Category: Lightning Strike Blog

Earlier this month, the Upper Montgomery Lightning concluded the spring 2025 hockey season in which nine new students began their Upper Montgomery high school hockey careers. These nine students became familiar with the speed and intensity of high school hockey, learned and practiced in live game action the Lightning’s systems in the defensive zone and entering the offensive zone. They also had the opportunity to show the coaching staff where they are in their development. The team proceeded to get better and better as the spring season moved toward conclusion. The skills these students learned and practiced now will need to be honed over the summer so that they can hit the ground running in September when Upper Montgomery is next allowed on the ice.

With any new spring season comes the graduation of the program’s seniors. The annual Upper Montgomery Lightning year end team celebration was held at Damascus High School. In early May, the Lightning program recognized the members of the program along with the seven departing seniors.

Siddy Bhasin played his initial high school season with Upper Montgomery. He will finish out his high school hockey career at Wootton as that is his home high school.

Ninth grade goalie Porter Stutsrim-Lyons set a junior varsity program record for highest save percentage (.930) edging out last season’s record setting mark set by Ilan Shterenberg’s (.927). Stutsrim-Lyons’ 1.99 goals against average was the second lowest in junior varsity program history.

Sophomore forward Aiden Zheng was the junior varsity’s leading goal scorer this past season with eight goals in eight games.

Sophomore goalie Ilan Shterenberg was named the Montgomery Hockey Conference Division II All Conference goalie.

Junior Philip Shkeda led the Upper Montgomery varsity team in points with 22 in 15 games.

Junior defender Brady Berkhammer led the Upper Montgomery varsity team with fifteen assists. He was selected to the Montgomery Hockey Conference Division II Second Team as a defender.

Senior forward AJ Marks led the junior varsity in assists with eight and in points with thirteen. He finished one assist short of the junior varsity single season program record for assists. In his career he finished third in assists for the junior varsity with fourteen and tied for third in career points with 24. AJ will be attending Montana State University where he will study business administration.

Senior forward TJ Gottesman leaves Upper Montgomery as the program’s leading junior varsity scorer with 32 points. He is also at the top of the career assist rankings with sixteen. He is second on the all-time junior varsity goals list with sixteen. TJ will be attending Stevenson University where he will be studying criminal justice.

Senior defender Patrick Sell departs the Lightning having finished his career second on the junior varsity in career assists by a defender with twelve. Patrick also holds the junior varsity record for assists and points in a playoff game with four. Patrick plans to attend Montgomery College for his first two years of collegiate schooling.

Senior defender Cole Howerton finished his Upper Montgomery career with several distinctions. He was the recipient of the Hobey Baker High School Character Award given out annually by the program. The award recognizes the top senior in the program for embracing the values the game of hockey teaches, coachability, strength of character, integrity, commitment, teamwork, community building, and outstanding sportsmanship. Cole played in 39 varsity games in his career contributing four assists. In junior varsity play, he played in 41 games scoring twelve goals and adding thirteen assists for 25 points. Cole is the junior varsity’s all-time leading offensive producer in all statistical categories for defenders. He will be enrolling in Montgomery College studying business while he also attends the Montgomery County Police Department’s Cadet Academy.

Senior Forward Josh Nadler leaves Upper Montgomery with some junior varsity records that may never, ever be broken. First, he is the junior varsity’s all-time program leader in goals with twenty. His 24 points places him third all-time in points for the junior varsity. Josh holds the junior varsity record for penalty minutes in a season with 53, and over a career with 124. Playing for the varsity his stats were 43 games, six goals, eight assists, for fourteen points. For the junior varsity his stats were, 31 games, twenty goals, four assists, for 24 points. Josh will be attending Coastal Carolina University where he will major in Intelligence and Security Studies.

Senior forward Nathan Cassel missed a large chunk of his senior season. The missed games likely resulted in him just missing out on finishing with enough assists to qualify for automatic induction into the Maryland Student Hockey Hall of Fame. Nathan finished his career with 49 games played, 42 goals scored, and 47 assists dished out, for 89 points. Nathan will be attending the University of Maryland and studying business management.

Senior forward Henry Honacki had a whale of a final season for the Lightning. He led the team in goals with twelve. He had five separate two goal games. Henry led the team in penalty minutes for the second consecutive season (41). He finished his varsity career with 62 games played, twenty goals, twenty assists, for 40 points. For the junior varsity he holds the single season goals scored mark with twelve. His junior varsity statistics were 24 games played, fourteen goals, five assists, for nineteen points. He was selected to the Montgomery Hockey Conference Division II Second Team as a center. Henry will be attending Mount St. Mary’s University where he will be studying business management.

#UML, #Bleed Green, #Go Bolts!

