Category: Lightning Strike Blog

The Upper Montgomery Lightning varsity squad kicks off its 2024 – 2025 regular season campaign on Friday night when the Lightning host the BCC Barons. In the sixteen years of its existence, the Upper Montgomery program has never beaten BCC. The Barons have owned Upper Montgomery surrendering only a single tie two years ago on Halloween. Game time is late night, 10:00 pm at Cabin John Ice Rink.  The team will be trying to once again advance through the regular season and the opening round of the Montgomery Hockey Conference playoffs to earn the chance to play for a spot in the Maryland Student Hockey League high school state playoff tournament. The Lightning have never advanced to the state playoffs, and are thought to be in a rebuilding season after losing nine seniors and two top juniors from last year’s experienced squad.

This season, it is expected that Churchill, Whitman, and Walter Johnson will again be at the top of the conference standings. With the exception of Northwest/Quince Orchard (who is anticipated to be by far the worst team in the county), the other eight teams are fairly evenly matched. Any of these eight teams could make a run and qualify for the state playoffs. Upper Montgomery will also be focused on bucking a trend that developed over the past couple of seasons, very slow starts. Last year, the team began the season 1-7. In 2022 – 2023, the team began the season 1-4-1. While the Lightning recovered nicely over the middle and second portion of the schedule both years, getting off to a better start this season is a must.

Upper Montgomery’s primary goaltender will be sophomore 16U AA Ilan Shterenberg. Shterenberg takes over the reigns from Landon Bernard who graduated. Last season, Shterenberg shined at the junior varsity level setting or tying junior varsity program records for wins in a season (8), lowest goals against average (1.80), and highest save percentage (.927). At the varsity level, Shterenberg got his feet wet last season participating in five games, with four starts. He was 2-1 with a 4.44 goals against average and a .829 save percentage. Shterenberg will be heavily counted upon to keep the young Lightning roster in games all season long. He will be backed up by ninth grade netminder Porter Stutsrim-Lyons.  Stutsrim-Lyons plays for the Caps Academy 14U Lower A external travel team and has started off his high school career strongly playing for the junior varsity. Stutsrim-Lyons is 1-1-2 on the season with a 2.18 goals against average and a .927 save percentage. He began his high school career with a shutout of Richard Montgomery and followed up that performance with a career high and junior varsity program record 47 saves against Wootton.

On defense, the Lightning have most of their backline returning with the exception of junior defender Andrew Botti who chose not to play high school hockey during his season year of high school. Returning are top rising juniors, rugged defensive defender 16U AAA Owen Robbins (14GP, 3A) and smooth skating cool customer 16U AA Brady Berkhammer (21GP, 1G, 12A). They will be joined in the regular defensive rotation by sophomore 16U Lower A Miles Wendland (18GP, 6A) and senior Cole Howerton. Anticipate the Lightning defense to be more offensive minded this season after the defenders scored only five goals in 91 totals defensive games played last year. Rounding out the defensive corps will be a rotation of junior varsity call ups; 14U AA Lillian Robbins, 14U Lower A Matt Rivera, Patrick Sell, Luke Hudson, and 19U AA Avery Evans. With the loss of so many experienced skaters off last season’s roster, almost every skater in the program is likely to see some some playing for the varsity this season.

Offensively, Upper Montgomery returns its second and third leading scorers from a season ago. Senior 18U AA forward Nathan Cassel (15GP, 11G, 18A) and junior forward Philip Shkeda (20GP, 13G, 12A). This duo will be relied upon to lead Upper Montgomery offensively and they both will need to produce just like last year after loosing their center for the past two seasons, Chris Hassett to graduation. Cassel has an opportunity score enough goals (17) or hand out enough assists (12) to qualify for induction into the Maryland Student Hockey League Hall of Fame. Senior center, Henry Honacki 18U Upper A (21GP, 7G, 8A) elevated his game last year and if he can increase his scoring production it will help supplement Cassel and Shkeda.

