Category: Game Previews

The Upper Montgomery Lightning junior varsity will face their toughest test of the season this coming Friday afternoon when the team faces off against the Churchill Bulldogs. Puck drop is at 4:05 pm inside Rockville Ice Arena. The Bulldogs enter the game with a 3-0-1 record. They are averaging the most goals per game of any junior varsity team in the county at 5.5 goals per game. The Lightning will really have to grind on the defensive end of the ice to throttle the Bulldogs offensive attack.

Upper Montgomery enters the game coming off of its best performance of the season in last week’s 7-2 offensive explosion past the DC Stars. Against the game but overmatched Stars, Upper Montgomery had a deluge of offensive chances and could have scored twice as many goals as the seven the team converted. This week, Upper Montgomery will need to get back to its physical defensive style of hockey to take the Bulldogs out of their preferred style of play. The anticipated return of junior defender Max Curtusan to the lineup should help in that regard as the tall physical defender is going to throw his body around.

In net for the Lightning is expected to be one of the team’s ninth grade junior varsity goalies, Stephen Rickman or George Schickler. The Lightning’s starting varsity goalie, Ilan Shterenberg, will be out of town this week with his external travel team. Upper Montgomery’s starting junior varsity netminder, Porter Stutsrim-Lyons, will be making his first career regular season varsity start (second overall) later in the evening. Depending upon the flow of the game, the Lightning coaching staff may play both ninth grade goalies. Both Rickman and Schickler have seen multiple games of action this fall as Upper Montgomery is loaning both netminders to Walter Johnson High School as the Wildcats do not have a junior varsity eligible goalie on their roster. Churchill has three choices of which goalie to play at the junior varsity level. Senior Nick Nelson has fared well against Upper Montgomery in the past. He beat the Lightning in overtime last season making 27 saves in the regular season victory. This year, he has a 2-0 record, a 2.00 goals against average, and an .897 goals against average. Next up would be sophomore 16U Lower A Cooper Glazer. Glazer won his only start of the season. He has similar individual statistics as Nelson with a 2.00 goals against average and a .905 goals against average. The Bulldogs final option is ninth grade 16U Upper A Cody Jen. Jen played against the Bulldogs toughest opponent of the season and was saddled with the overtime loss to Silver Spring. He has a 1.96 goals against average and an off-putting .714 save percentage. The analytics predict that Upper Montgomery should score around two goals in the game.

On defense Friday night, the Lightning will play with their usual two defensive pairings. Curtusan who is playing much more confidently this season will pair with ninth grade defender Lenny Roth. Roth scored his first career high school goal last week against the DC Stars. It took Roth only three games to surpass his older brother Jake who went scoreless for the Lightning during his playing days. The other pair will be 16U Lower A defender Matt Rivera pairing up with Dylan Kim. Rivera has the green light to skate the puck up ice creating offensive rushes. He is becoming much more comfortable in this regard scoring a goal off the rush in each of the last two games. His speed and deft puck handling skills should provide Upper Montgomery with two to three high quality scoring chances per game. Rivera’s defensive partner is ninth grade defender Dylan Kim. Kim plays for the Tri-City Eagles external travel team. His play against the DC Stars was his best game to date. He will continue to improve as the season moves along. The games against Churchill will be a very good challenge for the two young ninth grade defenders to see where they stand.

For the Bulldogs, their defensive corps is led by junior Mingshuo Chang. Chang scored on a blast from the point last year in the teams’ playoff matchup. Chang will see major minutes in the game now that Churchill’s leading scorer 16U Upper A Gabriel Li has been elevated to varsity only status after scoring seven goal and having nine total points in the Bulldogs first three junior varsity games. Churchill’s other defenders are both ninth graders, 19U AA Olivia Hopkins and Dimitri Powell.

Notwithstanding last week’s game against the DC Stars, as the team’s first two games illustrated, offense is going to be a continuing struggle all season long for Upper Montgomery’s junior varsity. When Upper Montgomery plays the upper echelon teams in the county, the Lightning are likely to be outshot and will need to make every opportunity count. The team’s overall focus on defense first hockey is to lighten the need to keep pace offensively and score toe to toe with the top teams.

Last week against the DC Stars junior Mason Jagoz had his first career multi-goal game. He doubled his career goals total from two to four. His linemate for most of the evening, Tima Zamaray scored his first career high school goal. He also had a multiple goal game playing much, much better than he did against Rockville / Magruder. The offensive effort was much more apparent as every forward was hunting pucks and charging hard toward the net. Wyatt Ostrander continues to thrive as a defensive center. His penalty killing acumen has helped the Lightning thwart back to back five on three penalty kills in the last two games. Juggling up the forward lines last week seemed to help get some of the team’s forwards on track. The juggling was necessary when senior forward Jason Woodman dropped back to play defense in place of Curtusan. Woodman played very well meaning he may play additional games on defense should the need arise.