The conclusion of each hockey season brings forward springtime which for the Upper Montgomery Lightning means the spring high school hockey season. The Lightning program uses spring hockey to introduce the incoming ninth graders (currently in eighth grade) to the speed of high school hockey and as an introduction to the systems used by the Lightning during the regular season. The program is not concerned with wins or losses, rather the focus is on making sure that the incoming students are ready to contribute in the fall when the regular hockey season begins.

Upper Montgomery had nine incoming students register for the spring hockey season as well as two others that had conflicts with lacrosse season. So there may be up to eleven new members of the program in the fall helping to replace the program’s seven graduating seniors; center Henry Honacki, and forwards Nathan Cassel, Josh Nadler, TJ Gottesman, and AJ Marks and defenders Cole Howerton and Patrick Sell. Ninth grade forward Siddy Bhasin will return to his home school district as he now attends Wootton High School. With the loss of eight students that played on the varsity squad last season there will be plenty of ice time available for Upper Montgomery’s younger students to step into a more meaningful role next year. Some of the students that participated in spring hockey may earn some of that ice time. Time will tell as each of the new students will need to work hard over the summer months and improve their skating and team play to earn ice time.

#Spring Season, #UML, #Bleed Green, #Go Bolts!

The Upper Montgomery Lightning’s loss to BCC in the Montgomery Hockey Conference playoffs delegated the team into the Montgomery Hockey Conference season ending varsity tournament. For the third time this season the Lightning eased past the Northwest / Quince Orchard Jaguars in the quarterfinals. The final score of 8-4, was not indicative of how lopsided the game was. Northwest / Quince Orchard scored two goals in garbage time at the end of the game to make the score look more respectable. Upper Montgomery charged out to a 6-1 lead after two periods of play outshooting the Jaguars badly in building its insurmountable lead.

With the victory, Upper Montgomery advanced to the semifinals of the tournament. It was a very good win for the Lightning who played without their leading scorer in senior center Henry Honacki (15GP, 12G, 7A) and their leading defensive scorer junior defender Brady Berkhammer (15GP, 4G, 15A). The Lightning did see the return of sophomore goalie Ilan Shterenberg who missed the BCC playoff game with an illness. It was the third straight year that the Lightning have advanced into the varsity tournament semifinals. Last year’s varsity tournament victory was the most impactful championship won in the history of the Upper Montgomery program. The Lightning could not have been more pleased to discover that they matched up against the Blair Blazers in the semifinals. The consensus opinion was that Blair was the best possible matchup for Upper Montgomery. The other semifinal game featured perennial powerhouse Churchill hosting the Rockville / Magruder Rams.

Unfortunately, the Blair Blazers defeated Upper Montgomery for the first time in three seasons abruptly ending the Lightning’s 2024 – 2025 varsity hockey season. Blair sophomore forward Mason Boucher scored 19 seconds into overtime to send the Blazers into the Montgomery Hockey Conference Varsity Tournament championship game.

The abrupt loss sent Upper Montgomery into the offseason needing to digest how to take the next steps to regularly defeat the top five or six teams in the county. Even though the Lightning have advanced up the county rankings over the past few seasons, there is still a sizeable amount of work to be done to qualify for the Maryland Student Hockey League state playoffs. Entering its 17th season of existence next year, the Lightning have never qualified for the state playoffs. Upper Montgomery finished as high as fifth in the county while winning the varsity tournament championship after last season.

It will be a long offseason where the Upper Montgomery coaching staff will need to evaluate each student athlete’s strengths and weaknesses to come up with a style of play that permits the team to succeed against the more talented teams in the county. Each year is another opportunity for the program to end its two long streaks left to demolish, never having beaten Churchill and never having qualified for the Maryland Student Hockey League state playoffs. It will now be up to the 2025 – 2026 squad to make history.

#UML, #Bleed Green, #Go Bolts!

The Upper Montgomery Lightning junior varsity saw it season come to a close in the semifinal round of the Montgomery Hockey Conference junior varsity playoffs. The squad played outstanding team based hockey this season. Positive development is ahead for many of the junior varsity student athletes as they continue on with their high school careers next fall. It is anticipated that many of the students will have a large role on the varsity team. The junior varsity finished the season with a 5-3-2 record advancing to the Montgomery Hockey Conference junior varsity playoff semifinals for the first time in three seasons. The Lightning gave top seeded Wootton everything and more before tiring late in the third period. Many of the junior varsity student athletes had also played just prior to the Wootton game in the varsity playoff game. The team then had to travel across town from Rockville Ice Arena to Cabin John Ice Rink through a driving rain storm to play at 10:15 pm in the junior varsity semifinal game.

