Category: Lightning Strike Blog

The 2023 – 2024 high school ice hockey season has arrived. Friday, October 6 is the opening game for the Upper Montgomery junior varsity, followed by the Upper Montgomery varsity opening the season a week later on Friday, October 13. The Upper Montgomery program has very high expectations this season and is looking to build off of last season’s historic accomplishments. Qualifying for the state playoffs for the first time in program history is a realistic opportunity for the Lightning. If the team is successful in making the state playoff tournament, all of the Lightning supporters are invited to the end of season team celebration.

With an experienced roster dominated by seniors and juniors, the team is primed to meet these high expectations. The Lightning begin the season ranked fifth in the Montgomery Hockey Conference rankings. This is the highest ranking ever achieved by the program. The challenge that awaits the team is that the program will face off against all of the top teams in the league. The season opening game is a massive contest versus the fourth ranked Whitman Vikings. Winnable games against the DC Stars and Sherwood are followed by a gauntlet of games. First versus third ranked BCC and followed by a massive contest against second ranked Walter Johnson. Then, a rematch of last season’s quarterfinal round county playoff game–with the winner advancing to the state championship playoffs—awaits against perennial powerhouse and numerous state champion top ranked Churchill.

It is not a stretch to believe that five teams are realistically competing for the four state playoff berths awarded to teams from the Montgomery Hockey Conference; Churchill, Walter Johnson, BCC, Whitman, and Upper Montgomery. Longer odds face Wootton and Sherwood, and it would take an upset for a team like Richard Montgomery, DC Stars, Rockville, or Churchill 2 to qualify for the state playoffs. Northwest and Blair are seeking to build back up to contender status.

The Upper Montgomery program has twelve skaters that are only eligible to play in varsity competition, many of whom also play on high level AA or AAA external travel hockey teams. Last season’s top four scorers return looking to propel the Lightning. Senior center and team co-captain Chris Hassett could qualify to be enshrined in the Maryland Scholastic Hockey League Hall of Fame with a big season. He is coming off of two straight seasons leading Upper Montgomery in scoring with 16 GP, 15 G, 19 A, 34 PTS last year and 15 GP, 17 G, 16 A, for 33 PTS during the 2021 – 2022 season. Joining Hassett on the top line will be fellow high octane scorer and Honorable Mention Division One Forward Nathan Cassel. Cassel, a junior, tallied 12 GP, 11 G, 14 A, for 25 PTS last season after tallying 12 GP, 11 G, 6 A for 17 PTS in his 9th grade season. Joining these two talented skaters will be sophomore winger Philip Shkeda, last season’s top 9th grade scorer. Shkeka had a point per game with 14 GP, 7 G, 7 A, for 14 PTS.

The second line is likely to have junior Ryan Jacobson 10 GP, 12 G, 4 A, for 16 PTS centering senior Brandon Bernard and junior Henry Honacki. Jacobson had five games last season with multiple goals. Bernard blew up last season as a junior 14 GP, 9 G, 6 A, for 15 PTS and will look to conclude his high school career with another monster offensive season. Honacki’s speed will complement these two experienced skaters and will help drive back the opposing defenses.

The third line will have rugged senior center Bradley Cupples 15 GP, 3 G, 10 A, for 13 PTS last season and 15 GP, 11 A during the 2021 – 2022 season centering senior Olivia Robbins. Robbins was selected and honored by the Washington Post as an All Metropolitan 2nd Team Girls forward last season, the first ever All MET selection in Upper Montgomery team history. She tallied 11 GP, 6 G, 5 A, for 11 PTS last season. The third line right wing will likely be a rotation of forwards vying for playing time or someone off the top two lines double shifting. Junior varsity student athletes will most certainly be called up to play in varsity games based upon the teams needs, which members of the varsity are out-of-town with their external travel teams, and which student athletes are producing during the junior varsity games. Senior Adam Levine and Junior Josh Nadler both have served as depth forward in prior seasons and should get first crack at filling the void.

