Category: Lightning Strike Blog

She’s always been first.  First to the rink.  First out on the ice.  First to offer encouragement to her teammates.  First to celebrate her teams’ goals.  Whether encouraging her teammates or providing instruction and direction on the ice, Olivia Robbins is no ordinary student athlete.  She is in constant motion on and off the ice.

It has been that way since Olivia was six years old and was introduced to ice hockey when the family lived in Seattle, Washington.  For the past decade, the Robbins family has been immersed in the sport of hockey.  With all three of their children playing on different travel hockey teams, Emily and Scott Robbins are constantly on the go.  Although neither Scott nor Emily played hockey competitively, they are mainstays at their children’s games cheering and offering encouragement. 

Olivia is the oldest sibling.  Her brother Owen is two years younger, and her sister Lillian is four years younger.  All three will play with their individual travel hockey teams once again in the fall of 2022. Olivia and Owen will also play together for the first time in years with the Upper Montgomery Lightning high school varsity hockey team.  For Emily and Scott, the new season will bring renewed travel across the United States and into Canada depending upon where Olivia’s 19U Washington Pride AAA travel team is scheduled to play.  The Washington Pride is the pre-eminent women’s college prep ice-hockey program in the Washington, DC metropolitan area.  The Pride plays in the Junior Women’s Hockey League as well as participating in multiple invitational tournaments across North America. 

Olivia immediately took to hockey.  She found the games exciting and liked the physical aspect of the sport.  As she began advancing through the younger age groups it was easy to see her enthusiasm for the game and that she didn’t have a problem competing against the boys she was playing with and against.  When initially eligible, she tried out for the Washington Pride women’s hockey program and was invited to join the elite hockey club to play on their 14U Major team.  Mainly playing left wing for the Pride, she logs heavy minutes and is a mainstay on the Pride’s powerplay and penalty killing units.  According to her coaches, Olivia’s style is hard-nosed and relentless on the puck.  She excels at retrieving pucks in the corners and turning those winning puck battles into high quality scoring chances for her teammates.  Olivia describes her role with the Pride as the playmaker on her line.  She is good with puck possession, zone entry, and excellent at puck retrievals, battling down low, and in the corners.  She is always looking to establish offensive zone possession for her line and to distribute the puck to her teammates. 

A typical hockey week during the school year is three practices a week with the Washington Pride, one hour on the ice and one hour of dryland workouts, either conditioning or in the gym.  Olivia also does additional one-on-one skills development sessions with the local coaches either before practice or on an off day.  These individual sessions include film review of the past weekend’s games and skill development.  Then, Monday evening there is a separate practice with the Lightning.  The Pride’s practices consist of individual skill work, full-ice flow drills, working on situational play, and various small area games.  During weeks where the Pride are out of town for league play or at a tournament, the team practices Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, then travels to the location of the weekend games Thursday evening.  Pride league and tournament games are played Friday, Saturday, and Sunday during the day, with return travel back to the Washington, DC area on Sunday evening.  During out-of-town travel the Pride has scheduled mandatory study halls that enable the girls to keep up with their school work.  

On weeks where the Pride have home games or travel closer to the Washington, DC area, games are usually just on Saturday and Sunday.  Those weeks, on Friday night Olivia is dressed in her green, gold, and white number 25 Upper Montgomery jersey with the Poolesville letter P patch on her left shoulder.  She is seen streaking around the ice playing on one of the top two forward lines for the Lightning against other high school teams in the Montgomery Hockey Conference, often battling toe to toe with older and more physically mature opponents.  In her ninth grade season with the Upper Montgomery Lightning, Olivia led the varsity team in assists with seven in twelve games, including a four assist game versus Blair.  In addition, Olivia chipped in and scored three goals. 

Olivia’s exploits on the ice are well known within the hockey community and to her family and close friends.  However, many of her fellow students at Poolesville High School are unaware of her hockey accomplishments.  At the age of 12, Olivia first participated in a USA Hockey development camp.  As part of the Southeast District, she participated in a week-long multi-district camp held at Kent State University in Ohio run by USA hockey and college hockey head coaches.  The ladies selected for the camp were separated into four teams and lived together in dorm rooms, spending all on-ice and off-ice hockey related activities with their teammates.  Progressing through her age 12, 13, and 14 seasons, Olivia’s skill and talents were being noticed.  In her age 15 season, after a weekend tryout camp in Nashville, Tennessee, Olivia was one of a limited few young ladies selected to participate in the USA Hockey Girls 15s National Development Camp held in St. Cloud, Minnesota.  A huge accomplishment for Olivia as she takes steps forward in progressing up through the women’s hockey national system in the United States. 

As Olivia remembers the camp, the USA Hockey Girls 15s National Development Camp was like the other regional camps she had previously participated in, but more comprehensive.  In addition to the on-ice and off-ice training, there were lectures on nutrition, mental health and well-being, the college recruiting process, and what it takes to be a successful student athlete with the time commitment both academics and hockey require.  It was understandable that being invited to the camp for the first time was a little overwhelming.  Olivia admitted to being nervous at the beginning of the camp, with all the USA Hockey personnel present and with over ninety percent of the Division 1 and Division 3 college coaches in attendance scouting and analyzing the play of each camp participant. 

