The Upper Montgomery Lightning will begin the 2026 – 2027 high school ice hockey season at the end of the month when the junior varsity begins play. The junior varsity will have a nice combination of experienced returning student-athletes paired with several exciting newcomers. Hoping to follow in the footsteps of the prior two seasons, when the junior varsity reached the semi-final round of the Montgomery Hockey Conference playoffs, this year’s squad is expected to once again be very competitive.
In goal, the Lightning have three junior varsity eligible goalies. Sophomore Stephen Rickman, 16U Lower A, is likely to see a bulk of the goaltending action when he is not playing in varsity game action the same week. When he is unavailable to play, the goaltending duties are likely to be split between Sophomore George Schickler and ninth grade goalie Cooper Sullivan. Schickler and Sullivan are a tale of two different goaltending styles. Schickler relies on his mobility and quickness while Sullivan is a tall goalie who takes up much of net. Last season, Schickler won two very important games in net, the playoff clinching victory over Walter Johnson along with Upper Montgomery’s quarterfinal playoff win against the combined Northwest/Quince Orchard/Wootton team. Sullivan will be working all season on challenging shooters and using his big frame to give the opposing shooters very little net to shoot at.
On defense, the Lightning have two returning defenders and two newcomers protecting the blue line. Sophomore 16U B Dylan Kim will continue to provide a steadying defensive influence on the blue line. His play has improved steadily since the spring season during his eighth grade academic year. He will be counted on to be a leader on the penalty killing unit as well. Most likely to be paired with Kim is ninth grade defender 14U Lower A Owen Hinchliffe. Hinchliffe brings an aggressive mindset to his defensive role. As the season progresses, and he becomes more comfortable with the speed of high school hockey, look for him to gain confidence as his play improves. The other defensive pairing will have sophomore Lenny Roth on the right side. Roth is a big hitter using his body to punish opposing forwards. In his first high school season, he showed enough offensively to expect that his scoring output will increase this year. Ninth grade 14U Lower A Calvin Cole will pair with Roth. Cole is a talented, but very young defender. As he matures over future seasons, his strength and skating will develop and likely making him a top pair defender.
At the forward ranks, the coaching staff will have multiple options for its forward line combinations. The squad is led by returning seniors Mason Jagoz (10G, 4G, 6A) the team’s top returning scorer and Jackson Schickler (5GP, 3G, 2A). Both have several years of experience under their belt as well as seeing action in varsity games last season. Sophomore Wyatt Ostrander (11GP, 2G, 6A) is likely to center the top forward line. He is excellent defensively and his faceoff win rate improved over the course of his ninth grade season. He is not afraid to lay the body and should be one of the team’s leaders in the locker room. Other returning junior varsity forwards are junior Decklin Hughes and sophomore Nolan Veilette, who’s play really improved during the spring. Joining these group are several newcomers. Ninth grade 14U Lower A center Cameron Newton will center the second line.
New to the team this season are juniors Michael Zaporozhetc and sophomore Benjamin Page. Both students attend Gaithersburg High School. For years, Gaithersburg High School was part of the Upper Montgomery program and then it was transferred to the Rockville/Magruder coop. Now, back within the Upper Montgomery family, big performances are anticipated out of both Zaporozhetc and Page this season. There presence in the lineup should make the Lightning formidable against all opponents.
Its time for some hockey. The Lightning junior varsity open the season on Friday evening, September 25th against Rockville/Magruder as the team kicks off their march to the junior varsity playoffs once again.
#ALL TOGETHER, #UML, #Bleed Green, #Go Bolts!