On defense the Lightning will have top level talent. Senior co-captain Hunter Cameron 14 GP, 2 G, 7 A, 9 PTS will make the transition from forward to defense to anchor and provide stability on the back end. He will forever be remembered for his game winning overtime goal in last season’s playoff matchup versus St. Johns helping the Lightning to their first every Division One playoff victory. Cameron will likely be paired with either sophomore Owen Robbins or sophomore Brady Berkhammer, 14 GP, 6 A. Junior Andrew Botti 14 GP, 3 G, 5 A, 8 PTS will anchor the other defensive pairing and will play heavy minutes all season long. Both Robbins and Berkhammer had excellent 9th grade seasons and will be counted on to take their games to another level this season. Defensive positions five and six will be a rotation all season long with Josh Nadler, Sean Levine, Jake Roth, Cole Howerton, and Miles Wendland each likely to receive an opportunity to earn shifts during varsity game action.

In net, senior Landon Bernard returns looking to use last season’s exceptional playoff run as a springboard to dominate this season. Bernard’s individual statistics have improved each season, and he would like to add a varsity county championship to the junior varsity championship he backstopped two seasons ago. Last year, Bernard posted a strong regular season with a 3.65 GAA, and an .866 save percentage to go along with his 8-7-2 record. In the playoffs, he sparkled with a 0.98 GAA and a .966 save percentage. Bernard will be backed up by young but talented 9th grade netminder Ilan Shterenberg. Shterenberg has the technical skills to make the tough save look easy. He will gain valuable playing time this season as the only junior varsity netminder while also seeing some varsity game action. Shterenberg has a very bright future with the Lightning program.

The coaching staff will be supplementing the varsity squad with student athletes that have thus far historically played the majority of their high school hockey career at the junior varsity level. Look for the game day roster to fluctuate all season long primarily based upon which student athletes are healthy scratches when they are out of state with their external travel teams. The depth of the Lightning’s roster is finally able to handle one or two student athletes missing a game here or there.

The junior varsity season starts on Friday evening with a rematch of last season’s junior varsity playoff quarterfinal. Upper Montgomery will face the Whitman Vikings. The junior varsity will have fourteen skaters and incoming 9th grade netminder Ilan Shterenberg handling the goaltending duties. The team should be much better than last year’s junior varsity squad as there is a significant amount of experience returning on defense. The junior varsity games may be lower scoring than last season as the team uses its defensive strength to focus on preventing the opposition from scoring. The big change in the junior varsity season will be the additional length of the periods, now fifteen minutes up from twelve minute periods that had been played in previous seasons. There will also be several evening junior varsity games scheduled throughout the season.

As mentioned, Shterenberg will handle the netminding duties for the entire season. His play in net will ultimately determine how successful the team is and how far the Lightning junior varsity advances in the junior varsity county playoffs. He has the talent and ability to be a difference maker.

On defense the Lightning will have several experienced defenders and two promising 9th grade student athletes. Seniors Sean Levine 9 GP, 2 G, 2 A and Jake Roth will both see extensive action. Offensive minded defender Cole Howerton 11 GP, 2 G, 4 A, 6 PTS will regularly join the rush looking to use his speed and shot to help deliver offensive firepower. He is likely going to be paired with hulking defensive defender Patrick Sell. Sell’s focus is on using his size and reach to upset the offensive rushes of the opposition. He chipped in with two goals last season, but his value is on the defensive side of the ice and penalty killing duties. Incoming defenders Miles Wendland and Avery Evans both play upper level travel hockey. They both need some seasoning learning how to play high school hockey against older competition. This season will go a long way in their development as both will be integral components of the team moving forward over the next four seasons.