Thinking back on the National Camp, Olivia brought up “The speed, skill, compete level, and hockey IQ of all the girls were off the charts good.  It was full speed and maximum effort the entire time.  It was a great experience for me to know that I can compete at that level.  At the same time, it helped me know that I need to work harder with the Pride to improve all areas of my game.” 

At the end of April 2022, Olivia was in Florida trying out again for a spot in the USA Hockey National Camp for the upcoming summer.  She is now in the 16-17 age group and the number of slots available to advance back to the National Camp are greatly reduced.  In late June, Olivia will be notified of the results of her tryout.  About that same time, colleges which have been scouting student athletes in Olivia’s age group at the various camps, showcases, and tournaments will begin making contact.  NCAA rules governing recruiting for women’s ice hockey allow college coaches to begin contacting recruits after June 15^th following a student athlete’s sophomore year in high school.  It promises to be a very busy summer in the Robbins household. 

The practices and the sport keep Olivia busy and help balance out her schoolwork, much of which is done while on long bus trips or in hotels far away from Poolesville High School.  It is common for Olivia to use her phone to record video dictations for classes from the passenger seat of her parent’s car. While much time is spent at the rink honing her game, Olivia devotes even more time to her academic studies.  This dedication has led to scholastic achievement in the classroom.  Olivia has been recognized by the Maryland Student Hockey League for her outstanding academic performance in both of her high school seasons.  She has earned straight As all throughout high school and carries a weighted grade point average well above the standard 4.0 associated with straight As.  So, it was no surprise that she has received the Maryland Student Hockey League academic achievement award. 

At the end of the 2021-2022 hockey season the Washington Pride were traveling to play in the Women’s Tier One 14U National Championship Tournament outside of Philadelphia.  Olivia was remotely dialed in to her biology class while traveling to the tournament.  Unexpectedly, the vehicle went through some patchy zones which caused the internet connection to fade in and out.  Olivia messaged her teacher apologizing for the difficulties.  The biology teacher direct messaged Olivia asking her where she was going.  Upon learning of her destination, the teacher blurted out over the open mic “Wow, Olivia!!! Don’t worry about biology right now.”  The entire class had just learned of Olivia’s hockey talents!

Once the Pride’s and the Lightning’s regular seasons conclude, hockey is not finished.  Olivia plays in the spring for the 14/94s Elite 16U AAA team, which is a team made up of young women from around the DC Metro area and north into Philadelphia and New Jersey.  There are two weekend training camps and then three tournaments planned, in Detroit, in Philadelphia, and in Chicago.  And, while not out-of-town, there is the Upper Montgomery Lightning spring season where Olivia is a key contributor.  She enjoys the spring teams because she can meet and play with different teammates and receives exposure to different coaches and styles of play.

Once school ends and the summer begins, there is no break from hockey.  The Pride has two separate weeklong training camps, one at the beginning of the summer and the other at the end of the summer.  To supplement this training, Olivia works out at First-Line Training Center in small group and individual one-on-one sessions to continuously work on her game.  She is looking to improve the velocity on her shot, work on a quicker release, and enhance her evasiveness with the puck.  This level of commitment is necessary as the number of young female hockey student athletes grows. 

Olivia has noticed the increase in interest as popularity in the women’s game grows from just a few short years ago.  “I think last year there were a record number of girls at tryouts for the Pride 14U team which means more girls must be playing.  Locally, the Chesapeake Bay Hockey League (CBHL) has more and more clubs offering girls hockey teams every year.  Some of the top girl’s teams in the CBHL have started to play in the very competitive Mid-Atlantic Women’s Hockey Association against teams from Eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York.”

In part, this competition motivates Olivia to continue to improve.  She has her sights set on playing Division 1 college hockey, however, with her outstanding academic credentials, academically prestigious Division 3 programs will also be under consideration and would make an excellent college choice.  With the professional women’s game growing and more teams being added each year, the post college opportunity to continue to play high level hockey is a possibility, one that Olivia would find “very, very cool”.

While women’s hockey is where Olivia’s future lies, she is extremely happy playing with “the boys” for Poolesville High School as part of the Upper Montgomery Lightning program.  With the Pride there are multiple practices a week and in high school hockey there are only a few practices each month.  The most noticeable difference to Olivia is that with high school hockey there is a four year age difference between some student athletes who are seniors and other student athletes who are just entering high school in 9^th grade.  With the Washington Pride travel program, the participants are all within one year in age, so everyone is more similarly developed.  With the high-end travel programs, it is common for the participants to have been teammates for many years, playing the same system in 12U, 14U, 16U, etc.  There is more compact play, more movement without the puck, one touch passing, and quick puck movement.  While the high school games are more open with stretch passing through the neutral zone and the shots are harder.   

When she finally leaves the rink and finishes training, Olivia can be found watching hockey on television.  She watches as much hockey on television as she can.  Olivia’s favorite teams are the US Women’s National team and, of course, the Washington Capitals.  When finally pried away from hockey, her outside interests are being with her friends, being part of her local swim team in the summer, going to amusement parks and riding the roller coasters, and watching exciting movies. 

For the Upper Montgomery faithful, the excitement will be in watching Olivia over the next two seasons as she endeavors to help the Lightning advance to the Maryland High School state playoffs for the first time in program history while simultaneously pursuing her dream of landing a coveted position with a college ice hockey program.

This article will be updated as details on Olivia’s collegiate hockey plans are revealed.

The Spring 2022 High School hockey season has reached the playoff rounds. Both Upper Montgomery Team Green and Upper Montgomery Team White have made the playoffs and will participate in the semifinal round within their respective divisions.