Even with Li removed from the Bulldogs roster, Churchill will still have a formidable offensive attack. Ninth grade forward 16U Upper A Kevin O’Connor has scored seven goals in four games. He too should be removed from junior varsity competition. After Wyatt Haas 14U Upper A and his two goals, the rest of the Churchill lineup is lean on scoring with only a couple of additional forwards with one goal apiece. As the home team, look for the Lightning to make sure that O’Connor and Haas are matched up against with Upper Montgomery’s best skaters and most physical student athletes.

As has been mentioned over and over, the 2025 – 2026 season will be one where the coaching staff is focused on individual student growth and development. With eight incoming junior varsity students, the program is looking for all eight of these students to contribute to the program over the next four seasons. The playing time received this season should help each student become better in the years to come when Upper Montgomery is likely to be better positioned to again challenge for the junior varsity championship. How quickly the team develops the necessary defensive habits and rough and tough identity will determine how soon the Lightning can threaten the top junior varsity teams in the county. This season, the team may simply be too young and inexperienced to compete on the defensive end of the ice. The hope is that by the end of the year no program wants to be matched up against the Lightning in the opening round of the junior varsity playoff tournament.

#UML, #Back to Back Victories, #Bleed Green, #Go Bolts!

The Upper Montgomery Lightning varsity squad kicks off its 2025 – 2026 regular season campaign on Friday night when the Lightning travel to the Medstar Iceplex, home of the Washington Capitals practice facility, to face the DC Stars. Game time is 6:40 pm. The team’s annual objective remains the same, advance through the regular season, win the opening round of the Montgomery Hockey Conference playoffs, earning the chance to play for a spot in the Maryland Student Hockey League high school state playoff tournament. This would be an achievement that no other Lightning squad has been able to accomplish. With a relatively young squad, the preseason rankings slotted Upper Montgomery eleventh of the twelve teams in Montgomery County. Having graduated sixteen seniors over the past two seasons, it is easy to understand the outside perspective of Upper Montgomery. With a change in playing style this season, the Lightning will be looking to pound out victories against teams ranked higher in the standings.

Once again this season, it is expected that Churchill and Walter Johnson will be at the top of the conference standings. With the exception of Richard Montgomery (who is anticipated to be by far the worst team in the county), any of the other eight teams can beat each other on any given night. Last season, Upper Montgomery bucked a developing trend that had occurred during the past couple of seasons, very slow starts. Last year, the team began the season 3-1-1 before faltering down the stretch and being upset in the opening round of the Montgomery Hockey Conference playoffs. This season, Upper Montgomery will be looking to catch teams off guard pulling off several upsets.

Upper Montgomery’s primary goaltender will be junior 16U AAA Ilan Shterenberg. Shterenberg took over the reigns last season and played in all of the Lightning’s regular season games. As is typical from underclass students, Shterenberg shined in certain games and struggled in others. He finished the season with a 7-7-2 record, a 4.74 goals against average, and an .877 save percentage. This year, Shterenberg is playing at the AAA external travel level with Palmyra up in Pennsylvania. His availability will be sporadic throughout the season. When he is in town, he will get the nod in net. When Shterenberg is absent, Upper Montgomery’s primary junior varsity goalie, sophomore 16U Lower A Porter Stutsrim-Lyons is ready to step in and shoulder the netminding responsibilities. Stutsrim-Lyons excelled in his emergency start last season during the opening round of the Montgomery Hockey Conference playoffs against BCC stopping 40 of 43 shots to keep Upper Montgomery in the game. He also set the Upper Montgomery all-time junior varsity record for save percentage in a season with a .930 save percentage last year.

The DC Stars are expected to start Upper Montgomery nemesis Anton Tracy in net. Tracy’s best games have come against the Lightning. He is 1-0-2 versus the Lightning with a 2.17 goals against average and a .933 save percentage. Outstanding statistics. Against all other teams, he seems to be beatable finishing last season with a 4.32 goals against average. He is a giant of a student taking up a great portion of the net. His one primary area of weakness is if he has to move quickly from side to side in the crease. Against Upper Montgomery he has made spectacular saves to allow the DC Stars to come away with standings points game after game.

