The Upper Montgomery Lightning will attempt once again to make history by beating the Churchill Bulldogs for the first time in program history. Until Tuesday evening’s game, the closest Upper Montgomery has been to beating the Bulldogs was in the quarterfinal round of the 2022 -2023 Montgomery Hockey Conference playoffs. Churchill was the nine time consecutive defending state champion and Upper Montgomery had won its first ever playoff game in overtime the week prior. The winners in the quarterfinal round games of the Montgomery Hockey Conference playoffs advance to the Maryland Student Hockey League state playoffs. Upper Montgomery played Churchill to a one all tie through regulation and overtime before falling in a five round shootout by a score of three to two. Similar to soccer, the score is officially recorded as a tie with Churchill advancing on penalty shots.
Outside of that one game, the next closest performance for the Lightning has been a four goal loss. Last season, Churchill triumphed by a score of 8-0 in a game that was never close. But, this year’s Churchill squad is not nearly as formidably as some of the historically great Bulldog teams. The Bulldogs lost in overtime to the DC Stars for the first time ever early in the season, and they have looked underwhelming in other games such as a one goal win over Blair. Churchill enters the game with a 5-4-1 conference record, and 6-6-1 overall. If Upper Montgomery plays hockey the correct way, getting the puck out of the defensive zone and getting the puck in deep against Churchill, the Lightning should be right there with an opportunity to win the game.
Both teams have seen up and down goalie play this season. Upper Montgomery sophomore 16U AA goalie Ilan Shterenberg has been outstanding in several games this season backstopping the Lightning. He enters the final games of the season with a 6-4-1 record, a 4.14 goals against average, and an .890 save percentage. In his first year as a starter at the varsity level, Shterenberg will be looking to do what no other Lightning goalie has ever done, defeat the Bulldogs. He will again be backed up by ninth grade 14U Lower A netminder Porter Stutsrim-Lyons. Stutsrim-Lyons has started off his high school career strongly playing for Upper Montgomery’s junior varsity. Stutsrim-Lyons is 4-2-2 on the season with a 1.98 goals against average and a .927 save percentage. He has helped lead the Lightning junior varsity to the number four seed in the upcoming Montgomery Hockey Conference junior varsity playoffs.
In net for Churchill will be Macallister Glazer. Glazer enters the game with a 4-3 record, with two shutouts, a 3.32 goals against average, and an .883 save percentage. In his last outing, Glazer gave up three goals to Landon in relief of backup goalie Cameron Shure. Last season, Glazer had an easy time of it needing to only make eighteen saves to blank the Lightning in the Bulldogs 8-0 victory.
On defense, the Lightning have all of their defense available for the game. The Lightning’s most experienced defender, junior 16U AA Brady Berkhammer (11GP, 4G, 12A) has set career highs in goals and points this season. He will pair with ninth grade defender 14U AA Lillian Robbins (7GP, 4A). Berkhammer has had back-to-back three point games against Northwest / Quince Orchard and Rockville / Magruder. Sophomore 16U Lower A Miles Wendland (10GP, 3A) will skate with senior Cole Howerton (10GP, 2A). Both defenders are still looking for their first ever varsity goals. Senior Patrick Sell and sophomore 19U AA defender Avery Evans will likely see limited action.
With mega star 18U AAA senior defender Kobe Esko-Himmelfarb (13GP, 5G, 1A) the Bulldogs are all set on defense. They will also deploy tough customer 16U AA sophomore Alexander Bazyluk (6GP, 1G, 5A). The other Churchill defenders will rotate with Esko-Himmelfarb on the ice offering support and coverage; Tyler Long, Atahun Saydam, and Michael Dong. The Churchill defense is very mobile and they will attempt to join the play offensively. They will also continually pinch in at the offensive blue line looking to create offensive chances. The Bulldogs have given up 48 goals already this season compared with fifty goals total all of last season in 22 games.
Offensively, Upper Montgomery will look to consistently roll three lines during the game. Senior 18U AA forward Nathan Cassel returned to the lineup recently. He has scored in both games since his return, putting up six points in those two games with two goals and four assists. His season offensive numbers are (4GP, 5G, 5A). Cassel will again play with senior 18U Upper A center Henry Honacki (11GP, 12G, 5A) and left wing Philip Shkeda (9GP, 5G, 11A). Honacki leads the team in goals with twelve, having scored eight goals during his five game consecutive goal scoring streak. Honacki has scored four powerplay goals to go along with his two game winning goals. He scored the game winning goal in two of the last three Upper Montgomery wins. His game winning overtime goal with eleven seconds remaining in the extra period helped the Lightning overcome the DC Stars in Mid-December.
The Lightning will have junior 16U AAA center Owen Robbins (7GP, 7G, 4A) for the matchup against Churchill after he missed the previous two games. Thus, it will be imperative for the second and third lines to contribute offensively against Churchill. No offensive production came outside of the top line and Berkhammer against Rockville / Magruder. Sophomore 16U Lower A forward Aiden Zheng (11GP, 3G, 6A) and senior forward Josh Nadler will need to contribute additional scoring. Sophomore center Jake Hudson (9GP, 2G, 6A) scored two goals against Northwest / Quince Orchard. He has begun to feel more comfortable on the ice since being moved back to center. He has become more involved and noticeable using his size and strength to create opportunities. Ninth grade 14U Lower A forward Siddy Bhasin (8GP, 1G, 4A) and senior forwards AJ Marks and TJ Gottesman will need to provide energy and play excellent defense when on the ice.
The Bulldogs top forward scorer is junior Qin Lai (11GP, 7G, 4A). He scored a hat-trick recently against Wootton. His offensive production has increased over last year with expanded ice time. Lai will play on a line with sophomore 16U AA Liam Naughton (12GP, 6G, 3A) and speedy 16U Upper A Aiden Pham (11GP, 5G, 5A). Churchill’s second line will include ninth grade 14U AAA Tristan Xu, 18U AAA Ryan Wees, and 18U AA Shogo Okayama. Even with their speed and highly talented forwards, Churchill’s scoring is significantly down this year. The Bulldogs have averaged 4.6 goals per game this season compared with 5.36 goals per game last season due to the attrition of a high caliber graduating senior class.
The Lightning are already assured of their first conference winning record since the 2018 – 2019 campaign. Upper Montgomery has an opportunity to secure the sixth seed in the conference rankings with a win over Churchill. But it won’t be easy considering Upper Montgomery has never beaten Churchill in its sixteen year existence. The overtime loss still haunts the Lightning as they were so very close to pulling off the biggest upset in the history of high school hockey in the state of Maryland. The Lightning’s student athletes will need to put together a great effort. If they do, this long painful mark of the Bulldogs remaining the only team that the Lightning have never beaten will end.
#Make History, #UML, #Bleed Green, #Go Bolts!