The Upper Montgomery Lightning did everything possible to complete against the Whitman Vikings in the quarterfinal round of the Montgomery Hockey Conference junior varsity playoffs. Playing without two key student athletes, center Josh Nadler and defender Sean Levine, both serving supplemental discipline suspensions for their actions in the team’s final regular season game against the Carroll County Bears, the young and inexperienced Upper Montgomery squad just did not have enough to keep up with Whitman. The Lightning’s tenacious effort and Landon Bernard’s goaltending kept the game very tight until Whitman pulled away late.
Nadler’s and Levine’s absences left two sizeable holes for the Lightning to try and fill. Centers Henry Honacki and Stephen Shkeda were forced to play every other shift. With Levine out, the team rotated four primary defenders. The game plan was to stifle the Vikings and keep the game close providing Upper Montgomery with a chance late to come away with the upset victory.
For the most part the Lightning followed the game plan outside of a breakdown four minutes into the first period. An Upper Montgomery attempt to clear the defensive zone was kept in at the left point. The puck was circled down low in the left wing corner. A scramble for the puck ensued and the Lightning had another opportunity to again clear the defensive zone. Ben Luo intercepted the puck and passed it over to Hugh Golub. The puck bounced past Golub who was well defended to Drew Kaplan. Kaplan, unguarded, let loose with a wrist shot from the bottom of the left circle that went past Lightning goaltender Landon Bernard who had no chance on the play. After the early Whitman strike, the game settled in. Whitman would press forward looking to increase their lead and Upper Montgomery chased all over the ice with a hustle and tenacity to do everything possible to prevent Whitman from widening the lead. Shots on goal in the first period were low, Whitman with four while Upper Montgomery managed three.
The second period saw Bernard steal the show. He made twelve saves, many of them on high danger chances, to keep the Lightning afloat and in the game. Upper Montgomery still trailed by just the one goal with under a minute remaining in the second period. Then, an unfortunate possession in the Upper Montgomery defensive zone would prove costly. A Lightning defender lost his stick battling in the left wing corner for the puck. Whitman forward Trevor Fay came away with the puck and skated along the goal line. He centered the puck to Ben Lammers cutting down the slot. Lammers used a one time push shot from four feet in front of Bernard to wedge the puck into the net and provide the Vikings with a little breathing room. Whitman had started to take control of the game in the second period finishing with a thirteen to two shots on goal advantage.
The Lightning kept battling and trying to find a way to solve Whitman sophomore netminder Ryan Graf. Facing a stiff Vikings defense and with the core forward group tiring, Upper Montgomery faced an uphill battle. With the Lightning pressing to find a way to generate offense, the Upper Montgomery defense began to take chances and push forward. On one such sequence, Kaplan caused a turnover and passed the puck to SheungChak Wu. Wu skated past the Lightning defense and beat Bernard to open up what would be an insurmountable three goal lead with five minutes remaining in the game. Thomas Rouxel finished the scoring with two and a half minutes to go in the game as Bernard was trying to get to the bench so the Lightning could add an extra skater in a last gasp attempt to spark an offensive threat. The Vikings had control of the game and outshot Upper Montgomery ten to two in the third period. With the victory Whitman advances to the semifinal round of the junior varsity playoffs.
Game Notes:
- Upper Montgomery was shut out for the first time this season.
- Whitman outshot Upper Montgomery 27-7 for the game.
- For the second consecutive game, Upper Montgomery did not have a single powerplay opportunity.
- Both Josh Nadler and Sean Levine missed the game while serving supplemental discipline suspensions for their actions in the final junior varsity regular season game versus the Carroll County Bears.
Three Stars of the Game:
First Star—Drew Kaplan—Whitman Forward—1 Goal, 1 Assist
Second Star—Landon Bernard—Upper Montgomery Goalie—23 Saves, .852 Save Percentage
Third Star—Trevor Fay—Whitman Forward–1 Assist