After these three students, there is a drop off in production to sophomore 16U Lower A Aiden Zheng (9GP, 3G, 5A) and senior Josh Nadler (13GP, 4A). Both Zheng and Nadler will play heavy minutes with the varsity this season and both will need to increase their offensive output. Nadler is the junior varsity’s all-time leading goal scorer with 20 career junior varsity goals. Joining them on the varsity roster are forwards; TJ Gottesman, the junior varsity’s career points leader with 32 points, sophomore newcomer Jake Hudson, and ninth grade 14U Lower A forward Siddy Bhasin. Bhasin and Hudson currently lead the junior varsity in scoring so far this season. AJ Marks and his big frame will get a look in varsity competition as well. Other junior varsity student athletes may get called up as the season progresses when the core of the varsity squad is missing due to external travel team out-of-town game conflicts.

The 2024 – 2025 varsity season will be one of growth and development for the green and gold’s younger student athletes.  It should be exciting and rewarding as the younger skaters grow and blossom. How quickly the team develops the defensive habits necessary to lead the program forward will determine if the Lightning can again challenge the upper echelon varsity teams in the county.  Or, is the team simply too young to compete right now this season.  Friday night will give us some answers as the season finally gets underway.  Come along for the ride, it should be a fun season!

The Lightning junior varsity has had an impressive start of their own. The team is 1-1-2 through four games. The season opened with an 8-0 smashing of Richard Montgomery. Upper Montgomery then extended the junior varsity program record unbeaten streak to sixteen games, 12-0-4 over three seasons with an overtime loss to the top junior varsity program in the county, Wootton. Inevitably, all things must come to an end and the long undefeated streak vanished in a 4-3 loss to BCC. In the BCC game, the Lightning’s string of 36 consecutive shorthanded situations killed off also ended.

In a heroic effort, Upper Montgomery took Churchill to overtime with only seven available skaters. It was a monster performance to sneak out a point with such a depleted roster. Up next for the Lightning junior varsity is the DC Stars and then the worst team in the county by far, Blair, which should allow the team to improve its record to 2-1-2 (plus the DC Stars outcome) at the beginning of the month of November. The junior varsity’s leading scorer is ninth grade forward Siddy Bhasin (3GP, 3G, 4A). Bhasin has scored in his first three high school hockey games. Sophomore Jake Hudson is tied for the junior varsity lead in goals with three (3GP, 3G, 2A). Miles Wendland, Cole Howerton, and Aiden Zheng have also stood out defensively helping to propel Upper Montgomery to the nice start to the season.

#UML, #Bleed Green, #Go Bolts!

Tomorrow evening kicks off the beginning of the Upper Montgomery Lightning on-ice preseason evaluation sessions and practices. With the graduation of nine seniors, many of whom played outsized roles in the team’s success last year, with junior Ryan Jacobson leaving the area to play junior hockey in Michigan, and with top defender junior Andrew Botti choosing not to play high school hockey in his senior season, the program will endeavor through a natural cycle of younger student athletes receiving ample playing time.

The evolution of sophomore AA goalie Ilan Shterenberg will be critical to the team’s success as he will be heavily counted upon in net, just as he was for the junior varsity squad last season. Shterenberg excelled with the junior varsity in his first high school season posting an 8-1-1 record with three shutouts, a 1.80 goals against average, and a .927 save percentage. He received valuable experience with the varsity squad last year as well and won two of his four starts going 2-1 with a 4.44 goals against average and an .829 save percentage. Ninth grade netminder Porter Strutsrim-Lyons will serve as the goalie for the junior varsity and will back up Shterenberg in varsity games. It is not out of the question that Strutsrim-Lyons may play a few varsity games depending upon Shterenberg’s external club team travel schedule.

