.  Not much is known about the Richard Montgomery defense except they graduated many junior varsity eligible students this past spring.  Ryan Jones and Samir Wang, a converted forward, are the only Rockets defenders with prior high school hockey experience.

Top returning forwards for the Lightning junior varsity are sophomore 16U lower A forward Aiden Zheng (9GP, 3G, 5A) last season on varsity and (11GP, 4G, 2A) with the junior varsity.  His skating speed should allow him to generate a significant number of offensive chances at the junior varsity level.  The coaching staff will be looking for Zheng to be more responsible defensively and to use the junior varsity games to elevate his game to the next level.  He played better and better as his ninth grade season progressed last year.  Senior AJ Marks is the top scoring junior varsity forward returning for Upper Montgomery with (9GP, 3G, 4A).  If Marks uses his size to his advantage and attacks, he has an opportunity to force his way into the varsity lineup.  The team will be looking for junior Jason Woodman to increase his offensive contributions now that he is in his third season of high school hockey.  Woodman will be one of the leaders of the junior varsity team and his dedication to the program is unparalleled.  Sophomore center Jackson Schickler will begin the season on injured reserve with his return likely at some point during November.  Schickler also missed a large portion of last season with a season ending lower body injury.

The junior varsity will also have a significant number of new faces dressed at forward for game action. Sophomore former Upper A forward Jake Hudson has the size, strength, and speed to be dominant at the junior varsity level.  He will play significant minutes at the varsity level as well.  Incoming ninth grader Siddy Bhasin 14U lower A should be motivated to show he has the all around game to excel at the junior varsity level and compete for varsity playing time.  Other incoming ninth grade forwards are scrappy Decklin Hughes and Max Israfilbek, along with sophomore Mason Jagoz.  Jagoz played high school hockey in Frederick last season.  All of the new forwards in the program will be relied upon to play regular shifts for the junior varsity as they grow and develop to the speed and intensity of high school game action.  Richard Montgomery will field a lineup littered with incoming ninth grade forwards as well.  Bennett Parisi saw game action last season for the Rockets as did Conor Rosier, but most of the Richard Montgomery forwards will be playing in their first ever high school hockey game. 

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 junior varsity teams in the county.  Or, is the team simply too young to compete now.  Friday night will give us some answers as the season finally gets underway.  Come along for the ride, it should be a fun season!

#UML, #Bleed Green, #Go Bolts!

The Upper Montgomery Lightning will face a stiff test in the quarterfinal round of the Montgomery Hockey Conference junior varsity playoffs. Don’t be deceived by the Barons 3-4-1 record. The BCC program has a history of playing its true junior varsity student athletes during the regular season and then supplementing those students with more high end talent once the playoffs begin. Although Upper Montgomery finished the regular season with a program record 9-01- record, many throughout the conference have the Barons favored in the game. Game time on Friday is late night, 10:00 pm puck drop at Cabin John Ice Rink.

The game will be a rematch of an October clash between the two squads won by Upper Montgomery by a score of 3-2. It was a tight checking defensive game that was impacted more by which students did not play in the game rather than those that participated. Both BCC and Upper Montgomery used some roster management decisions in the regular season matchup choosing to scratch certain student athletes.

Friday’s playoff game will be determined in large part by the following factor; which student athletes will be out-of-town with their external travel teams? The Lightning will be missing two primary defenders in Jake Roth and Avery Evans, both of whom will be up north playing with their external travel team in tournaments over the holiday weekend. The Lightning may also be missing leading scorer TJ Gottesman who could be out of town as well. It is unknown if any of the Barons’ student athletes will likewise miss the game.

Ninth grade netminder Ilan Shterenberg who had a superb regular season will need to steal this game. He had fabulous individual statistics in his first high school season. His record was 8-0-1 with three shutouts, a 1.67 goals against average, and a .931 save percentage. He will have to come up huge for Upper Montgomery to prevail over the Barons. With a shortened bench, the Lightning will begin to tire as the game progresses causing the game to tilt toward the Barons over the latter portion of the game. Shterenberg will need to slam the door shut and prevent BCC from scoring. In net for the Barons is expected to be Tycho Narrod-Malcolm. Narrod-Malcolm is a big goalie and tough to score against. Upper Montgomery was able to poke three past him in October and will be looking to do so once again. Narrod-Malcom posted a 1-2-1 record with a 2.25 goals against average and an .895 save percentage. If unavailable, BCC’s other goaltender option would be Lucy Barron who had a 2-1 record, a 3.78 goals against average, and a .750 save percentage.

