Category: Game Previews

The Upper Montgomery Lightning return to the ice this coming Friday evening taking on the DC Stars. Game time is 8:50 pm at the Rockville Ice Arena. The talented but young Lightning have dropped three straight one goal decisions to open the season and are vastly improved over last season.

For the first time this season the Lightning will be favored in the contest. The game against the DC Stars presents the perfect opportunity for Upper Montgomery to break through and grab win number one on the season. But, the DC Stars are no pushovers, surprising both Northwest and Rockville/Magruder earlier this season by earning ties in each game before being hammered by the Blair Blazers 11-1 last Monday evening. The Blazers played without high scoring forward Remy Chartol in the contest as he was required to sit out the game after picking up four penalties last Friday evening against Upper Montgomery. This will be a pivotal game for both teams as they fight for positioning in the division standings.

Expect Will Mellen to get the start in net for the Lightning. Mellen played excellent is his first start of the season a 2-1 loss to Quince Orchard. He made 27 saves and helped hold the high scoring Cougars in check. Another excellent performance in net will give the team confidence.

The Upper Montgomery defense will have to focus on stopping the Stars high scoring duo of Malcom Baar and Thomas Cooperman. Both forwards play external travel level hockey, Baar at the AAA level and Cooperman at the AA level. The two sophomore forwards have scored five of the seven goals scored by the Stars in their three games. The Lightning defense will also need to be mindful of Stars forwards leaking up ice to create odd rush opportunities. Blair took advantage of several Lightning defenders pinching in at the offensive blue line. It is anticipated that the Upper Montgomery defense will return to a tighter checking system which should limit the Stars offensive chances.

On offense Upper Montgomery’s high score trio of Chris Hassett (2 goals, 4 assists), Nathan Cassel (4 goals, 1 assist)–three game goal streak, and Ryan Jacobson (1 goal, 3 assists) will look to spearhead the Lightning attack. Against Blair the team broke out with six goals and connected on four power play opportunities twice scoring on 5 on 3 advantages. The Lightning second and third lines will need to chip in and take some of the offensive pressure off the top line. Stars senior goalie Thomas O’Toole will be in net looking to prevent the Lightning from earning their first win of the season.

The Upper Montgomery Lightning will look to claim win number one of the season on Friday night versus the Blair Blazers. Game time is 8:50 pm at the Rockville Ice Arena.

The Lightning will be decided underdogs once again this week facing a Blair team with many upperclass AA level travel student athletes. The scrappy, young Lightning welcome the return of Ryan Jacobson and Olivia Robbins for the game this week. Both Jacobson and Robbins missed last week’s game versus Quince Orchard for out-of-town travel team commitments.

Landon Bernard will get the start in net for the Lightning. Bernard started the Rockville/Magruder game and played well making several key saves in the team’s 3-2 opening night loss to the Rams. Expect Will Mellen to return to action later this month. Mellen will miss this week’s game for out-of-town travel team commitments. The Upper Montgomery defense will have to repeat last week’s performance against Quince Orchard, where the unit performed admirably and held Cougars high scoring duo of Joshua Weitzman and Dylan Eyester largely in check. This week the task is even more challenging facing the offensively gifted Blazers who are coming off a season opening 5-1 win versus the Rockville/Magruder Rams.

Up front, Upper Montgomery needs to have the offense kick up a gear. With only three goals combined in the first two games of the season, a little more firepower is needed to assist in securing a victory over the Blazers. Nathan Cassel has goals in both games. Chris Hassett has two primary assists setting up both of Cassel’s goals. No other Lightning skater has more than one point. The increase in offensive production will need to change quickly for the Lightning to be competitive against the high scoring Blazers.

The Blazers are led by a group of junior and senior AAA and AA level travel student athletes. Michael Humphreys led the way against Rockville/Magruder with four goals. Alex Birchard chipped in with one goal and two assists. His twin brother Chris Birchard doled out three assists. The dominating win came without arguably the Blazers most talented forward, Remy Chartol, who missed the Rockville/Magruder game due to out-of-town travel team commitments. On defense the Blazers will feature Ben Russell and Ryan Frank. Expect both to see significant ice time against the Lightning. The senior defenders helped hold the Rams in check throughout the opening night victory. The Blazers were perfect on the penalty kill, squashing all four Rams’ power plays. Senior netminder Peter Zelinsky will hope to duplicate his 26 save gem (.963 save %) against the Lightning.

