Category: Game Recaps

The Upper Montgomery Lightning junior varsity played its second consecutive non-conference game of the season on Monday evening when the Lightning faced off against the Annapolis / Arundel Panthers in a game played at the Laurel Ice Gardens. The game started at 6:15 pm, however, Upper Montgomery really did not get going in the contest until after the first period was over. At that point, it was too late, with the Panthers having jumped out in front with a four goal opening period. While the Lightning played much better in the second and third periods, the early hole was just too much to get out from under in an eventual 6-2 loss.

Saying Upper Montgomery eased into the game would be an understatement. The Panthers were aggressive from the start. It took less than two minutes for Annapolis / Arundel to jump to a lead they would never relinquish. Panthers defender Braden Burrows had the puck in the left defensive corner in his own zone. He chipped the puck off the left wing boards to Annapolis / Arundel forward Elliott Langbein just inside his defensive blue line. Langbein took the puck into the neutral zone before charging down the left wing boards into the Upper Montgomery defensive zone. He then cut to the middle of the ice before throwing the puck at the net from the inner edge at the top of the right faceoff circle. Langbein’s shot went five hole on Upper Montgomery ninth grade goalie George Schickler for his fifth goal of the season.

Two and a half minutes later, Upper Montgomery was down 2-0. With the puck in the left defensive corner, Panthers defender Nikolai Chernovsky flipped the puck out of his own zone down ice looking for a breaking forward. His flip found Annapolis / Arundel forward Gavin Hare in the neutral zone. Hare carried the puck into the Upper Montgomery defensive zone down the left wing. He went outside the Upper Montgomery defender. From the lower portion of the left faceoff circle Hare’s shot went through Schickler’s body into the net for his first goal of the season.

The Panthers third goal took a little more than three minutes. With Upper Montgomery posing no offensive threat and being outraced to many of the loose pucks, Annapolis / Arundel kept up the pressure. On one such occasion, the Lightning were able to gain the offensive zone. A long range shot originating from the right point was well wide of the net. Panthers defender Isaac Waesche collected the puck and sent it up the right wing boards to Annapolis / Arundel forward William Keuleman in the neutral zone. Keuleman ventured down the right wing into the Upper Montgomery defensive zone. His wrist shot from the top of the right faceoff circle was saved by Schickler. The puck was cleared up the middle of the defensive zone by the Upper Montgomery defense. A poor decision and a critical mistake. Chernovsky kept the puck in at the middle of the blue line. His shovel shot from long range eluded Schickler five hole for his second goal of the season. Schickler’s reaction indicated he felt he should have definitely stopped Chernovsky’s shot as it was not a difficult save to make.

Langbein capped off the disastrous first period for the Lightning with his second goal of the night and his team leading sixth goal of the season. Panthers forward Kyler Porzillo stole the puck from a Lightning forward in the right defensive corner. He sent a backhand pass to the slot which carried through to Keuleman. Keuleman’s backhand shot went wide of the right goal post. Porzillo captured the puck behind the net and he threw it back into the slot for Langbein. Langbein buried his shot to the top right corner of the goal over Schickler’s glove hand. The Lightning made it to the first intermission with no further damage down 4-0, having been outshot by the Panthers eleven to two. Annapolis / Arundel goalie Frederick Bright had a rocking chair period with very little action on his side of the ice.

During intermission, the Upper Montgomery coaching staff asked the students how they felt they played during the first period. The students were honest and accurate in that their play was not close to being good enough. The Lightning coaches then asked the students what they were going to do about their poor performance during the opening period. The students went out and competed hard during the second period holding the Panthers to just four shots on goal. The more aggressive play yielded an early powerplay when Annapolis / Arundel forward James Reynolds was called for a tripping minor penalty. While Upper Montgomery was unable to score with the extra skater, the early powerplay opportunity took the Panthers out of their offensive flow.

Then, with three and a half minutes left in the middle period, the Lightning got on the board. Off of a designed faceoff play called ‘shooter’ Upper Montgomery broke through. Lightning sophomore center Decklin Hughes cleanly won a faceoff in the left faceoff circle in the offensive zone. The puck went directly to Upper Montgomery ninth grade forward Tima Zamaray who was already in the shooting motion. Zamaray cranked a one-time slap shot past Bright into the top right corner of the goal for his team leading fifth goal of the season.

Down by three goals entering the final period, the Lightning continued to struggle to generate any offensive thrust. The team was credited with two shots on goal in the third period finishing the game with only eight shots. Nowhere near enough to win a game. Four minutes into the third period the slim chance at a comeback vanished. An Upper Montgomery defender sent the puck across the ice along their defensive blue line to the left wing. The pass was off target and picked up by Chernovsky who entered the offensive zone down the left wing. His slap shot from distance was handled by Schickler with the rebound shooting out into the slot. Waesche, coming down from his point position, sent a backhand pass to Keuleman at the bottom of the right faceoff circle. Keuleman easily deposited a backhanded shot into the wide open right side of the net for his first goal of the season.

With seven minutes remaining in the game, Upper Montgomery struck again. Lightning sophomore defender Matt Rivera stood with the puck behind his own net. He fired a home run pass down the middle of the ice looking for junior forward Jackson Schickler behind the Panthers defense. Schickler did not handle the pass cleanly but also did not quit on the play. He chased down the puck by outhustling the Annapolis / Arundel defense before fighting to fish the puck from the defender’s skates. He took the puck around the net from left to right coming around the outside of the right goal post before Bright could recover and come over to the opposite post. The wraparound shot went under Bright’s glove for Schickler’s first goal of the season.

A minute later the Lightning went on the penalty kill when junior defender Max Curtusan was called for unsportsmanlike conduct. The Upper Montgomery penalty killers did a nice job limiting the Panthers to the exterior and keeping the deficit to three goals. With a couple of minutes remaining in the game, Lightning senior forward and team captain Jason Woodman lost his balance and fell into a Panthers forward. The referees determined that Woodman had boarded the Panthers skater and sent him off the ice for a minor boarding penalty. A boarding penalty also comes with a misconduct penalty ending his evening early.

On the ensuing powerplay, Annapolis / Arundel scored quickly to finish out the game’s scoring. From the right faceoff circle in the defensive zone, Upper Montgomery won the puck battle off the faceoff and took the puck behind the net. A turnover left the puck out in front of the net. The Lightning defense watched as the Panthers shoveled the puck at Schickler twice. Schickler made both saves. Eventually, Panthers forward Eric Patterson shoved the puck across the crease behind Schickler to Ian Crane who tapped the puck across the goal line for his first goal of the season.

Annapolis / Arundel was in control the entire game. The game never seemed in doubt after the early first period lead. Upper Montgomery struggled just to get back into the game. It was certainly a game that Upper Montgomery’s slow start played a major factor in the outcome. For the Lightning to be successful, the team needs to play strong physical defensive hockey which they did not do against the Panthers. This was one of the few games that the Lightning have not been competitive in. There is now no margin for error if the team wants to qualify for the junior varsity playoffs. It is a must that the Lightning beat Walter Johnson in its next to last conference game.

Game Notes:

• Annapolis / Arundel outshot Upper Montgomery 27-8 during the game.
• Upper Montgomery junior center Jackson Schickler scored his first goal of the season.
• Upper Montgomery ninth grade forward Tima Zamaray scored for the third straight game and for the fourth time in five games.
• The Upper Montgomery junior varsity has another short break before returning to play a critically important game against Walter Johnson. The winner of the game has an inside track to qualify for the junior varsity playoffs. Game time is 8:15 pm at Cabin John Ice Rink on Friday evening, January 2nd.

Three Stars of the Game:

First Star—Nikolai Chernovsky—Annapolis / Arundel Defense—1 Goal 2 Assists
Second Star—Elliott Langbein—Annapolis / Arundel Forward—2 Goals
Third Star—William Keuleman—Annapolis / Arundel Forward—1 Goal, 1 Assist

The Upper Montgomery Lightning junior varsity played its first true road game of the season Monday afternoon when the team traveled up to Abingdon, Maryland to faceoff against Harford County. What is typically approximately an hour trip took everyone in the program between two hours and ten minutes and two and a half hours to reach the rink. Some students arrived after puck drop. To say the least, the beginning of the game was chaotic.

The Lightning began the game piecing together the line combinations on the fly. With very few skaters available at the start of the game, there were several long shifts for certain skaters as there were just not enough bodies available. Mid-way through the opening period, Lightning ninth grade center Wyatt Ostrander was called for holding. Ostrander is one of Upper Montgomery’s top penalty killers so his absence was noticeable as the Lightning went shorthanded. Halfway through the Harco powerplay, Upper Montgomery ninth grade forward Tima Zamaray was assessed a tripping minor penalty. Down two skaters with a short bench, the Lightning trio of sophomore 16U Upper A Max Israfilbek, junior defender Max Curtusan, and ninth grade defenders Lenny Roth and Dylan Kim did a masterful job of not allowing very much pressure at all.

Shortly after both Harco powerplays were killed off, Upper Montgomery went to the powerplay when Harco forward Connor Kreit was whistled for a roughing minor penalty. Similar to when the Lightning were on the penalty kill, halfway through the Upper Montgomery powerplay, the Lightning were presented with a golden opportunity to jump in front when Harco forward Jack Jones was sent to the penalty box for elbowing. As with Harco’s two skater advantage, Upper Montgomery failed to generate much offense with two extra skaters on the ice having a difficult time even setting up in the offensive zone. The first period ended shortly after the Lightning’s failed powerplay chances. The break gave the entire team an opportunity catch its breath. The coaches were able to set up the forward lines and defensive pairings as almost the entire team had arrived and been able to get over to the bench area. Shots on goal in the opening period were very low for each team, Harco with six and Upper Montgomery with five.

The second period saw Harco attack offensively with some additional urgency. Upper Montgomery had too many rushes up ice where the puck carrier tried to do too much and take on the Harco defenders all by themselves. This lead to constant turnovers and assisted with the Harco offensive transition chances. Three minutes into the second period, Harco got on the scoreboard first. An Upper Montgomery turnover was forced at the offensive blue line by Harco defender Roxy Metallo. Her hit allowed fellow defender Lilah Emerick to gain possession of the puck just inside her own defensive blue line on the left wing. She passed the puck up ice to Harco forward Jeremy Doyle in the neutral zone. Doyle circled back into his own zone to gain speed before rushing up ice on the right wing. He carried the puck into the Upper Montgomery defensive zone where he reached the top of the right faceoff circle. He fired a wrist shot that deflected off of an Upper Montgomery defender’s stick changing the direction and flight path of the initial shot. The puck flew into the back of the net past Upper Montgomery ninth grade goalie Stephen Rickman’s blocker, high to the far side of the net.

Just under three minutes later, Upper Montgomery struck back. Zamaray came back on defense and stole the puck in the defensive high slot area. He skated the puck up ice down the left wing side. He entered the offensive zone under pressure from Metallo. Zamaray was forced around the net from left to right. Still with possession, Zamaray skated around the outside of the bottom of the right faceoff circle then cut through the circle to the slot. Not finding an open shot to his liking, the skilled young forward went to the outside of the left faceoff circle. His pass through the slot was cleared by the Harco defense off the glass but was kept in at the right point by Roth. Roth’s rising wrist shot from distance was headed for the center of the net. As the puck went through the right faceoff circle, it hit off the upper arm of the Lightning’s starting junior varsity goalie sophomore 16U Lower A Porter Stutsrim-Lyons. The puck’s trajectory changed just enough to confuse Harco ninth grade netminder, Jacob McBee. With little time to react, McBee was unable to prevent the puck from entering the net high to the top left corner over his stick and blocker. For Stutsrim-Lyons, it was his first career high school goal, something one would think he never would have imagined since he mainly plays in net.

After the tying goal, Harco continued to press up ice offensively. Rickman and the Lightning defense thwarted each attack. With 45 seconds left in the second period Curtusan was called for an elbowing penalty. As with the the earlier first period penalty kills, Upper Montgomery successfully killed off the first half of Curtusan’s penalty reaching the end of the second period with score tied at one. Harco fired thirteen shots on goal at Rickman for a two period total of nineteen. Upper Montgomery sent six shots at McBee and Harco starting goalie Jackson Scalli who entered the game with four minutes remaining in the second period in a planned goalie split. The Lightning’s shot total sat at eleven after two periods of play.

The third period began with Harco on the powerplay for another 45 seconds. From the faceoff at the center ice dot, Upper Montgomery won the draw to their defensive zone right wing corner. A clear up the boards was kept in the offensive zone at the right point by Harco forward Owen Young. Young sent a weak shot on net that somehow snuck through the arm and Rickman’s body seven hole. Young’s unassisted goal was certainly one that Rickman wished he had back.

