The start to the 2023 – 2024 high school hockey season has not gone as planned for the Upper Montgomery Lightning. With two consecutive losses to begin the season, the Lightning are at the exact same point they were last season. Upper Montgomery is now 0-2 after opening the season dropping close contests to highly regarded Whitman and a 3-1 defeat against the DC Stars this past Friday evening.
The major challenge this season for Upper Montgomery was going to be how to navigate all of the highly talented student athletes missing games when they were out-of-town with their external travel teams. When Andrew Botti went down injured playing with his external travel team, the Lightning’s depth on defense would be severely tested. Coupled with playing against all of the top teams in division one of the Montgomery Hockey Conference, the program knew there would be some challenging times throughout the season.
The Lightning were not pleased with their performance against Whitman. A tied game at the very end of the second period bottomed out after Whitman scored a goal with one second remaining in the period to take the lead. Versus the DC Stars, Upper Montgomery dominated with 37 shots on goal in addition to hitting the goal posts six times. Unfortunately, Anton Tracy played incredibly well and stood tall in net for the Stars leaving the Lightning on the wrong side of the result.
Two troubling trends have developed at the start of the season. One, a lack of goal scoring. Scoring three goals in two games is simply not acceptable for a squad as talented as the Lightning. The powerplay has not scored over the first two games of the season. Second, the team has a minus seven goal differential in the third period as the team has tired throughout the games. Getting contributions from up and down the lineup will take pressure off the top two lines and allow for sufficient rest on the bench between shifts. If Upper Montgomery’s scoring is centralized amongst only a few skaters, the coaching staff will be forced to constantly rely on those few top end offensive skaters. This is not a recipe for success as their performance will deteriorate as the game progresses.
On Tuesday, Upper Montgomery travels to face its first private school team in program history. The Lightning will face off against Good Counsel. Game time is 4:00 pm at Laurel Ice Gardens. The Falcons compete in the Mid-Atlantic Prep Hockey League and in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference. A win over the Falcons would provide a bit of fresh air while removing the frustration the student athletes are going through. A victory could springboard the team for the rest of the season, however, it will not be easy. Just because the Upper Montgomery roster looks good on paper, the team will need to rise to the challenge each week and grind out victories. The other programs in the Montgomery Hockey Conference and the private school teams on the Lightning’s schedule are not just going to allow Upper Montgomery to win. The team will have to earn everything. Upper Montgomery has fourteen varsity games remaining in the season so there is a long way to go before the county playoffs start.
Against the DC Stars several student athletes played much better than in the season opening game against Whitman. Ryan Jacobson played especially well moving back to play defense against the Stars. He also had the Lightning’s only goal in the game.
For Good Counsel, the game against Upper Montgomery is their season opener. The Falcons are looking to rebound from a tough 2022 – 2023 season where they finished with a 3-7 record. The Falcons offense was led by Michael Hilligoss who scored twelve goals in eight games, but he graduated high school last spring. Billy Harrison scored ten goals in ten games. Gavin Senko added six goals in ten games. Declan Gallagher and Nick Cubbage led Good Counsel in assists with eight and seven respectively.
In net for Upper Montgomery will be senior Landon Bernard looking to get back on the winning track after finishing last season so strongly. In net for Good Counsel is likely to be Grady Larrance. Larrance played in half the games last season for the Falcons, and he will be looking to improve statistically. Last season, the Good Counsel defense was shaky giving up five or more goals in eight of their ten contests.
For Upper Montgomery the game is critical to getting right mentally. The team needs to fight through the adversity it is facing at the beginning of the season. Earning a win against a private school team would be a welcome boost for morale. Simply put, the Lightning need to get their first win of the season. All games are winnable games for the Lightning, but only if Upper Montgomery plays as a team and plays the right way. The experienced student athletes need to lead by example and put the puck in the net.
#Our Time, #UML, #Bleed Green, #Go Bolts!