The Upper Montgomery Lightning junior varsity team will be back in action this Thursday afternoon taking on the Richard Montgomery Rockets at Laurel Ice Gardens. Game time is 4:20 pm.

The Lightning will be looking to build on Monday’s 3-2 season opening victory over BCC. It will be a tough task versus the more experienced Rockets who handled Churchill easily by a score of 6-0 in their season opener last week.

Offensively, the Lightning are led by 9th grade forward Josh Nadler who scored two goals in the junior varsity’s opener. The team will be looking for more balanced scoring as the first line was on the ice and contributed to all three goals scored against BCC. Junior defender George Benedick starting the scoring at the very end of the first period. Nadler added a goal each in both the second and the third period. In goal for the Lightning will be Landon Bernard. Bernard will be counted to shut down the Rockets and keep the Lightning in the game. The Lightning will likely have only three true defenders for the match up against the Rockets. Expect a forward or two to drop back and play some shifts on defense.

The Rockets are led by Juniors Nicholas Saffell, who scored a hat-trick and added an assist versus Churchill, and Tyler Senko, who contributed one goal and two assists. Noe Masurel contributed one goal and one assist versus Churchill from his position on defense while helping Ian Hutchinson secure a 12-save shutout in net.

The young Lightning squad will be challenged by the more experienced and mature Rockets. This is a good early season test to see how the team stacks up against what is likely to be a Rockets team in the running for the junior varsity regular season championship.

The Upper Montgomery Lightning JV squad kicks off the season on Monday night versus the BCC Barons.  Game time is 8:00 pm at the Laurel Ice Gardens.

The Lightning will be backstopped in net by versatile and athletic goalie Landon Bernard.  Having played a full JV season last year as a 9th grader, Landon brings with him that experience to the net this year.  He has been working hard over the summer to improve some of the more technical aspect of playing in net.  Landon played very well in a varsity start last week versus the Rockville Rams eventually falling 3-2.  Upper Montgomery has high expectations for Landon to play at a very high level.

On defense, Upper Montgomery has a significant number of unanswered questions.  There are only two true defenders on the roster, smooth skating and nimble Cole Howerton who will be looking to move the puck fast and lead defensive zone breakouts, and stay at home defender Patrick Sell, who has improved greatly since the 2021 spring season.  Expect several varsity defenders with JV eligibility to be dressed on Monday evening to help the young JV roster.

The Lightning JV forward ranks will be a mixture of skill and size.  Expect fast skating forward Josh Nadler to create offensive chances when on the ice.  Henry Honacki will see significant time at center.  Winger Adam Levine will create havoc in front of the net, looking for deflections and to pounce on and deposit loose pucks.  Versatile forward/defender Lucas Eyman will provide experience to the young lineup.  Hulking forward James Hyman will use his size to disrupt in the offensive zone and to take away chances while defending.  Josh Miller returns to the team after a one-year absence and will battle along the boards for loose pucks and will play positionally sound defense.  Newcomer TJ Gottesman will add a spark to the lineup as he gets involved and mixes it up all over the ice.  These young forwards will be assisted by the varsity forwards called upon to provide additional depth.

The team is looking to get off to a fast start to the season as it begins an early push for playoff positioning.

The Upper Montgomery Lightning take on the Quince Orchard Cougars on Friday night at 10:00 pm at Cabin John Ice Rink.  The Lightning will be looking to bounce back from their season opening 3-2 loss to the Rockville/Magruder Rams.  It will be a tough task facing the defending Montgomery Hockey Conference regular season champion Cougars.

Quince Orchard is coming off an 11-0 drubbing of the Wilson Stars.  The Cougars were led by high flying junior forward Joshua Weitzman who scored seven goals in their opener.  Junior Daniel Abarjel added three assists and Dylan Eyster tallied one goal and two assists.  Sophomore goalie Ryan Stillwell made two saves for the shutout.  The Cougars outshot the Stars 42-2 in a game that was never in doubt as Quince Orchard jumped out to a 6-0 lead after the first period.

The Cougars are not just a one-person team.  Quince Orchard has multiple AA level travel forwards in juniors Dakota DelCamp and Dylan Eyester.  On defense, the Cougars lineup is stacked with more AA level travel talent in Junior John Sherikjian and sophomores Braden Newell and Dylan Smith.  Expected to start in net for the Cougars on Friday evening is Junior AA goalie Jeremy Eager.

Making the task more difficult for the Lightning will be the absences of young and skilled offensive forwards Ryan Jacobson and Olivia Robbins.  Both student athletes will be missing the conference game due to out-of-town travel team commitments.