Upper Montgomery Team Green needed a win or a tie in its final game to advance into the playoffs. Playing one of their more complete games of the spring season, the team buckled down and defeated Wootton to advance into the semifinal round versus Rockville/Magruder. Team Green finished the regular season with a 5-4 record.

Upper Montgomery Team White dominated its division all season finishing with an undefeated record of 9-0. Team White will play Walter Johnson in the semifinal round of the spring league playoffs.

The month of May started out with a bang…the 2021 – 2022 season end Upper Montgomery Lightning Team Party. It was an incredibly successful event attended by almost all of the families in the program. In addition to the presentation of the Montgomery Hockey Conference Junior Varsity Championship Trophy which will circulate to all student athletes’ homes for a week over the next six months, the following awards were presented.

Eighteen of the twenty-seven Lightning student athletes were presented with the Maryland Student Hockey League Academic Achievement Award. Five student athletes received recognition for straight As; Andrew Botti, James Botti, Nathan Cassel, Henry Honacki, and Olivia Robbins. The academic achievement award recognizes outstanding effort in the classroom while participating in high school ice hockey.

Andrew Botti was awarded a certificate for being named one of the two defenders for the Montgomery Hockey Conference 2nd Team All Conference. Andrew was only 9th grader to receive recognition on any of the Montgomery Hockey Conference teams. Andrew also received a USA Hockey Playmaker patch for three assists in a game.

James Botti received a USA Hockey Hat-Trick patch for three goals in a game as well as a USA Hockey Playmaker patch for three assists in a game. James was also recognized for being nominated by Upper Montgomery for the Hobey Baker High School Hockey Award that recognizes Character and Leadership in Hockey and Academics.

Brandon Bernard was awarded a certificate for leading the Maryland Student Hockey League junior varsity in assists this past season with nine. He also was awarded the Upper Montgomery junior varsity Art Ross award for most points scored with 15.

Landon Bernard was awarded a certificate for leading the Maryland Student Hockey League junior varsity in wins this past season with eight.

Nathan Cassel received a USA Hockey Hat-Trick patch for three goals in a game.

Bradley Cupples received a USA Hockey Playmaker patch for three assists in a game.

Chris Hassett was awarded a certificate for being the Varsity Art Ross award winner for most points scored during the season with 33. He also received the Maurice Rocket Richard award for most goals scored for the varsity with 17. Chris was named one of the Montgomery Hockey Conference honorable mention forwards. He received both the USA Hockey Hat-Trick patch for three goals in a game and the USA Hockey Playmaker patch for three assists in a game.

Ryan Jacobson received a USA Hockey Playmaker patch for three assists in a game.

Will Mellen was awarded a certificate for being named the goalie for the Montgomery Hockey Conference 2nd Team All Conference. He also received a USA Hockey Shutout patch for his two shutout victories this past season.

Joshua Miller received a certificate recognizing him with the Maurice Rocket Richard award for most goals scored for the junior varsity with eight.

Patrick Sell Ryan received a USA Hockey Playmaker patch for three assists in a game.

The Upper Montgomery Lightning hockey program is now halfway through the Spring 2022 high school hockey season. The Rockville Ice Arena High School Spring League is a great way for the student athletes not participating in another high school spring sport to continue to work on their game and develop their individual skills in a competitive team environment. The league is structured as a way for the student athletes to have fun in a safe environment as there is absolutely no checking allowed during the spring season.

For the first time in program history Upper Montgomery has two teams competing in spring league; Team Green and Team White. The teams are relatively evenly split with varsity and junior varsity student athletes playing on both teams. Upper Montgomery Team Green is competitive with a 2-2 record at the halfway point of the spring season. Upper Montgomery Team White is undefeated with a 4-0 record at the halfway point of the spring season.

Having the student athletes able to play an additional eight or nine games with their teammates helps build chemistry. It is also an invaluable opportunity for the coaching staff to take a look at some different line combinations and defensive pairings. The coaches are able to assess the strengths and the areas in need of improvement of the nine incoming student athletes who are joining the program for the fall 2022 season. The coaches are also able to work with the returning student athletes and use the spring season to focus on improving areas of each student’s game.

The 2021-2022 high school ice hockey season is now complete. The Upper Montgomery Lightning coaching staff took some time to reflect on the program’s progress this season and they look ahead to the upcoming 2022 – 2023 season.

Question—What are your thoughts on the second half of the season and how the season concluded?  How would you evaluate the Upper Montgomery Lightning hockey program at the conclusion of the 2021-2022 season?

Answer—Overall, the coaches are very happy with how the season went and we are excited about the direction of the program.  The varsity squad qualified for the Montgomery Hockey Conference Division 1 playoffs for the first time in program history and competed toe-to-toe with a very good and more experienced Richard Montgomery team.  Similarly, in the Montgomery Hockey Conference Division 2 playoffs a senior laden Wootton team was just a bit better at the end of the game. Even though the outcome was not what we had hoped for, the team showed they can compete with some of the best teams in the county.  We may not yet have the most talent in the league and we may not have the most depth in the league, but we outworked many of the teams we played and made the league take notice of Upper Montgomery.

Question—And for the junior varsity?  