Although the team finished fourth in the conference standings, many in the county believe that Upper Montgomery was the second best junior varsity team this season trailing only the Wootton Patriots. It made for a massive playoff game with the two teams showing why they were the two best junior varsity teams in the county. Unfortunately, the Lightning could not protect a 1-0 lead heading into the third period falling to the eventual county champions by a score of 3-1. The Lightning played with guts and determination putting forth an outstanding defensive effort coming up just short. Upper Montgomery netminder Porter Stutsrim-Lyons was excellent in goal stopping 39 of 42 shots. His play was outstanding considering he had been thrust into an unexpected starting role in the earlier varsity game. He played back to back games stopping 79 out of 85 shots on goal for a .929 save percentage.

The Upper Montgomery varsity finished conference play with a winning record (and best record) since the 2018 – 2019 season at 6-5-1. The varsity secured the seventh seed in the Montgomery Hockey Conference playoff tournament. After defeating the BCC Barons twice during the regular season, the team gave up a 2-0 first intermission lead eventually falling to the Barons by a score of 3-2. BCC advanced to play Walter Johnson which the Upper Montgomery coaching staff thought would be a winnable game. Proving again just how even the county teams are, Walter Johnson needed a very late third period goal to sneak past the Barons into the Maryland Student Hockey League state playoffs.

Another season in which the Lightning’s state playoff aspirations have passed. Now the team must shift focus to the quarterfinal round of the Montgomery Hockey Conference Varsity Tournament. This is a playoff bracket for all of the teams that did not make it to the Maryland Student Hockey League state playoffs. The consolation tournament is akin to the NIT college basketball tournament compared with the NCAA college basketball tournament that crowns the national champion. The seedings for the varsity tournament are due to be released next week. The Lightning will have to wipe away the disappointment of the loss to BCC. The team must refocus to snap out of the current five game losing streak to defend their varsity tournament championship from last year.

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

In early April in Utica, New York, the Montgomery Youth Hockey Association 18U AA squad defeated the New Jersey Jets 5-2 in the championship game of the United States National Youth Hockey Tournament.  Upper Montgomery’s own senior forward Nathan Cassel is a forward on the Montgomery Ice Devils team and Upper Montgomery alumnus Christopher Hassett is a center on that team.

The victory is the FIRST EVER youth hockey national championship won by a Maryland team!

For Nathan, who was on the 18U AA team last season, it is sweet redemption after the Ice Devils lost in overtime last year in the championship game after holding a lead in the third period.

The entire Upper Montgomery Lightning family wants to recognize both Nathan and Chris and congratulate them and the entire Montgomery Ice Devils 18U AA squad on this momentous achievement.  

Upper Montgomery Lightning alumnus Olivia Robbins has signed to play college hockey at Plymouth State University. Robbins, a forward who attended Poolesville High School was a four year varsity student athlete with the Upper Montgomery Lightning program. After high school graduation she played a post graduate season in Ontario, Canada with the OHA Mavericks, an under 22 AA team.

Olivia will begin play with the Panthers in the fall of 2025. Plymouth State is one of the top division III women’s college programs in the nation. The Panthers completed this past season with an 18-7-2 record and won the MASCAC (Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference) conference championship for the first time in program history.

In her storied high school career Olivia finished with 13 goals and added 18 assists for 31 points in 45 games. After her junior season, Olivia was named to the Washington Post All Met Girls Ice Hockey Second Team, the first Lightning student athlete ever honored. Outside of high school hockey, Olivia played for the Washington Pride 19U AAA external travel team. In her post graduate season in Canada, playing against women up to four years older, Olivia finished with 7 goals and 7 assists for 14 points in 42 games.

Congratulations Olivia on becoming the first Upper Montgomery female student athlete to earn a college opportunity. The Upper Montgomery program is proud of Olivia and looks forward to avidly following her collegiate hockey career.

The Upper Montgomery Lightning are nearing the conclusion of the 2024 – 2025 regular season. It is mid-January and the most exciting part of the season is right around the corner, playoff time! The Lightning junior varsity has already played their quarterfinal round playoff game against Churchill winning by a score of 4-1. It is the junior varsity’s first playoff win in three years.

The Lightning junior varsity has received outstanding goaltending from ninth grade goalie Porter Stutsrim-Lyons. He is 5-2-2 on the season with a .930 save percentage and a 1.87 goals against average. He has let up more than two goals in regulation time only twice during the season. Stutsrim-Lyons has two shutouts to his credit. Last week he stopped 24 of 25 shots to help the Lightning advance to the semifinal round of the playoffs. The young goalie has a chance over the remainder of the season to set junior varsity program records for goals against average and save percentage. He will need to play very strong in net to help the Lightning advance deeper in the playoff tournament.

Although the team finished fourth in the conference standings, many in the county believe that Upper Montgomery is the second best junior varsity team this season trailing only the Wootton Patriots. It makes for a massive game at the conclusion of the month when the two teams collide in the semifinal round of the Montgomery Hockey Conference playoffs.