Being down a goal with the entire third period remaining, Upper Montgomery knew they had time but the team needed to turn up the offensive pressure. Similar to the first period, forwards began trying to make one on one plays rather than using the other skaters on the ice. Meanwhile, the clock continued to count down to five and a half minutes remaining in the game when Kreit was called for another roughing minor penalty. It was a glorious opportunity for the Lightning to use the powerplay to re-tie the game. While on the powerplay Israfilbek got into a shoving match with the Harco defense in front of Scalli. Out of frustration he took a roughing penalty which ended the Lightning’s powerplay early. On the way to the penalty box he was assessed a ten minute misconduct penalty (eight minutes of game action) which ended his night early. After the four on four play concluded, Upper Montgomery again did an outstanding job throttling the Harco powerplay.

With three minutes left in regulation, the Lightning defense lost control of the puck with two Harco forwards in on the forecheck. Harco forward Sean McDermott came away with possession of the puck and fed Metallo at the right point. Her pass found Harco forward Jacob Roeder at the right faceoff dot. Roeder sent a weak wrist shot toward Rickman. The puck again squirted though him seven hole. This time the puck landed in the crease on the far side of the net where McDermott was standing off to the side. He nudged the puck forward a few inches and over the goal line to give Harco a 3-1 lead.

Upper Montgomery was now behind by two goals with three minutes remaining in the game. The old adage is in order to get two goals you first must score once. That is exactly what the Lightning were able to do. From a faceoff in the left faceoff circle in their defensive zone, Ostrander won the draw back to Curtusan in the left defensive corner. After a brief puck battle, Curtusan sent the puck forward a few feet looking for Ostrander. The young center returned the puck to Curtusan who wasted no time sending the puck up the middle of the ice looking for Zamaray leaking behind the Harco defenders. Zamaray collected the puck and was off on a breakaway. Coming in alone on Scalli, Zamaray faked forehand, backhand, and then drew the puck back to his forehand. While falling, Zamaray stuffed the puck past Scalli’s right toe and the near post. The young forward almost faked himself out on the play but was able to get the Lightning to within one goal at 3-2 with his fourth goal of the season.

Less than forty seconds remained in the game when the ensuing faceoff took place at center ice. When the Lightning eventually got Rickman off the ice for an extra skater twenty seconds later, they had two shot on goal that Scalli turned aside securing Harco’s first win of the season. In this game, it felt as if Upper Montgomery played down to a lower level of competition. Maybe it was the long commute to the game. Maybe it was the chaotic nature of playing a game with no locker room comradery and no pre-game warm-up. Or, it could be that the Upper Montgomery junior varsity needs to learn how to win. For the Lightning to be successful, the team will need to return to the strong physical style that has worked to keep the faster more skilled teams at bay. The Lightning have been competitive in every game this season for long stretches of play before the youth of the team eventually gets exploited. After a second consecutive non-conference game against Annapolis / Arundel, there will be no margin for error if the team wants to qualify for the junior varsity playoffs.

Game Notes:

• Harford County outshot Upper Montgomery 30-19 during the game.
• Upper Montgomery sophomore goalie Porter Stutsrim-Lyons skated out during the game and scored his first career high school goal.
• Upper Montgomery ninth grade forward Tima Zamaray scored for the second straight game and for the third time in four games.
• The Upper Montgomery junior varsity has another short break before returning to play a second straight non-conference opponent, Annapolis / Arundel. Game time is 6:15 pm at Laurel Ice Gardens on Monday evening, December 15th.

Three Stars of the Game:

First Star—Roxy Metallo—Harco Defense—1 Assist
Second Star—Lenny Roth—Upper Montgomery Defense—1 Assist
Third Star—Tima Zamaray—Upper Montgomery Forward—1 Goal

One week after a porous defensive performance against the Northwest / Quince Orchard Jaguars, the Upper Montgomery Lightning played better for long stretches on Friday night versus the Rockville / Magruder Rams. However, a series of defensive lapses was enough for the Rams to claim a 6-3 victory over the Lightning. The defeat was the third straight for the Lightning since an opening night victory over the DC Stars. Upper Montgomery has not beaten Rockville / Magruder over the past two seasons.

The first shift of the game saw the Lightning gift the Rams the opening goal. Off the center ice faceoff to begin the game, the puck went sideways to the left wing boards. Rams forward Adam Salomon sent the puck back to Rockville / Magruder senior defender Max Yuen. Yuen went around his own goal from left to right then sped out of the defensive zone up the left wing boards. He flew past the Lightning’s defense which stood flat footed before cutting to the net. He went in alone on a breakaway against Upper Montgomery ninth grade goalie George Schickler making his first career varsity start. Yuen tried to stuff the puck past Schickler from in close. Schickler made an acrobatic save on his first ever varsity shot attempt. Unfortunately, the rebound went forward directly into the skates of Lightning junior defender Miles Wendland and then caromed back into the net off the ricochet. Wendland was rushing back to stop the breakaway from the opposite side of the ice. Less than thirty seconds into the contest Upper Montgomery already trailed by one.

After the initial Rams strike, Upper Montgomery played well for the rest of the period. It was if the early goal was a wake up call to the team with the game being played in the 10:00 pm Cabin John ice slot. Shots on goal during the period were close with Rockville / Magruder credited with nine shots on Schickler while Upper Montgomery fired eight shots on Rams ninth grade 16U AA goalie Ethan Rabinovitch.

The second period had significantly more action. Three minutes into the period, Upper Montgomery’s leading scorer from last season, senior forward Philip Shkeda scored his sixth goal of this season to knot the score at one. With a faceoff in the right faceoff circle in the defensive zone, Lightning 18U AAA center, team captain Owen Robbins won the draw back into the right corner to Wendland. Wendland flung the puck down ice on a set play. Wendland’s home run pass off the left wing boards went straight to Shkeda who had skated straight up ice off the faceoff draw. Behind the Rams defense, with pressure behind him, Shkeda fired a wicked wrist shot from the left faceoff circle short side high over Rabinovitch’s right shoulder to his stick and blocker side.

Things continued to look up for Upper Montgomery. Schickler was not unnerved by the early breakaway goal and was playing very well. The game was tied. Upper Montgomery was giving up way fewer odd skater rushes. Then, a minute after Shkeda tied the score, Rams defender Yuen took a checking from behind minor penalty. The Lightning were headed to the powerplay with a chance to take the lead. Yuen also received the automatic misconduct penalty that comes with a hit from behind penalty. So, he would be in the penalty box for just about the rest of the second period.

Instead of being able to build on the momentum off of Shkeda’s goal, while on the powerplay, Upper Montgomery sophomore defender Matt Rivera’s shot from the left point hit Rams sophomore 16U AA forward Alexander Johnston in the right hip. The puck caromed forward outside the offensive blue line. With Johnston facing the puck and both Lightning defenders moving away from the puck, Johnston had a clear breakaway from the opposite blue line all the way in on Schickler. From the middle of the slot he ripped a wrist shot high over Schickler’s glove hand for his fourth goal of the season. The Rams were back up by one at 2-1.

Upper Montgomery had another powerplay opportunity go awry when Rams defender Calder Wilcox was issued a roughing penalty with six minutes left in the period. Once again, Upper Montgomery failed to convert. Two minutes later Upper Montgomery’s leading scorer, senior 18U AA defender Brady Berkhammer received his own checking from behind minor and misconduct penalties. Up 2-1 the Rams now had a golden opportunity to extend their lead with the extra skater and Berkhammer off the ice for approximately ten minutes.

From the right faceoff circle in the Upper Montgomery defensive zone, Rams 16U AAA center Cameron Gifford won the faceoff to the right wing. He chased the puck down along the boards, turned toward the left point, and sent the puck to the right point for Rams defender Lincoln Herrick. Herrick’s wrist shot from the top of the left faceoff circle was saved by Schickler. However, the young goaltender was not able to control the rebound. The puck popped out to the slot where two Lightning skaters failed to clear the puck out of the defensive zone. The puck was kept in the offensive zone at the blue line by the Rams other defender Lukas Aagaard. Coming towards the puck, Aagaard fired a long slap shot along the ice at the net. Schickler made a nice left pad save with the puck directed into the right corner. Another failed defensive clear was held in by Aagaard. His shot at the net was steered wide by Schickler. Johnston was standing at the left side of the goal unguarded as both Upper Montgomery defenders were focused to their left where Aagaard’s shot originated from. Johnston put a backhand pitch shot up over Schickler’s right shoulder short side. His second goal of the evening, fifth of the season extended the Rams lead to 3-1 with three minutes left in the second period. It was also the fourth consecutive powerplay where opponents had capitalized.

On the next shift, Johnston scored his hat-trick goal, his sixth on the season to put the Rams up 4-1. Upper Montgomery cleared the defensive zone all the way to the Rams defensive zone. The puck was sent up ice to Gifford at center ice. He laid a backhand flop pass to Johnston on the right wing boards. Johnston entered the Upper Montgomery defensive zone along the boards on the right wing. Three Lightning skaters flailed their sticks at Johnston with none of the three making contact with Johnston’s body or the puck. Johnston left a drop pass off the boards for Gifford. Gifford’s wrist shot from the top of the slot was targeted for the top right corner of the net. Schickler got his glove up to knock the puck down. It went off the shaft of the stick of Salomon down to the ice. Johnston did not hesitate once the puck landed shooting low along the ice past Schickler’s left leg pad.

In the last minute of the period, the Lightning got one back. Shkeda pressured the puck at center ice causing a turnover by the Rams defense. Robbins swooped in taking control of the puck. He headed down the right wing boards into the offensive zone before skating around the Rams remaining defender. Robbins cut to the net where he shifted the puck to his backhand and lifted his shot over Rabinovitch’s right leg pad past the goalie’s body into the far side of the net. Robbins second goal of the season provided a spark near the end of the period. As the second period ended soon thereafter, Upper Montgomery was down 4-2 while being outshot by a twenty to sixteen margin.

The start of the third period saw Upper Montgomery change goalies. This was a planned goalie switch that was scheduled to be made halfway through the game. The change was postponed due to how well Schickler was playing. Ninth grade goalie Stephen Rickman was inserted into the game to also gain varsity experience. Just as Schickler was rudely greeted in the first period, Rickman was treated similarly. Off the center ice faceoff to start the third period, Johnston won the draw to Gifford. Gifford took the puck forward to the Upper Montgomery blue line. Upon entering the offensive zone, he passed back to Johnston at the top of the left faceoff circle. Johnston’s shot was high and wide of the net but was kept in at the right point by Rams defender Izzy Levine. Her shot toward the net hit the side of the goal with the puck deflecting into the right corner. Gifford was first to the puck. He sent a pass to the slot into a pile of skaters. Salomon was able to shovel the puck to Johnston standing alone at the side of the net. All the star forward needed to do was knock the puck into the open left side of the net. His fourth consecutive score was his seventh of the season.

With eleven minutes left in the game, Rockville / Magruder extended its lead to 6-2 when Michael Zaporozhetc scored his first goal of the season. Lightning forward Max Israfilbek played the puck behind the Rams net. Herrick picked up the puck sending an outlet pass to Rams forward Adam Suitor in the defensive zone. Suitor carried the puck up ice to just inside the Upper Montgomery defensive blue line. Suitor’s shot on net was a pad save for Rickman, one of his eighteen in the third period. The rebound went directly to Zaporozhetc at the left side of the net. It was an easy score for the forward as he shot quickly before Rickman could regain his footing after making the initial save.

With just over a minute remaining in regulation, Aagaard was assessed a minor penalty for roughing. From the opening powerplay faceoff in the right faceoff circle, Robbins won the puck back to Berkhammer at the right point. Berkhammer skated around an onrushing Rams forward. From the slot he sent a booming wrist shot at the goal with Upper Montgomery sophomore defender Lillian Robbins screening Rabinovitch. The puck went past Rabinovitch’s stick and blocker to the top left corner of the net. The powerplay marker was Berkhammer’s third goal of the season.

Another disheartening loss. Somehow, over the past few games, Upper Montgomery has completely deviated from the necessary defensive style of play that the Lightning used very effectively in their season opening blowout victory over the DC Stars, and what should have been a second straight blowout victory over Silver Spring. Now, the Lightning have reverted to giving up far too much time and space to the opponents. This lack of team defense has led to far too many breakaways against the Lightning’s goalies. The losses to Silver Spring, then Northwest / Quince Orchard, and now Rockville / Magruder have all been due to lack of playing within the Lightning’s necessary defensive structure of play.

Game Notes:

• Upper Montgomery was badly outshot by Rockville / Magruder 40-19 for the game. The difference in shots on goal was in the third period with the Lightning trying to rally in the game. The Rams vastly outshot the Lightning twenty to three in the final fifteen minutes of action.
• Upper Montgomery gave up four goals Alexander Johnston. It is the third straight game that the Lightning have allowed a skater to score four or more goals.
• Upper Montgomery senior forward Philip Shkeda left the game early in the third period with an upper body injury.
• Brady Berkhammer leads the Montgomery Hockey Conference in assists with ten over four games and in defensive scoring with thirteen points.
• Upper Montgomery ninth grade goalie George Schickler received his first career varsity start in net.
• Lightning ninth grade defender Lenny Roth saw his first extensive varsity game action.
• Upper Montgomery has given up more powerplay goals (four) than successfully killed penalties (two). The penalty kill is mired in having allowed four consecutive extra skater goals.
• Upper Montgomery returns to the ice next Friday evening for another late night tilt. The game against Richard Montgomery also begins at 10:00 pm inside the Cabin John Ice Rink.