Answer—The results speak for themself.  Montgomery Hockey Conference Junior Varsity Champions in only the second year the program has fielded a junior varsity team.  The junior varsity played well during the regular season, but admittedly most of the teams in the conference did not pull down from varsity their better junior varsity eligible student athletes.  When we watched the junior varsity playoff game before we took on Northwest in the first round of the playoffs, we immediately noticed that those teams pulled down everyone eligible. The pace of the playoff games were much faster and more physical.  While we also pulled down a couple of student athletes from varsity who were junior varsity eligible, everyone picked up their play throughout the playoffs.  Even though our varsity players helped control the pace of the games and played great, seven of the nine goals that we scored in the junior varsity playoffs were scored by student athletes who primarily played junior varsity.  The entire junior varsity playoffs were a great team effort from all our student athletes.

Question—What does winning the Montgomery Hockey Conference Junior Varsity Championship mean to the program?

Answer— Winning the Junior Varsity Championship means the world to everyone; the student athletes, the program, the coaches, parents, family and friends, alumni, you name it.  Our hope is that how the team came together and competed shows our student athletes (and all of the future incoming student athletes) that hard work and playing together as a team is imperative to becoming a consistent winning program.  The coaches couldn’t be happier with how well the team played.  One of the goals of the coaches since we took over was giving these young men and women that “high school experience”.  In the junior varsity championship game, they were able to play in front of a good crowd, not only parents and family members, but also groups of classmates from their schools who showed up to cheer them on.  There is a different feeling playing for your school and your classmates. Then, celebrating a championship is something these student athletes will remember for the rest of their lives.  Winning the junior varsity championship was important for the program, but the everlasting memory for our student athletes was even more important.

Question—What areas of the team or team play need the biggest improvement and focus over the summer months for the team to continue its development next season?

Answer—Varsity level student athletes need to continue to work on improving their skating, their overall knowledge of the game, and their conditioning throughout the spring and summer.  It will be important for varsity student athletes to begin the fall being in shape, stronger, and better on the ice. This way, we can focus more on team/zone concepts during practice once we get back on the ice as a team in the fall.  Our practice time on the ice is very limited, so we cannot afford to spend too much time working on getting the student athletes back into shape and re-teaching the basics.  We need to focus on defensive zone coverages, breakouts, offensive zone entry, offensive zone positioning, penalty kill, and power play, and we can only do so if the student athletes hit the ice in the fall ready to play.

Question—And for the junior varsity?

Answer—Skating, skating, and more skating. The legs feed the wolves.  The best way for our junior varsity student athletes to make noticeable improvements in their game is to improve their skating.  Our team concepts of aggressively pursuing the puck defensively and pushing the puck up the ice with movement in the offensive zone requires our student athletes to be able to skate effectively.  Some improvement will come by spending more time on the ice practicing their edges, crossovers, and things they are not as comfortable with, but they can also improve their conditioning, getting stronger, and working on their foot speed off the ice.  Student athletes who are willing to put in the time will notice the difference once we hit the ice again in the fall.

Question—What can student athletes do to prepare themselves for next season?

Answer— Work hard on and off the ice.  It is important for the student athletes to get away from the game some to re-energize.  Several of our student athletes have turned to lacrosse this off-season.  Lacrosse is a great cross-over sport as there are many of the same concepts as there are in ice hockey and it is great for conditioning and footwork.  Several student athletes who had never picked up a lacrosse stick before a couple of months ago were able to make their high school junior varsity or varsity lacrosse teams.  Most high school teams in the area need lacrosse players so even if you haven’t played before, think about trying out for your high school lacrosse team next spring.  We have student athletes that play for Seneca Valley, Clarksburg, Damascus, and Gaithersburg high schools so more than likely you will know someone on your team.  Other members of the program have joined their high school track team to get in better shape and to get faster.  Over the summer, put in the work.  Stay in shape and go running regularly.  Work on your foot speed, do short sprints, ladder drills, cone drills, etc..  Get stronger.  You don’t need to go to the gym and lift heavy weights.  Do pushups, squats, situps, planks, and jump rope.  Here is the key though, you cannot do this once a week or wait until the summer is almost over to start.  Start now and put in the effort several times a week throughout the off-season and you will notice the difference.

Question—For those rising 9^th grade student athletes and other student athletes currently in middle school who will come into the program over the next several years, what are they able to do to connect with the team?  Are there any skills development that they should be working on as they play over the next couple of years?

Answer—Attend as many Upper Montgomery team activities as you can.  We start off with spring hockey which is a good time to come out and meet and play with your new teammates.  Coach Todd offers an inexpensive summer high school boot camp.  The Premier Hockey Camp is completely optional, but it is another great way to get in work on the ice and off the ice with many of their new teammates over the summer.  Starting in mid-August the team starts with off-ice workouts twice a week. The program reserves the roller hockey rink at Ridge Road for a couple of these workout dates to go over basic zone coverages, breakouts, zone entries, etc.. so these are really important for the younger student athletes.  Read through the team playbook that was provided to all student athletes.  There are concepts that you need to know and the coaching staff does not have a lot of time on the ice to be walking through the basics.  Skills development is always important whether it is working on your skating, edges, stick handling, passing, shooting, etc.. and you can work on these skills on your own or through clinics, but the most important detail is that you give 100% every time you are working out and really push yourself.  Don’t go through the motions and expect big changes.  Put in the time and effort.

Question—What are the team’s realistic and stretch goals for next season?