On defense, the Lightning will role with four primary defenders. The Lightning’s leading defensive scorer, 18U AA senior Brady Berkhammer returns to lead the Lightning’s backline. Last season, Berkhammer contributed (15GP, 4G, 15A). He led the team in assists with many superb passes leading directly to tap in goals. Berkhammer will need to rely on his defensive partners and play within the Lightning’s new systems to maximize his ice time. Lightning junior 16U Upper A Miles Wendland looks to take on a larger role this season. He logged significant ice time last season and had his best offensive campaign (16GP, 2G, 4A). A steady smooth skating defender, Wendland is rarely caught out of position. A challenge for the lanky defender will be bodying up and playing in the Lightning’s new more physical defensive style. Joining Berkhammer and Wendland will be 16U AA sophomore Lillian Robbins. Robbins (13GP, 5A) will also be asked to play a much more physical defensive style. The coaching staff has had her playing forward on the penalty kill. Her intellect and knowledge of the game makes her ideally suited to snuff out offensive sets and act as a third defender. Matt Rivera, 16U Lower A, will see regular game action on defense this year for the Lightning varsity. He participated in some varsity game action last year both as a defender and as a forward. He has played much more confidently this season in the Lightning’s junior varsity games and during practice. His progression this year into a full time varsity defender will allow the Lightning to play with two full sets of defense. Anticipate the Lightning defense will be instructed to rush up ice and contribute more offensively as the team is short on experienced forwards. If any of the Lightning’s regular defenders is out of town with their external travel team, expect ninth grade defenders Lenny Roth and Dylan Kim to dress and be available for game action.

The DC Stars leading returning defender is junior 16U AA Jonathan Lust. Lust is a big stay at home defender who will play the Lightning’s forwards tough in front of the net and in the corners. Seniors Samuel Bensky and Roman Stoinski will also get starting duty in the varsity game. They have experience but foot speed may limit their effectiveness. It will be interesting to see how the Stars handle the rest of their defensive pairings. With the junior varsity game directly prior to the varsity game, the Stars may try and utilize more defenders to limit the time on ice for defenders playing in both games. Now that Leo Nyberg has graduated, the DC Stars defenders do not provide a significant amount of offense.

Offensively, Upper Montgomery returns its first and fifth leading scorers from a season ago. Senior forward Philip Shkeda led the Lightning in points with (15GP, 8G, 14A). Shkeda, a natural left wing, will play almost exclusively with fellow senior 18U AAA center Owen Robbins. Last season, Robbins had several huge offensive games finishing with (12GP, 9G, 8A). When games are close in the final minutes of action, anticipate that the Upper Montgomery coaching staff will use Robbins as an extra defender. Robbins played his first two seasons with Upper Montgomery on defense. This duo will be relied upon to lead Upper Montgomery offensively. They both will need to produce even more offense this season for the Lightning to thrive.

After these two offensive dynamos, there is a drop off in production to junior 16U Upper A Aiden Zheng (17GP, 3G, 6A). Incoming ninth grade forward Miles Gleason, a 16U AA speed demon, will really help Upper Montgomery. He has highlight reel offensive abilities, but will need to adjust his game to what works against older and bigger students. He will also need to work hard defensively to earn the coaching staff’s trust. After these four forwards, ice time is up for grabs. The coaching staff will be looking for some of the junior varsity forwards to take the next step such as sophomore 16U Upper A Max Israfilbek, junior Max Curtusan who will be used at forward in varsity games, with the ability for him to drop back to his natural defensive position, and Jason Woodman. Woodman has to create havoc in front of the net and get in hard on the forecheck to maximize his effectiveness. Juniors Jackson Schickler, Mason Jagoz, and ninth grade center Wyatt Ostrander will get opportunities to play heavy minutes in varsity action. They must be defensively responsible, get the puck out of the defensive zone, and play physical. Their performance will determine how much playing time each student receives. Time will tell if other junior varsity students progress defensively, playing within the Upper Montgomery systems to force their way into the varsity game day lineup.

The DC Stars top returning scorer is senior 18U AA Walter Bernstein (12GP, 8G, 4A). The Stars were offensively starved last year scoring only 36 goals in fourteen games (2.57 goals per game). They did beat Churchill 1-0 in overtime marking the first time in program history that the Stars bested the perennial powerhouse Bulldogs. Junior Gabriel Schon, 16U AA, is the only other returning forward who scored more than three goals last season. He finished with (11GP, 5G, 2A). The DC Stars have a long roster, with some experienced returning forwards in Kai Handy-Kanegis, Ian Cox, Gabriel Ingram, Patrick Kaufmann,to utilize along with ninth grade newcomer 16U Upper A Treysen Shi. If any of these depth forwards can light the lamp on a consistent basis, the DC Stars may get enough scoring to ride Tracy’s netminding into the playoffs.