The Upper Montgomery defense returns experienced student athletes on both the varsity squad and the junior varsity squad. Junior AAA defensive defender Owen Robbins (14 GP, 3A) has amassed a tremendous amount of varsity experience (30 games) in his first two years of high school and he will be leaned upon to play heavy minutes during the upcoming season. It is anticipated that he will play with senior Cole Howerton. Howerton will be expected to step in and play regular shifts for the varsity in his final season. Howerton has played some at the varsity level over the past two seasons and will be looked upon to take on a bigger role this season. The other defensive pairing will likely be junior AA defender Brady Berkhammer (21 GP, 1G, 12A) playing with sophomore A level defender Miles Wendland (18GP, 6A). The team will need for one of the junior varsity defenders to step forward and push for playing time at the varsity level.

Howerton (10 GP, 5G, 4A) and Wendland have junior varsity eligibility remaining and will play down to help the junior varsity’s younger defenders. Senior defensive defender Patrick Sell will play plenty at the junior varsity level and will need to demonstrate he is ready to step in at the varsity level. Sophomore AA defender Avery Evans (8GP, 1G, 4A) will see regular junior varsity action. Ninth grade AA defender Lillian Robbins will compete with A level ninth grader Matthew Rivera and ninth grader Luke Hudson to round out the defensive corps. Sophomore defender Max Curtusan will receive junior varsity playing time as the season progresses.

Offensively, the Lightning return their second and third leading scorers from last season. Senior AA forward Nathan Cassel (15 GP, 11G, 18A) and junior forward Philip Shkeda (20 GP, 13G, 12A) will headline the top line. Finding a center for this high scoring duo will come down to how the coaching staff decides to split up ice time. The top returning center is senior upper A level skater Henry Honacki (21 GP, 7G, 8A). On the second line Aiden Zheng (9GP, 3G, 5A) will compete for playing time with incoming sophomore Jake Hudson and returning senior Josh Nadler. Nadler is the junior varsity’s all time goal scoring leader and he will need to elevate his game to produce at the varsity level. TJ Gottesman has exhausted his junior varsity eligibility and will serve as a depth forward for the varsity. There will be plenty of opportunity for senior AJ Marks to show that he deserves to be dressed for varsity games. Incoming ninth grader Siddy Bhasin could also earn third line duties playing for the varsity throughout the season.

The junior varsity will have a significant number of new faces dressed at forward for game action. Zheng, Jake Hudson, and Bhasin will all receive regular shifts for the junior varsity. They will be joined offensively by junior Jason Woodman and then younger skaters, sophomore Jackson Schickler, and incoming ninth graders Decklin Hughes and Max Israfilbek, along with sophomore Mason Jagoz who played high school hockey in Frederick last season.

The 2024 – 2025 season will be one of growth and development for the green and gold’s younger student athletes. It should be exciting and rewarding as the younger skaters grow and blossom. How quickly the team develops the habits that will lead the program forward will determine if the Lightning can again challenge the upper echelon teams in the Montgomery Hockey Conference this season. Or, is the team simply to young to compete now. Come along for the ride, it should be a fun season!

#UML, #Bleed Green, #Go Bolts!

On Tuesday evening, the Upper Montgomery Lightning hockey program begins in earnest preparations for the 2024 – 2025 hockey season. The team holds its first dryland practice and off-ice conditioning session. There will be two weeks of organized dryland workouts prior to the official start of on-ice sessions which are allowed to begin on Monday evening, September 9.

With the graduation of nine seniors, many of whom played outsized roles in the team’s success, with junior Ryan Jacobson leaving the area to play junior hockey in Michigan, and with top defender junior Andrew Botti choosing not to play high school hockey in his senior season, the program will endeavor through a natural cycle of younger student athletes receiving ample playing time. The evolution of sophomore goalie Ilan Shterenberg will be critical to the team’s success as he will be heavily counted upon in net, just as he was for the junior varsity squad last season. While there are many returning defenders and forwards, younger members of the organization will be counted upon to rise up and play larger roles in the upcoming season. There will be plenty of ice time available to be earned for students who played depth and supporting roles in prior years. The upcoming early evaluation sessions and practices will be important for these student athletes to show that they are ready for larger roles with the team this upcoming season.