Answer—This is a hard question as there are so many different variables to consider.  Some of the historically great upper teams in the county like Churchill, BCC, and Walter Johnson are losing many seniors, but these programs have deep teams and seem to fill these voids each season.  Some of the better teams in the lower division like Quince Orchard, Blair, and Rockville/Magruder aren’t graduating many student athletes and their higher talented student athletes will be seniors next year.  We are returning almost the entire varsity team from last year and these student athletes will be a year older, stronger, and better. In addition, we have some incoming 9th grade student athletes that will be able to immediately help out on varsity.  The coaches would like to see progress in our program each season.  It is no longer a successful season just to qualify for the division one playoffs. We are striving to advance in the playoffs.

This could mean making it past the first round of the division one or division two playoffs. We are also looking for the progress we can see and feel out on the ice.  Two years ago, we were in most games. But in reality, that was due to having Jonas Clark in net.  We worked hard, but the other teams normally controlled the games with their better talent.  This past season, we competed hard and played well going toe-to-toe with some of the better teams in the county. We often controlled play for long stretches of the game, but it seemed the other teams were able to take advantage of one or two good opportunities while we were not able to capitalize on our chances. This was often the difference in the games we lost.  Next year, it is time to take the next step, to be able to compete with all the teams in the county and be the team that takes advantage of these opportunities rather than giving them up. We want to beat some of the upper teams in the county next season.  We all want to win more and make it further in the playoffs but judging progress solely on wins and loses can be difficult.  Overall, our record this year was similar to our record two years ago, but this past season’s team played so much better and competed at a much higher level. Next season, we will again be looking for the team to take another step forward in that progression.

Question—And for the junior varsity?

Answer—The obvious answer is to win a second straight junior varsity championship, but it is hard when you set the bar that high and there are many variables that go into play.  No team will look past us next year. They will all give us their best shot.  It looks like we will have more junior varsity level student athletes next year. More of our varsity student athletes will play a higher level of travel hockey and will not be junior varsity eligible next season. The progress the coaches will be looking for is for our junior varsity level student athletes to step up, help control the games like our more experienced roster did this past year, and to still be able to compete at a high level. When the junior varsity playoffs begin, we want to make a run at another championship.

The Upper Montgomery Lightning hockey program begins spring league play tomorrow. It will be an opportunity for the coaching staff to take a look at some different line combinations and defensive pairings ahead of fall practices and to see where some of the new student athletes are at. The Rockville Ice Arena High School Spring League is a great way for the student athletes not participating in another high school spring sport to continue to work on their game and develop their individual skills in a competitive team environment. Upper Montgomery has nine new student athletes joining the program for the spring 2022 season.

For the first time in program history Upper Montgomery will have two teams competing; Team Green and Team White. The teams are relatively evenly split with varsity and junior varsity student athletes playing on both teams. All levels of talent AAA / AA through house / rec play together and the age ranges are high school seniors through next year’s rising 9th graders. The league is structured as a way for the student athletes to have fun in a safe environment as there is absolutely no checking allowed during the spring season.

The Upper Montgomery Lightning are proud to recognize and honor the 18 Lightning student athletes who will be awarded the Maryland Student Hockey League Academic Achievement Award at the team’s end of season party in early May. These 18 student athletes exemplify what it is to be a student athlete, excellence in the classroom and high character. The award is given to a student athlete competing in high school ice hockey who has a weighted grade point average of 3.50 or higher during the first semester of each season. Five student athletes—Andrew Botti, James Botti, Nathan Cassel, Henry Honacki, and Olivia Robbins earned straight A’s. Congratulations to all on your excellent academic performance!

Congratulations also go out to the Churchill Bulldogs of Montgomery Hockey Conference for winning their 10th state championship with a 3-2 double overtime victory over Oakdale in a memorable state final. Depending upon which team a spectator was rooting for, it was either a thrilling victory or a crushing defeat. Churchill forced overtime with a six on five pulled goalie goal with just 13.1 seconds remaining in the third period. For Churchill fans, it was a brilliant faceoff play that led to the tying goal. For Oakdale, it will forever be viewed as an absolutely catastrophic failure in defensive coverage seconds away from an upset victory in the state championship game. Also, a shout out to the Blair Blazers for winning the Montgomery Hockey Conference division two championship with a 6-5 victory over the Whitman Vikings.

The Upper Montgomery Lightning hockey program made major strides during the 2021-2022 high school hockey season. The coaching staff is extremely pleased with the team’s accomplishments and big achievements are in store for the program moving forward. This season the program had one objective—that the varsity team qualifying for the Montgomery Hockey Conference division one post season playoff tournament. The program had never before qualified for the division one playoff tournament.

Not only did the team qualify for the division one playoffs, earning the 10th seed out of the 12 teams that qualified, it battled Richard Montgomery all game before falling 4-2. In the division two playoffs, the Upper Montgomery jumped out to an early two goal lead and were tied with perennial hockey power Wootton 3-3 with six minutes left in the game before succumbing late. The young Lightning will be losing only three seniors to graduation and the team is trending upward. Next season, expect the goals for the team to be much loftier. The coaching staff will be looking for the experiences of this season to carry over. With an entire (fingers crossed) COVID free offseason, Upper Montgomery should be poised to take another giant leap forward in the fall of 2022.