Offensively, it is a mixed bag. Some games it is anticipated that the squad will generate offensive much more capably than last season. Other games, it might still be extremely difficult to mount much of an attack. Up front junior varsity co-captains Josh Nadler 9 GP, 4 G, 1 A, 5 PTS and senior Adam Levine 11 GP, 3 G, 4 A, 7 PTS will look to use last season playing together as a springboard to produce more offensively this season. Junior TJ Gottesman will look to improve on last season statistically 8 GP, 4 G, 9 A for 13 PTS, and be more consistent throughout the season. He is a big hitter and the coaching staff will be looking for that aggression and toughness again this season. AJ Marks will begin his second season with the Lightning. He has a big shot, but needs to hit the net more frequently to add to the two goals he scored last season. Incoming 9th grader Aiden Zheng will get every opportunity to receive top line game action. His speed has the chance to open up the game and stretch the ice. The coaching staff will be working with Aiden all season long on growing the defensive side of his game. Jason Woodman’s enthusiasm and effort will be useful all season. He chipped in with two goals a year ago, and if he can extend his scoring by even just a little bit, that will go a long way. The Schickler brothers will see more extensive playing time after the high school football season ends, but both Behr on defense and Jackson on offense will help provide balance to the forward lines.

The season begins now….

#Our Time, #UML, #Bleed Green, #Go Bolts!

The Upper Montgomery Lightning have returned to the ice! The 2023 – 2024 regular season is just around the corner. It’s time to play hockey. Pre-season evaluation sessions and practices have begun. The 27 Lightning student athletes are looking forward to building off of last season’s historic accomplishments. Qualifying for the state playoffs for the first time in program history is a realistic opportunity for Upper Montgomery.

With an experienced roster dominated by seniors and juniors, the team is primed to meet these high expectations. The Lightning begin the season ranked fifth in the Montgomery Hockey Conference rankings. This is the highest ranking ever achieved by the program. The challenge that awaits the team is that the program will face off against all of the top teams in the league. The season schedule is awaiting release, but the Lightning will face the other top teams in the conference to kick off the season. Anticipated early season matchups will be against the defending state champion Walter Johnson Wildcats, the state championship game finalist Churchill Bulldogs, the BCC Barons, and the Whitman Vikings. Together, with Upper Montgomery, these five teams are likely battling for the four state playoff spots that are awarded to the Montgomery Hockey Conference each season.

The Upper Montgomery program has twelve skaters that are only eligible to play in varsity competition, many of whom also play on high level AA or AAA external travel hockey teams. The coaching staff will be supplementing the varsity squad with student athletes that have thus far historically played the majority of their high school hockey career at the junior varsity level. Look for the game day roster to fluctuate all season long based upon which student athletes are healthy scratches as they are out of state with their external travel teams competing in out-of-town games or tournaments. The depth of the Lightning roster is finally able to handle one or two student athletes missing a game here or there.

The junior varsity season will begin in early October with an opening game against Whitman, the team that knocked Upper Montgomery out of the junior varsity playoffs last season. The junior varsity will have fourteen skaters and incoming 9th grade netminder Ilan Shterenberg handling the goaltending duties. The team should be much better than last year’s junior varsity squad as there is a significant amount of experience returning on defense. The junior varsity games may be lower scoring than last season as the team uses its defensive strength to focus on preventing the opposition from scoring. The big change in the junior varsity season will be the additional length of the periods, now fifteen minutes up from twelve minute periods that had been played in previous seasons. There will also be several nighttime junior varsity games scheduled throughout the season.

Look for the Upper Montgomery Lightning season preview in next month’s blog.

#Our Time, #UML, #Bleed Green, #Go Bolts!

The Upper Montgomery Lightning are back! It’s almost time to play some hockey. Off-ice dryland workouts are continuing, and the team is rounding into shape for a season that is hopefully going to conclude in historic fashion, a first ever trip to the Maryland state high school hockey playoffs. The Lightning program has never before qualified for the state playoff tournament.