Three Stars of the Game:

First Star—Alexander Johnston—Rockville / Magruder Forward—4 Goals
Second Star—Cameron Gifford—Rockville / Magruder Center—3 Assists
Third Star—Owen Robbins—Upper Montgomery Center—1 Goal, 2 Assists

Northwest / Quince Orchard senior 18U AA center Ethan Custodio has long been a thorn in the side of the Upper Montgomery Lightning. Although it had been five years since the Jaguars were last victorious over the Lightning, he had peppered the score sheet for years in losing efforts. Last season, he had three points in each of the team’s three matchups, all Upper Montgomery wins. On Friday night at the Rockville Ice Arena, Custodio exploded for six goals while adding an assist as he singlehandedly carried the Jaguars to a convincing 9-3 victory over a shell shocked Lightning squad. The second straight loss for Upper Montgomery dropped the team’s record to 1-2 on the young season.

The game saw a brief return to the net of Upper Montgomery starting goalie junior 16U AAA Ilan Shterenberg. He was able to play the first period before heading out of town with his external travel team. The chaos of arriving from his external travel team’s practice, then knowing he was going to have to leave the crease early seemed to unsettle Shterenberg. His play was not as sharp as his first game this season, a 25 save opening night shutout of the DC Stars.

The Lightning students appeared sluggish out of the gate. The first half of the opening period saw no scoring. While the Jaguars were able to put shots on net and make it difficult for Upper Montgomery to cleanly break out of the defensive zone, when in the offensive zone the Lightning consistently misfired shots wide of the net or high over the net. There were also long sequences of offensive zone time for the Lightning with no shots being fired at Northwest / Quince Orchard sophomore goalie Sean Wyatt.

Custodio started the scoring with his ninth goal of the season to put the Jaguars up 1-0. Upper Montgomery had possession of the puck behind the Northwest / Quince Orchard net. A centering pass to the slot was intercepted by Custodio. He shot straight up ice on a two on one rush with Jaguars ninth grade forward Nicholas Berl. Custodio went straight into the Lightning’s defensive zone shaded by Upper Montgomery sophomore defender Matt Rivera. Custodio used leverage to go around the outside of the left faceoff circle before cutting in alone on Shterenberg. The netminder made the initial save on Custodio’s backhanded stuff attempt putting the puck into the right corner. The Lightning tried to skate the puck out of the defensive zone rather than just flop the puck up in the air back down the ice. Jaguars forward Amir Karimov caused a turnover by getting in the way of the stickhandling. The puck squirted over to Custodio who fired a wrist shot from the right faceoff circle low past Shterenberg’s stick and blocker into the far side of the net.

If Upper Montgomery was angry about being down by a goal, the students sure did not play like it. Under two minutes later, the deficit increased as Karimov scored his first goal of the season. The Lightning failed to clear the puck from their defensive zone. The puck was kept in at the right point by Jaguars defender, senior 18U AA Roman Martin. Martin dropped the puck down the right wing boards behind the net to Berl. Berl shoveled the puck further to Custodio standing in the left corner. Custodio reversed course and took the puck back around the net from left to right. Clearing the right goal post, he fed the puck back to the right point to Martin. Martin’s long range wrist shot was deflected by Upper Montgomery senior 18U AAA center, team captain Owen Robbins with the puck landing at the right side of the crease near Berl. Berl’s close in shot was a chest save made by a lunging Shterenberg. The puck bounced to the goalie’s left into the goal crease. With very little defensive pressure, Karimov tapped the puck forward a foot or so into the empty net.

As the period wound down to a minute remaining, Upper Montgomery clawed back to within one goal. Robbins stole the puck in the neutral zone before sending it wide to ninth grade 16U AA forward Miles Gleason, the county’s top goal scorer entering the contest. Gleason dragged the puck into the Northwest / Quince Orchard defensive zone down the right wing boards. At the outside of the right faceoff circle the puck was stolen by a Jaguars defender. Almost immediately, Robbins stole the puck back to regain possession for Upper Montgomery. Robbins dumped the puck into the empty right corner looking for Gleason. Gleason and Lightning senior forward Philip Shkeda interchanged with Shkeda taking the puck on the sideboards. Shkeda passed the puck to the middle slot looking for Gleason who was tied up and thus unable to get off a shot. Robbins grabbed the loose puck and sent it back to the left point for Lightning 18U AA defender Brady Berkhammer, the county’s leading defensive scorer. Berkhammer’s long range wrist shot went high to Wyatt’s glove hand. With Shkeda in front causing a distraction, the Jaguars goalie did not appear to track the shot before it landed in the top right corner of the net. It was Berkhammer’s first goal of the season to go along with his nine assists. Both Upper Montgomery and Northwest / Quince Orchard were credited with twelve shots on goal in the first period although Upper Montgomery had many more shot attempts that were not on net.

With the start of the second period, Lightning ninth grade goalie Stephen Rickman entered the game. For the first several minutes of the second period it looked like the game was going to be a battle to see if either team was going to press the attack. Four and a half minutes into the middle period, Lightning senior forward Jason Woodman was called for a slashing minor penalty. Three seconds later, off the powerplay’s opening faceoff, Custodio was at it again scoring his county leading tenth goal of the season. In the left faceoff circle Custodio won the faceoff forward. He stepped around Robbins gaining possession of the puck in the lower left faceoff circle. He went straight to the net through the crease. Untouched by the other three Lightning skaters he faked to his backhand going around the outstretched left leg pad of Rickman. It was a breakaway generated from the left faceoff circle with no Upper Montgomery skater making Custodio’s charge to the net more difficult.

Just after Custodio put the Jaguars up 3-1, Northwest / Quince Orchard defender Andrew Isaacson was called for his own slashing minor penalty. Instead of it turning into a great opportunity for the Lightning to get back into the game, Custodio registered his hat-trick goal scoring an unassisted shorthanded goal for his eleventh goal of the year. With the Lightning on the powerplay, from a faceoff in the left faceoff in the offensive zone, Robbins won the draw to the left wing boards to Gleason. Custodio stole the puck with the Lightning skaters all headed toward the Northwest / Quince Orchard net. He was off on a breakaway from his own defensive blue line. He skated up the right side of the ice before cutting to the middle. Coming down the slot all alone on Rickman, Custodio again faked to his backhand and slid the puck just past the young goaltender who almost made the save at the right post.

Four minutes later Custodio scored yet again to push the Jaguars to a 5-1 lead with his fourth goal of the night and twelfth of the season. The puck was deep in the Northwest / Quince Orchard defensive zone in the left corner. The puck was chipped out to center ice by the Jaguars defense. Lightning 16U Upper A junior defender Miles Wendland got to the puck first to disrupt the initial danger. He move the puck forward toward the blue line where is was taken by Jaguars forward Brennan Dorman. Dorman sent a backhand pass to the slot for Berl. Berl’s spinning shot went wide of the net where it bounced off the back boards before shooting back to the bottom of the left faceoff circle. Guess who was there? With Rickman rotating to the opposite side of the net the goalie had no chance as Custodio had the entire left side of the net open to easily tuck the puck into the near side.

With a half a minute left in the second period, Custodio finished off his four goal period. With the puck in the left corner of the defensive zone, it was swiped by Martin. Martin sent the puck around the right wing boards for Berl. His outlet pass for Custodio split both Upper Montgomery defenders in the neutral zone. Custodio went down the slot with Berkhammer draped all over him, hooking him from behind. Yet again, Custodio went forehand, then backhand along the ice past Rickman. Custodio dominated the period in which Northwest / Quince Orchard outshot Upper Montgomery ten to three.

Down 6-1 entering the third period, Upper Montgomery only had to look back to last week for inspiration. Silver Spring was in a similar predicament before rallying to topple the Lightning. Right away, things began to look up. Two minutes into the third period, Lightning junior forward Mason Jagoz scored his first career high school varsity goal. After a Northwest / Quince Orchard defensive zone clear, Wendland retreated into his own defensive zone with the puck. He sent the puck up ice to Upper Montgomery 16U Upper A junior forward Aiden Zheng. Zheng cut across the ice in the neutral zone from the middle to the right wing where he entered the Jaguars defensive zone. Looking to create offense he brought the puck around the net from right to left. Clearing the back of the net he sent the puck back to Berkhammer at the left point. Berkhammer’s wrist shot went between Wyatt’s legs five hole stopping behind the goalie but not over the goal line. Jagoz was standing in the slot. He reached forward with his stick poking the puck hard enough to get it across the goal line for the Lightning’s second goal of the evening.

Upper Montgomery could not build off of the momentum that Jagoz’s goal provided. Four minutes later Northwest / Quince Orchard went back on the powerplay when Rivera was called for a tripping penalty with eight and a half minutes remaining. This time, it took the Jaguars all of ten seconds to score on the powerplay. Custodio won the faceoff from the left faceoff circle back to Martin at the left point. Martin paused for a second allowing traffic to move to the front of the net. He then sent a rising wrister that went high over Rickman’s glove hand to the top right corner of the net for his third goal of the season. It was 7-2 in favor of Northwest / Quince Orchard. Five seconds later Custodio put the cherry on top. From the faceoff at center ice, he won the draw forward. Once again he split the Upper Montgomery defense. Coming in alone on Rickman for the umpteenth time, he used his patented forehand to backhand fake to pot his sixth goal of the game and fourteenth of the season.

Down 8-2 with eight minutes remaining, the game was into running clock. The Lightning coaching staff began to play students who don’t regularly receive much varsity playing time. With just over two and a half minutes left in the game, Berkhammer scored his second goal of the game and season to increase his season points total to twelve in just three games. Zheng grabbed the puck deep in the Upper Montgomery defensive zone. He took the puck behind the net beginning to skate up the right wing boards out of the Lightning’s defensive zone. He layered a pass forward for Woodman in the neutral zone. Woodman advanced the puck to the Jaguars defensive zone on the right wing. He fought through a check along the boards. From the right wing circle he fired a weak wrist shot on net that was saved by Wyatt. The puck was sent by Martin up to the left point where Berkhammer stepped in to keep the puck in the offensive zone. Berkhammer’s slapshot was blocked right back to him in the left faceoff circle. He took the puck around the net from left to right coming out in front with a wrap around chance. Wyatt just barely got over to the right goal post to make the save with the puck following Berkhammer to the bottom of the right faceoff circle. From a bad angle, he wasted no time firing a wrist shot high to the far side of the net to provide Upper Montgomery’s third tally.

With a minute remaining, Jaguars ninth grade forward Kuba Okrasa finished off the scoring with his first career high school varsity goal. Upper Montgomery had the puck in their defensive zone. The puck was played from the left corner behind the net to the right corner. Berl stopped the puck putting it deeper into the corner. He fought with Robbins for control of the puck coming away from the corner battle with possession. Berl centered the puck to Okrasa at the inside right edge of the left faceoff circle. Okrasa fired a wrist shot short side high over Rickman’s stick and blocker.

The 9-3 blowout loss was disheartening. Somehow, over the past four periods of hockey, Upper Montgomery completely deviated from the necessary defensive style of play that the Lightning used very effectively to create a blowout victory over the DC Stars, and what should have been a second straight blowout victory over Silver Spring. Now, the Lightning have reverted to giving up far too much time and space to the opponents. This lack of team defense has led to far too many breakaways against the Lightning’s goalies. The loss to Northwest / Quince Orchard was all due to lack of playing within the Lightning’s defensive structure of play. While Custodio had much to do with the outcome of the game, it was the Lightning who allowed Custodio to be the dominant offensive force.

Game Notes:

• Upper Montgomery was outshot by Northwest / Quince Orchard 33-27 for the game.
• Upper Montgomery gave up six goals to Ethan Custodio in the game. It is the first time in over six seasons that one student scored that many goals against Upper Montgomery.
• Upper Montgomery senior defender Brady Berkhammer scored two goals and added an assist. It is his third straight game with three or more points.
• Berkhammer leads the Montgomery Hockey Conference in assists with ten over three games and in defensive scoring with twelve points.
• Lightning junior forward Mason Jagoz scored his first career varsity goal.
• Upper Montgomery ninth grade goalie Stephen Rickman saw his first career varsity action in net.
• Lightning ninth grade defender Dylan Kim and ninth grade forward Nolan Veillette saw their first career varsity game action.
• Upper Montgomery returns to the ice next Friday evening for a late night tilt against Rockville / Magruder. Game time is 10:00 pm at the Cabin John Ice Rink.

Three Stars of the Game:

First Star—Ethan Custodio—Northwest / Quince Orchard Center—6 Goals, 1 Assist
Second Star—Nicholas Berl—Northwest / Quince Orchard Forward—3 Assists
Third Star—Brady Berkhammer—Upper Montgomery Defense—2 Goals, 1 Assist

The Upper Montgomery Lightning junior varsity found some offensive flair on Friday afternoon against the combined Northwest / Quince Orchard / Wootton team. Unfortunately, defensive breakdowns doomed the team in a 7-4 defeat. Three separate times, Upper Montgomery came back from an early deficit to cut the combined team’s lead to one goal. Each time, a defensive breakdown led to the next Northwest / Quince Orchard / Wootton score. With the loss the Lightning dropped to 1-4 on the season having lost to four of the top six teams in the conference standings. Upper Montgomery will need to get back on track over the second half of the season to qualify for the junior varsity playoffs. With the win the combined squad increased their record to 5-1.