Congratulations go out to the Churchill Bulldogs, Walter Johnson Wildcats, St. John’s Cadets, and Quince Orchard Cougars who were the four Montgomery County teams who made the Maryland Student Hockey League state playoffs. Also, a shout out to the Blair Blazers for winning the Montgomery Hockey Conference division two championship with a 6-5 victory over the Whitman Vikings.

The Lightning offense was led all year by the first line of Chris Hassett (15 GP, 17 goals, 16 assists), Ryan Jacobson (11 GP, 7 goals, 10 assists), and Nathan Cassel (12 GP, 11 goals, 6 assists). All three student athletes are in 9th or 10th grade. The future is very bright for this trio. Depth scoring is an area of immediate need for the team next season. The second line started to find its scoring touch later on in the season. Hunter Cameron had (15 GP, 6 goals, 7 assists) and Bradley Cupples (15 GP, 1 goal, 11 assists). Against the top tier division one teams, the Lightning found it more difficult to find the back of the net.

On defense, James Botti led the group offensively with (13 GP, 5 goals, 10 assists). Through 2/3rds of the season, the Lightning had given up the fewest goals in the Montgomery Hockey Conference, thanks in part to the stellar play of Will Mellen in net. One of the primary reasons for the five game winning streak in the middle of the season was the Upper Montgomery penalty kill which was excellent during the regular season, killing off 44 of the 48 opponents’ powerplays, 91.7%. In the playoffs, the penalty kill fell off somewhat. Along with James Botti, George Benedick, Ethan Hockey, Andrew Gean, and Andrew Botti worked hard in the defensive zone to limit the opposition from getting many high danger scoring opportunities. The team found an identity when they clogged up the ice and mucked up the game making it difficult for teams to get many good looks at the net. In games that were played with more of an up and down the ice style of play, the young Lightning struggled against AAA travel level senior and junior student athletes.

Three Upper Montgomery Lightning student athletes were recognized by the conference for their outstanding play this past season. Andrew Botti, 9th grade defender and Will Mellen, sophomore goaltender were both named to the Montgomery Hockey Conference 2nd team division two team. Chris Hassett was an honorable mention at the forward position.

In an unexpected development, the Upper Montgomery Lightning junior varsity completed a turnaround for the ages. Finishing dead last in the Montgomery Hockey Conference junior varsity standings last season in its first year of existence, the team was looking to play competitive hockey this year against the more established programs. After battling to a 2-4-2 record over the first half of the season and hovering in the middle of the conference standings, Lightning struck. The team found some additional offensive firepower and won its final three regular season games. The hot finish to the season landed the junior varsity in second place in the conference standings by virtue of a tiebreaker over Rockville/Blair. Three inspiring playoff performances later (a come from behind shootout win over Northwest in the quarterfinals, easily handling Rockville/Blair 6-2 in the semi-finals after falling behind early in the contest, and then the program defining 2-1 win over undefeated (10-0), top seed Richard Montgomery in the final and the Upper Montgomery Lightning were the 2021-2022 Montgomery Hockey Conference Junior Varsity CHAMPIONS!!!

The offensive leaders for the junior varsity were Brandon Bernard (13 GP, 6 goals, 9 assists), Joshua Miller (14 GP, 8 goals, 4 assists), Bradley Cupples (10 GP, 6 goals, 6 assists), and Josh Nadler (12 GP, 5 goals, 2 assists). Landon Bernard had a terrific second half of the season and finished with an outstanding 2.69 goals against average. The team received depth scoring from James Hyman, Lucas Eyman, and Henry Honacki who were all integral parts of the team. Adam Levine scored two incredibly important goals in the playoffs, the Lightning’s first goal of game in both the semi-final game and then again in the championship final. Cole Howerton, Patrick Sell, Andrew Gean and Stephen Shkeda formed a defensive core that gave up only eight goals over the final six games of the regular season. As the season continued, the team got better and better and played more as a team and for each other. The goal will be to ramp it up right from the start of next season in an attempt to defend the title.

The Upper Montgomery Lightning defeated top seeded and undefeated Richard Montgomery 2-1 at Laurel Ice Gardens in the Montgomery Hockey Conference junior varsity championship game. The win completes a stunning turnaround from last season when the Lightning finished dead last in the conference standings and were not very competitive. This year, the Upper Montgomery Lightning are CHAMPIONS!

Upper Montgomery was a heavy underdog coming into the game to Richard Montgomery even while finishing second in the regular season conference standings. The Rockets had blown through the regular season and their first two playoff games to arrive at the championship final with a 10-0 record and having outscored their opponents 53-12. It was clear from the beginning of the game that the Lightning would not be intimidated. The Lightning competed all over the ice and did not allow Richard Montgomery many good scoring opportunities. A rather uneventful first period ended with no score and low shot totals for both teams. The feel of the game was that the first goal would be critical to deciding the eventual champion.

As the game went along in the second period, Upper Montgomery continued to gain confidence. After a failed powerplay opportunity, Upper Montgomery would score first in what would be the monumental moment of the game. Lightning defender Geroge Benedick controlled the puck in the offensive zone. While skating left, he passed the puck deep into the left corner to Bradley Cupples. Adam Levine who had been covering for Benedick at the right point, broke down the center of the slot and received a nice pass in stride from Cupples. He shot low, stick side back across where Rockets’ netminder Ian Hutchinson has just moved across the goal crease. Levine’s shot slid just inside the left post giving Upper Montgomery the lead late in the second period.