With an experienced roster dominated by seniors and juniors, the team is primed to meet the high expectations. With maturity, the team will need to handle successes and overcome difficulties that may present during the season. The program has twelve skaters that are only eligible to play in varsity competition, many of whom play high level external travel hockey. The coaching staff will be supplementing the varsity squad with student athletes that have thus far historically played the majority of their high school hockey at the junior varsity level. Look for the game day roster to fluctuate all season long based upon which student athletes are healthy scratches as they are with their external travel team competing at out-of-town games.

The junior varsity will also be experienced with several skaters having three or four years of game action already under their belt. The junior varsity will have fourteen skaters and incoming 9th grade netminder Ilan Shterenberg handling the goaltending duties. The team should be much better than last year’s junior varsity squad and will be looking to make a run at a second Montgomery Hockey Conference junior varsity championship in three seasons.

#Our Time, #UML, #Bleed Green, #Go Bolts!

As the summer reaches the midway point, the Upper Montgomery Lightning program is already deep in preparations for the upcoming hockey season. Many of the team’s student athletes are participating in various camps to improve their individual skill level. Coach Todd’s summer high school hockey boot camp, the Premier Hockey Camp, is finishing up with a few on ice and dryland sessions remaining.

The team is three weeks away from the beginning of organized dryland workouts. In seven short weeks the team will hit the ice for the first evaluation session scheduled for Monday evening, September 11. The only unknown at this juncture is if the conference will make any changes to the current roster of high schools that make up the Upper Montgomery program. There is discussion that either or both of Watkins Mill or Gaithersburg high schools may be shifted to a different cooperative program.

All of the team’s focus will be on qualifying for the Maryland state high school playoffs for the first time in team history. The upcoming season will be the fifteenth season that the green, white, and gold will battle it out against the best in Montgomery County. The Lightning are one of six programs with a legitimate shot at advancing through the Montgomery Hockey Conference playoff bracket and making a run into the state playoff tournament. Each student athlete will need to dedicate themselves to this goal, starting with the mid-August off ice dryland workouts.

#Our Time, #UML, #Bleed Green, #Go Bolts!

Upper Montgomery Lightning Junior Forward Olivia Robbins was named to the second team All-Metropolitan Girls ice hockey team by the Washington Post newspaper. It is an exceptional honor for Olivia, and she becomes the first Upper Montgomery student athlete in program history to be named to an All-Met ice hockey team.

Olivia’s selection comes on the heels of her fine junior season where she scored six goals and registered five assists in eleven games. Olivia’s performance of a point per game playing against the top teams in Division One of the Montgomery Hockey Conference (the top conference in the Maryland Scholastic Hockey League) made an impression on the selection committee. There are very few female student athletes competing in the Maryland Scholastic Hockey League as many female student athletes choose to compete in Girls only high school leagues. If Olivia chose to play in Girls only high school hockey, she would dominate play. Playing against her male counterparts, some of whom will play advanced hockey in college or junior leagues, is a much tougher environment in which to compete and makes Olivia’s statistics all the more impressive.

Outside of high school hockey, as an underage student athlete, Olivia plays for the Washington Pride 19U AAA team, the top female external travel team in the Washington, DC metro area.

The Upper Montgomery program is proud of Olivia’s accomplishment and recognition. She will receive her All-Met plaque at the team’s year end celebration in May.

It was an exciting conclusion to the 2023 spring high school hockey season. Both Upper Montgomery teams improved throughout the spring. The future is bright for the Lightning. Upper Montgomery has an opportunity during the 2023 – 2024 high school hockey season to accomplish history; making the varsity state playoff tournament for the first time in program history. The junior varsity team should be much improved and should again compete for the junior varsity championship.

UML Team Green finished the spring season strong winning its last two games for an overall record of 3-6. UML Team White had an excellent regular season finishing with a 7-1-1 record before falling to Walter Johnson in the semifinal round of the spring league playoffs.

Upper Montgomery also celebrated the 2022 – 2023 team at the program’s season ending team party.

The team and several student athletes were celebrated for their accomplishments:

The 2022 – 2023 team was the first ever in program history (dating to the 2028 season) to win a varsity division one playoff game. It was a thrilling 2-1 overtime victory over St. Johns.