The junior varsity’s leading scorer is senior forward AJ Marks (9GP, 5G, 8A). He is followed in scoring by sophomore forward Aiden Zheng who has stood out offensively with his speed. Zheng leads the team in goals (7GP, 8G, 1A). Zheng’s tenacious hustle and effort on the backcheck has provided a lift to the Lightning. Two newcomers to the Upper Montgomery program, sophomore Jake Hudson (7GP, 6G, 3A) and ninth grade forward Siddy Bhasin (6GP, 5G, 4A) have provided much needed offense. They have helped Upper Montgomery jump out to early leads in many games.

Defensively, the junior varsity has been led by senior defender and team captain Cole Howerton (7GP, 4G, 4A). Senior Patrick Sell is playing the best hockey of his high school career. Sophomore Miles Wendland (5GP, 3A) has provided a steadying influence for the younger junior varsity defenders; Avery Evans (5GP, 2G, 4A), Lillian Robbins (3GP, 1G, 4A), and Matt Rivera (9GP, 5A) all of whom have contributed while gaining valuable experience.

The Upper Montgomery varsity will finish conference play with a winning record (and best record) since the 2018 – 2019 season. Even if the team losses is final regular season game of the season to Whitman, the team will have a 6-5-1 conference record. The finish to the regular season will be tough for Upper Montgomery as the squad faces the top two teams in the state over the next week. First up is Whitman followed by a non-conference game against Oakdale, last year’s state champion. It would not shock anyone to see Whitman and Oakdale meet late next month in the Maryland Student Hockey League state championship game.

In net for the Lightning, sophomore goalie Ilan Shterenberg has handled the majority of the goaltending duties. He has shined in some games making 49 saves in the Lightning’s 3-1 loss to Wootton early in the season and 44 saves in the overtime victory over the DC Stars. His play is typical for an underclass student athlete moving up from his staring role on the junior varsity last season. Shterenberg set or tied numerous program records; tying for most wins in a season, and setting the lowest goals against average and highest save percentage in junior varsity program history. This year, Shterenberg has a solid save percentage of .887. His goals against average is a strong 4.38 having been negatively impacted by the Lightning’s poor defensive performances against both Urbana and in the second Wootton game.

Defensively, junior 16U AA defender Brady Berkhammer has upped his game this season. He has set personal career highs in all offensive categories (12GP, 4G, 14A). He has been on a tear recently with a four point game earlier in the season against Northwest / Quince Orchard with two goals and two assists. He has eight points in his last three games, and eleven points in his last five games. Berkhammer leads the team with fourteen assists. Sophomore defender Miles Wendland has played important minutes against the opposition’s top forward lines. He has accelerated his game from his ninth grade season and scored his first career varsity goal recently against Churchill. Senior Cole Howerton has stepped into a regular role on the varsity playing mostly with Wendland. Howerton has played some of his best hockey in his final high school season. His play stood out in the Lightning’s win over Richard Montgomery. Ninth grade 14U AA defender Lillian Robbins has seen regular action this season and contributed three assists in the game against Richard Montgomery. She has played in eight games and has dished out four assists. Senior Patrick Sell scored his first career high school varsity goal in the Northwest / Quince Orchard game. His size and presence on the blue line has caused problems for the opposition. Ninth grade Matt Rivera and 19U AA sophomore Avery Evans have each gained valuable experience at the varsity level in their limited game action. Getting time in varsity games now will help them in future seasons as they take on larger roles with the team.

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

The Upper Montgomery coaching staff moved AAA junior defender Owen Robbins to center as a means of generating additional offense. The move has paid off as Robbins authored a hat-trick in the Lightning’s season opening win over BCC and scored four times against Richard Montgomery. The Lightning’s season opening victory over BCC was the program’s first ever win against the Barons. The team followed that win up with a hard-fought 3-2 victory over BCC last week to complete the season sweep. Robbins has been near the top of the Lightning’s leading scorers the entire season with (8GP, 7G, 4A). He is second on the team in goals behind Upper Montgomery’s leading offensive threat senior center Henry Honacki. Honacki has had an offensive explosion in his final high school season and leads the team in goals with (12GP, 12G, 7A). He has been on a tear recently having scored in five consecutive games. Honacki scored the game winning goal in two important Lightning victories, beating the overtime buzzer by scoring with eleven seconds remaining in the extra period to defeat the DC Stars. Then, scoring on the powerplay late in the third period against BCC. Honacki leads the team in powerplay goals with four. His production on the powerplay has helped the Lightning immensely. The team has more powerplay goals already this season (10 for 25, 40.0%) than all of last year’s dismal performance with the extra attacker. Junior forward Philip Shkeda has also been an offensive threat with (10GP, 5G, 11A).