Unlike last season when the Upper Montgomery program had been gearing up for a championship run with a significant number or older and experienced members of the team, the 2024 – 2025 season will be one of growth development for the green and gold’s younger students. It should be exciting and rewarding as the younger students grow and blossom, and begin to develop habits that will lead the program forward with opportunities to challenge the upper echelon teams in future seasons. Come along for the ride, it should be a fun season!

#UML, #Bleed Green, #Go Bolts!

As the summer reaches the midway point, the Upper Montgomery Lightning program is already deep in preparations for the upcoming high school hockey season. Many of the team’s student athletes are participating in various camps to improve their individual skill level. The team is just a few short weeks away from the beginning of organized dryland workouts. In seven short weeks the team will hit the ice for the first evaluation session scheduled for Monday evening, September 9.

With the graduation of nine seniors, many of whom played outsized roles in the team’s success, and with junior Ryan Jacobson leaving to play junior hockey in Michigan, the program will endeavor through a natural cycle of younger student athletes receiving ample playing time. The evolution of goalie Ilan Shterenberg will be heavily counted upon in net, just as they were for the junior varsity last season. While there are many returning student athletes, on defense and offensively, younger members of the organization will be counted upon to rise up and play larger roles in high leverage situations. There will be plenty of ice time that is available for students who played depth and supporting roles in prior years.

Different from last season when the program had been gearing up for a championship run with a significant number or older and experienced members of the team, the 2024 – 2025 season will be one of development for the green and gold. It should be exciting and rewarding as the young students grow and blossom.

#UML, #Bleed Green, #Go Bolts!

As the school year is now completed and students are out for the summer months, the Upper Montgomery Lightning program is already deep in preparations for the upcoming hockey season. Many of the team’s student athletes are participating in various hockey camps to improve their individual skill level and strength and conditioning.

The team is mere weeks away from the beginning the registration process for student athletes to be eligible for the upcoming 2024-2025 season. The only unknown at this juncture is if the conference will make any changes to the current roster of high schools that make up the Upper Montgomery program. There is discussion that some of the coop teams may need to pick up additional schools as both Blair and Sherwood may become pure teams for the upcoming season. A team must go pure when they reach sixteen students from the same high school in the program. With the corresponding moves, Upper Montgomery may be asked to accept additional students into the program. There is no movement to remove any of the Upper Montgomery program’s four core high schools.

All of the team’s focus shifts now to qualifying for the Maryland state high school playoffs for the first time in team history. The upcoming season will be the sixteenth season that the green, white, and gold will battle it out against the best in Montgomery County. The Lightning are one of six programs with a legitimate shot at advancing through the Montgomery Hockey Conference playoff bracket and making a run into the state playoff tournament. Each student athlete must dedicate themselves to this goal, starting with improving their individual skills and conditioning over the summer to come into camp in top shape.

The Lightning program also will be closely following three alumni skaters who depart the program after this past season all of whom will be playing junior hockey next fall:

Hunter Cameron will be playing in Pennsylvania for the Hershey Cubs.

Olivia Robbins will be playing in Ontario, Canada for the OHA Mavericks Elite U22 team.

Ryan Jacobson will be playing in Mount Clemens, Michigan for the Metro Jets.

Also happening throughout the summer is the Upper Montgomery Lightning Varsity Trophy traveling tour. As has become tradition, when the program wins a championship such as the Varsity Tournament title this past winter (akin to the NIT tournament in college basketball), the team’s championship trophy leaves the year-end team celebration and travels across the county spending one week with each member of the organization that participated in winning the championship. So, be on the lookout around the upper regions of Montgomery County for a trophy sighting!

#UML, #Bleed Green, #Go Bolts!