Upper Montgomery came alive offensively as the season progressed in large part because of a coaching decision. Midway through the season the coaching staff began playing Adam Levine at center separating him off of a line with high scoring center Josh Nadler. The change brought more balance to the lineup and Levine’s faceoff prowess has led directly to seven goals over the past several games. Expect Nadler (9GP, 11G, 1A) to center Jason Woodman (three assists recently against Oakdale) and Sean Levine (10GP, 2G, 5A). If Gottesman (9GP, 11G, 5A) is available for the game, he would play as the other wing with Nadler centering the line. Sean Levine would then drop back and play defense. It is anticipated that the other forward line will have Adam Levine (10GP, 3G, 8A) centering ninth grade forward Aiden Zheng (10GP, 4G, 2A) and AJ Marks (8GP, 3G 4A).

BCC will counter with two very good student athletes who both play on BCC’s varsity squad as well. Peter Lanpher led the Barons in scoring with (4GP, 6G, 5A). He is a smooth skater with good playmaking ability. Kiran Maltby has produced as well and was tied for second on the Barons in goals (7GP, 5G, 1A). The Barons have five other forwards with either two or three goals and four to six points.

Junior offensive minded defender Cole Howerton will lead a defensive corps that will likely only have four skaters. Howerton has played very well of late. His offensive contributions (9GP, 5G, 3A) and skating ability are huge assets for a team that has trouble scoring. He will likely pair with hulking defensive defender Patrick Sell. Sell has begun to use his body more to his advantage. His long reach often gets to pucks breaking up plays. Behr Schicker has been a nice surprise this season. Schickler looked more comfortable in his sophomore season. He will be paired with ninth grade defender Miles Wendland. Wendland is a steady defender that uses very good positioning and stick work to derail the opponent’s offensive chances. BCC has a very talented group on their backend. Sophomore standout Ben Lyons (7GP, 5G, 2A) leads the crew with Jeronimo Castano Tellez (8GP, 3G, 3A) and ninth grade defenders, Nick Sexton (8GP, 2G, 2A) and Ava Summerfield (8GP, 2G). A rotation of forwards may pick up some defensive shifts for the Barons or BCC could go with four defenders similar to the Upper Montgomery game plan.

Upper Montgomery has by far the most difficult quarterfinal matchup of the top four seeds. Something that you would not expect for the number two seeded Lightning. If Upper Mongomery wins, the team will almost certainly play Richard Montgomery in the semifinal round. Richard Montgomery should have no trouble getting past Whitman. The other side of the bracket has top seeded Wootton playing the winner of Churchill and Blair while Walter Johnson will host the DC Stars.

The Lightning will need to maintain focus throughout the entire game, something that will be even more critical in the latter stages of the game as the team begins to tire. Upper Montgomery played in so many close tight games this season that pressure should not be an issue. The penalty kill was outstanding during the regular season, 23 killed penalties out of 25 chances, a success rate of 92%. The two powerplay goals given up were in the one game Shterenberg did not play in. Special teams and faceoffs may play a big role in the outcome as they have all season for the Lightning. It is a win to keep playing game. A loss would end the Upper Montgomery season. It would be a shame for the Lightning’s season to end so early in the playoffs after an undefeated regular season.

#Get it Done, #Advance to Semis, #Remain Undefeated, #UML, #Bleed Green, #Go Bolts!

The Upper Montgomery Lightning junior varsity concludes its regular season with a makeup game against the Blair Blazers. Earlier this season, Blair failed to show up for the team’s regularly scheduled game. Thursday’s contest begins at 5:45 pm at Wheaton Ice Rink. A victory over the Blazers will cap an undefeated regular season for the Lightning who enter the game with an 8-0-1 record after Tuesday’s thrashing of non-conference opponent Oakdale.

The path to success for Upper Montgomery every game is to rely on the team’s strengths, its trademark team defense, full out hustle, and playing ugly hockey. The Lightning will have to bring their compete level so that they do not play down to the Blair’s level. Hopefully, setting the junior varsity program record for wins in a season will be plenty of motivation for the squad.