A couple of sophomores have stepped in and filled important roles on the team. Returning forward Aiden Zheng has (12GP, 3G, 6A) continuing his assent from last season’s breakout during the Montgomery Hockey Conference varsity playoff tournament. Newcomer Jake Hudson has used his size well to get the puck out of the defensive zone along the boards leading to numerous rushes up ice. Several of the odd skater rushes have directly led to goals. He has (10GP, 2G, 6A) including dishing out three assists against Richard Montgomery and scoring twice against Northwest / Quince Orchard. With depth an issue, several student athletes who have played the majority of their high school careers with the junior varsity team are receiving playing time this season with the varsity. Senior forward TJ Gottesman scored his first career varsity goal in the Northwest / Quince Orchard game and senior forward AJ Marks contributed an assist in that same game. Ninth grader Siddy Bhasin has dressed and played in several varsity games. His play is starting to ramp up as he has (9GP, 1G, 4A). Senior Josh Nadler missed the beginning of the season while he was out-of-the country. He is looking to elevate his game heading into the playoffs.

It’s time for both Lightning squads to ramp up their play to go on long playoff runs. The junior varsity will be looking to claim a spot in the Montgomery Hockey Conference junior varsity championship game for the second time ever. While the varsity will be looking to finish the regular season strong to earn a preferred seeding in the Montgomery Hockey Conference varsity playoffs. The team will be looking to once again advance out of the opening round and play for an opportunity to qualify for the Maryland Student Hockey League state playoffs for the first time ever.

#Second Half Fury, #Long Playoff Runs, #UML, #Bleed Green, #Go Bolts!

The Upper Montgomery Lightning and their families are enjoying the winter holiday break. It is a well deserved rest for the team. The 2024 – 2025 high school ice hockey season has zoomed past with the Upper Montgomery Lightning junior varsity and varsity squads right in the thick of the conference standings. Once the teams return from winter break, there will be four varsity regular season conference games remaining and the junior varsity will be looking for a long run in the junior varsity playoffs.

The Lightning junior varsity has received outstanding goaltending from ninth grade goalie Porter Stutsrim-Lyons coupled with some timely goal scoring to finish the regular season with a 4-2-2 record, 4-1-2 in conference play. A big win in the regular season finale over Whitman secured the number four seed in the conference playoffs and a home game against fifth seeded Churchill. The win advanced the Lightning directly into the quarterfinals and out of having to play an opening round game (Richard Montgomery at Whitman, Blair at the DC Stars, and Rockville / Magruder at Northwest / Quince Orchard).

Stutsrim-Lyons has posted two shutouts to go along with a 1.98 goals against average and a .927 save percentage. He has a chance over the remainder of the season to set junior varsity program records for goals against average and save percentage. He will need to play strong in net to help the Lightning advance deep in the playoff tournament.

The junior varsity’s leading scorer is senior forward AJ Marks (8GP, 5G, 7A). He is followed in scoring by two newcomers to the Lightning program ninth grade forward Siddy Bhasin (6GP, 5G, 4A) and sophomore Jake Hudson (6GP, 5G, 3A). Sophomore Aiden Zheng has stood out offensively and with his hustle and effort. He scored a hat-trick versus Blair and has produced (6GP, 6G, 1A) leading the team in goals.

Defensively, the junior varsity has been led by senior defender and team captain Cole Howerton (6GP, 4G, 3A). Senior Patrick Sell is playing the best hockey of his high school career. Sophomore Miles Wendland (5GP, 3A) has provided a steadying influence for the younger junior varsity defenders, Avery Evans (5GP, 2G, 4A), Lillian Robbins (3GP, 1G, 4A), and Matt Rivera (8GP, 5A) all of whom have contributed while gaining valuable experience. The Lightning head into the playoffs with its entire roster healthy and ready to make a deep run similar to the 2021 – 2022 squad that won the junior varsity county championship.

The Upper Montgomery varsity is off to its best start in the last four seasons playing to a 5-3-1 record and 5-2-1 in conference play. The team’s only losses are against opponents ranked in the top fifteen in the state, Wootton twice and against Urbana. With a reasonable second half schedule, the Lightning have a chance to finish the 2024 – 2025 regular season with a winning record. It would be the first time since the 2018 – 2019 season that the Lightning could finish the season above .500.

In net sophomore Ilan Shterenberg has handled the majority of the goaltending duties. He has shined in some games making 49 saves in the Lightning’s 3-1 loss to Wootton early in the season and 44 saves in the recent overtime victory over the DC Stars. His play is typical for an underclass student athlete moving up from his staring role on the junior varsity where he set or tied numerous program records last season; tying for most wins in a season, and setting the lowest goals against average and highest save percentage in junior varsity program history. Shterenberg has a solid save percentage of .892. His goals against average is a strong 3.82 having been negatively impacted by the Lightning’s poor defensive performances against both Urbana and in the second Wootton game.