The first couple of shifts of the game were difficult for the Lightning as they adjusted to the combined team’s size. At the beginning of the game, Upper Montgomery failed to play with a physical toughness that the coaching staff has instituted since the pre-season off ice practice sessions. It was very evident a minute into the game when an Upper Montgomery defensive clearing attempt was kept in at the right point by defender Eric Anderson. He skated to the middle of the ice along the blue line before passing to forward Kuba Okrasa. Okrasa skated to the bottom of the right faceoff circle where he fired a wrist shot at Upper Montgomery ninth grade goalie Stephen Rickman. Rickman made the save with his body. The puck dropped to the ice with Amir Karimov knocking in the rebound past Rickman to the goalie’s right into the wide open side of the net. No Lightning defender was near Karimov who could not have scored an easier goal for his fourth of the season.

After the early initial goal both teams retreated into a posture of conservation of energy. The Upper Montgomery varsity was playing the Northwest / Quince Orchard Jaguars varsity directly after the conclusion of the junior varsity game. Both teams had several students playing in the junior varsity game that were going to play double duty. With each team playing their defense way back for the rest of the first period, quality scoring chances were limited. The combined team wound up outshooting the Lightning seven to six in the opening period.

Similar to the first period, Northwest / Quince Orchard / Wootton scored quickly into the second period. Forward Nathan Tian skated from the neutral zone down the right side crossing into the Upper Montgomery defensive zone. At the crease he sent a pass to his left. The puck went all the way through the crease to the left wing boards. After a puck battle ensued, Anderson had possession of the puck at the left point. He attempted to make a move before the puck was knocked off his stick by Lightning ninth grade defender Lenny Roth. The puck squirted over to forward Caeden Yi. His long range shot was saved by Rickman. Tian had inside position on the Upper Montgomery defense. He grabbed the puck, took a step to his right, and pushed the puck past Rickman’s outstretched left leg pad just inside the right post for his fifth goal of the season. The combined team led 2-0 less than three minutes into the second frame.

Four minutes later Roth was in the penalty box after being assessed a minor penalty for interference. Seven seconds later the combined team struck off the faceoff to begin the powerplay. From the right faceoff circle in the offensive zone, Upper Montgomery won the faceoff to the corner. Without taking a second to look at the situation on the ice, the Lightning defense smacked the puck up ice. The puck went to the right point to defender Igor Makarevich. Makarevich took at step to his left to better his angle at the net. He then sent a very weak shot which was heading way wide of the net to the left wing corner. As the puck traveled through the slot it clanked off the skates of Lightning ninth grade forward Nolan Veillette changing direction. The puck deflected directly north into the right side of the net that had been vacated after Rickman moved to his right to prepare to stop Makarevich’s shot. The defender’s unassisted goal was his first career high school goal. It left Upper Montgomery in a 3-0 hole half way through the contest.

Halfway through the game the combined team changed goalies. Northwest / Quince Orchard goalie Sean Wyatt was replaced by Wootton goalie Kevin Yu. On the next shift, Anderson was called for a hooking penalty. At the very end of the powerplay, Upper Montgomery got on the scoreboard. A Lightning scoring threat was repelled by the combined team which then iced the puck down to the Upper Montgomery defensive zone. Team captain, senior Jason Woodman raced back collecting the puck in his own end in the left defensive corner. He passed up to Lightning sophomore Decklin Hughes in neutral ice. Hughes carried the puck into the Upper Montgomery offensive zone down the left wing. With the combined team defense sagging back, Hughes had a clear path to the left faceoff circle. He wound up and fired a slapshot from the lower portion of the left faceoff circle. The puck went to the far side of the net under Yu’s left armpit high into the right corner of the net. For Hughes it was his first goal this season. The powerplay marker closed Upper Montgomery back to within two goals at 3-1.

Two minutes later the Lightning inched closer. A combined team turnover at the offensive blue line sent Upper Montgomery up ice in the opposite direction. The puck was taken by Lightning junior forward Mason Jagoz. He skated down the right wing brushing aside back pressure while entering the offensive zone. From the bottom of the right faceoff circle he shot wide of the far side of the net. The puck landed in the left wing corner, wound around the boards, and was kept in the offensive zone at the left point by Upper Montgomery sophomore defender Matt Rivera. Rivera quickly fired toward the net. His shot was blocked just outside the crease by the combined team defense. Upper Montgomery ninth grade center Wyatt Ostrander collected the puck. He took a stride to his right entering the middle of the slot where he unleashed a wrist shot on net. The puck went through Yu’s body seven hole under his left glove hand and arm to the right side of the net. Ostrander’s first career high school goal closed the combined team’s lead to 3-2 with just under four minutes remaining in the second period.

Forty seconds later, the combined team extended their lead to 4-2. Upper Montgomery had the puck in their own defensive zone. The team headed up the right wing side of the ice but the puck did not exit the defensive zone. Wootton defender Isaac Greene, the combined team’s most skilled student kept the puck in the zone before heading down the left wing boards. He cut to the crease around the Upper Montgomery defense. Going across the crease he went to his backhand sliding the puck past Rickman’s extended left leg at the far goal post for his sixth goal of the season. The second period closed with the combined team up 4-2, having outshot Upper Montgomery thirteen to seven.

Upper Montgomery seemingly found another burst of energy to begin the third period. Two and a half minutes into the third period, the Lightning fought back being down by only one goal once again at 4-3. The combined team sent the puck to the Upper Montgomery defensive zone. Lightning ninth grade defender Dylan Kim took the puck behind the net from the right to the left. He dished up the right wing boards to Ostrander. Ostrander carried the puck down ice along the right wing into the Lightning offensive zone. At the top of the right wing faceoff circle he cut to the middle into the slot where he fired a wrist shot on net. Yu made the save with the rebound shooting back out into the slot. Jagoz shot the rebound low along the ice to the left side of the net. The shot entered just inside the left goal post out of the reach of Yu’s right left pad. Jagoz’s fourth goal of the season gave the Lightning additional spirit trailing once again by just one goal with plenty of time remaining in the third period.

Just over a minute later, Greene scored his second unassisted goal of the game, his seventh of the season to take the combined team’s lead back to a two goal bulge at 5-3. After Upper Montgomery cleared the puck down ice, Greene had the puck in his own defensive zone along the left wing boards. Greene skated up ice through the neutral zone and into the Lightning defensive zone. He went around a flat footed Upper Montgomery defender. With a clear path to the net he went in directly at Rickman. Woodman came over from his left defender position laying a massive hit on Greene just as he was firing on net. Greene and Woodman both went flying as a result of the collision. The puck that Greene had shot went into the net five hole on Rickman. Greene took the brunt of the contact and was uninjured on the play. The hit left Woodman laying on the ice for some time. While he pleaded to return to the game, the Upper Montgomery coaching staff held him out for precautionary measures.

Thirteen seconds later off the center ice faceoff, Upper Montgomery was right back in the game. Hughes won the faceoff to his right with ninth grade forward Tima Zamaray jumping to the inside to gain possession of the puck. Zamaray took a circuitous route from the right side of the center ice circle into the offensive zone down the left wing outside the faceoff circle. He took the puck deep into the corner then around the net from the left to the right side of the ice. Advancing north of the goal line extended, with the puck on his forehand, he slammed the puck inside the right goal post and Yu’s left skate for a pretty wrap around goal, his third of the season. With eleven minutes remaining in the game, Zamaray’s goal pushed Upper Montgomery back to within one goal for the third consecutive sequence.

Upper Montgomery began rushing the puck up ice with skaters flying to the crease looking for the tying goal. Over the next four minutes several good Lightning scoring chances were blocked in front of the net. Then, with the puck at center ice along the far boards the teams fought for possession. The puck was taken by Wootton center Joseph Davis. He advanced up the right wing boards into the Upper Montgomery defensive zone. From the right faceoff circle he fired an innocent looking wrist shot at Rickman to the short side. Rickman did not pick up the puck as it went past his catching glove hand into the net for Davis’ first goal of the season. It was a goal that the young goalie would believe he should have stopped. The familiar swapping of goals continued with the combined team restoring it’s two goal margin at 6-4.

Two minutes later the Lightning were provided an excellent chance to get back to within one goal when defender Wilson Dong was called for a roughing penalty. Upper Montgomery went back on the powerplay looking to give itself an opportunity to claw back once again. From the right faceoff circle in the offensive zone, Davis won the faceoff to open the powerplay. He pushed the puck forward beating the Upper Montgomery defense to the puck before skating up ice out of his defensive zone. He continued through the neutral zone. At the Upper Montgomery defensive blue line he cut in between both Lightning defenders. Neither defender took the body allowing Davis to skate right through them. Coming in on Rickman he lost control of the puck before reaching out his stick to poke at the puck. His backhand connected with the puck sending it forward toward the crease. The puck slid under Rickman’s leg pads for his second straight goal, this one a shorthanded marker. Northwest / Quince Orchard / Wootton was up by three goals at 7-4 with four minutes left in regulation. The shorthanded goal took the fight out of the Lightning who had extended so much energy to get back into the game time after time.

The Lightning junior varsity continues to improve each week as the season has gone along. The schedule that Upper Montgomery has faced is has been very tough. The combined records of the teams that have beaten the Lightning are 18-5-1. After a short break, up next for Upper Montgomery will be a non-conference matchup against Harford County. For Upper Montgomery to be successful, the team will need to return to the strong physical style that has worked to keep the faster more skilled teams at bay. The Lightning have been competitive in every game for long stretches of play before the youth of the team gets exploited. A couple of wins over the second half of the season before the Montgomery Hockey Conference playoff begin will be a big boost for the team.

Game Notes:

• The combined Northwest / Quince Orchard / Wootton team outshot Upper Montgomery 29-21 during the game.
• Upper Montgomery ninth grade center Wyatt Ostrander scored his first career high school goal.
• Upper Montgomery junior forward Mason Jagoz scored his team leading fourth goal of the season.
• Upper Montgomery had three students with a goal and an assist; Decklin Hughes, Mason Jagoz, and Wyatt Ostrander.
• Lightning ninth grade goalie Stephen Rickman made his first career start for the team.
• The Lightning gave up their first shorthanded goal of the season.
• The Upper Montgomery junior varsity has a short break before returning to play a non-conference game against Harford County. Game time is 4:40 pm at Ice World in Abington, Maryland, on Monday, afternoon November 24th.

Three Stars of the Game:

First Star—Isaac Greene—Wootton Defense—2 Goals
Second Star—Wyatt Ostrander—Upper Montgomery Center—1 Goal, 1 Assist
Third Star—Eric Anderson—Wootton Defense—2 Assists

The Upper Montgomery Lightning exploded out to a giant lead for the second consecutive week. Unfortunately, unlike in the team’s season opening victory over the DC Stars, a horrendous third period handed the Silver Spring Blazers an implausible 8-7 win Friday night at the Rockville Ice Arena. Six third period goals including four over the final four minutes of regulation enabled Silver Spring to grab a win it did not deserve to earn. The Lightning student athletes must learn to finish games understanding that a high school hockey game is never over until the teams are being ushered off the ice. The Blazers huge comeback cements their team as the top squad in Division Two of the Montgomery Hockey Conference.

Not having senior team captain, top line center Owen Robbins for the game hurt the Lightning. Robbins is an excellent two way skater who reads the ice extremely well. He is a top notch back checker who interchanges with the defense very well. In his place, ninth grade center Wyatt Ostrander had to take a big step up, filling in admirably.

The game got off to a bit of a slow start with both teams missing out on some nice opportunities. Early on, Upper Montgomery realized areas that they could exploit against the Blazers. Six and a half minutes into the game, out of nowhere, Silver Spring jumped in front 1-0. From the left point in the offensive zone, Upper Montgomery’s defense fired a shot wide of the far side of the net. Silver Spring defender Simon Holland picked up the puck along the left wing boards in his defensive zone. He carried the puck out to center ice on the left side. He continued down ice into the Upper Montgomery defensive zone. Holland avoided an attempted stick check from a backchecking Upper Montgomery forward. From the left faceoff circle he fired a wrist shot high glove side on Upper Montgomery netminder, Porter Stutsrim-Lyons, starting in place of Ilan Shterenberg. The unassisted goal was his first of the season. It was also the first goal given up by the Lightning this year.