With just over five minutes left in the game, the Lightning would receive a very important insurance goal. Stephen Shkeda kept the puck in the zone at the left point. He fired a wrist shot at the net. It appeared to be a harmless shot that Hutchinson was following all the way in. As the puck went past him in the faceoff circle, Joshua Miller stuck his stick out waist high and deflected the puck. The trajectory of the shot changed just enough that the puck floated over the catching glove of Hutchinson and into the top right corner of the net. Now up 2-0, Upper Montgomery faced a very nerve wracking five plus minutes of high drama.

Richard Montgomery turned up the pressure and was able to cut the lead to 2-1 with 3:22 left in the game. Tyler Senko found the puck loose in a pig pile in front of the crease and fired it past Landon Bernard (19 saves, .950 save percentage, one goal allowed). The final three minutes of the game were intense with Richard Montgomery pressing to score the tying goal. Upper Montgomery forwards and defenders were sliding all over the ice giving everything they had to get the puck across the blue line out of the defensive zone. Once at the red line with possession, pucks were dumped deep into the Rockets end of the ice. With 47 seconds left, Richard Montgomery pulled Hutchinson for an extra skater. Upper Montgomery continued to defend and prevented the Rockets from getting good looks at the net. One last clearing effort into the neutral zone as the clock reached zero coincided with the Lightning streaming off the bench. Sticks and gloves were thrown into the air as they swarmed around Bernard celebrating the first championship in Upper Montgomery history.

The Upper Montgomery Lightning junior varsity advanced to the Montgomery Hockey Conference junior varsity championship game with a dominating 6-2 win over Rockville/Blair on Wednesday. The Lightning will play undefeated and highly favored Richard Montgomery tomorrow afternoon at Laurel Ice Gardens. Game time is early at 4:15 pm.

After falling behind early on a fluky goal, the Lightning roared back with a complete team effort. Six different student athletes scored goals and only three student athletes had more than one point; Joshua Miller with one goal and two assists, Adam Levine with one goal and one assist, and Patrick Sell setting an Upper Montgomery program record with four assists.

Levine started the onslaught with a wrist shot from the lower portion of the left wing faceoff circle. Three minutes later James Hyman tapped in a rebound that snuck behind Rockville/Blair netminder Sean Connelly. Just before the end of the period Brandon Bernard followed with a wrist shot from the top of the slot that beat Connelly high stick side. With the majority of play in the offensive zone, at the end of the first period the Lightning had a 3-1 advantage and were outshooting Rockville/Blair 10-2.

Upper Montgomery extended the lead to 4-1 early in the second period when Bradley Cupples knocked in a rebound off of a Joshua Miller semi-breakaway. For the rest of the second period, the Lightning played responsible defensive hockey. Landon Bernard did not face many high quality scoring chances throughout the entire game.

After an early Rockville/Blair goal to start the third period, the Lightning caught a break as Patrick Sell’s wrist shot from the point hit TJ Gottesman in the back. Somehow, the puck tricked over Gottesman’s shoulder and into the net to provide Upper Montgomery some breathing room with nine minutes left in the game. A late goal by Joshua Miller provided the final margin of victory in a game that showcased how well the junior varsity progressed from the beginning of the season. Tomorrow, the biggest challenge awaits the team in the championship game, finding a way to conquer the Richard Montgomery Rockets who have outscored their opponents 53-12 on the season on the way to their 10-0 undefeated record.

The Upper Montgomery Lightning won its first ever junior varsity playoff game late Friday night with a come from behind 2-1 shootout victory over the Northwest Jaguars at Cabin John Ice Rink. With the win, Upper Montgomery advances to the junior varsity semi-final round hosting Rockville/Blair on Wednesday evening at 6:40 pm at Laurel Ice Gardens.

In a gritty and tightly contested game, Upper Montgomery defended all over the ice and limited the Jaguars to just nine shots on goal through regulation and overtime. The Lightning defended well on Jaguars leading scorer Brady Graham holding him to a single assist. Graham had entered the game scoring 11 goals in six junior varsity games and his 11 goals led the Montgomery Hockey Conference by a wide margin.

With less than five minutes to go in the game, Upper Montgomery scored a powerplay goal draw even at 1-1. Josh Nadler collected a shot by George Benedick that was wide of the net and scored on a wrap around attempt that banked in off the skate of Jaguars’ goalie Joseph Dean with traffic out in front.

After a wild, but scoreless five minute overtime period played three on three, Upper Montgomery excelled in the shootout. Joshua Miller, Bradley Cupples, Josh Nadler, and Brandon Bernard all scored for the Lightning. Landon Bernard was huge in net stopping the breakaway attempts of Graham and Benjamin Linteris to secure the victory.

The remaining teams alive in the junior varsity playoffs are:

Whitman (5) versus Richard Montgomery (1)

Rockville/Blair (3) versus Upper Montgomery (2)

We’ve reached the end of the 2021-2022 high school hockey regular season. For the Upper Montgomery Lightning, the young team is trending upward and there is much to be excited about over the next couple of seasons. The young Lightning squad was much more competitive this season while playing against a higher level of competition. After three straight one goal defeats to begin the season, and then a tie, the team turned its season around by winning five straight games in the middle of the season. Included in this stretch was a hard fought, signature win over the Whitman Vikings. Although encountering a rough patch at the end of the season, the team was competitive against more experienced teams from the top division of the Montgomery Hockey Conference (MHC). For the first time ever in program history, the Lightning qualified for the MHC division one playoffs. A first round game versus the favored and veteran Richard Montgomery Rockets is upcoming next Friday night.