Defensively, junior 16U AA defender Brady Berkhammer has upped his game this season. He is providing much more offense (9GP, 2G, 8A) than in his first two seasons of varsity play. He had a four point game earlier in the season against Northwest / Quince Orchard with two goals and two assists. Sophomore defender Miles Wendland has played important minutes against the opposition’s top forward lines. He has accelerated his game from his ninth grade season. Senior Cole Howerton has stepped into a regular role on the varsity playing mostly with Wendland. Howerton has played some of his best hockey in his final high school season. His play stood out in the Lightning’s win over Richard Montgomery. Ninth grade AA defender Lillian Robbins has seen regular action this season and contributed three assists in the game against Richard Montgomery. She has played in five games and has dished out four assists. Senior Patrick Sell scored his first career high school varsity goal in the Northwest / Quince Orchard game. His size and presence on the blue line has caused problems for the opposition. Ninth grade Matt Rivera and sophomore Avery Evans have each gained valuable experience at the varsity level in their limited play. Getting time in varsity games now will help them in future seasons as they take on larger roles with the team.

Offensively, the Lightning knew they would have to replace Maryland Student Hockey League Hall of Fame standout Chris Hassett who graduated after last season. Unexpectedly, junior Ryan Jacobson left to play junior hockey in Michigan. Then, last season’s leading returning scorer Nathan Cassel (2GP, 3G, 1A) has missed most of the early portion of the season with an upper body injury. His hat-trick against Rockville / Magruder helped the Lightning to a 5-5 tie against the Rams. Cassel is expected back for the senior night game on Friday, January 3rd against Northwest / Quince Orchard.

The Upper Montgomery coaching staff moved AAA junior defender Owen Robbins to center as a means of generating additional offense. The move has paid off as Robbins authored a hat-trick in the Lightning’s season opening win over BCC and scored four times against Richard Montgomery. The Lightning’s season opening victory over BCC was the program’s first ever win against the Barons. The team followed that win up with a hard-fought 3-2 victory over BCC last week to complete the season sweep. Robbins has been near the top of the Lightning’s leading scorers the entire season with (7GP, 7G, 4A). He is just behind Upper Montgomery’s leading offensive threat senior center Henry Honacki who now leads the team in goals with (9GP, 9G, 2A). Honacki scored the game winning goal in the last two Lightning victories, beating the overtime buzzer by scoring with eleven seconds remaining in the extra period to defeat the DC Stars and scoring on the powerplay late in the third period against BCC. Honacki also leads the team in powerplay goals with four. His production on the powerplay is more than half of the teams powerplay goals (7 for 18, 38.9%). Junior forward Philip Shkeda has also been an offensive threat with (7GP, 4G, 6A).

A couple of sophomores have stepped in and filled important roles on the team. Returning forward Aiden Zheng has (9GP, 2G, 5A) continuing his assent from last season’s breakout during the Montgomery Hockey Conference varsity playoff tournament. Newcomer Jake Hudson has used his size well getting the puck out of the defensive zone along the boards leading to numerous rushes up ice. Several of the odd skater rushes have led to goals. He has (7GP, 6A) including dishing out three assists against Richard Montgomery. With depth an issue, several student athletes who have played the majority of their high school careers with the junior varsity team are receiving playing time this season with the varsity. Senior forward TJ Gottesman scored his first career varsity goal in the Northwest / Quince Orchard game and senior forward AJ Marks contributed an assist in that same game. Ninth grader Siddy Bhasin has dressed and played in several varsity games. His play is starting to ramp up and he has (6GP, 1G, 3A). Senior Josh Nadler missed the beginning of the season while he was out-of-the country. He is looking to elevate his game heading into the new year.

It’s time for the Lightning squads to go on runs in early 2025. The junior varsity will be looking to claim a spot in the Montgomery Hockey Conference junior varsity championship game for the second time ever. While the varsity will be looking to finish the regular season strong to earn a preferred seeding in the Montgomery Hockey Conference varsity playoffs and once again advance to play for an opportunity to qualify for the Maryland Student Hockey League state playoffs for the first time ever.

#Make Some Noise, #Second Half Fury, #A Green and Gold 2025, #UML, #Bleed Green, #Go Bolts!

The first half of the 2024 – 2025 high school ice hockey season has zoomed past with the Upper Montgomery Lightning varsity and junior varsity squads right in the thick of the conference standings. As the Thanksgiving holiday break concludes, the sprint to the Montgomery Hockey Conference post season playoff tournament is in full flight with both Upper Montgomery teams looking make some noise and finish the season strong.