Upper Montgomery did not let the opening goal affect them. Indeed, only twenty seconds later the score was tied, the Lightning’s early deficit quickly erased. Lightning senior defender Brady Berkhammer had the puck in his own defensive zone on the left side. He fired a cross ice pass into the neutral zone looking for Upper Montgomery ninth grade forward Miles Gleason on the right wing. The pass was a little behind Gleason who made a nifty deflection of the puck to glance it forward in front of where he was skating. He streaked down the right side of the ice past the left Silver Spring defender into the offensive zone. Gleason unleashed a wrist shot from the bottom of the right faceoff circle which was saved by Blazers goalie Myle Amirthalingam. That sequence set up a faceoff in the right faceoff circle in the Blazers defensive zone. Ostrander won the draw to the right wing boards to Gleason. Gleason sent the puck cross ice to the left point for Berkhammer. Berkhammer took the puck down the left wing boards to the bottom of the left faceoff circle. From below the goal line, he sent the puck back into the slot where Gleason was cutting towards the net. From the right side of the slot, Gleason one touch shot the puck high over Amirthalingam’s glove hand into the top right corner of the net. Gleason’s first goal of the night, fifth of the season quickly took care of Silver Spring’s early advantage. For Ostrander, the assist was his first career high school point in either junior varsity or varsity competition.

Gleason’s goal seemed to unleash the Lightning. Thirty seconds later on the next shift, Upper Montgomery took the lead. A Blazers forward skated toward the blue line in their offensive zone. At the blue line he attempted to make a play. Upper Montgomery senior forward, Philip Shkeda blocked the play with his skates. With both Blazers defenders split wide along the blue line, Shkeda rocketed up ice straight down the middle. With two Silver Spring defenders chasing after him applying heavy back pressure, Shkeda entered the offensive zone. While being pushed wide of the left goal post, he shoveled a backhanded shot at the net. The puck glided along the ice going under the left leg pad of Amirthalingam. Shkeda’s fourth goal of the season had Upper Montgomery in front.

A minute later Upper Montgomery senior forward Jason Woodman was called for roughing on a play where the Silver Spring defender turned just prior to Woodman making contact. Before Woodman could return to the ice, Blazers defender Tobias Lin was called for an interference penalty while trying to slow down Gleason. With both teams having a skater in the penalty box, the teams skated four on four with Upper Montgomery to have a short powerplay in thirty seconds. Except, while at four on four, Berkhammer saw daylight open up as he skated down the left wing. He went all the way around the Blazers defender then cut toward the net. As he approached the goal crease, Amirthalingam attempted a poke check, but missed tripping up Berkhammer. The goalie’s penalty gave the Lightning a brief four on three powerplay for six seconds before Woodman returned to the ice making the Upper Montgomery powerplay a five on three advantage.

Woodman went straight to the front of the net which is his role on the powerplay. With Woodman causing all kinds of commotion in front of the net, getting outright tackled then getting back up and continuing to be pounded on, the Upper Montgomery shooters could not put the puck on net or they passed up shots looking for one great pretty play. As the second Blazers penalty was set to expire Upper Montgomery junior center Aiden Zheng won a faceoff in the defensive zone to Berkhammer in the left corner. Berkhammer slung the puck up ice out to the neutral zone. Gleason was able collect the puck after a fast charging Blazers defender missed it while rushing forward. Gleason was off to the races on a clear breakaway from inside the red line. Gleason came in directly at Amirthalingam, made a forehand fake shifting to his backhand. He deposited the puck over Amirthalingam outstretched right leg pad for a powerplay goal. Gleason’s second goal of the night, sixth of the season extended Upper Montgomery’s lead to 3-1. Although getting outshot by the Blazers eleven to eight during the first period, it was Silver Spring who were clearly dazed as they did not know who was sprinting past them up ice each shift.

The beginning of the second period was a carbon copy of the end of the first period. More high flying offense from the Lightning. A minute into the second period, Gleason was back at it. Goal number seven of the season, his hat-trick goal. The Blazers lost possession of the puck in the Lightning defensive zone. Berkhammer got to the puck first sending a pass up to Shkeda across the defensive blue line at center ice. Shkeda sent the puck wide to Gleason who entered the offensive zone along the right side of the ice. Coming with speed he again went around the Silver Spring defense reaching the bottom of the right faceoff circle. Gleason cut to the goal mouth where he faked an in close forehand shot. Amirthalingam was completely fooled by the fake. Gleason pulled the puck back, took a step to his left, before depositing a backhand shot into the wide open net left side of the net.

Three minutes later, Upper Montgomery extended the advantage to a 5-1 lead. A faceoff started from the right faceoff circle in the Upper Montgomery defensive zone. The Blazers controlled the draw. Berkhammer stole the puck behind the Lightning net. He skated out the left side of the defensive zone all the way up through the neutral zone. He was in with Gleason on a two on one rush. Berkhammer took the puck around the Blazers defense yet again. With Amirthalingam playing shot, Berkhammer laid a perfect pass across the slot to Gleason. With Amirthalingam honoring Berkhammer’s shot, the young goalie had no chance when Gleason’s wrist shot entered the goal just inside the near side right goal post. Gleason had exploded for four goals in back to back games bringing his total on the young season to eight.

The next eight minutes of the game saw Upper Montgomery continue to pressure Silver Spring. While the Blazers did generate shots, many of the shots were from distance or bad angles which Stutsrim-Lyons was able to easily shove aside. With under three minutes remaining in the second period, Silver Spring had possession of the puck behind the Lightning net. A stick check by Berkhammer jostled the puck loose. Berkhammer gained possession of the puck, reversing direction back into the right corner. Under pressure he pushed the puck forward to Gleason along the right wing boards. Gleason sent an outlet pass to Shkeda breaking behind the Blazers defense at center ice. Shkeda had to track down the aerial pass along the left wing boards in the Silver Spring defensive zone. At the bottom of the left wing faceoff circle he jump cut around the Blazers defender while stick handling past. He recovered the puck just outside the crease and shot to the near side of the net while being buried. The puck went low past Amirthalingam’s right leg pad for Shkeda’s second goal of the game, fifth on the season.

Upper Montgomery had what the students thought was an insurmountable lead, up 6-1 with under three minutes remaining in the second period. A minute later Silver Spring would get one back. Upper Montgomery dumped the puck deep into the Silver Spring defensive end. Blazers defender Ethan Hedberg collected the puck in his left defensive corner. He swung the puck to his defensive partner Joseph Killebrew in the right defensive corner. Killebrew absorbed a big hit from Upper Montgomery ninth grade forward Tima Zamaray. Zamaray took the brunt of the contact falling to the ice while Killebrew retained control of the puck. Killebrew found Blazers forward Alexander Azcarate in the neutral zone with his outlet pass. Azcarate was joined by fellow forward Victor Dvorson on a two on two rush into the Upper Montgomery defensive zone. The Lightning were in good position defensively. Dvorson skated wide around the Upper Montgomery right defender along the outside of the left faceoff circle. Once clear of the defense Dvorson sent a laser of a wrist shot near side high over Stutsrim-Lyons right shoulder to notch his third goal of the season. While being outshot 25-16 through two periods of play, Upper Montgomery maintained a large four goal lead entering the third period.

The third period saw Silver Spring come out with more passion and enthusiasm. Upper Montgomery was able to weather the storm chewing through the first five minutes of the period. An extremely questionable high sticking penalty on Berkhammer put the Blazers on the powerplay. Halfway through the penalty kill Upper Montgomery dumped the puck down ice and was putting pressure on the Blazers in their own defensive zone. Dvorson skated the puck out of the Silver Spring defensive zone. Reaching the neutral zone he sent a pass to the right wing boards for Holland. Holland entered the Upper Montgomery defensive zone on the right side. He curled up, drifting to the bottom of the right faceoff circle. Looking to pass he drew Stutsrim-Lyons off the angle before firing a wrist shot far side into the net past the Lightning goalie’s stick and blocker for his second tally of the evening and of the season. Silver Spring was now energized having scored the last two goals.

Twenty seconds later the Upper Montgomery let down was clearly evident. A Lightning turnover at center ice was picked up by Silver Spring forward Michael Poresky. The hulking forward entered the Lightning defensive zone along the left. Surrounded by three Upper Montgomery skaters who all swiped at the puck rather than playing the body, he was able to get free firing a wrist shot at the net. From the left faceoff circle, the shot went past a partially screened Stutsrim-Lyons and his glove to the right side of the net. With nine minutes remaining in regulation, Silver Spring was only down by two goals 6-4.

Upper Montgomery struggled through the next five minutes retaining its two goal cushion. With four minutes left in the game, a faceoff draw in the left faceoff circle in Upper Montgomery’s defensive zone was won by Shkeda. The puck went back to Upper Montgomery junior defender Max Curtusan. Curtusan fired the puck around the Lightning goal up the left wing boards to Gleason. Gleason received the puck along the right wing boards in the defensive zone. He shot up ice down into the Silver Spring defensive zone. Gleason curled up interchanging passes with Shkeda. Shkeda placed a pass to Ostrander in the high slot. Ostrander’s shot toward the net hit Gleason’s body in front. The puck dropped to the ice a foot from the goal crease where Gleason knocked it in for his fifth goal of the game, ninth of the season. The nine goals are the top total in the Montgomery Hockey Conference through two weeks of play.

With a three goal lead reestablished and just four minutes to play, Upper Montgomery’s students thought that the game was over even though the coaching staff was preaching in vain that the team still needed to play hard. The game was far from over. On the next shift, a mere twenty seconds after Upper Montgomery reclaimed their three goal lead, the score became 7-5. Holland’s hat-trick and third of the season kept the Blazers alive. Upper Montgomery shot the puck wide in the offensive zone. Inexplicably, with the Blazers headed out of their defensive zone, a Lightning defender pinched in at the blue line when all the team was supposed to do was play defense. Blazers defender Rakshay Narayanan sent a backhand pass up the boards to Dvorson. Dvorson got past the blue line pinch and gave the puck to Holland. He skated all the way into the Upper Montgomery defensive zone. Holland shot low to the far side from the left faceoff circle past Stutsrim-Lyons low glove hand. It was nearly an identical shot that Poresky scored on earlier in the period. With three and a half minutes left in regulation, the Lightning held a two goal lead.

On the next shift, Lin backhand lobbed the puck out of his defensive zone to the left wing in the neutral zone. Upper Montgomery dumped the puck back into the Silver Spring defensive zone. Narayanan passed to Holland in the neutral zone. Entering the offensive zone once again down the left side, he fired a shot from the side boards. Stutsrim-Lyons made a paddle save with his stick but did not control the rebound. The puck shot to the slot where Blazers forward Liam Redding chopped the puck back toward him. With Stutsrim-Lyons covering the left side of the net, Redding had a lot of space over to the right where the chop shot went. Redding’s second goal of the season brought Silver Spring back to within one goal at 7-6 with 2:45 minutes remaining.

Off the center ice faceoff, Blazers center William Campbell won the draw forward. Poresky grabbed the puck heading forward into the Upper Montgomery defensive zone. He split in between both Lightning defenders in alone on Stutsrim-Lyons. He elected to shoot from about ten feet in front of the goal. Stutsrim-Lyons made a very good right leg pad save. With both Lightning defenders converging on Poresky, Campbell was all alone in interior of the left faceoff circle. He fired the rebound past the Lightning goalie’s glove hand to tie the game. For Campbell it was his second goal on the season.

With the game tied and 2:30 left to go in regulation, both teams had multiple skaters back focusing on defense. It helped Upper Montgomery because Silver Spring changed their go forward at all costs strategy to play for the tie and overtime after coming back from being down by five goals. A shell shocked Upper Montgomery squad could not believe that the five goal led had slipped away. With twenty seconds to go in regulation time Silver Spring iced the puck. Upper Montgomery had a late chance with a faceoff in the right faceoff circle in the offensive zone. While Upper Montgomery won the offensive zone draw, they were outraced to the loose puck by Poresky. Poresky carried the puck forward into the neutral zone then into the Upper Montgomery defensive zone. The Lightning were able to stop Poresky’s offensive rush with the puck popping back out to neutral ice.

Holland then collected the puck entering the Upper Montgomery defensive zone again on the left. His shot from the familiar left faceoff circle was wide of the net with the puck tumbling up the right wing boards to Poresky. Poresky swung the puck deep into right corner with the puck sliding all the way around the net. The puck traveled all the way up the opposite wing boards to near the left point. Holland stepped in to grab the puck then curled back once his path was cut off. From the boards just inside the blue line he sent a desperation shot toward the goal. Partially screened, Stutsrim-Lyons picked up the puck late as it flew past his right shoulder on his stick side and into the back of the twine. With under four seconds left, Silver Spring’s dramatic comeback had concluded. The Blazers had overcome a five goal deficit near the end of the second period. They had survived being down by three goals with four minutes remaining and had pulled out an improbable victory.

For Upper Montgomery it was a crushing defeat after having the game sewn up. While the coaching staff will spin the outcome as a teaching lesson, it is inexcusable to have such a large lead not come out with the victory. The loss was all due to lack of playing within the Lightning’s structure of play. The students collectively let each other down by deviating from the style of play that had given the the team a huge lead. What was also concerning was that the team reverted back to playing pretty hockey where offense was the focus. The lack of physicality over the back half of the game. The lack of focus on defense, first, second, and always were the root cause of the team’s demise. Hopefully, with a week off before their next game, Upper Montgomery can forget the collapse and move past this debacle.

