The Upper Montgomery Lightning’s 2025 – 2026 junior varsity regular season got off to an uneven start last Friday evening. Several students played well in the season opener, but the team as a whole could not overcome Blazers defender Rodrick Hobbs’ hat-trick in the season opening 3-2 loss. Hobbs’ game winning goal was scored with under two minutes remaining in regulation. Also, unfortunate for the Lightning was Hobbs’ participation in the game, as the Montgomery Hockey Conference evaluates all junior varsity students after their team’s third game of the season. After last Friday’s game, Hobbs was elevated to varsity only status for the rest of his high school career.
Upper Montgomery’s junior varsity heads into their second game of the season this Friday evening against the Rockville / Magruder Rams. Game time is 8:50 pm at Rockville Ice Arena. Rockville / Magruder has already played four games this season as their junior varsity schedule is heavily slanted toward the beginning of the season whereas Upper Montgomery’s schedule is more evenly distributed over the next several months. The Rams enter the contest with two victories and two defeats.
The Lightning junior varsity roster is a good mixture of older experienced students pairing with many new incoming students to the program. With the loss of the team’s top seven scorers from last year, the Lightning will be focused on preventing the opposition from scoring. It may take the team a while to gel offensively and begin popping in the goals as evidenced by last week’s two goal performance. The returning junior varsity members and the incoming ninth grade students have picked up Upper Montgomery’s new systems very well. The team was much more physical against the Blazers than in prior seasons and that will continue to be key for the Lightning as the season progresses.
In net for the Lightning is expected to be ninth grade goalie George Schickler making his Upper Montgomery debut. He will have large shoes to fill as Upper Montgomery’s returning junior varsity goalie Porter Stutsrim-Lyons was excellent in net last week against Silver Spring stopping 39 of 42 shots on goal. George Schickler is the younger brother of the Lightning’s junior forward Jackson Schickler. Having three junior varsity eligible goalies is an abundance of riches the forcing the coaching staff to work on getting all three netminder into games this season. The Lightning have also been loaning out the junior varsity eligible goalies to other programs in need. Both Schickler and Friday’s backup goalie ninth grade Stephen Rickman have played in net for Walter Johnson over the past few weeks. The Rams are expected to start ninth grade 14U Lower A goalie Daniel Gagarin in net. Gagarin has posted a 2-0 record with a 1.21 goals against average and a .943 save percentage. He has only given up three goals on the season.
On defense Friday night, the Lightning will play with their same two defensive pairings. Last season, Upper Montgomery had eight junior varsity eligible defenders. This season, the team will make due with four. If a defender misses a game or is injured during a game, forwards will be brought back on defense to help cover for that game. Junior defender Max Curtusan grew over the summer and looks much more sturdy this season. Look for the big rig defender to clear the crease and use his long reach to bottle up opposing forwards. It worked against the Blazers as their powerplay was tepid for most of the game. Curtusan will mostly pair with ninth grade defender Lenny Roth. Roth, the younger brother of former Upper Montgomery defender Jake Roth, will use his quick skating ability to get the puck out of the defensive zone.
The Lightning’s alternate captain, 16U Lower A defender Matthew Rivera is the team’s leading returning scorer from last season with five assists in ten games. Rivera has been given the green light to skate the puck up ice creating offensive rushes. His speed and deft puck handling skills should provide Upper Montgomery with two to three high quality scoring chances per game. Rivera’s defensive partner is ninth grade defender Dylan Kim. Kim plays for the Tri-City Eagles external travel team and will continue to improve as the season moves along. For the Rams, their defensive corps is led by Lukas Aagaard who has seen varsity game action in prior seasons. Aagaard is not flashy but is positionally very sound. He moves the puck very well out of the defensive zone. David Schanzer and Carder Wilcox are likely to be a pairing. Wilcox has a lot of junior varsity experience over the past two seasons. With only three listed defenders, the Rams will also bring back forwards to take shifts on defense to prevent overtaxing their defenders.
Offense is likely going to be a continuing struggle all season for Upper Montgomery’s junior varsity. No returning forward scored more than one goal or four points last season. The offense did not score at even strength against Silver Spring. With the lack of scoring, the coaching staff changed systems this summer to a more defensive structure. The new system puts a primary responsibility on the team’s centers to act as a third defender. Junior Mason Jagoz and incoming ninth grader Wyatt Ostrander will play the majority of their shifts at center. They will also log a substantial amount of time as penalty killers. Their high hockey IQ makes their performance crucial to the success of the team in getting the puck out of the defensive zone.
A few forwards return for the Lightning. Sophomore 16U Upper A Max Israfilbek has the best shot on the team. He may need to sacrifice some offensive chances to become more reliable in the defensive end of the ice. Against Silver Spring he scored two powerplay goals including one on a penalty shot. Senior captain Jason Woodman is expected to have his most productive offensive season this year. He has been given a tough job, to absorb abuse in the goal crease and cause the opposition to focus on him rather than the puck carrier. How effective he is at mucking it up in front and causing chaos will determine the fortunes of his forward line. He did his job well on the Lightning’s lone powerplay last week earning an assist. Junior Jackson Schickler will join the team later in the season once his football commitments at Poolesville High School end. Schickler will bring energy and intensity to a team that needs to grow in those gritty areas. Sophomore Decklin Hughes will see plenty of ice time especially if he proves to be reliable in the defensive zone. Hughes is good along the boards and will play the body. Sometimes too much body as he was whistled for three minor penalties against the Blazers. The more effective he is in the defensive zone, the more ice time he will earn.
The junior varsity forward ranks will also have a few new faces this year in addition to Ostrander. Ninth grade right wing Tima Zamaray who plays external hockey in the Tri-City Eagles program has the most individual skill of the incoming students. Zamaray’s progress will be quantified by how he uses his individual skill in the team environment. Zamaray will need to adjust to what works and what does not work at the high school level. He too will earn additional shifts by being responsible in the defensive zone. A n area where Zamaray should help the team is on the powerplay with his hard shot. The Lightning are pleased with the initial progress of the two students on the roster with the least amount of hockey experience, ninth grade forwards Nolan Veillette and Miriam Baron. Both are small in stature but have a big desire to improve and get better. Veillette has adapted to the team’s systems well and Baron shows the eagerness and spunk of someone who is looking to improve every time she is on the ice. Her improvement over the season will see her earn additional shifts in each game.
Rockville / Magruder is led offensively by ninth grade 16U Lower A forward Adam Suitor who has (4GP, 2G, 4A). Fellow ninth grade forward Dylan Singer is Suitor’s prime running mate with (3GP, 2G, 3A). When these two are on the ice together, the Lightning defense will be challenged. The Rams leading goal scorer is 14U Lower A Daniel Cleary. Cleary has scored four goals over the Rams first four games this season. Jett Caruso and Michael Zaporozhetc have each chipped in with two goals to provide much needed scoring depth. It is no secret that the Lightning will need to throttle down the Rams who are averaging 4.75 goals per game. Playing a hard style where the gifted Rams forwards are met with physical resistance in the offensive end of the ice will be the key to an Upper Montgomery victory on Friday evening.
The 2025 – 2026 season will be one of growth and development for the green and gold’s younger student athletes. It will be exciting and rewarding as the younger skaters grow and blossom. How quickly the team develops the necessary defensive habits and rough and tough identity will determine if the Lightning can challenge the upper echelon junior varsity teams in the county. Or, is the team simply too young and not committed enough defensively to compete now. Friday night will give us some more answers as Upper Montgomery faces another tough challenge. Come along for the ride, it should be a fun season!
#UML, #Winning, #Bleed Green, #Go Bolts!