The Upper Montgomery Lightning ice hockey club is the most recent name of the former Damascus, et al co-op high school ice hockey team. The Damascus co-op team was formed in 2008 with student athletes from three high schools in the up-county region of Montgomery County, Maryland; Damascus High School, Gaithersburg High School, and Clarksburg High School. Over the years, the program has grown to include student athletes from three additional high schools; Seneca Valley High School, Poolesville High School, and Watkins Mill High School. For the upcoming 2023-2024 season, the program will have student athletes from four core high schools participating; Clarksburg High School, Damascus High School, Poolesville High School, and Seneca Valley High School.
Historically, the team has participated in division two of the Montgomery Hockey Conference (MHC), competing against other co-op teams and lesser quality programs in Montgomery County. At the conclusion of the 2018-2019 season, the program won its first and only varsity post-season championship by capturing the Montgomery Hockey Conference Division Two post-season playoff tournament championship beating Rockville/Magruder by a score of 6-3.
Until the 2021-2022 season, all MHC division two teams were prevented from an opportunity to compete for a spot in the Maryland Student Hockey League (MSHL) state playoff championships.
The Upper Montgomery program captured its first ever Montgomery Hockey Conference junior varsity championship at the conclusion of the 2021-2022 season. It was a thrilling 2-1 upset victory over the top seeded Richard Montgomery Rockets.
Throughout its history, the program has had five Maryland Student Hockey League Hall of Fame student athletes.
- Jonas Clark———————30 Wins
- Trevor Drake——————–106 goals, 67 assists, 173 points—–the program’s leading scorer
- Nick Morhardt—————–108 goals, 55 assists, 163 points
- Chris Hassett——————–62 goals, 64 assists, 126 points
- Bryan Pilpel———————52 goals (played a portion of his high school career with Damascus)
- Trevor Bibb———————-50 goals
Additionally, Jonas Clark was the recipient of the Maryland Student Hockey League’s prestigious Yvon Labre Award for the 2020 – 2021 season. The award is presented each year to the Maryland high school ice hockey student athletes who shows dedication to the sport of ice hockey, has superior work ethic, excellent hockey skills, and team leadership characteristics.
Many talented student athletes have competed for the program. Alumni forward Bryan Pilpel played junior hockey for the New Hampshire Avalanche in the Eastern Hockey League. Former Damascus forward Trevor Drake will be entering his senior season playing for the University of Maryland club hockey team. Upper Montgomery former defender James Botti is entering his sophomore year playing for the University of Maryland club hockey team. Ethan Hockey is beginning his college career with Northern Michigan University’s club hockey team.