The Lightning junior varsity has received outstanding goaltending from ninth grade goalie Porter Stutsrim-Lyons coupled with some timely goal scoring to begin the season with a 3-1-2 record. Stutsrim-Lyons has posted two shutouts along with a 1.64 goals against average and a .939 save percentage. He has a chance over the remainder of the season to set junior varsity program records for goals against average and save percentage. Upper Montgomery’s junior varsity extended the program record unbeaten streak to sixteen games, 12-0-4 over three seasons, until inevitably, all things must come to an end. The long undefeated streak vanished in a 4-3 loss to BCC, the Lightning’s only regulation loss of the season. In the BCC game, the Lightning’s string of 36 consecutive shorthanded situations killed off also ended.

In a heroic effort, Upper Montgomery took Churchill to overtime playing with only seven available skaters. It was a monster performance to gut out a point with such a depleted roster. Up next for the Lightning junior varsity is a non-conference matchup against Annapolis / Arundel before closing out the regular season playing a very strong Whitman team. With the start of the playoffs just six weeks away, the Lightning junior varsity will need to continue to receive contributions from up and down the lineup. The junior varsity’s leading scorer is senior forward AJ Marks (6GP, 4G, 4A). He is followed in scoring by two newcomers to the Lightning program, sophomore Jake Hudson (5GP, 5G, 2A), and ninth grade forward Siddy Bhasin (4GP, 3G, 4A). Bhasin scored in his first three high school hockey games. Sophomore Aiden Zheng has stood out offensively and with his hustle and effort. He scored a hat-trick versus Blair and has (4GP, 5G, 1A). Lightning varsity goalie Ilan Shterenberg has skated out as a forward in some junior varsity games scoring two goals.

Defensively, the junior varsity has been led by sophomore Miles Wendland (4GP, 3A) and senior Cole Howerton (4GP, 2G, 2A), two varsity skaters who have played down to assist the junior varsity’s young defenders. Senior Patrick Sell is playing the best hockey of his high school career. Young defenders Avery Evans (3GP, 1G, 3A), Lillian Robbins (2GP, 1G, 3A), and Matt Rivera (6GP, 5A) have all contributed while gaining key experience. Due back to the lineup in time for the Lightning’s next junior varsity game are sophomore center Jackson Schickler and sophomore defender Max Curtusan.

The Upper Montgomery varsity is off to its best start in the last four seasons playing to a 3-3-1 record over the first half of the schedule. The teams only losses are against teams ranked in the top fifteen in the state; Wootton twice and Urbana. With a reasonable second half schedule, the Lightning have a chance to finish the 2024 – 2025 regular season with a winning record. It would be the first time since the 2018 – 2019 season that the Lightning could finish the season above .500.

In net, sophomore Ilan Shterenberg has handled the majority of the goaltending duties. He has shined in some games, making 49 saves in the Lightning’s 3-1 loss to Wootton early in the season, and he has struggled in other games. His play is typical for an underclass student athlete moving up from his staring role on the junior varsity where he set or tied numerous program records last season; tying for most wins in a season, and setting the lowest goals against average and highest save percentage in junior varsity program history. Shterenberg has a solid save percentage of .876. His goals against average which had been in the three’s ballooned to 4.75 after the Lightning’s poor defensive performances against both Urbana and in the second Wootton game. The three week Thanksgiving holiday break should provide him the opportunity to re-set and focus on the second half of the season.

Defensively, junior AA defender Brady Berkhammer has upped his game this season. He is providing much more offense (7GP, 2G, 5A) than in his first two seasons of varsity play. He had a four point game against Northwest / Quince Orchard with two goals and two assists. Sophomore defender Miles Wendland has played important minutes against the opposition’s top forward lines. He has accelerated his game from his ninth grade season. He has also contributed offensively with three assists in six games. Senior Cole Howerton has stepped into a regular role on the varsity playing mostly with Wendland. Howerton has played some of the best hockey in his final high school season. His play stood out in the Lightning’s win over Richard Montgomery. Ninth grade AA defender Lillian Robbins has seen regular action in the first half of the season and contributed three assists in the game against Richard Montgomery. She has played in four games and has dished out four assists. Senior Patrick Sell scored his first career high school varsity goal in the Northwest / Quince Orchard game. His size and presence on the blue line has caused problems for the opposition. Ninth grade Matt Rivera and sophomore Avery Evans have each gained valuable experience at the varsity level in their limited play. Getting time in varsity games now will help them in future seasons as they take on larger roles on the team.