In the upcoming division one playoffs and then likely in the division two playoff tournament, the team will need to improve in several areas; defensive structure, powerplay efficiency, depth scoring, and team based play. Additionally, relying on the top line of Chris Hasset, Ryan Jacobson, and Nathan Cassel to carry the offensive load will not be enough. If the team begins to struggle offensively, expect the coaching staff to quickly change up the lines to try and jump start the offense.

Congratulations go out to the Churchill Bulldogs (Varsity) and the Richard Montgomery Rockets (Junior Varsity) for winning the 2021-2022 Montgomery Hockey Conference regular season championships. Although both squads will be favored in the upcoming playoffs, there are sure to be some surprises in both post season tournaments.

The Lightning offense was led all year by the first line of Chris Hassett (13 GP, 14 goals, 15 assists), Ryan Jacobson (10 GP, 7 goals, 9 assists), and Nathan Cassel (10 GP, 11 goals, 6 assists). Hassett finished 13th in the Maryland State Hockey League statistics in scoring with his 29 points. All three student athletes are in 9th or 10th grade. The future is very bright for this trio. The second line started to find its scoring touch later on in the season. Hunter Cameron (13 GP, 5 goals, 7 assists), Bradley Cupples (13 GP, 1 goal, 12 assists), and Olivia Robbins (9 GP, 1 goal, 3 assists) began to chip in and take some of the pressure off the top line. Against the top tier division one teams, the Lightning found it more difficult to find the back of the net. It was difficult for the third line to achieve chemistry with different line combinations dressed throughout the season.

On defense, James Botti led the group offensively with (11 GP, 4 goals, 9 assists). All four of James’ goals came in the same game versus Wilson. While other defenders chipped in with points, it was the Lightning’s defensive abilities that stood out. Through 2/3rds of the season, the Lightning had given up the fewest goals in the MHC. One of the primary reasons why was the Upper Montgomery penalty kill which was excellent during the regular season, killing off 44 of the 48 opponents’ powerplays, 91.7%. Along with James Botti, George Benedick, Ethan Hockey, Andrew Gean, and Andrew Botti worked hard in the defensive zone to limit the opposition from getting many high danger scoring opportunities. The team found an identity when they clogged up the ice and mucked up the game making it difficult for teams to get many good looks at the net.

In goal, Will Mellen led the way. Mellen led all goalies in the Montgomery Hockey Conference who played in at least half their team’s games with a 2.36 goals against average and a .900 save percentage. He also shared the MHC lead with two shutouts. Landon Bernard saw more extensive varsity action this season picking up his first career high school varsity win in the game against the West Virginia Vipers. He also played extremely well in the road game versus highly ranked Washington County. If the strong goaltending keeps up, the Lightning will be in every game this post season and will have a chance to create some noise with an upset or two in the varsity playoffs and a long run in the junior varsity playoffs.

The Upper Montgomery junior varsity squad recovered nicely from an inconsistent start of the season to finish second in the regular season standings behind Richard Montgomery. The team finished with a 5-3 conference record and a 5-4-2 record overall on the season. Over the final three games of the regular season, the team jelled and played excellent hockey, giving up only four goals against while scoring 15 goals in dominating wins against Rockville, Northwest, and Churchill. The coaching staff’s message of relentless effort and consistency sunk in mid-way through the season and the team responded. The junior varsity team was vastly improved over last season’s team which finished last in the conference with a record of 1-6-1 while being soundly outplayed in many of the games. Not so this season, and it is a testament to the student athletes who came together as a team and found ways to win games. Several late goals against and an atrocious powerplay prevented the team from having an even better season as both non-conference ties and one of the conference losses really should have been wins.

In goal, Landon Bernard started each game. He played well finishing the season with a 3.08 goals against average and an .876 save percentage. However, those individual statistics are misleading and skewed by the game that the junior varsity played against Landon School. The local private school teams are a step up in competition and are similar to playing against a varsity team in the Montgomery Hockey Conference. Omitting that game, Bernard’s individual statistics would be a very stout 2.57 goals against average and an .892 save percentage.

On defense, both Cole Howerton and Patrick Sell improved as the season went along. As 9th grade defenders they frequently played against forwards two grades more experienced. Several varsity student athletes dropped down to help out on defense and provide a calming influence. Andrew Gean, George Benedick, Stephen Shkeda, and Bradley Cupples played several games on the back line for the junior varsity providing much needed leadership and guidance.

Offensively, the team was led by four student athletes; Brandon Bernard led the team in scoring (10 GP, 5 G, 9 A). Bradley Cupples was next with (7 GP, 5 G, 4 A). Joshua Miller led the team with six goals in 11 games including several outstanding solo breakaway goals. Josh Nadler chipped in and scored four goals in his first high school season. The Upper Montgomery powerplay was downright awful during the regular season (2 for 35, 5.7%) and with just an average level of performance would have added goals and wins for the program. A bright spot was the penalty kill. The Upper Montgomery junior varsity penalty kill was excellent this season (39 of 43, 90.7%) and lately the Lightning have owned puck possession during their opponents’ powerplays.

The next few weeks will be fun. A varsity division one playoff game followed by a division two playoff tournament. For the junior varsity defending turf and looking to play deep into the junior varsity playoff tournament. Go Lightning!