The Blair game marks the return of super talented 9th grade netminder Ilan Shterenberg. Shterenberg missed the Oakdale game with pre-scheduled family travel plans. Junior defender Cole Howerton may also return after missing the game against the Bears dealing with a short-term medical issue. With the Oakdale individual statistical performance yet to be finalized by video review, going into the game against the Bears, Upper Montgomery had been led offensively by junior T.J. Gottesman (7GP, 6G, 3A), senior co-captain Adam Levine (8GP, 2G, 7A), and junior co-captain Josh Nadler (7GP, 7G). Junior AJ Marks (6GP, 2G, 3A) has continued to play well having his best game of the season recently against the Churchill Bulldogs with a goal and two assists. He will be looking to show consistency and that level of production once again. Sean Levine is coming off a pretty backhanded goal to finish off a breakaway in the team’s recent victory over the DC Stars. Ninth grade forward Aiden Zheng is coming on strong and now has (8GP, 3G, 1A). Jason Woodman threw his body around in the Oakdale game and several of his hits dislodged the puck. Avery Evans is the team’s top defender in points with (6GP, 4A) and scored her first career high school goal against Oakdale.

The Blazer may play any one of four students in net during the game. All four goalies have struggled this season with Blair having given up 35 goals in just five games, an average of seven goals against per contest. Conversely, Blair has tallied only twelve goals. Thursday’s game will be the second of back to back contests for the Blazers as Blair also plays late Wednesday night. Blair is led offensively by William Campbell who has five goals in three games. Mason Boucher with two goals is the only other Blazer with more than one goal.

On defense the Lightning will likely have a rotation of Avery Evans paired with Jake Roth and Patrick Sell paired with Miles Wendland. Anticipate that Behr Schickler will see time in the rotation as the fifth defender. Upper Montgomery will need to maintain its defensive focus throughout the entire game. Prior to the Oakdale game with Chris Hassett (a skater playing goalie), the Lightning had been perfect on the penalty kill this season sitting at 21 for 21 while playing a skater short. This unprecedented success has definitely helped in all of the close games Upper Montgomery has been a part of. If shorthanded on Thursday, the Lightning may very well score a shorthanded goal or two against the Blazers.

The Upper Montgomery junior varsity will be looking to extend their unbeaten run to a program record ten straight games to open the season with a victory over the Blazers. The final regular season game is on Thursday evening with a chance at an undefeated campaign. Many student athletes also have long scoring streaks that they would like to continue. Upper Montgomery has grown accustomed to playing in tight games, something that should be of benefit as the season winds down into the Montgomery Hockey Conference junior varsity playoffs which are just ten short days away.

#Finish Strong, #Extend the Streak, #Undefeated, #Our Time, #UML, #Bleed Green, #Go Bolts!

The Upper Montgomery Lightning junior varsity returns to action on Tuesday, January 2nd against the Oakdale Bears. Game time is 8:35 pm. The program historically schedules a non-conference game against a challenging opponent just prior to the Montgomery Hockey Conference playoff tournament. Scheduling a high quality opponent late in the season helps prepare the junior varsity squad for the rigors of the county playoff tournament, and Oakdale is a very accomplished team. After the Oakdale game, the Lightning finish off the conference portion of the regular season against the Blair Blazers on Thursday evening with plenty on the line.

Over the next two games, the team (7-0-1 record) will be looking to tie the junior varsity program record for wins in a season (eight set during the 2021 – 2022 season). The path to success for Upper Montgomery every game is to rely on the team’s strengths, its trademark team defense, full out hustle, and playing ugly hockey. The Lightning will have to bring their compete level up a notch against the Bears. The Frederick County teams are permitted to play student athletes that play at a higher level than what is allowed in Montgomery County junior varsity games. Thus, the Bears will be permitted to play students that would not be eligible for the contest if the game was a Montgomery Hockey Conference sanctioned game.

Making the game even more challenging is that super talented 9th grade netminder Ilan Shterenberg will miss the game with pre-scheduled family travel plans. In addition, junior defender Cole Howerton, third on the team with four goals, will miss the game dealing with a short-term medical issue. Upper Montgomery is led offensively by junior T.J. Gottesman (7GP, 6G, 3A), senior co-captain Adam Levine (8GP, 2G, 7A), and junior co-captain Josh Nadler (7GP, 7G). Junior AJ Marks (6GP, 2G, 3A) had his best game of the season last time out against the Churchill Bulldogs with a goal and two assists. He will be looking to show consistency and that level of production once again. Sean Levine has played against this higher level of competition before. He is coming off a pretty backhanded goal to finish off a breakaway in the team’s recent victory over the DC Stars. Ninth grade forward Aiden Zheng is coming on strong and now has (8GP, 3G, 1A). Avery Evans is the team’s top defender in points with (6GP, 4A).

