As summer 2022 nears conclusion, the Upper Montgomery Lightning ice hockey team is hard at work preparing for the upcoming season. Off-ice dryland workouts for the team have begun with an eye toward another season of growth for the program. Just three years ago the program had only 13 student athletes participating in the program. When the team takes the ice next month for the beginning of on-ice practices, the program anticipates that there will be 33 student athletes participating for the 2022 – 2023 season, allowing the program to have a full varsity roster and a full junior varsity roster with very few student athletes having to play for both squads.
With the success achieved by the program last season; the varsity team qualifying for the Montgomery Hockey Conference Division One playoffs for the first time in program history, and the magical run at the conclusion of the season for the junior varsity team resulting in a Montgomery Hockey Conference Junior Varsity Championship, expectations will be different for the upcoming season. While it may be very difficult for the junior varsity to repeat as conference champions, the varsity will have a large spotlight on continued growth. A reasonable expectation is that the program will beat one of the upper echelon teams in the conference this season, and at a minimum reach the semifinals of the Montgomery Hockey Conference Division Two playoffs. A stretch goal would be to win a Division One first round playoff game and play for a spot in the Maryland Scholastic Hockey League State playoffs. Upper Montgomery has never won a Division One playoff game in program history.
With a young program, only five of the 33 student athletes are seniors, the team is primed for success in future years. However, the coaching staff is looking for the student athletes with varsity experience to step it up a notch even against teams with a significant number of seniors and juniors that complete as high-end travel level student athletes. Join us as the Lightning look to take another step forward and continue to gain the respect of the more established programs in the conference.