Game Notes:

• Upper Montgomery was outshot by Silver Spring 38-24 for the game.
• Upper Montgomery gave up six goals in the third period, four in the last four minutes of regulation.
• Upper Montgomery senior defender Brady Berkhammer set a personal career high with five assists in the game. The five points were also a career high.
• Berkhammer leads the Montgomery Hockey Conference in assists with nine over two games.
• Lightning ninth grade forward Miles Gleason outscored his opening night performance with five goals. He now has nine goals on the season leading the Montgomery Hockey Conference in goals with nine and in points with twelve, six in each game.
• Lightning ninth grade center Wyatt Ostrander notched his first two career high school points with assists.
• Lightning junior center Aiden Zheng added an assist for his first point of the season.
• Upper Montgomery returns to action next Friday evening against the Northwest / Quince Orchard Jaguars. Game time is 6:40 pm at the Rockville Ice Arena.

Three Stars of the Game:

First Star—Simon Holland—Silver Spring Defense—4 Goals, 1 Assist, GWG with Four Seconds Remaining
Second Star—Miles Gleason—Upper Montgomery Forward—5 Goals, 1 Assist
Third Star—Brady Berkhammer—Upper Montgomery Defense—5 Assists

The Upper Montgomery Lightning junior varsity came off their first win of the season last week over the DC Stars looking to string together two consecutive victories. The team knew that playing the undefeated 3-0-1 Bulldogs was going to be a tall challenge but one the team felt they were ready to embrace. After a rocky first period where the Lightning were outshot fourteen to one, the team played with vigor and energy over the final two periods but could not overcome two own goals in the opening period before eventually falling to Churchill by a score of 3-1.

The first five minutes of the game were difficult for the Lightning as they adjusted to Churchill’s overall team speed and size. The team failed to play with a physical toughness that the coaching staff has instituted since the pre-season off ice practice sessions. Thus, the Bulldogs were able to skate around in the offensive zone continuingly firing pucks at Upper Montgomery ninth grade netminder George Schickler who was making his second career start for the Lightning. There was way too much sticking sticks out in an attempt to break up plays rather than sound fundamental defensive zone positioning with gritty toughness. Right when it looked like Upper Montgomery had settled down into the game disaster struck for the first time in the period.

Churchill forward Amelia Martin carried the puck down the left wing from Churchill’s defensive zone to the Upper Montgomery defensive zone. She cut toward the middle but was forced wide by the Upper Montgomery defense. Martin was eventually able to get off a weak shot from the lower right circle that was an easy stick save for Schickler. In the left corner the puck was retrieved by Churchill forward Jessica Tang. She sent a pass back to the point for monstrous Churchill defender Mingshuo Chang. His long range shot was blocked just in front of Schickler by the Lightning defense. Tang again was able to harness the loose puck, this time sending the puck far side to Churchill defender Olivia Hopkins at the right point. Hopkins sent a long range wrister at the net. Upon approach into the slot the puck deflected off of Upper Montgomery ninth grade center Wyatt Ostrander’s stick changing directions. With Schickler tracking the puck to his right, the deflection volleyed the puck in the other direction to the vacated near side of the goal. Before Schickler could react to the puck’s change of direction it was by him into the net. Hopkins’ first goal of the season put the Bulldogs in front 1-0.

A minute and a half later Churchill went on the powerplay when Upper Montgomery junior defender Max Curtusan was called for a roughing penalty. From a faceoff in the left faceoff circle in the Upper Montgomery defensive zone, Churchill center Saami Yousufi won the draw to the open left wing boards. Churchill forward Evan Chen was unopposed allowing him to easily gather the puck. His diagonal cross ice pass found Hopkins at the right point. Her pass down low to the right faceoff circle looking for the far side forward was intercepted by the Upper Montgomery defense. The attempted defensive zone clear hit Churchill forward Rama Allsopp in the hip. Allsopp dug the puck out of the right corner before sending a wild spinning pass up ice that almost cleared the offensive zone for Upper Montgomery. The puck was kept in the zone by Chang as the penalty to Curtusan expired. Chang skated in to the top of the faceoff circles where he sent a laser of a wrist shot to the top right corner of the net over Schickler’s glove hand for his third goal of the season.

Three minutes later the Bulldogs were back on the powerplay when Lightning ninth grade defender Lenny Roth was whistled for a high sticking penalty. Upper Montgomery scrambled through the second Churchill powerplay keeping the Lightning in the game only down two goals. As the opening period wound down to the final buzzer disaster struck again. Upper Montgomery skated the puck into the Bulldog defensive zone down the left wing boards. Hopkins stepped up, shutting off the rush in the left corner. She won a puck battle with Upper Montgomery skaters and kicked the puck over to Chang standing behind his net. As the clock ticked under four seconds to go in the first period Chang innocently banked the puck off the left wing boards in his defensive zone all the way down the ice. His objective was to kill off the remaining time in the period. Schickler tracked the puck realizing it was going on net. He seemed confused on how to stop the puck. Just before it reached him he lifted his goal stick off the ice to catch or smother the puck in his glove. The puck went under his goal stick, missed his glove, and squirted between his legs before settling into the back of the net. It could have been a back breaking goal with point two seconds left in the period. Chang’s second goal of the game and fourth on the season had the possibility of being a crushing knockout blow.

Showing resilience, the Lightning did not let the late goal diminish their spirits. The team started skating more. While not necessarily playing more physical, the team made more of an effort to obstruct Churchill offensive rushes up ice. Just under five minutes into the second period, Upper Montgomery sophomore defender Matt Rivera made an end to end rush that yielded his third goal of the season, all scored on similar end to end rushes. Rivera captured possession of the puck behind his own net. He sent a bank pass to himself off the right wing boards exiting the Upper Montgomery defensive zone. He travelled up ice down the right wing. Entering the Churchill defensive zone he cut wide around the Churchill defense. Gaining clearance of the Bulldogs defense, Rivera then cut to the net. As he skated through the lower right faceoff circle, Rivera sent a low wrist shot near side over Churchill senior goalie Nick Nelson’s catching glove to the back of the twine.

Upper Montgomery continued to push for more offense over the balance of the second period. Unfortunately, there was too much individual play which allowed the Churchill defense and back tracking forwards to easily break up scoring thrusts. A bright spot for the Lightning was the play of ninth grade goalie Stephen Rickman who replaced Schickler approximately halfway through the game on a planned goalie split. Rickman saw seventeen shots over his time in the game and he made all seventeen saves. It was his first career high school appearance for Upper Montgomery.

The third period was a continuation of the second period, Upper Montgomery attempted to generate offense without much success. Churchill attacked as well but was unable to increase their 3-1 lead. With four and a half minutes remaining in the game, Upper Montgomery was provided a golden opportunity to close the margin. Churchill’s top scorer, forward Kevin O’Connor was called for a boarding minor penalty for railing Upper Montgomery captain and senior forward Jason Woodman into the boards. Upper Montgomery was headed to their first powerplay of the game. Just as important, O’Connor was assessed the automatic misconduct penalty associated with the boarding minor. He would not be able to rejoin the game until late in overtime should the game reach that point. Unfortunately, the Lightning were unable to mount much pressure against the Bulldogs penalty killers. Upper Montgomery had one last chance in the final minute when Churchill forward George Kilavos was called for hooking. The Lightning pulled Rickman in favor of an extra skater. Even with a two skater advantage, the Lightning were not able to get a second goal.

The Lightning junior varsity has continued to improve each week. Up next will be the combined Northwest / Quince Orchard / Wootton junior varsity team. Another opponent which has won four out of their five games so far. For Upper Montgomery to be successful, the team will need to return to the strong physical style that has worked to keep faster more skilled teams at bay. It will be interesting to see what Halloween surprises come about as both programs’ varsity teams play directly after the junior varsity game. Many of the students play for both the junior varsity and varsity teams. Additionally, there is no school on the Monday following this weekend’s games. Many external travel teams will be out of town so roster composition next week will have a major impact on the results of all of the high school games.

Game Notes:

• Upper Montgomery was badly outshot during the game. Churchill had the advantage 37-8, including fourteen to one in the decisive first period and thirteen to four in the middle period.
• Lightning ninth grade goalie Stephen Rickman made his first career appearance for the team and stopped all seventeen shots he faced.
• The Lightning were two for two on the penalty kill increasing their success rate to nine for ten on the season.
• Upper Montgomery sophomore defender Matt Rivera scored on an end to end rush for the third consecutive game.
• It is the second consecutive season that Churchill senior goalie Nick Nelson held Upper Montgomery to one goal.
• The Upper Montgomery junior varsity plays their next game on Halloween afternoon, Friday, October 31st against the Northwest / Quince Orchard / Wootton combined team. Puck drop is 5:10 pm at Rockville Ice Arena.

Three Stars of the Game:

First Star—Mingshuo Chang—Churchill Defense—2 Goals, 1 Assist
Second Star—Olivia Hopkins—Churchill Defense—1 Goal, 1 Assist
Third Star—Stephen Rickman—Upper Montgomery Goalie—17 Saves, 100% Save Percentage

The Upper Montgomery Lightning varsity squad was anticipated to have a hard time scoring goals this season. With a roster littered with students that had not played meaningful minutes on the varsity team, the preseason poll had Upper Montgomery ranked eleventh out of the twelve teams in Montgomery County. The coaching staff changed the Lightning’s playing style to account for the team’s lack of experience. Upper Montgomery was going to have to play a more physical defensive style to remain competitive in games. Well, the program could not have asked for more in their season opener Friday evening against the DC Stars. It was a treat for both teams to play at the Medstar Iceplex (home of the Washington Capitals practice facility). Behind their top offensive line, the Lightning obliterated the DC Stars 8-0 in a game that was more lopsided than the final score indicates.

Honestly, the Lightning coaching staff had no idea what to expect of the team entering the game against the ninth ranked Stars. A dominant first two periods left the coaching staff uncertain of what this year’s Lightning could achieve. A four goal first period outburst gave notice to the rest of the county that Upper Montgomery needed to be taken seriously. The Lightning were going to be much better than the second to last ranked team.

Concluding the initial shift of the game, Lightning ninth grade forward Miles Gleason scored his first career high school goal. The play started with the DC Stars dumping the puck deep into the Upper Montgomery defensive zone. Junior goalie Ilan Shterenberg stopped the puck behind his own net before he handed the puck to senior defender Brady Berkhammer. Berkhammer continued to the right behind his own net before pivoting back to his left. He rushed up the left wing boards out of the Lightning defensive zone through neutral ice continuing down the boards into the DC Stars defensive zone. At the bottom of the left faceoff circle he sent a pass across the goal mouth toward Gleason cutting down the slot. Gleason fought through a Stars defender’s stick check banging in the pass past DC Stars backup goaltender Gabriel Sokol, a surprise starter in net for Lightning nemesis Anton Tracy.

Two and a half minutes later Gleason made it two for two. The Stars cleared their defensive zone carrying the puck into the Upper Montgomery defensive zone where they lost control of the puck in the right defensive corner. A Stars forward carried the puck around the back of the Lightning net toward the left corner where he was harassed by Upper Montgomery senior forward Philip Shkeda. Shkeda’s persistence on defense led to a turnover up the left wing boards. Lightning captain, senior center Owen Robbins gathered the puck feathering a beautiful bank pass up the left wing boards out of the defensive zone. Gleason used his speed to skate in from the right wing past all of the Stars defenders to collect the puck in the left faceoff circle in the Stars defensive zone. Gleason cut in on Sokol shooting low, far side past Sokol’s glove hand to extend the Lightning lead to 2-0.

After the two quick goals, the Stars were shell shocked. They played much more conservatively over the next eight minutes of game time. It still didn’t slow down Upper Montgomery as the top line, with Berkhammer’s contributions from the back end, flew into the offensive zone every shift. The only saving grace for the Stars was that many of the Lightning’s shots just missed the net high or wide, or on a few occasions, wide open empty net chances were thwarted by passes that just missed the mark by a fraction.

With two and a half minutes remaining in the opening period, Upper Montgomery tallied again. The Stars defense reversed the puck in the left corner of their own defensive end managing to get the puck out to neutral ice. Lightning junior defender Miles Wendland gathered the puck in the neutral zone where he made a swift pass up to Robbins who was standing at center ice. Robbins deflected the puck off of his backhand deep into the Stars defensive end down the left wing boards. The puck spun all the way behind the Stars net where in error the Stars defense sent an attempted outlet pass directly to Robbins in the bottom of the left faceoff circle. Robbins fired a quick snap shot at Sokol. His shot was stopped by Shkeda in the slot, with the forward sending a spinning backhand shot past Sokol for his initial goal of the evening and season.

The Lightning were not done. With less than thirty seconds remaining in the first period the score bulged to 4-0. From a faceoff in the right faceoff circle in the offensive zone, Robbins won the draw to the right wing boards. A corner battle ensued where the Stars fired the puck to the right point where Robbins’ younger sister sophomore defender Lillian Robbins kept the puck in the offensive zone. Her shot sailed wide of the net caroming around to the Wendland at the left point. Wendland’s shot was blocked by the Stars defensive just outside the crease. Owen Robbins smacked the puck toward the goal were Sokol made a save with the puck returning to Robbins. He carried the puck around the net from left to right. Clearing the right goal post he centered the puck off of his backhand for Gleason in the slot. The pass banged off of Gleason’s legs toward the net where it eluded Sokol. Gleason’s first period hat-trick sent the teams to intermission with the Stars reeling, not knowing what ran through them over the opening fifteen minutes of action.