Filling in for ninth grade netminder will be Chris Hassett, dropping down from the varsity. Not a goalie, Hassett filled in last season to help manage Landon Bernard’s games played restriction and won two junior varsity games posting a 3.89 goals against average and an .800 save percentage. If Hassett can limit the Bears to just four goals, the team will be ecstatic and will have a chance for an uplifting victory. There is no doubt that the team will miss Shterenberg and his 1.50 goals against average, .937 save percentage, and three shutouts.

In net for the Bears will be Zachary Sanford. Sanford has been solid in net authoring a 4-2 record, a 4.83 goals against average, and a .805 save percentage. He has had some very good games, and in other games the Bears defense has let the team down. Depending upon which skaters the Bears dress for the non-conference game, Oakdale may rely on some forwards dropping back to play on defense.

Offensively, the Bears have a host of Upper A and AA level travel skaters in their lineup. These skaters will pose problems for the Lightning with their speed and skill level. Oakdale’s top scorer is Micah Venezie (5GP, 10G, 2A). His brother Morgan leads the Bears in assists (6GP, 5A). Daniel King has played in four games and has scored almost two points per game (4GP, 5G, 2A). Tyler Yuhas has six points in two games (2GP, 3G, 3A). Gavin Timberlake has five goals in three games. It will be quite a challenge for the Lightning on the defensive side of the ice. With Hassett in net, a position skater filling in as goalie, the Bears high powered offense may have a field day.

On defense the Lightning will likely have a rotation of Avery Evans paired with Jake Roth and Patrick Sell paired with Miles Wendland. Anticipate that Behr Schickler will see time in the rotation as the fifth defender. Upper Montgomery will need to maintain its defensive focus throughout the entire game. The Lightning defense can’t get caught pinching at the offensive blue line or the Bears will constantly skate right past them into breakaways and two on one rushes. The Lightning have been perfect on the penalty kill this season and currently sit at 21 for 21 while playing a skater short. This unprecedented success has definitely helped in all of the close games Upper Montgomery has been a part of. Absent a penalty free game, it will be challenging for the penalty kill to remain perfect again on Tuesday evening.

The Upper Montgomery junior varsity will be looking to extend their unbeaten run to a program record nine straight games to open the season with a victory over the Bears. It will be very tough to achieve another win or a tie against Oakdale. Upper Montgomery has grown accustomed to playing in tight games, something that should be of benefit as the season winds down towards the playoffs. The stretch run continues for the junior varsity on Tuesday evening with only two more regular season games before the start of the playoffs.

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

The Upper Montgomery Lightning junior varsity has a prime opportunity and several goals to achieve over the closing games of the regular season. However, to earn those accomplishments the team will have to bear down over the last three regular season games. First up is a pivotal league matchup against the Churchill Bulldogs. An Upper Montgomery victory will secure a first round bye in the Montgomery Hockey Conference junior varsity playoffs which kick off in early January.

If the Lightning should prevail on Wednesday afternoon, they will be well positioned for the playoffs, with a top two seed within reach. Thus far, the 2023 – 2024 season has been a welcome change for the program rebounding from last season’s 4-5-2 record. The team’s seven game winning streak is the longest in program history and the team has a very good chance to run that streak to eight against Churchill. There are two very winnable games upcoming on the Lightning’s schedule. With a deep playoff run, the team could threaten the junior varsity record for wins in a season, eight, set during the 2021 – 2022 junior varsity championship season (8-4-2 overall record).

The path to success for Upper Montgomery on Wednesday will be to continue its trademark team defense, full out hustle, and playing ugly hockey. If the Lightning bring their compete level and are able to lock down the Bulldogs, they should be able to score enough to once again emerge victorious. The return of two of the team’s top three leading scores, junior co-captain Josh Nadler (6GP, 7G) and junior T.J. Gottesman (6GP, 4G, 3A) will be a boost for the team. Senior co-captain Adam Levine has points in four straight games and leads the team in assists (7GP, 1G, 6A). His highlight reel (and amazing) goal against the DC Stars last time out is sure to raise his confidence. Junior Cole Howerton has also been a key component of the team’s offense (7GP, 4G, 2A). Sean Levine scored a pretty backhanded goal to finish off a breakaway in the victory over the DC Stars (7GP, 2G, 3A). Ninth grade forward Aiden Zheng is coming on strong and now has (7GP, 3G, 1A). Avery Evans is the team’s top defender in points with (5GP, 4A). For the first time in a while, Upper Montgomery will have its entire roster available for the game minus long-term injured ninth grade forward Jackson Schickler. Expect Howerton to remain at forward for the rest of the season to give the Lightning an additional offensive threat.