In net for the Lightning will be the season debut of goalie Will Mellen.  Will just recently joined the Lightning for the 2021-2022 season.  The team is excited for his arrival and quality play in net.  Will also competes for an outside AA travel team, the Ashburn Extreme.  Also returning to the lineup on Friday evening for the Lightning will be junior defender George Benedick.  Benedick missed the season opener versus Rockville/Magruder.

Looking to follow up on their good defensive effort in the opening game versus the Rams, the Lightning defensive core will need to pay particular attention to the Cougars top end offensive talent and clog up the high danger areas in front of Mellen.  Leading the way in addition to Benedick will be Ethan Hockey, Andrew Gean, Andrew Botti, and dual threat James Botti who may also see playing time at forward during the game.  The Upper Montgomery offense will once again be led by its young forward core of Chris Hassett, Hunter Cameron, Brad Cupples, Nathan Cassel, and Brandon Bernard.  Expected to see an increased role at forward during the game will be Stephen Shkeda, Adarsh Nair, Josh Nadler, and Henry Honacki.  

Last season the Cougars dominated the Lightning in a 7-0 victory that was not as close as the score would indicate.  An outstanding performance by Hall of Fame goalie Jonas Clark kept the score respectable making spectacular save after save.  It was an effort for the short-handed Lightning just to clear the defensive zone and mount an offensive attack.  The coaching staff will be looking for a much more competitive outing on Friday evening giving the team momentum as the Lightning move into the middle portion of their intra-division schedule.  Some very winnable games are upcoming during the month of November.

The Upper Montgomery Lightning officially kick off the 2021-2022 ice hockey campaign versus the Rockville/Magruder Rams on Monday evening, October 25th. Game time is 8:00 pm at the Laurel Ice Gardens. This should be a tight affair with two very evenly matched teams.

Upper Montgomery is led by last season’s top returning scorer James Botti. James will be joined by other top returning offensive stalwarts, Chris Hassett, Olivia Robbins, Hunter Cameron, Brad Cupples, and Brandon Bernard. The team is eagerly anticipating the debuts of rising 9th graders Ryan Jacobson and Nathan Cassel. Offensively, the team should be much more balanced and effective than last season. The coaching staff is looking toward more offense this season coming building upon the Lightning’s 4-1-1 finish to conclude the 2020-2021 season.

Defensively, the squad will have to work hard and move the puck quickly. There will be several new faces on defense. George Benedick returns to anchor the back line along with Andrew Gean and Ethan Hockey. George will miss the Rockville/Magruder game and will return to action on Friday night against Quince Orchard. George’s absence will lead to additional playing time for rising 9th grade defender Andrew Botti, James’ brother. It is likely that James Botti will also see significant ice time on defense throughout the season.

In goal, it will likely be the season debut for Landon Bernard. Landon appeared in one varsity game last season and is looking to prove his mettle in net following the graduation of Hall of Fame netminder Jonas Clark.

Rockville/Magruder comes into the game with high hopes for the season. The Rams are also looking to qualify for the season ending Montgomery Hockey Conference playoff tournament. Led by two seniors the Rams need to get off to a good start. In net, the Rams are backstopped by senior netminder, Freddie Horowitz who is well known to the Lightning having played with the Lightning for several games during the spring 2021 hockey season. Freddie is an accomplished and very technical goalie who also plays for the Montgomery Youth Hockey Association’s 18U AA travel team. The Rams look to be set in net this year behind the solid play of Freddie.

On defense, Ryan Iliff will be key to the Rams success. A veteran of the team, and a leader on the ice, Ryan is a smooth staking defender who makes very good decisions with the puck. Ryan also plays on the Montgomery Youth Hockey Association’s 18U AA travel team. Expect Ryan to receive a lot of ice time this season as the Rams defensive ranks are not as deeps as in past seasons. Joining Ryan Iliff on defense will be Drew Pfeufer, a rising 9th grade student-athlete also playing at the AA club level and returning defenders senior Connor Combs and junior Ethan McNamara.

Up front on offense, much like the Lightning, the Rams have skilled but young forwards. The team will rely on junior Shea Walsh and then youngsters Jovi Greene, Lukas Gold, Trey Zeren, and Brendyn Iliff to light the lamp and play an aggressive forechecking style.

It should be a good one this coming Monday evening. The team that secures the victory will have a great start to the season and will have a step up in the quest to qualify for the season ending conference post-season playoff tournament.