The second period was a repeat of the first fifteen minutes. A minute and a half into the second period, the score became 5-0. Shkeda carried the puck down the right wing into the Stars defensive zone. He layered the puck to Owen Robbins behind the net. Robbins took the puck out the right side where he reversed the puck back to Shkeda. While the DC Stars were puck watching, Shkeda had stepped out from behind the goal line right in front of the net. Shkeda’s backhand shot was blocked by the Stars defense. Gleason corralled the puck in the left faceoff circle. He dumped the puck down low to Berkhammer who had skated in from his left defensive position to support the play. Berkhammer had the puck below the goal line in the right corner. He took the puck behind the net to the left, then reversed and returned to the right where he sent a saucer pass over a Stars defender’s stick to Gleason still in the left faceoff circle. Gleason swung the puck across the ice to Robbins covering at the right point. Robbins’ shot through traffic hit pay dirt as it whizzed past Sokol seven hole between his body and stick side arm. After a three assist first period, Robbins had his initial goal of the season.

Four minutes later Gleason had his fourth goal of the evening. The Stars defense dumped the puck into the Upper Montgomery defensive zone. Berkhammer controlled the puck to the left of the Lightning net. He looked up ice spotting Gleason breaking down the right wing. A beautiful stretch pass hit him in stride between the red line and offensive blue line. Gleason accepted the pass heading in alone on a breakaway. With the Stars defense hustling back to try to cut off Gleason, the speedy forward stayed to the right. He made a quick head fake like he was going toward the middle of the net. Instead, he fired a wrist shot from six feet in front of the net high just inside the near side goal post, once again picking on Sokol’s glove hand. Before the second period was six minutes old, the game had transitioned into running clock. It also enabled the Upper Montgomery coaching staff to begin rolling forward lines giving the younger students regular shifts in a varsity game with little pressure attached.

Late in the second period, Shkeda would score his second goal of the evening. Off of a faceoff in the left faceoff circle in the Lightning offensive zone, Robbins won the draw to the left wing boards to Shkeda. Shkeda immediately sent the puck to the left point to Wendland. Wendland’s long range wrist shot was blocked by the Stars defense which allowed them to clear their defensive zone. Gleason backtracked to possess the puck in the neutral zone. He skated the puck into the offensive zone down the left wing boards. At the bottom of the left wing circle he sent a backhand pass toward Owen Robbins cutting toward the net from the right faceoff circle. Gleason’s pass was slightly off the mark, just a little behind Owen Robbins. The puck went all the way through to the right point where it was kept in the offensive zone by Lillian Robbins. She sent the puck low to the right corner finding Gleason. Gleason’s second attempt to find Owen Robbins in the right faceoff circle was successful, once both Stars defenders went after the puck and missed it. Owen Robbins fired past Sokol low to the near side with the puck striking iron. Shkeda hunted for the rebound sliding the puck low along the ice to the far side of the net before Sokol could locate the rebound.

The only question at the start of the third period was whether or not Shterenberg would earn his first career varsity shutout. At 7-0 the game was over. Two minutes into the third period, Shkeda tallied to earn his first career high school hat-trick. The Stars cleared their defensive zone. The attempted outlet pass was intercepted by Berkhammer in neutral ice. Berkhammer entered the offensive zone down the left side where he was stood up by the Stars defense. The puck was left for Shkeda just inside the offensive blue line. Shkeda sent the puck wide over to the right for Gleason in the right faceoff circle. Gleason’s quick release snapped a wrist shot high and wide of the net. The puck rolled around the boards all the way to Upper Montgomery sophomore defender Matt Rivera at the left point. Rivera dropped the puck to the left corner for Berkhammer. Berkhammer and Shkeda interchanged passing the puck back and forth. Berkhammer took the puck hard to the net where he lost possession. The puck tumbled into the slot where it caromed off the DC Stars defense until Shkeda backhand smacked the puck at the net. Sokol stood unsuspecting as the puck went past his skates into the goal. The only matter left to decide was whether the Lightning could play a solid thirteen minutes of defensive hockey to preserve Shterenberg’s first ever goose egg.

With the lopsided victory the Lightning served notice to the county that the team is far better than the second to last place team. The eight goals were the most scored in the county during the opening week of conference action. Upper Montgomery could have kept scoring, but pulled back once the game was out of hand. The only downside to the obliteration of the DC Stars is now the Lightning will not sneak up on any team in the county. Everyone will be prepared to play the Lightning keen on stopping the team’s offense. Will the offensive explosion continue next week against the Silver Spring Blazers, another team projected to be better than Upper Montgomery? Or, was the Lightning’s offensive performance a one time mirage due to how bad the DC Stars might be this season? Time will tell.

Game Notes:

• Upper Montgomery was outshot in the game 25-22. The Lightning scored eight goals on their 22 shots on net.
• Upper Montgomery forward Miles Gleason’s six points are a program record for a ninth grader. 
• Upper Montgomery forward Miles Gleason is the first Lightning ninth grade varsity student athlete to score a hat-trick in his first ever high school game.
• After the first week of the season, Upper Montgomery has the top three scorers in the county, Gleason, Owen Robbins, and Berkhammer.
• Upper Montgomery senior forward Philip Shkeda scored his first career high school hat-trick.
• Lightning junior goalie Ilan Shterenberg stopped all 25 shots on goal for his first career varsity shutout.
• With his four assists, senior defender Brady Berkhammer made a huge dent in closing the gap in the number of assists he needs to qualify for the Maryland Student Hockey League High School Hockey Hall of Fame.
• Upper Montgomery senior captain Owen Robbins’ five point evening set a personal career high for points a game.
• Upper Montgomery did not have a powerplay in the game.
• The Upper Montgomery varsity is next in action on Friday, October 24th when the team plays the Silver Spring Blazers. Game time is 8:30 pm at the Rockville Ice Arena.

Three Stars of the Game:

First Star—Miles Gleason—Upper Montgomery Forward—4 Goals, 2 Assists
Second Star—Brady Berkhammer—Upper Montgomery Defense—4 Assists
Third Star—Ilan Shterenberg—Upper Montgomery Goalie—25 Save Shutout, 1 Assist

The Upper Montgomery Lightning junior varsity played a team with comparable talent on Friday night when they met up with the DC Stars at the Medstar Iceplex (home of the Washington Capitals practice facility). Not having to play one of the top teams in the county was all the team needed to hear. The young Lightning took it from there burying the Stars with an avalanche of goals to earn their first victory of the season. Although the teams appeared to be evenly matched on paper, Upper Montgomery was by far the stronger team and had an enormous advantage in net.

The game got off to a bit of an odd start as Upper Montgomery sophomore forward Max Israfilbek encountered a skate problem that forced him to miss the entire first period of the game. With the coaching staff already having to adjust the lines to account for the absence of junior defender Max Curtusan, the list of available forwards had shrunk considerably. Senior captain Jason Woodman dropped back to play defense and with Israfilbek not out on the ice, the Lightning were down to six available forwards. After the first couple of shifts, the Lightning settled down into two cohesive forward lines.

Three and a half minutes into the game, Lightning sophomore defender, alternate captain Matt Rivera gave Upper Montgomery the lead. For the second consecutive game he raced up ice on an end to end rush something the coaching staff has been encouraging him to do more and more. The Stars had the puck in the Upper Montgomery defensive zone. A shot from the left faceoff circle flew wide of the net. Rivera picked up the puck in his left defensive corner. He carried the puck up ice out of the defensive zone down the left side of the ice. He traveled through neutral ice down into the DC Stars defensive zone. At the top of the left faceoff circle he he cut towards the slot before swerving back toward the left goal post. As he neared the crease he skated to the right while shooting with his forehand back against where he had skated in from. Stars goalie Rhys Seiden-Maloney hurried to his left in anticipation of Rivera continuing to go across the crease. He was caught by surprise and way out of position when Rivera lifted the puck into the wide open near side of the net for his second goal of the season.

The flow of the game for the next seven minutes was choppy. Upper Montgomery’s defensive style was out of sync with the lineup changes. With just under five minutes left in the first period, the Stars took advantage. A Stars defender took possession of the puck in his own defensive zone. He quickly passed the puck wide to the left wing to Stars forward Harry Fishman. Fishman was stood up in neutral ice so he fired the puck back over to the right where fellow forward Felix Fougere stood at the center red line. Fougere entered the Lightning defensive zone on the right side of the ice. With both Upper Montgomery defenders converging on him along with a back checking Lightning forward, Fougere sent a nifty centering pass to Robert Joachim. Joachim found himself all alone because of the overplay by the Upper Montgomery defense. He faked a shot deking around Lightning netminder Porter Stutsrim-Lyons to the right side of the net. With a prone Stutsrim-Lyons looking on hoping that Joachim would lose control of the puck, it was not to be as Joachim deposited the puck into the open net evening the score with his second goal of the season.

With the score tied Upper Montgomery showed a burst offensively over the final five minutes of the opening period, almost as if the DC Stars goal served as a wake up call. An Upper Montgomery dump into the DC Stars defensive end was stopped by Seiden-Maloney. He shifted the puck to his defense. Lightning ninth grade right wing Tima Zamaray came in hard on the forecheck. The Stars defender skated directly into Zamaray who lifted the puck off his stick. From the left faceoff circle, Zamaray sent a wrist shot high to the far side of the net. Seiden-Maloney got his glove up but not high enough. The puck clipped off the top of the goalie’s glove dropping down towards the goal line. It snaked across the goal line just before Upper Montgomery junior forward Mason Jagoz buried it to the back of the net. Zamaray’s first career high school goal gave Upper Montgomery the lead once again.

On the duo’s next shift they connected to increase Upper Montgomery’s lead to 3-1. Off of a faceoff in neutral ice outside the Stars defensive blue line, junior center Jackson Schickler won the faceoff forward. Zamaray reached the puck first heading down the right wing into the offensive zone. At the bottom of the right faceoff circle, he sent a spinning backhand pass to the slot. Jagoz controlled the sharp pass on his own backhand, took a step toward the net, and roofed a rising backhand shot high over Seiden-Maloney’s stick and blocker for his first goal of the season.

The second period saw Israfilbek return to active participation in the game. His arrival jumbled up the line combinations. It took the Lightning a few minutes to get settled back into their attack mode. Just as they were getting more comfortable Israfilbek was called for a roughing penalty. While shorthanded, Zamaray was penalized for interference. Down two skaters for the second time in three games, the Lightning deployed ninth grade center Wyatt Ostrander along with Rivera and ninth grade defender Dylan Kim to perform penalty killing duties. The trio was once again excellent at keeping the DC Stars to the perimeter allowing Stutsrim-Lyons to clearly see the Stars long-range shots.

After the successful penalty kill the Lightning went back on the offensive. Unfortunately, many good scoring chances flittered away shot wide of the goal or blocked in the slot in front of Seiden-Maloney. From a faceoff in the left faceoff circle in the offensive end, the Lightning lost the draw. With possession in the right defensive corner, the Stars defense wrapped the puck along the rim of the boards behind their net up the left side boards. Upper Montgomery ninth grade defender Lenny Roth charged in from his right point position cutting off the puck. In one motion he sent the puck up in the air toward the net. The shot from along the right wing boards outside the faceoff circle arched toward the net landing just as Seiden-Maloney reached out his glove to catch the puck. The puck squirted under Seiden-Maloney’s glove and between his legs. For Roth, his first career high school goal gives him bragging rights in the family as his older brother Jake concluded his Lightning hockey career having scored no goals. More importantly, the late second period unassisted strike gave Upper Montgomery some breathing room.

Upper Montgomery had fifteen minutes remaining to capture their first victory of the season. Roth’s goal was key as it gave the Lightning a bit of a cushion at 4-1. Five minutes into the third period, Roth’s goal took on additional importance as the Stars cut the Upper Montgomery lead to 4-2. The Lightning had the puck in the DC Stars defensive zone. A body check by the Stars defense jostled the puck loose just ahead of the goal line in the left defensive corner. The loose puck was picked up by Fougere. He traveled down the left wing all the way from his defensive end to the Upper Montgomery defensive zone. He cut wide outside of the Upper Montgomery defense. When he was at the top of the left faceoff circle he cut to the net. Woodman came over to poke check the puck instead twisting Fougere. As he was falling through the low slot area, Fougere shot a wrist shot high across his body to the top left corner of the net. The shot went over Stutsrim-Lyons’ stick and blocker for his first goal of the season.