Ninth grade netminder Ilan Shterenberg began his high school career authoring two shutouts. He followed up the strong start by allowing only two goals against in each of his next four outings. In last Wednesday’s contest against the DC Stars, he posted yet another shutout. Shterenberg owns the junior varsity program record for shutouts in a season with three. His personal statistics over the first seven games of his junior varsity career are a 7-0 record, an eye popping, minuscule 1.16 goals against average, and a .950 save percentage. He will again need to remain sharp to allow the notoriously slow starting Lightning to get on track offensively.

In net for the Bulldogs will be Angelina Duke. She has had a trying season playing behind a porous Bulldog defense. Churchill may drop down some of their second team varsity rostered student athletes to provide support and assistance for the younger less experienced skaters. Duke’s season statistics are a 1-4 record, an 8.95 goals against average, and a .731 save percentage. Upper Montgomery should have a distinct advantage in net during the game. Upper Montgomery is averaging just over three goals scored per game, while the Bulldogs have given up an average of eight goals per game. It would seem that the game lines up nicely for the Lightning to have an offensive breakout.

Offensively, the Bulldogs are led by forward Cash Levenberg who has (2GP, 3G, 2A). Three other forwards have four points, Ahmed Elkousy (4GP, 3G, 1A), Tye Glazer (5GP, 3G, 1A), and Adam Klewans (4GP, 4G). Depending upon how much Churchill utilizes their varsity student athletes called down for the game, these students may or may not play significant minutes.

On defense the Lightning will likely have a rotation of Avery Evans paired with Jake Roth and Patrick Sell paired with Miles Wendland. Anticipate that Behr Schickler will see time in the rotation as the fifth defender. Upper Montgomery will need to maintain its defensive focus throughout the entire game. The team can’t get caught up ice cherry picking for offense and allow the Bulldogs to get into a transition offensive game. The Lightning are a perfect 20 for 20 on the penalty kill for the season and that unprecedented success has helped in all of the close game Upper Montgomery has been a part of. It would also not be surprising for the Lightning to score a shorthanded goal during the game as the Bulldogs have given up ten shorthanded goals on the season.

With Adam Levine’s face off success so far this season (73% win rate), the Lightning should have total control of the faceoff dots, enabling clean defensive zone exits while on the offensive end many good scoring chances as a result of sustained zone pressure. If the team competes in the dirty areas across the ice the extra puck possession in the offensive zone will create additional scoring opportunities. Likewise, winning defensive zone draws will limit the Bulldogs offensive zone time. Expect Levine to take the majority of the high danger faceoffs especially if the game is close late or if the Lightning find themselves on the penalty kill. The dominating faceoff performances have led directly to five Upper Montgomery goals over the last three games.

Upper Montgomery has been terrific late in games preventing the opposition from scoring. The Lightning have given up only two third period goals all season while playing with slim leads in most games. Upper Montgomery has grown accustomed to playing in tight games, something that should be of benefit as the season winds down towards the playoffs. The Upper Montgomery junior varsity will be looking to extend their unbeaten run to a program record eight straight wins to open the season with a victory over the Bulldogs. The stretch run continues for the junior varsity on Wednesday afternoon with a sprint towards the start of the playoffs.

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

The Upper Montgomery Lightning face an uphill battle on Wednesday evening against the DC Stars. The team’s leading scorer and co-captain, forward Josh Nadler will miss the game serving his one game supplemental disciplinary action. The team’s standout goalie, Ilan Shterenberg will be returning from a school sponsored trip to New York. Emergency backup netminder Chris Hassett will be on standby in case there is a travel delay with Shterenberg getting back to the DC area. The team’s second leading scorer, TJ Gottesman will also miss the game. And, with illness traveling around the DC Metropolitan area, the number of available skaters could decrease further before puck drop.