It was a busy month of May for the Upper Montgomery Lightning program. The team has concluded play during the spring 2024 hockey season.  While not qualify for the spring league playoffs, the squad improved as the spring season went along which was the primary objective of the coaching staff. The spring season is designed for incoming high school students to get acclimated to the speed of high school hockey.  Upper Montgomery’s ten new student athletes received a taste of what is to come in the fall when the 2024 – 2025 regular season commences.

The other major event that occurred during May was the Upper Montgomery Lightning year-end team celebration. It was quite a festive evening with the student athletes and their families celebrating the success of the program and honoring the nine seniors who are departing the program after a very successful four year run. All members of the team were recognized and honored for their individual performance last season. Varsity student athletes received a personal trophy to commemorate winning the Montgomery Hockey Conference (MHC) Varsity Tournament Championship.

Additionally, 19 of the 28 UML student athletes were recognized by the Maryland Scholastic Hockey League (MSHL) with academic achievement awards.  The award is presented to student athletes achieving a weighted 3.5 grade point average or higher during the first semester of the academic year. Seven students maintained above a 4.25 weighted GPA, seniors Olivia Robbins and Adam Levine, junior Henry Honacki, Sophomore Owen Robbins, and 9th grade first year high school students, Aiden Zheng, Ilan Shternberg, and Miles Wendland. Great effort and success in the classroom!

The junior varsity set many program records during the 2023 – 2024 season on the way to the first undefeated regular season in program history at 9-0-1.

• Most victories in a season with nine.
• Perfect on penalty kill 27/27 with a goalie in net–including a five minute major and a full two minute 5-3.
• The junior varsity gave up only 23 goals in 11 games.
• Three shutouts.
• Highest winning percentage in program history .863.
• The Lightning junior varsity is losing its top three all-time scorers in TJ Gottesman, Josh Nadler, and Adam Levine.  TJ and Josh will only be eligible for varsity competition next season.  Adam is a graduating senior.
• Josh Nadler set a program record for scoring goals in six straight games.
• Adam Levine set a program record for recording a point in eight straight games.
• Josh Nadler set a single season program record with 53 penalty minutes and a career program record of 124 penalty minutes.
• TJ Gottesman leaves the junior varsity as the career leader in points with 32.
• Josh Nadler leaves the junior varsity as the career leader in goals with 20.
• Ilan Shterenberg tied a program record with eight wins. He also set program records for lowest goals against average at 1.80, and highest save percentage at .927.

• Varsity Highlights of the 2023 – 2024 season.
  • The Upper Montgomery Lightning won the most important championship in team history–the Montgomery Hockey Conference Varsity Tournament Championship.
  • Upper Montgomery finished with its highest final season county ranking ever–5th, and its highest final season public school state ranking ever–13th.
  • Including the private schools, UML played the number 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15 (three times), 16, and 19th ranked high school programs in the area.
  • The team beat Walter Johnson who was ranked second in the county. That victory ties the highest ranked opponent that UML has ever beaten.
  • Upper Montgomery had a 1-0 lead over eventual state champion Oakdale with less than five minutes to play.
  • Upper Montgomery was tied with private school powerhouse Bullis with less than a minute remaining in the game.
  • The expectation each year moving forward is to make the state playoffs.  UML is no longer a mid-major program.
  • Coach Scott Cameron is leaving the program after four seasons of being an incredibly valuable resource for the team.