The 2025 – 2026 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!

The Upper Montgomery Lightning will be in for a treat this upcoming Friday evening as they travel to the Medstar Iceplex, home of the Washington Capitals practice facility, to take on the DC Stars. The double header for the teams features a junior varsity tilt immediately followed by a varsity showdown. Many of the Upper Montgomery Lightning students will be playing in both games. A significantly fewer number of the DC Stars student athletes will pull double duty. Puck drop for the junior varsity is 5:00 pm followed by the varsity game at 6:40 pm.

Upper Montgomery’s junior varsity played a heck of a first half of the game against the Rockville / Magruder Rams this past Friday evening. It was a tremendous physical defensive display which had the Lightning nose to nose with the Rams trailing only 1-0. The second half of the game, Upper Montgomery was too stationary and got completely away from its system. This disintegration of play allowed the Rams skaters time and space which led to a bevy of shots on Lightning ninth grade goalie George Schickler making his first start for the team. The Rams offense eventually got going sending Upper Montgomery to a lopsided loss even through the team played substantially better than in the season opener. The DC Stars enter Friday’s contest with a 1-2 record having beaten only lowly Walter Johnson. The Stars were soundly beaten by six goals against both BCC and Sherwood.

It is an important contest for both teams as a DC Stars win likely solidifies the Stars a spot in the eight team junior varsity playoff tournament. Likewise, a win by Upper Montgomery against the DC Stars coupled with a win over the aforementioned lowly Walter Johnson Wildcats at the end of the season may be just enough to qualify the Lightning. Unlike in prior years, the bottom three junior varsity teams will not qualify for the junior varsity playoffs. Two of those teams will be Richard Montgomery and Walter Johnson. The third will come from a pool of the DC Stars, the Upper Montgomery Lightning, and the Whitman Vikings.

In net for the Lightning will be standout sophomore 16U Lower A goalie Porter Stutsrim-Lyons. Stutsrim-Lyons started the season opener for the Lightning against Silver Spring stopping 39 of the 42 shots that he faced. The DC Stars have been rotating their goalies. Starter, 14U Upper A Peter O’Shaughnessy has a 1-0 record with a 2.69 goals against average, and a .982 save percentage. He replaced Stutsrim-Lyons on the Caps Academy external travel team when Stutsrim-Lyons aged up into the 16U age group. O’Shaughnessy’s backup, Rhys Seiden-Maloney has been much less successful this year with an 0-2 record, a soaring 8.73 goals against average, and a .794 save percentage. If the Stars split their goalies during the game, Upper Montgomery will need to take advantage of their offensive chances when Seiden-Maloney is in the game.

On defense Friday night, the Lightning will play with their same two defensive pairings. Junior defender Max Curtusan is playing much more confidently this season. He has been strong around the net using his size and long reach to break up plays. He will mostly pair with ninth grade defender Lenny Roth. Roth, the younger brother of former Upper Montgomery defender Jake Roth, will use his quick skating ability to get the puck out of the defensive zone. He has shown some grit as well taking a roughing penalty in each game. The Lightning’s alternate captain, 16U Lower A defender Matt Rivera is the team’s leading returning scorer from last season with five assists in ten games. Rivera has been given the green light to skate the puck up ice creating offensive rushes. His persistence paid off with an end to end rush goal at the end of the second period last week providing Upper Montgomery with the team’s only goal. His speed and deft puck handling skills should provide Upper Montgomery with two to three high quality scoring chances per game. Rivera’s defensive partner is ninth grade defender Dylan Kim. Kim plays for the Tri-City Eagles external travel team. His play will continue to improve as the season moves along. For the Stars, their defensive corps is led by 16U Lower A Thatcher Norton. He will play along with four other Stars defenders, Niklas Olson, Alexander Smith, Nolan Smith, and Roman Stoinski. The Stars five defenders have combined to contribute zero points in their three games.

As the team’s first two games have illustrated, offense is going to be a continuing struggle all season long for Upper Montgomery’s junior varsity. Playing last week without 16U Upper A forward Max Israfilbek did not help. Israfilbek who scored the Lightning’s two goals against Silver Spring returns to action this week. Against Silver Spring he scored two powerplay goals including one on a penalty shot. Israfilbek has the best shot on the team. He may need to sacrifice some offensive chances to become more reliable in the defensive end of the ice. In addition, junior forward Jackson Schickler makes his season debut for Upper Montgomery. The expectation is that with these two forwards in the lineup the forward lines will be more evenly balanced.

