The Upper Montgomery junior varsity will host its first ever junior varsity home playoff game on Friday night at Cabin John Ice Rink. Game time is approximately 9:15pm, directly after the conclusion of the Walter Johnson versus Rockville game. The Lightning concluded the regular season in second place in the conference standings finishing behind Richard Montgomery. It is quite an impressive turnaround from last season’s last place finish and early play in game playoff exit.
The Lightning have been playing their best hockey of the season since the start of January and at just the right time. Coming off of three straight convincing victories over Rockville, Northwest, and Churchill, Upper Montgomery is hoping for a long playoff run. Friday’s game will be against the winner of Northwest and Churchill, a game that will be played Thursday afternoon. The team finished the regular season with a 5-3 conference record and a 5-4-2 overall record. Although Upper Montgomery will be favored in Friday night’s game, the talent level in junior varsity is very close and winning games often comes down to which team executes and plays better in that particular game.
In net for the Lightning will be Landon Bernard who is in the middle of a stretch where he is playing the best hockey of his high school career. Bernard finished the regular season with a very respectable 3.08 goals against average and an .876 save percentage. His individual statistics would be even better if the game versus Landon School was not included. Landon School’s junior varsity team is equivalent to a varsity team.
On defense the Lightning will have a full complement of defenders. George Benedick, Andrew Gean, and Stephen Shkeda will play down from varsity to provide experience and to be a stabilizing influence for the Lightning’s two young junior varsity defenders, Patrick Sell and Cole Howerton. The defense will need to shut down Brady Graham if Northwest is the Lightning’s opponent. Graham led the Montgomery Hockey Conference junior varsity in goals with 11 in six games. His 11 goals were 40.7% (27 goals) of the Jaguars offensive production. If the opponent is Churchill, a team Upper Montgomery beat this past week 6-1, the Bulldogs struggle offensively and scored only 10 goals in eight regular season games. Upper Montgomery gave up only one goal each to both Northwest and Churchill, however, Northwest played without Graham in the lineup and his presence on the ice will dramatically change the game.
The Lightning’s offense ticked up as the regular season went on. With 20 goals over its last four games, the team finally began getting more balanced scoring to take the pressure off the defense and Landon Bernard. Brandon Bernard led the team in scoring (10 GP, 5 G, 9 A). Bradley Cupples, coming off two strong games in a row, was next with (7 GP, 5 G, 4 A). Joshua Miller led the team with six goals in 11 games including several outstanding solo breakaway goals. Josh Nadler chipped in and scored four goals in his first high school season. The Upper Montgomery powerplay was downright awful during the regular season (2 for 35, 5.7%) and cost the team in several close losses. The penalty kill was excellent this season (39 of 43, 90.7%) and lately the Lightning have owned puck possession during their opponents’ powerplays.
The Lightning will need every student athlete to play their best and contribute to a complete team victory. Controlling play throughout the game by pressuring the opponent into turnovers and special teams play will be the two primary keys to victory. Upper Montgomery is primed for a deep run in the junior varsity playoffs but will need to play up to its abilities in every game. The chase for a championship is on and let’s hope Friday night is step one with the team advancing to next week’s semifinal round.