The 2022 – 2023 high school hockey season was a season of growth and historic firsts for the Upper Montgomery Lightning. Yes, the sting of last week’s division two semifinal loss will be with the team all off-season, but that outcome should not take away from a number of history making firsts for the Lightning/Damascus et al. program. It was satisfying to see the team succeed after going through some tough times and difficult challenges the past two seasons as the team matured and developed.
The Lightning finished the season ranked 6th in Montgomery County. The team’s highest finish ever. The team finished ranked 11th out of the public school programs in Maryland and DC, also a program high. The team finished ranked 22nd in all of Maryland/DC high school ice hockey, another milestone finish for the program. Per the rankings system, the Lightning had the 15th toughest schedule in the Maryland/DC area. This includes the private school league (St. Johns’ top team, Georgetown Prep, etc..) and finished with an overall 8-7-2 record.
The team won its first ever division one playoff game! The 2-1 overtime thrilling victory over St. Johns will also be remembered as skate-gate for the craziness of having to play four minutes in the second period without a goalie while the bench scrambled to repair Landon’s skate blade. Hunter Cameron scored the program’s first ever overtime game winning goal.
The team was one goal away from making the state playoff tournament for the first time ever. The team tied Churchill. The playoff game is recorded as a tie with Churchill advancing 3-2 on penalty shots. Churchill had not lost a county or state playoff game in nine seasons. The heartbreaking outcome was made more so by how hard the team played and just needing one more either in five on five play, three on three play, or in the skills competition shootout. To put it in perspective, all four MHC teams won their opening round state playoff game and are competing in the state quarterfinals. Upper Montgomery was that close….but earned the team’s first ever points against the Bulldogs.
Upper Montgomery beat Wootton for the first time ever in December just prior to winter break. The 8-2 pounding of the Patriots broke a fourteen year period without a victory against what has been one of the historically top teams in the county. The Lightning proved that the pre-winter break win was no fluke by sweeping the Patriots coming out of the winter break with a 4-2 victory.
The team won against Quince Orchard when Quince Orchard was ranked number two in the county. The win was the program’s best win in terms of opponent’s ranking in team history.
The team tied BCC–The program’s first ever points earned against the Barons.
Key for the program this season was the maturation of the team’s core group of student athletes. It makes a world of difference to field a roster of experienced student athletes rather than relying on highly talented 9th graders and sophomores. The offensive production this year was more evenly distributed. Last year, the team had only five skaters score five or more goals for the entire season. This year, the team has seven student athletes with five or more goals.
What really helped the Lightning explode up the conference standings and rankings was the team’s defense five on five. Upper Montgomery gave up fewer chances than over the past two seasons. Limiting the opposition’s chances and playing a tighter defensive system made it difficult for teams to score against Upper Montgomery. Not yielding too many goals allowed the offensive firepower to carry the Lightning to victories. The Lightning averaged .6 more goals per game than last season (4.76 to 4.06) playing against a tougher schedule as part of division one.
The Churchill performance has no team looking past Upper Montgomery anymore. The Lightning are no longer going to sneak up on the top echelon programs. The program will be looking to ascend even higher next fall and that will begin with the 2023 spring season.
#Our Time, #UML, #Bleed Green, #Go Bolts!