Offensively, the Lightning knew they would have to replace Maryland Student Hockey League Hall of Fame standout Chris Hassett who graduated after last season. Unexpectedly, junior Ryan Jacobson left to play junior hockey in Michigan. Then, last season’s leading returning scorer Nathan Cassel (2GP, 3G, 1A) has missed most of the early portion of the season with an upper body injury. His hat-trick against Rockville / Magruder helped the Lightning to a 5-5 tie against the Rams. The Upper Montgomery coaching staff moved AAA junior defender Owen Robbins to center as a means of generating additional offense. The move has paid off as Robbins authored a hat-trick in the Lightning’s season opening win over BCC and scored four times against Richard Montgomery. The Lightning’s victory over BCC was the program’s first ever win against the Barons. Robbins has paced the Lightning in scoring with (6GP, 7G, 3A). He is followed closely by junior forward Philip Shkeda with (6GP, 4G, 5A) and senior center Henry Honacki (7GP, 5G, 2A).

A couple of sophomores have stepped in and filled important roles on the team. Returning forward Aiden Zheng has (7GP, 2G, 4A) continuing his assent from last season’s breakout during the Montgomery Hockey Conference varsity playoff tournament. Newcomer Jake Hudson has used his size well getting the puck out of the defensive zone along the boards leading to numerous rushes up ice. Several of the odd skater rushes have led to goals. He has five assists in five games including dishing out three assists against Richard Montgomery. With depth an issue, several student athletes who have played the majority of their high school careers with the junior varsity team are receiving playing time this season with the varsity. Senior forward TJ Gottesman scored his first career varsity goal in the Northwest / Quince Orchard game and senior forward AJ Marks contributed an assist in that same game. Ninth grader Siddy Bhasin has dressed and played in several varsity games earning an assist. Senior Josh Nadler missed the beginning of the season while he was out-of-the country. He will be looking to elevate his game over the second half of the year.

A positive for the program, the powerplay. Last season, the anemic Upper Montgomery powerplay went zero for its first 46 chances with the extra skater before finally scoring in the regular season finale versus Bullis. Early in the season this year, the Lightning have converted on four of their thirteen powerplays, a 30.8% success rate. Now it is time for the squad to turn it up, not just on the powerplay, but on the penalty kill and at even strength. It’s time to go on a run over the second half of the season and be playing excellent hockey as the conference playoffs close in.

#Second Half Fury, #UML, #Bleed Green, #Go Bolts!

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

This season, it is expected that Churchill, Whitman, and Walter Johnson will again be at the top of the conference standings. With the exception of Northwest/Quince Orchard (who is anticipated to be by far the worst team in the county), the other eight teams are fairly evenly matched. Any of these eight teams could make a run and qualify for the state playoffs. Upper Montgomery will also be focused on bucking a trend that developed over the past couple of seasons, very slow starts. Last year, the team began the season 1-7. In 2022 – 2023, the team began the season 1-4-1. While the Lightning recovered nicely over the middle and second portion of the schedule both years, getting off to a better start this season is a must.

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

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

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

After these three students, there is a drop off in production to sophomore 16U Lower A Aiden Zheng (9GP, 3G, 5A) and senior Josh Nadler (13GP, 4A). Both Zheng and Nadler will play heavy minutes with the varsity this season and both will need to increase their offensive output. Nadler is the junior varsity’s all-time leading goal scorer with 20 career junior varsity goals. Joining them on the varsity roster are forwards; TJ Gottesman, the junior varsity’s career points leader with 32 points, sophomore newcomer Jake Hudson, and ninth grade 14U Lower A forward Siddy Bhasin. Bhasin and Hudson currently lead the junior varsity in scoring so far this season. AJ Marks and his big frame will get a look in varsity competition as well. Other junior varsity student athletes may get called up as the season progresses when the core of the varsity squad is missing due to external travel team out-of-town game conflicts.

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

The Lightning junior varsity has had an impressive start of their own. The team is 1-1-2 through four games. The season opened with an 8-0 smashing of Richard Montgomery. Upper Montgomery then extended the junior varsity program record unbeaten streak to sixteen games, 12-0-4 over three seasons with an overtime loss to the top junior varsity program in the county, Wootton. Inevitably, all things must come to an end and the long undefeated streak vanished in a 4-3 loss to BCC. In the BCC game, the Lightning’s string of 36 consecutive shorthanded situations killed off also ended.

In a heroic effort, Upper Montgomery took Churchill to overtime with only seven available skaters. It was a monster performance to sneak out a point with such a depleted roster. Up next for the Lightning junior varsity is the DC Stars and then the worst team in the county by far, Blair, which should allow the team to improve its record to 2-1-2 (plus the DC Stars outcome) at the beginning of the month of November. The junior varsity’s leading scorer is ninth grade forward Siddy Bhasin (3GP, 3G, 4A). Bhasin has scored in his first three high school hockey games. Sophomore Jake Hudson is tied for the junior varsity lead in goals with three (3GP, 3G, 2A). Miles Wendland, Cole Howerton, and Aiden Zheng have also stood out defensively helping to propel Upper Montgomery to the nice start to the season.

#UML, #Bleed Green, #Go Bolts!