Post-Season Awards and Recognitions:

• Chris Hassett was inducted into the MSHL Hall of Fame.  Chris finished his career with 62 goals–third in program history, 64 assists–second in program history, for 126 points–third in program history, an average of 2.14 points per game.
• In the history of the MSHL, Chris finished 30th all-time in goals, 13th all-time in assists, and 19th all-time in points.
• Chris Hassett was named 2nd Team Division 1 All-MHC.
• Chris Hassett and Olivia Robbins were both named Honorable Mention All-Met by the Washington Post.  Olivia was 2nd Team All-Met after last season.
• Brady Berkhammer and Hunter Cameron were named Honorable mention Division 1 All-MHC.
• Adam Levine was recognized with the High School Hobey Baker award.  The award at the high school level is given to a senior student athlete for their positive attitude, coachability, strength of character, integrity, commitment, teamwork, work ethic on the ice and in the classroom, exemplary character, and outstanding sportsmanship.  Adam took zero penalties in 64 UML games, finished his career second in junior varsity program history in assists (15) and third in junior varsity program history in scoring (23). 

What’s next for the nine Upper Montgomery senior student athletes?

• Next season, Hunter Cameron will be playing junior hockey in Pennsylvania with the Hershey Cubs.
• Next season, Olivia Robbins will be in Canada playing junior hockey with the OHA Mavericks U22 Elite team based in Ontario, Canada.
• Adam Levine will be attending South Carolina University’s highly regarded sports management program on merit (academic) scholarship.
• Next season, Chris Hassett will play his final year of 18U eligibility before moving on to play junior hockey in the fall of 2025.
• Landon Bernard and Brandon Bernard will be attending Wilkes University.
• Bradley Cupples will be studying Kinesiology at Penn State.
• Jake Roth will be studying aerospace engineering.
• Sean Levine will be taking classes locally.

Best of luck to all of the graduating seniors and we hope they all continue to follow Upper Montgomery as they head off to their future careers and studies.

#UML, #Bleed Green, #Go Bolts!

Upper Montgomery Lightning senior co-captain, forward Hunter Cameron has signed to play junior hockey with the Hershey Cubs of the US Premier Hockey League. The official press release is below

The Hershey Cubs of the US Premier Hockey League are proud to announce the signing of forward Hunter Cameron. The Clarksburg, Maryland native comes to us after a successful season with the Washington Little Caps 18U AAA club and after playing four years with the Upper Montgomery Lightning high school team.  Coach Boudreau had this to say about the signing of Hunter:

“Hunter was a player we were interested in from the start of tryouts.  He comes from a good youth program that plays a competitive AAA schedule.  Cameron did not disappoint on the ice, getting better as the camp went along.  He carried himself like a mature and experienced junior player despite only playing youth hockey.  We believe he will thrive on the ice and have a great rookie season”.

Congratulations Hunter and welcome to the chocolate and cream.

In his storied high school career Hunter finished by scoring 20 goals and adding 24 assists for 44 points. Hunter played both forward and defense for the Lightning during his senior season displaying his versatility. His leadership and determination helped Upper Montgomery win the Montgomery Hockey Conference Varsity Playoff Tournament.  

Outside of high school hockey, Hunter played for the Washington Little Caps 18U AAA program that produced former Washington Capitals Jeff Halpern and USA Hockey Hall of Famer and long time Chicago Blackhawk Jeremy Roenick.

The Upper Montgomery program is proud of Hunter and looks forward to avidly following his junior hockey career.

The Upper Montgomery Lightning have begun play in the spring 2024 hockey season.  The spring season is designed for incoming high school students to get acclimated to the speed of high school hockey.  Upper Montgomery has ten new student athletes that are competing with the program this spring.   Several of the new students are defenders and will provide significant depth to the junior varsity program next season.  There is also the possibility that up to three of the new members of the program could play in some varsity games next season.

With Ilan Shterenberg taking over as the varsity goalie, Porter Stutsrim-Lyons will handle the goaltending duties for the Lightning junior varsity next season.  

Several returning skaters are competing this spring, and their participation will help the newcomers adjust to the higher level of competition in high school hockey.  As with each new spring season, the speed of the game catches the new students off guard for the first couple of weeks.  Then, the skaters settle in and begin to adjust and play faster.