Last week against Rockville / Magruder, Upper Montgomery skated with nine forwards which included two goalies skating out and two very new ninth grade forwards. Expecting the lack of scoring, the coaching staff changed systems this summer to a more defensive structure. The new system puts a primary responsibility on the team’s centers to act as a third defender. Junior Mason Jagoz and ninth grader Wyatt Ostrander have played the majority of their shifts at center. They have also logged a substantial amount of time as penalty killers. Their high hockey IQ makes their performance crucial to the success of the team in getting the puck out of the defensive zone. There is a feeling that the forwards lines may be juggled ahead of the game against the DC Stars.

Senior captain Jason Woodman provides veteran leadership and is expected to have his most productive offensive season this year. He has been given a tough job, to absorb abuse in the goal crease and cause the opposition to focus on him rather than the puck carrier. How effective he is at mucking it up in front and causing chaos will determine the fortunes of his forward line and the Lightning’s powerplay. He did his job well on the Lightning’s lone powerplay against Silver Spring earning an assist. Sophomore Decklin Hughes is the best faceoff performer on the team. He will miss the game against the DC Stars.

The junior varsity forward ranks also have a few new faces this year in addition to Ostrander. Ninth grade right wing Tima Zamaray who plays external hockey in the Tri-City Eagles program has the most individual skill of the incoming students. Zamaray’s progress will be quantified not by his individual talent but rather how he uses his individual skill in the team environment. Zamaray will need to adjust to what works and what does not work at the high school level. He too will earn additional shifts by being responsible in the defensive zone. A lack of interest in his own defensive zone will likely lead to time sitting next to the coaching staff on the bench.

The Lightning are pleased with the initial progress of the two students on the roster with the least amount of hockey experience, ninth grade forwards Nolan Veillette and Miriam Baron. Both are small in stature but have a big desire to improve and get better. Veillette has adapted to the team’s systems well making a nice play or two in each game. Baron shows the eagerness and spunk of someone who is looking to improve every time she is on the ice. Her improvement from the first game to last week’s performance against Rockville / Magruder was noticeable especially when she was alone in front and drew the only penalty called on the Rams.

The DC Stars are led offensively by junior Harry Fishman who has two goals in two games. He is complemented by junior classmate Gabriel Ingram who has three goals in three games. None of the other DC Stars skaters has more than one goal or two points. However, Upper Montgomery should not be deceived into thinking that the game will be easy. For teams that play a defensive style, sometimes one or two goals are enough to secure victory.

As has been mentioned over and over, the 2025 – 2026 season will be one of growth and development for the green and gold’s younger student athletes.  With nine incoming ninth graders, it will be exciting and rewarding as these younger students grow and blossom. How quickly the team develops the necessary defensive habits and rough and tough identity will determine if the Lightning can challenge the upper echelon junior varsity teams in the county.  Or, the team may simply be too young and inexperienced to compete on the defensive end of the ice this season. Friday night’s showdown against a similarly hungry DC Stars team will be the start of progress for one of the programs. Hoping that the green and gold compete hard and come out with their initial victory of the season.

#UML, #In the Win Column, #Bleed Green, #Go Bolts!

The Upper Montgomery Lightning’s 2025 – 2026 junior varsity regular season got off to an uneven start last Friday evening. Several students played well in the season opener, but the team as a whole could not overcome Blazers defender Rodrick Hobbs’ hat-trick in the season opening 3-2 loss. Hobbs’ game winning goal was scored with under two minutes remaining in regulation. Also, unfortunate for the Lightning was Hobbs’ participation in the game, as the Montgomery Hockey Conference evaluates all junior varsity students after their team’s third game of the season. After last Friday’s game, Hobbs was elevated to varsity only status for the rest of his high school career.

Upper Montgomery’s junior varsity heads into their second game of the season this Friday evening against the Rockville / Magruder Rams. Game time is 8:50 pm at Rockville Ice Arena. Rockville / Magruder has already played four games this season as their junior varsity schedule is heavily slanted toward the beginning of the season whereas Upper Montgomery’s schedule is more evenly distributed over the next several months. The Rams enter the contest with two victories and two defeats.

The Lightning junior varsity roster is a good mixture of older experienced students pairing with many new incoming students to the program.  With the loss of the team’s top seven scorers from last year, the Lightning will be focused on preventing the opposition from scoring. It may take the team a while to gel offensively and begin popping in the goals as evidenced by last week’s two goal performance. The returning junior varsity members and the incoming ninth grade students have picked up Upper Montgomery’s new systems very well. The team was much more physical against the Blazers than in prior seasons and that will continue to be key for the Lightning as the season progresses.