Olivia Robbins became the first Upper Montgomery student athlete to be named to an All-Metropolitan team when she earned second team All-Met Girls honors for her performance last season.

Team captain, senior George Benedick was honored with the team’s Hobey Baker award. This award is presented to a student athlete that recognizes character and leadership in hockey and academics.

Chris Hassett was presented with both the Henri Richard and Art Ross awards for most goals and points for the varsity.

Henry Honacki was presented with both the Henri Richard and Art Ross awards for most goals and points for the junior varsity.

#Our Time, #UML, #Bleed Green, #Go Bolts!

The 2023 spring high school hockey season is in full swing. The Upper Montgomery Lightning is fielding two squads this spring. With many of the program’s varsity student athletes choosing not to play spring league, Upper Montgomery’s teams are comprised of many of the program’s younger student athletes combined with seven incoming 9th graders. The Upper Montgomery program is using the 2023 spring season as a way to provide its younger student athletes more ice time in game situations. The coaching staff is also able to provide direct instruction to the younger student athletes to help improve their performance.

UML Team Green is in a division with more competitive teams while UML Team White is in a division with teams that are more comparable with UML Team White’s talent level.

At the mid-point of the spring season, UML Team Green is 1-4 and UML Team White is 3-1. Both teams look to finish the season strong with UML Team White in position to qualify for the spring league playoffs.

#Our Time, #UML, #Bleed Green, #Go Bolts!

CONGRATULATIONS to Olivia Robbins, a junior forward on the Upper Montgomery Lightning. A three year varsity student athlete, Olivia was named to the Washington Post All-Metropolitan 2nd Team Girls Ice Hockey Team. This is a tremendous honor and Olivia becomes the first Lightning student athlete to be recognized on one of the All-Met teams.

The 2023 high school spring hockey season has commenced. The Lightning are pleased to welcome seven new student athletes into the program for the spring season. Unlike last spring, this season, the coaching staff will be approaching the spring league games with two main objectives. First, to provide a significant amount of ice time to those participating student-athletes. Second, the coaches will be spending a considerable amount of time with the student athletes in-game coaching and teaching.

UML Team White and UML Team Green are both made up of many of the program’s younger and more inexperienced student athletes paired with the seven incoming new student athletes. Sprinkled in to provide guidance are a few of the team’s varsity student athletes. In many games the Lightning will be playing 13 and 14 year old skaters against opposition teams playing several 18 year old AA student athletes. The coaches are more concerned with Upper Montgomery’s compete level and progression as the spring games continue rather than the outcome of the games.

#Our Time, #UML, #Bleed Green, #Go Bolts!

The 2022 – 2023 high school hockey season has concluded. Congratulations are being sent out to Walter Johnson for winning their first ever Maryland Student Hockey League championship. The thrilling 5-4 victory over Churchill in the state final ended the Bulldogs nine season run as rulers of high school hockey in the Maryland/DC area. With most of their team returning next season, Churchill will by far be anointed as the pre-season number one team in the area.

Walter Johnson made it a two fer by also winning the Montgomery Hockey Conference junior varsity championship.

As Upper Montgomery looks to a very bright future, the program will be graduating five seniors, team captain George Benedick, Ethan Hockey, Andrew Gean, Stephen Shkeda, and Lucas Eyman. A huge thank you to these five student athletes for everything they brought to the program over the past four seasons.  They were the last link to the program that transitioned from Damascus, et al. to the Upper Montgomery Lightning, and they helped so much with the transition and the transformation of the Lightning program over the past four years. 

Congratulations to Nathan Cassel for being named honorable mention Montgomery Hockey Conference Division One forward.

Spring hockey begins next month. There were eleven prospective student athletes who attended the spring season introductory webinar. The team is looking forward to these new student athletes taking the ice just after spring break.

#Our Time, #UML, #Bleed Green, #Go Bolts!

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!