All of us at Upper Montgomery wish to congratulate Nathan Cassel and the rest of the MYHA 16U AA team that reached the championship game at USA Nationals. The MYHA 16U AA team was the first Maryland team in the history of youth hockey to advance and play for a USA Hockey championship.  Despite a heartbreaking outcome of losing with four seconds left in overtime, the Lightning are very proud of Nathan and his teammates for their historic accomplishment.

#UML, #Bleed Green, #Go Bolts!

The Upper Montgomery Lightning are CHAMPIONS! having won the season ending Montgomery Hockey Conference Varsity Tournament. The tournament consists of all teams in the county that did not make the state playoffs. Think of the tournament as the equivalent of the NIT tournament in college basketball. Even through Upper Montgomery was ranked 13th in the state, Montgomery County is only allotted four of the sixteen state playoff berths. Despite the disappointment of missing out on the state playoffs, the Lightning stayed mentally strong and blew through the competition to take the Varsity Tournament title. Upper Montgomery finished the season with its highest ever season ending ranking, fifth in the county and 13th in the state.

In the quarterfinals of the tournament the Lightning destroyed Northwest/Quince Orchard 14-1. The game was a blowout from the outset. Every Upper Montgomery skater tallied at least one point with twelve of the fourteen skaters having multiple points. Chris Hassett led the team with five goals and six points. Ninth grade student athlete Aiden Zheng scored his first career goal and finished with a hat-trick and two assists for a career high five points. Cole Howerton tallied two assists which were his first two varsity points. Henry Honacki chipped in with four assists.

In the semifinals, the Lightning clamped down on Sherwood’s high scoring senior Grayson Winckler to throttle the Warriors 5-1. Hassett, the team’s leading scorer, again led Upper Montgomery with four goals. Brandon Bernard and Philip Shkeda had three assists in the game.

In the championship game, Upper Montgomery crushed Wootton blitzing the Patriots 9-1 to win the title. Hassett concluded his career with another five point game, two goals and three assists. Bernard tallied twice and added two assists. It was the third straight victory for the Lightning over Wootton. Prior to last season, Wootton had won all previous matchups between the two teams.

In a wonderful conclusion to the careers of the Upper Montgomery senior class, Sean Levine, Olivia Robbins, Adam Levine, Hunter Cameron, Bradley Cupples, Chris Hassett, and Brandon Bernard, they all scored in their final high school hockey games. The Montgomery Hockey Conference Varsity Tournament title caps a four year run that has taken the Lightning program to new heights.

#Champions, #UML, #Bleed Green, #Go Bolts!

The Upper Montgomery Lightning crushed Wootton 9-1 on Thursday afternoon to win the Montgomery Hockey Conference Tournament Championship.  All of the teams in the Montgomery Hockey Conference that fail to advance to the Maryland state high school hockey playoffs all compete in the Tournament Championship. It is a highly prestigious achievement and the most coveted accomplishment to date in Upper Montgomery program history.   

The Lightning finished the 2023 – 2024 season ranked 5^th in the conference (the top team which missed out on advancing to the state playoffs) and 13^th in the state this season.  Although 16 teams make the state playoff tournament, there is a limit on the number of teams from Montgomery County—four.  Unfortunately, the squad fell one game short of qualifying for the state playoffs for the second consecutive season. 

In the Montgomery Hockey Conference tournament championship game, the team was led by leading scorer senior center Chris Hassett who tallied two goals while adding three assists. Brandon Bernard finished his high school career with a big game netting two goals and two assists. Senior Hunter Cameron and juniors Andrew Botti and Henry Honacki each added a goal and an assist. Brady Berkhammer dished out two assists. Senior Bradley Cupples and Philip Shkeda each scored in the drubbing of Wootton as well. Senior netminder, Landon Bernard finished out his career with the convincing victory allowing only one goal and making fifteen saves.

Upper Montgomery has now beaten former perennial powerhouse Wootton three straight times (8-2 and 4-2 both last season, and then destroying the Patriots 9-1 this season).