In net for the Lightning is expected to be ninth grade goalie George Schickler making his Upper Montgomery debut. He will have large shoes to fill as Upper Montgomery’s returning junior varsity goalie Porter Stutsrim-Lyons was excellent in net last week against Silver Spring stopping 39 of 42 shots on goal. George Schickler is the younger brother of the Lightning’s junior forward Jackson Schickler. Having three junior varsity eligible goalies is an abundance of riches the forcing the coaching staff to work on getting all three netminder into games this season. The Lightning have also been loaning out the junior varsity eligible goalies to other programs in need. Both Schickler and Friday’s backup goalie ninth grade Stephen Rickman have played in net for Walter Johnson over the past few weeks. The Rams are expected to start ninth grade 14U Lower A goalie Daniel Gagarin in net. Gagarin has posted a 2-0 record with a 1.21 goals against average and a .943 save percentage. He has only given up three goals on the season.

On defense Friday night, the Lightning will play with their same two defensive pairings. Last season, Upper Montgomery had eight junior varsity eligible defenders. This season, the team will make due with four. If a defender misses a game or is injured during a game, forwards will be brought back on defense to help cover for that game. Junior defender Max Curtusan grew over the summer and looks much more sturdy this season. Look for the big rig defender to clear the crease and use his long reach to bottle up opposing forwards. It worked against the Blazers as their powerplay was tepid for most of the game. Curtusan will mostly pair with ninth grade defender Lenny Roth. Roth, the younger brother of former Upper Montgomery defender Jake Roth, will use his quick skating ability to get the puck out of the defensive zone.

The Lightning’s alternate captain, 16U Lower A defender Matthew Rivera is the team’s leading returning scorer from last season with five assists in ten games. Rivera has been given the green light to skate the puck up ice creating offensive rushes. His speed and deft puck handling skills should provide Upper Montgomery with two to three high quality scoring chances per game. Rivera’s defensive partner is ninth grade defender Dylan Kim. Kim plays for the Tri-City Eagles external travel team and will continue to improve as the season moves along. For the Rams, their defensive corps is led by Lukas Aagaard who has seen varsity game action in prior seasons. Aagaard is not flashy but is positionally very sound. He moves the puck very well out of the defensive zone. David Schanzer and Carder Wilcox are likely to be a pairing. Wilcox has a lot of junior varsity experience over the past two seasons. With only three listed defenders, the Rams will also bring back forwards to take shifts on defense to prevent overtaxing their defenders.

Offense is likely going to be a continuing struggle all season for Upper Montgomery’s junior varsity. No returning forward scored more than one goal or four points last season. The offense did not score at even strength against Silver Spring. With the lack of scoring, the coaching staff changed systems this summer to a more defensive structure. The new system puts a primary responsibility on the team’s centers to act as a third defender. Junior Mason Jagoz and incoming ninth grader Wyatt Ostrander will play the majority of their shifts at center. They will also log a substantial amount of time as penalty killers. Their high hockey IQ makes their performance crucial to the success of the team in getting the puck out of the defensive zone.

A few forwards return for the Lightning. Sophomore 16U Upper A Max Israfilbek has the best shot on the team. He may need to sacrifice some offensive chances to become more reliable in the defensive end of the ice. Against Silver Spring he scored two powerplay goals including one on a penalty shot. Senior captain Jason Woodman is expected to have his most productive offensive season this year. He has been given a tough job, to absorb abuse in the goal crease and cause the opposition to focus on him rather than the puck carrier. How effective he is at mucking it up in front and causing chaos will determine the fortunes of his forward line. He did his job well on the Lightning’s lone powerplay last week earning an assist. Junior Jackson Schickler will join the team later in the season once his football commitments at Poolesville High School end. Schickler will bring energy and intensity to a team that needs to grow in those gritty areas. Sophomore Decklin Hughes will see plenty of ice time especially if he proves to be reliable in the defensive zone. Hughes is good along the boards and will play the body. Sometimes too much body as he was whistled for three minor penalties against the Blazers. The more effective he is in the defensive zone, the more ice time he will earn.

The junior varsity forward ranks will also have a few new faces this year in addition to Ostrander. Ninth grade right wing Tima Zamaray who plays external hockey in the Tri-City Eagles program has the most individual skill of the incoming students. Zamaray’s progress will be quantified by how he uses his individual skill in the team environment. Zamaray will need to adjust to what works and what does not work at the high school level. He too will earn additional shifts by being responsible in the defensive zone. A n area where Zamaray should help the team is on the powerplay with his hard shot. The Lightning are pleased with the initial progress of the two students on the roster with the least amount of hockey experience, ninth grade forwards Nolan Veillette and Miriam Baron. Both are small in stature but have a big desire to improve and get better. Veillette has adapted to the team’s systems well and Baron shows the eagerness and spunk of someone who is looking to improve every time she is on the ice. Her improvement over the season will see her earn additional shifts in each game.