With renewed energy by cutting the score to 4-2 the Stars started to increase their physical play. Upper Montgomery focused solely on defense and getting the puck out of the defensive zone. The defensive alignment worked perfectly as it neutralized the Stars over the next seven minutes of game action. As the clock ticked under three minutes remaining, Zamaray controlled the puck at the center red line. He carried the puck through the neutral zone down the middle of the ice to the Stars defensive zone. As a DC Stars defender fell, Zamaray lost control of the puck attempting to stickhandle through the entire Stars defense. The puck made its way into the left corner. Zamaray kept his legs moving beating the DC Stars to the puck. He centered a pass to the slot. The puck went straight through the slot to Roth at the right point. Roth’s shot went high and well wide of the net. A Stars forward failed to clear the puck with Woodman keeping the puck in at the left point. Woodman sent the puck bouncing into the slot where it was picked up by Zamaray. He backhand shuffled the puck toward the net where it somehow trickled through Seiden-Maloney’s five hole for his second goal of the game. The Upper Montgomery lead was 5-2 with 2:39 remaining.

Twenty seconds later on the next shift the Lightning salted the game away. Jagoz won the center ice faceoff forward. He retrieved the puck between the DC Stars defenders carrying the puck into the Stars defensive zone. He traveled into the left corner, then around the net coming out into the right faceoff circle. He passed the puck into the slot for Zamaray. The puck ricocheted off Zamaray’s stick to the center point of the blue line. Kim smacked the puck forward toward the slot where it deflected off a Stars defender bouncing right to the feet of Upper Montgomery ninth grade forward Miriam Baron. Baron played the puck as she was blown up by a massive illegal check. The puck went past the last Stars defender to Jagoz all alone in the low slot. He had no trouble elevating a wrist shot over Seiden-Maloney’s glove hand to the top right corner of the net for his second goal of the game.

Jagoz finished the scoring thirty seconds later with his first career hat-trick. The puck was played to the right defensive corner by Stutsrim-Lyons. Zamaray picked up the puck carrying it back around the Lightning net up ice down the left wing boards. As he traveled through the left faceoff circle in the offensive zone he went around the Stars defender cutting toward the goal looking for his own hat-trick. Zamaray tried to stuff the puck past Seiden-Maloney stick side at the near post. The goalie who was under fire all game stopped the stuff attempt. Jagoz, following the play to the doorstep of the crease, slid the rebound between his legs.

The Lightning junior varsity was only able to celebrate their victory for a few minutes before the team had to change locker rooms and get ready for the varsity game directly following the win. Getting their first win of the season should give the junior varsity a boost of confidence moving forward. The outcome was huge for qualifying for the season ending junior varsity playoffs as the Lightning will likely be battling the Stars and the Whitman Vikings for one of the final playoff spots.

Game Notes:

• Upper Montgomery outshot the DC Stars 35-26 for the game. It was a turnaround from the first two games of the season where the Lightning were badly outshot by the opposition.
• Lightning junior forward Mason Jagoz scored his first career hat-trick by scoring all three of his goals within eight feet of the net.
• Upper Montgomery ninth grade forward Tima Zamaray scored his first career high school goal as part of a four point evening on two goals and two assists.
• Upper Montgomery ninth grade defender Lenny Roth scored his first career high school goal.
• Lightning sophomore defender Matt Rivera scored on an end to end rush for the second consecutive game.
• In addition to earning the victory, Lightning sophomore goaltender Porter Stutsrim-Lyons was credited with an assist on the last goal of the evening.
• Upper Montgomery ninth grade forward Miriam Baron collected her first career high school point with an assist.
• Lightning ninth grade defender Dylan Kim had an assist notching his first career high school point.
• Upper Montgomery killed off yet another 5-3 powerplay, increasing their powerplay effectiveness to 87.5% for the season.
• Upper Montgomery played without their most hulking defender when junior Max Curtusan missed the game with an upper body injury.
• The Upper Montgomery junior varsity is next in action the afternoon of Friday October 24th when the team plays the undefeated 3-0-1 Churchill Bulldogs. Game time is early, a 4:05 pm puck drop at the Rockville Ice Arena.

Three Stars of the Game:

First Star—Tima Zamaray—Upper Montgomery Forward—2 Goals, 2 Assists
Second Star—Mason Jagoz—Upper Montgomery Forward—3 Goals
Third Star—Felix Fougere—DC Stars Forward—1 Goal, 1 Assist

The 2025 – 2026 Upper Montgomery Lightning junior varsity played a whale of a first half of the game on Friday evening versus the Rockville / Magruder Rams. The team played outstanding defensive hockey. The forwards came back into the defensive zone well. The defenders played tough in the defensive zone. The entire team hit everything that moved. Then, one bad bounce of the puck midway through the second period turned what was a close game into a deluge of Rockville / Magruder goals that made the 7-1 final score look more lopsided than the game really was.

In what was a much better performance by the Lightning than a week ago in their 3-2 season opening loss to the Silver Spring Blazers, the young Lightning roster seemed to thrive playing its brand of physical hockey. As the game remained close, the Upper Montgomery skaters gained confidence playing with the older, more experienced Rams. Even though the game was quite physical on both sides, the game was cleanly played. Each team had only one powerplay opportunity. Both infractions wound up being stick related, tripping and hooking.

The Rams had the better of play early on in the game badly outshooting the Lightning fifteen to four in the opening period. Right from the start Upper Montgomery laid the body. For one short instance in the first two minutes of the game the Lightning failed to contain in the defensive end. The Rams immediately took advantage. Upper Montgomery cleared the puck to the neutral zone. Rams forward Keaton Spence possessed the puck bringing it into the Upper Montgomery defensive zone down the right wing. He cut to the middle of the ice and moved the puck over to Rockville / Magruder forward Daniel Cleary. Cleary’s wrist shot from the left circle was blocked by the Lightning defense in front of the net. Cleary regained possession of the puck before sending it to the left point to Rams forward Kamea Case. Case rang a shot high off the crossbar where it caromed to the right wing. Rams defender Adam Suitor snuck in from his right point position. While positioned outside of the outer edge of the right faceoff circle, he fired a shot high to the short side past Lightning ninth grade goalie George Schickler for his third goal of the season. Schickler making his first career start for Upper Montgomery had gone down a tad early which opened up the top right corner of the net.

Outside of that one blip, the Lightning continued to pound the body with an effectiveness not regularly seen from Upper Montgomery over the past several seasons. As the game progressed to the end of the first period, Lightning sophomore center Decklin Hughes was called for tripping. Unlike in their season opener, Upper Montgomery’s penalty killers stayed in position keeping the Rams to the outside. Schickler had no trouble making saves on the long range chances. A minute into the second period Hughes returned to the ice allowing Upper Montgomery to get back to their hard physical defensive play.

At the eight minute mark of the second period, the Lightning pushed the puck out of their defensive zone. The bouncing puck was touched by Suitor to Rams forward Dylan Singer. Singer brought the puck into the Upper Montgomery defensive zone. From the high slot, he sent a wrist shot at Schickler. The young netminder made the initial save with the puck shooting out into the slot. The bouncing puck jumped over Upper Montgomery ninth grade defender Dylan Kim’s stick as he was trying to swat the puck into the corner. Cleary was trailing Kim as he went to the net. As he closed in toward the puck it was laying nicely along the ice. Cleary had time to push the puck at the net where it went past Schickler’s left leg pad for his fifth goal of the season.

Now down by two goals, the young Lightning deviated from the game plan trying to make something happen thinking they were falling out of the game. Upper Montgomery tried to push play up ice. Rams forward Arle Madrigal collected the puck after it was batted around by the Lightning forwards. He entered the Upper Montgomery defensive zone down the left side. His initial centering pass was blocked by the backtracking Lightning defense. The puck deflected right back to Madrigal who then sent it into the slot. Rams forward Alexander Dos Santos was on the door step of the goal. From the crease he sent the puck low past Schickler’s right leg pad for his second goal of the season.

With three and a half minutes remaining in the second period, Upper Montgomery went on the powerplay when Rams defender David Schnanzer was called for a hooking penalty. Unlike in the season opener when Upper Montgomery converted on both of their powerplays, the Lightning rarely were able to gain possession of the puck. Rockville / Magruder easily killed off Schnanzer’s penalty without allowing a shot on goal. The lone offensive bright spot for the Lightning came just before the end of the second period.

Rockville / Magruder had the puck in the Upper Montgomery defensive zone. Schickler made a save on the Rams’ twentieth shot of the period. Upper Montgomery sophomore defender Matt Rivera retrieved the puck behind his own net. He skated down the right wing out of the defensive zone. As he moved through the neutral zone he veered to the middle of the ice. At the attacking blue line he cut back to the right side of the ice. Rivera went around the Rams defense before cutting to the left in front of the net. He lifted a left handed forehand shot up over the stick and blocker of Rams goalie Daniel Gargarin who had replaced Rockville / Magruder’s starting netminder Nathaniel Khasilev halfway through the second period. For Rivera it was his first career high school goal after several golden opportunities in his ninth grade season. He just beat the buzzer scoring with two seconds left in the middle period on the Lightning’s ninth shot against the Rams goalies.

Feeling like they had momentum, Upper Montgomery was eager to get the third period started. Once the period began, Rockville / Magruder took a stranglehold on the game in under a minute. From the center ice faceoff, the puck was taken at the Rams defensive blue line by forward Violet Pfeufer. She skated down the right wing into the Lightning defensive zone where she cut to the slot. The puck came loose as she continued to stickhandle. Schickler paddled the puck to the right corner in the defensive zone. Pfeufer retrieved the puck before centering it to a wide open uncovered Jacob Sausser in the slot. Sausser fired over Schickler’s glove short side to extend the Rams lead to 4-1. It was his second goal on the season.

On the same shift with the same students on the ice, the Lightning’s deficit extended to 5-1. This time Pfeufer went down the left wing into the Upper Montgomery defensive zone. Her speed allowed her to go around the Lightning defense and separate. Her centering pass was chipped wide of the net far side. Rams forward James Berube came out of the right corner with the puck. No Lightning defender went hard after Berube so he skated near the slot before he also sent a shot short side high over Schickler’s glove to the top of the net. Berube celebrated in style after scoring his first goal of the year.

Down 5-1, with fourteen minutes remaining in the game, the Lightning got completely out of their systems and structure. This permitted the Rams to control play throughout the remainder of the game continuing to badly outshoot Upper Montgomery. Third period shots were nineteen to four in favor of Rockville / Magruder as Lightning forwards cheated up ice and gave the Rams free reign in the Lightning defensive zone.

Thirty seconds later Cleary had his second goal of the game and sixth of the season. The wheels had come off. Down by two goals entering the third period, a minute and ten seconds later Upper Montgomery was behind by five goals. From the center ice faceoff, the Rams sent the puck into the Upper Montgomery defensive zone. Suitor gained possession of the puck along the right wing boards. He passed the puck back to the center point to his defensive partner Keaton Spence. Spence cut around an onrushing Lightning forward who overcommitted coming out to guard him. From the faceoff dot inside the left faceoff circle, he flung a wrist shot on net. Schickler made yet another save. Standing in front, Cleary shoveled in the rebound.

Rockville / Magruder finished up the scoring with five minutes left in the contest. From a faceoff outside the Rams defensive blue line, the Rams won the draw. Case carried the puck along the right wing boards all the way down to the Lightning defensive end. His wrist shot from the right faceoff circle missed the net wide to the short side. Lightning ninth grade defender Lenny Roth took down a Rams forward earning a delayed penalty for roughing. With Case’s shot missing the net wide right, the puck came out the other side of the goal directly to Cleary in the slot. Cleary sent a snap shot low to the far side of the net past Schickler’s right leg pad to complete his hat-trick and increase his goal total for the season to seven.

In practice this upcoming week, the Lightning will work to correct some of the issues from their first two outings. Look for the team to bring high energy and play a full forty five minute game next week. Expect the physical approach to continue in next week’s game against the DC Stars. It should be a favorable matchup for the Lightning as the Stars are a team with comparable talent. Upper Montgomery should have a big advantage in net with sophomore goaltender Porter Stutsrim-Lyons likely getting the nod in goal. It will be an important matchup as the winner will have an inside track toward a season ending playoff birth. The loser will be hard pressed to secure enough standings points to qualify for the playoffs.

Game Notes:

• Upper Montgomery was once again badly outshot. Rockville / Magruder had the shots on goal advantage 54-17. The Rams held a nineteen to four shots on goal advantage the third period as they pulled away by scoring four goals.
• Upper Montgomery ninth grade netminder George Schickler tied a junior varsity program record with the 47 saves he made.
• It was the second straight game that Upper Montgomery permitted a hat-trick to be scored against.
• Lightning sophomore defender Matt Rivera scored his first career high school goal on an end to end rush to beat the buzzer ending the second period.
• The Upper Montgomery junior varsity plays their next game on Friday evening, October 17th against the DC Stars. The game will be played at the Washington Capitals practice facility inside the Medstar Iceplex. Game time is 5:00 pm.

Three Stars of the Game:

First Star—Daniel Cleary—Rockville / Magruder Forward—3 Goals, 1 Assist
Second Star—Adam Suitor—Rockville / Magruder Defense—1 Goal, 2 Assists
Third Star—George Schickler—Upper Montgomery Goalie—47 Saves