The Upper Montgomery Lightning officially kick off the 2021-2022 ice hockey campaign versus the Rockville/Magruder Rams on Monday evening, October 25th. Game time is 8:00 pm at the Laurel Ice Gardens. This should be a tight affair with two very evenly matched teams.
Upper Montgomery is led by last season’s top returning scorer James Botti. James will be joined by other top returning offensive stalwarts, Chris Hassett, Olivia Robbins, Hunter Cameron, Brad Cupples, and Brandon Bernard. The team is eagerly anticipating the debuts of rising 9th graders Ryan Jacobson and Nathan Cassel. Offensively, the team should be much more balanced and effective than last season. The coaching staff is looking toward more offense this season coming building upon the Lightning’s 4-1-1 finish to conclude the 2020-2021 season.
Defensively, the squad will have to work hard and move the puck quickly. There will be several new faces on defense. George Benedick returns to anchor the back line along with Andrew Gean and Ethan Hockey. George will miss the Rockville/Magruder game and will return to action on Friday night against Quince Orchard. George’s absence will lead to additional playing time for rising 9th grade defender Andrew Botti, James’ brother. It is likely that James Botti will also see significant ice time on defense throughout the season.
In goal, it will likely be the season debut for Landon Bernard. Landon appeared in one varsity game last season and is looking to prove his mettle in net following the graduation of Hall of Fame netminder Jonas Clark.
Rockville/Magruder comes into the game with high hopes for the season. The Rams are also looking to qualify for the season ending Montgomery Hockey Conference playoff tournament. Led by two seniors the Rams need to get off to a good start. In net, the Rams are backstopped by senior netminder, Freddie Horowitz who is well known to the Lightning having played with the Lightning for several games during the spring 2021 hockey season. Freddie is an accomplished and very technical goalie who also plays for the Montgomery Youth Hockey Association’s 18U AA travel team. The Rams look to be set in net this year behind the solid play of Freddie.
On defense, Ryan Iliff will be key to the Rams success. A veteran of the team, and a leader on the ice, Ryan is a smooth staking defender who makes very good decisions with the puck. Ryan also plays on the Montgomery Youth Hockey Association’s 18U AA travel team. Expect Ryan to receive a lot of ice time this season as the Rams defensive ranks are not as deeps as in past seasons. Joining Ryan Iliff on defense will be Drew Pfeufer, a rising 9th grade student-athlete also playing at the AA club level and returning defenders senior Connor Combs and junior Ethan McNamara.
Up front on offense, much like the Lightning, the Rams have skilled but young forwards. The team will rely on junior Shea Walsh and then youngsters Jovi Greene, Lukas Gold, Trey Zeren, and Brendyn Iliff to light the lamp and play an aggressive forechecking style.
It should be a good one this coming Monday evening. The team that secures the victory will have a great start to the season and will have a step up in the quest to qualify for the season ending conference post-season playoff tournament.