Rockville / Magruder is led offensively by ninth grade 16U Lower A forward Adam Suitor who has (4GP, 2G, 4A). Fellow ninth grade forward Dylan Singer is Suitor’s prime running mate with (3GP, 2G, 3A). When these two are on the ice together, the Lightning defense will be challenged. The Rams leading goal scorer is 14U Lower A Daniel Cleary. Cleary has scored four goals over the Rams first four games this season. Jett Caruso and Michael Zaporozhetc have each chipped in with two goals to provide much needed scoring depth. It is no secret that the Lightning will need to throttle down the Rams who are averaging 4.75 goals per game. Playing a hard style where the gifted Rams forwards are met with physical resistance in the offensive end of the ice will be the key to an Upper Montgomery victory on Friday evening.

The 2025 – 2026 season will be one of growth and development for the green and gold’s younger student athletes.  It will be exciting and rewarding as the younger skaters grow and blossom. How quickly the team develops the necessary defensive habits and rough and tough identity will determine if the Lightning can challenge the upper echelon junior varsity teams in the county.  Or, is the team simply too young and not committed enough defensively to compete now.  Friday night will give us some more answers as Upper Montgomery faces another tough challenge.  Come along for the ride, it should be a fun season!

#UML, #Winning, #Bleed Green, #Go Bolts!

The Upper Montgomery Lightning’s 2025 – 2026 regular season kicks off on Friday night when the junior varsity hosts the Silver Spring Blazers.  Game time is 9:20 pm at Rockville Ice Arena.  The Blazers were formerly named after Blair High School but have changed their name to be more inclusive of the other high schools in their program. Upper Montgomery will be trying to duplicate last season’s fine showing culminating with an eventual loss in the Montgomery Hockey Conference junior varsity semifinals to eventual champion, Wootton. Upper Montgomery had a third period lead in that semifinal game and played Wootton the toughest of any team in the county last year, with an overtime loss in the regular season and then the very close playoff loss. That was last season. This year’s junior varsity will be looking to make a name of their own adding to the Lightning’s list of very successful junior varsity seasons.

This year’s junior varsity roster is a good mixture of older experienced students pairing with many new incoming students to the program.  With the loss of the team’s top seven scorers from last year, the Lightning will be focused on preventing the opposition from scoring. It may take the team a while to gel offensively and begin popping in the goals. The returning junior varsity members and the incoming ninth grade students have picked up Upper Montgomery’s new systems very well. The team is eager to display its progress in the season opener against Silver Spring. Of note, the Lightning were the only team last week with no game. The other ten junior varsity programs all played last Friday evening. The Blazers took down Walter Johnson in their season opener by a score of 4-2. They followed up that win by beating Churchill 2-1 in overtime in a mid-week contest that just concluded.

In net for the Lightning junior varsity to start the season will be sophomore netminder Porter Stutsrim-Lyons.  Stutsrim-Lyons plays for the NOVA Ice Dogs 16U Lower A external travel team.  He had ginormous skates to fill last season following in the footsteps of Lightning netminder Ilan Shterenberg. Shterenberg set or tied junior varsity program records for wins in a season (eight), lowest goals against average (1.80), and highest save percentage (.927).  Stutsrim-Lyons did just that posting a 5-3-2 record, a 1.99 goals against average, and a new program record .930 save percentage. He also recorded two shutouts, including in his first ever high school start against Richard Montgomery. Backing up Stutsrim-Lyons will be two incoming ninth graders. Stephen Rickman is a 14U Lower A goalie with the Frederick Freeze organization. George Schickler is the younger brother of the Lightning’s junior forward Jackson Schickler.

Having three junior varsity eligible goalies is an abundance of riches and the coaching staff will work to get all three netminder into games this season. The Lightning have also been asked to help other programs in the league by loaning out the junior varsity eligible goalies. Both Rickman and Schickler played in net for Walter Johnson earlier in the week. The Blazers are expected to start Myle Amirthalingam in net.  Amirthalingam (14U Lower A) won both of the Blazers games this past week posting a 1.48 goals against average and a .941 save percentage. With junior varsity programs there is such change from year to year that the Lightning’s 9-0 victory over the Blazers last season means absolutely nothing. As Amirthalingam played both games for Silver Spring over the past week, the Blazers may start backup goalie Aden Cohen. For Cohen it would be his first career high school start.