If the Lightning should prevail on Wednesday evening, they will all but certain need just one more victory over their final two games to secure a bye in the opening round of the junior varsity playoffs. Receiving a top seed in the playoffs is certainly something to shoot for. It has been a welcome change this season for the Lightning junior varsity rebounding from last season’s 4-5-2 record to record wins in each of their first six games this season. There are two very winnable games upcoming on the schedule. With a deep playoff run, the team could threaten the junior varsity record for wins in a season, eight, set during the 2021 – 2022 junior varsity championship season (8-4-2 record).

The path to success for Upper Montgomery on Wednesday evening will be its trademark team defense, hustle, and playing ugly hockey. The team’s effort will need to be extraordinarily high as Nadler will not be available to skate the puck out of harm’s way. If the Lightning are able to lock down the Stars, they may be able to score just enough (one or two goals) to emerge victorious. The team is a perfect 18 for 18 on the penalty kill and that unprecedented success surely has helped in all of the close game Upper Montgomery has been a part of.

Ninth grade netminder Ilan Shterenberg began his high school career authoring two shutouts. He has followed up allowing only two goals against in each of the last four outings. He will be counted on to continue his strong play to give Upper Montgomery any chance at a victory over the Stars. Shterenberg’s statistics over his first six junior varsity games are an eye popping 1.36 goals against average and a .941 save percentage. A case can be made that Shterenberg, along with Nadler are two of the most valuable student athletes on the roster. In net for the DC Stars will be Gabriel Sokol. Sokol has had a very good start to the season as well and has a 2.14 goals against average and an .895 save percentage. If both netminders play up to their capabilities, scoring goals may be very difficult on Wednesday night. The goaltenders strong play coupled with the trouble each team has scoring goals, Upper Montgomery is averaging 3.5 goals per game and the DC Stars are averaging 2.6 goals per game, could make this a very low scoring affair.

Offensively, the Stars are led by forward Kai-Handy Kanegis who has three goals and an assist in five games. Harry Fishman and Nicholas Rosenberg have each scored twice. Usually, Upper Montgomery is led on offense by junior co-captain Josh Nadler. Nadler has scored in each of the team’s six games this season and has scored seven goals. However, he will be unavailable for the game. Also unavailable will be junior forward, TJ Gottesman. Gottesman has an uncanny ability to rack up points by being in the right place at the right time. His four goals and three assists will be missed. Junior Cole Howerton will likely play offense against the DC Stars. He has scored four goals and added two assists over the first six games of the season. Senior co-captain Adam Levine leads the Lightning with five assists in six games having set up Nadler multiple times on nice give and go passing plays and helping generate key goals off of faceoff wins. Howerton and Levine are likely to play on the same line on Wednesday as the team looks to generate offense without its top two points leaders.

On defense the Lightning will likely have a rotation of Avery Evans paired with Jake Roth and Patrick Sell paired with Miles Wendland. Anticipate that Behr Schickler will see time as both a defender and a forward during the game. Upper Montgomery will need to maintain its defensive focus throughout the entire game and not get caught up ice allowing the Stars to get into their transition offense and counterattack with odd skater rushes.

If the Lightning can control the faceoff dot and get clean zone exits, and if the team competes in the dirty areas across the ice the extra puck possession in the offensive zone may create additional scoring opportunities. Likewise, winning defensive zone draws will limit the DC Stars offensive zone time. Expect Adam Levine to take the majority of the high danger faceoffs especially if the game is close late. Levine, shifted to center by the coaching staff for the Urbana game, is coming off of winning 20 of 24 faceoffs against the Hawks and 11 of 19 faceoffs versus Richard Montgomery. The dominating performances have led directly to four Upper Montgomery goals including the last two game winning goals.

The Upper Montgomery junior varsity will be looking to extend their unbeaten record to seven with a victory over the Stars. It will not be easy playing without two key contributors. As has been the case all season long, Shterenberg will need to be a difference maker and stonewall the Stars. If he does, and if the team’s stout defense shows up, the Lightning can remain competitive deep into the game. Upper Montgomery has been terrific late in games preventing the opposition from scoring. The Lightning have given up only two third period goals all season while playing with slim leads in most games. Upper Montgomery has grown accustomed to playing in tight games, something that should be of benefit as the season winds down towards the playoffs. The stretch run continues for the junior varsity on Wednesday with a sprint towards the playoffs.