On defense Friday night, the Lightning will play with only two defensive pairings. Last season, Upper Montgomery had eight junior varsity defenders. This season, the team will make due with four. If a defender misses a game, forwards will be brought back to help cover for that game. Junior defender Max Curtusan grew over the summer and looks much more sturdy this season. Look for the big rig defender to clear the crease using his long reach to bottle up opposing forwards. Curtusan will mostly pair with ninth grade defender Lenny Roth. Roth, the younger brother of former Upper Montgomery defender Jake Roth, will use his quick skating ability to get the puck out of the defensive zone.

The Lightning’s alternate captain, 16U Lower A defender Matthew Rivera is the team’s leading returning scorer from last season with five assists in ten games. Rivera has been given the green light to skate the puck up ice creating offensive rushes. His speed and deft puck handling skills should provide Upper Montgomery with two to three high quality scoring chances per game. Rivera’s defensive partner is ninth grade defender Dylan Kim. Kim plays for the Tri-City Eagles external travel team and will continue to improve as the season moves along. For the Blazers, their defensive corps has veteran Ethan Hedberg pairing with new defenders Timothy Newman and Rakshay Narayanan. It is anticipated that the Blazers will drop back forwards to play on defense to make up for their lack of depth.

Offense is likely going to be a struggle this season for Upper Montgomery’s junior varsity. No returning forward scored more than one goal or four points last season. With the lack of scoring, the coaching staff changed systems this summer to a more defensive structure. The new system puts a primary responsibility on the team’s centers to act as a third defender. Junior Mason Jagoz and incoming ninth grader Wyatt Ostrander will play the majority of their shifts at center. They will also log a substantial amount of time as penalty killers. Their high hockey IQ makes their performance crucial to the success of the team in getting the puck out of the defensive zone.

A few forwards return for the Lightning. Sophomore 16U Upper A Max Israfilbek has the best shot on the team. He may need to sacrifice some offensive chances to become more reliable in the defensive end of the ice. Senior captain Jason Woodman is expected to have his most productive offensive season this year. He has been given a tough job, to absorb abuse in the goal crease and cause the opposition to focus on him rather than the puck carrier. How effective he is at mucking it up in front and causing chaos will determine the fortunes of his forward line. Junior Jackson Schickler will join the team later in the season once his football commitments at Poolesville High School end. Schickler will bring energy and intensity to a team that needs to grow in those gritty areas. Sophomore Decklin Hughes will see plenty of ice time especially if he proves to be reliable in the defensive zone. Hughes is good along the boards and will play the body. The more effective he is in the defensive zone, the more ice time he will earn.

The junior varsity forward ranks will also have a few new faces this year in addition to Ostrander. Ninth grade right wing Tima Zamaray who plays external hockey in the Tri-City Eagles program has the most individual skill of the incoming students. Zamaray’s progress will be quantified by how he uses his individual skill in the team environment. Zamaray will need to adjust to what works and what does not work at the high school level. He too will earn additional shifts by being responsible in the defensive zone. An area where Zamaray should help the team is on the powerplay with his hard shot. The Lightning are pleased with the initial progress of the two students with the least amount of hockey experience, ninth grade forwards Nolan Veilette and Miriam Baron. Both are small in stature but have a big desire to improve and get better. Veilette has adapted to the team’s systems well and Baron shows the eagerness and spunk of someone who is looking to improve every time on the ice. Her improvement over the season will see her earn additional shifts in each game.

Silver Spring is led offensively by ninth grade 16U Upper A forward Rodrick Hobbs. Hobbs scored a hat trick in the Blazers opening game. He also added an assist for a four point evening. Then, against Churchill, he scored the game winning overtime goal. He personally has accounted for four of the Blazers six goals and five of the Blazers nine points. It is no secret what the Lightning must do to stop Silver Spring, stop Hobbs.

The 2025 – 2026 season will be one of growth and development for the green and gold’s younger student athletes.  It will be exciting and rewarding as the younger skaters grow and blossom. How quickly the team develops the defensive habits and identity 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 and not committed enough defensively 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 could not have been more pleased to discover that they will match up against the Blair Blazers in the Montgomery Hockey Conference Varsity Tournament Semifinals. The consensus opinion is that Blair was the best possible match up for Upper Montgomery. The other semifinal game features the Churchill Bulldogs hosting the Rockville / Magruder Rams. Friday’s game will be played at 8:10 pm at Rockville Ice Arena. In facing the Blazers, Upper Montgomery should be in the game for the entire evening. Blair has had difficulty scoring all season long. The Blazers have scored only 42 goals in fourteen games, an average of just three goals per game. Another benefit of facing the Blazers is that they have no AAA level student athletes. Both Churchill and Rockville / Magruder have multiple super high end talented AAA student athletes on their rosters.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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