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

On Friday evening just before midnight, the Montgomery Hockey Conference junior varsity playoff seedings will begin to take shape. Even though only halfway through the season, Friday night’s prime time showdown, a show me game so to speak, between the Upper Montgomery Lightning and the Richard Montgomery Rockets will be enlightening. The 5-0 Lightning will play host to the 4-0 and top ranked Rockets. Game time is late, 10:00 pm at Cabin John Ice Rink. Upper Montgomery will need a superior team effort to come out victorious as the strength of the teams the Lightning have beaten to date are not of the caliber of the high flying Rockets. The team defense and Ilan Shterenberg’s goaltending will need to be incredibly sharp, and the forwards will need to provide much more offense than has been generated thus far to propel Upper Montgomery to victory.

Ninth grade netminder Ilan Shterenberg began his high school career authoring two shutouts. He has followed up allowing only two goals against in each of the last three outings. He will be counted on to continue his strong play to give Upper Montgomery a punchers chance at the upset. Shterenberg’s statistics over his first five junior varsity games are an eye popping 1.23 goals against average and a .939 save percentage. Shterenberg will be tested as most of the Richard Montomery junior varsity skaters also play for the Rockets’ varsity squad. In net for Richard Montgomery will be Gregory Saffell. Saffell also has outstanding statistics in the three games he has played, with a 1.07 goals against average and a .941 save percentage. He also has two shutouts this season, against Rockville and the DC Stars. If both netminders play up to their capabilities, scoring goals may be very difficult on Friday night.

Offensively, Richard Montgomery has run through both Churchill and Rockville scoring 21 of their 26 goals in those two games. The Rockets are led by senior forward Jack Evans who has nine goals in three games and 9th grade forward Aaron Hwang who has scored eight goals in four games. Against better competition the Rockets have been held to four goals against BCC and only one goal in their shutout win over the DC Stars. Richard Montgomery has received evenly distributed offensive production from the rest of their lineup with eight other skaters having scored between five and three points each. Upper Montgomery is led on offense by junior co-captain Josh Nadler. Nadler has scored in each of the team’s five games this season and has scored six goals. Junior Cole Howerton has scored four goals over the first five games of the season playing mostly on defense. Junior TJ Gottesman has chipped in with five points on three goals and two assists. Senior Sean Levine has four points. Senior co-captain Adam Levine leads the Lightning with four assists having set up Nadler multiple times on nice give and go passing plays. Against Urbana in the Lightning’s most recent game, the defense chipped in nicely, Miles Wendland scored, and Avery Evans had two assists.

On defense the Lightning’s experienced defenders are beginning to jell. Senior Jake Roth will see extensive action likely paired with Patrick Sell. Ninth grade defenders Miles Wendland and Avery Evans have played together for much of the season. Both have bright futures with the program. Depending upon game flow, Behr Schicker should cycle through the defensive pairings. With the return of AJ Marks to the lineup, Cole Howerton may drop back and play the entire game on defense. Upper Montgomery will need to maintain its defensive focus throughout the entire game to stay competitive versus the Rockets.

If the Lightning can control the faceoff dot similar to how they dominated Urbana, the extra puck possession in the offensive zone may create additional scoring opportunities. Likewise, winning defensive zone draws will limit Richard Montgomery’s offensive zone time. Expect Adam Levine to take the majority of the high danger faceoffs especially if the game is close late. Levine, shifted to center by the coaching staff for the Urbana game, is coming off of winning 20 of 24 faceoffs against the Hawks. It was a dominating performance that led directly to three Upper Montgomery goals and nullified the Hawks’ two separate two skater powerplay advantages.

The Upper Montgomery junior varsity will be looking to extend their unbeaten record to six with a victory over the Rockets. It will not be easy when two of the three marquee teams in the Montgomery Hockey Conference battle it out on Friday night. The victor will all but guarantee a spot in the top three seeds for next month’s Montgomery Hockey Conference’s junior varsity playoffs. The loser will still have an opportunity at finishing in the top three in the standings but will need to accrue more wins over the second half of the season. Shterenberg will need to be a difference maker and stonewall the Rockets. If he does, and if the team’s stout defense shows up, the Lightning can remain competitive deep into the game. Upper Montgomery has been terrific late in games preventing the opposition from scoring. The Lightning have given up only one third period goal all season. Playing with a slim lead for the majority of its games, Upper Montgomery has grown accustomed to playing in tight games, something that should be of benefit as the season winds towards the playoffs. The stretch run begins on Friday with a sprint towards the playoffs.

#Show Me, #Our Time, #UML, #Bleed Green, #Go Bolts!