The December holiday break gives us a moment to look back on the first several months of the 2025 – 2026 high school hockey season. For the Upper Montgomery Lightning the final quarter of the season is critically important. The varsity has struggled to a 2-7 record in a season where the game day lineup has had zero semblance of consistency on a week to week basis. Three long term injuries combined with constant lineup juggling when the team’s highly talented members have been out of town with their external travel teams has crippled the anticipated varsity roster. Horrible team defensive play and spotty goaltending have driven what was a promising start to the season after an 8-0 lopsided shutout of the DC Stars into a season that can only be saved with playoff victories.
The program’s defense first mindset disappeared with the team’s unexpected explosion of goals five periods into the season. Offensively, when playing with the expected lineup, the team has received several standout performances. The Lightning’s leading scorer, also the leading defensive scorer for all of Montgomery County, as well as the second leading defensive scorer throughout the entire Maryland Student Hockey League, senior 18U AA Brady Berkhammer has been excellent this season with (9GP, 11G, 13A). Berkhammer is also tied for the lead for the entire Montgomery Hockey Conference in scoring with his 24 points. His eleven goals and 24 total points are both personal single season career highs.
Upper Montgomery’s top line of senior 18U AAA center and team captain Owen Robbins (4GP, 2G, 8A), flanked by fellow senior and last year’s leading scorer Philip Shkeda (4GP, 6G, 4A), paired with ninth grade 16U AA Miles Gleason (5GP, 12G, 5A) has been DOMINANT. The problem has been the Lightning have had this line available only twice this season. Robbins has missed time with his external travel team. Shkeda is still out until next week with an upper body injury. The good news is that Gleason returned from his own recent month long absence due to a medical issue. In his return, Gleason provided instant offense with two goals and two assists. He now has four points or more in three of the five games he has played in during his inaugural season. Junior 16U Upper A forward Aiden Zheng (8GP, 3G, 5A) has stepped up and provided a spark. He has scored in three of the previous four games. His hustle, energy, and defensive backchecking are examples for the younger students who should be watching how Zheng plays away from the puck. The younger students and depth skaters have not been able to contribute much offensively and have been inconsistent from game to game.
Upper Montgomery’s primary goaltender junior 16U AAA Ilan Shterenberg pitched a 25 save shutout in the season opener. Overall, he has a .907 save percentage and a 3.46 goals against average. When he has been out of town with his external travel team, the Lightning’s younger netminders have filled in. The defense in front of the goalies has been porous as Upper Montgomery has given up the second most goals in the county (56) for an average of 6.22 goals against per game. The number of breakaways given up has been astonishing. Then, when the defense plays well for long stretches during a game, weak goals have gone in past the Lightning’s quartet of goalies.
The only way to accomplish a season turnaround and win playoff games is on the defensive side of the ice. The team must be committed defensively and stick to the team’s systems. The Lightning must suffocate the game and play very physical against high powered offensive skaters. The goaltending also needs to be better. There have been several games recently when a soft goal or two against has deflated the team and sucked the energy out of a comeback rally. Most of the Lightning’s games will come down to which team is better in their own defensive end of the ice. Will the Lightning skaters show the urgency necessary to limit and contain the opponents, or will the team allow skaters to float all over the ice unencumbered? There has been too much watching the opponents skate around and swiping at pucks during the first half of the season rather than hard nosed, aggressive, physical defensive play.
The Lightning junior varsity has done a pretty good job of adhering to the team’s systems. The challenge at the junior varsity level has been that the young Lightning are playing with eight incoming ninth graders. These young students are learning how to play at the high school level where the competition is much more advanced than at the youth hockey level. So, plays that used to work for these students are counteracted at the higher level of play. The junior varsity’s schedule has been the most difficult of any team in the county. The junior varsity has been competitive against the best teams in the county losing by close margins to the top ranked teams, and playing with these top teams for much of the games. Even so, the team’s 1-6 record is not where the program would like to be. An upcoming game against Walter Johnson will determine if the Lightning qualify for the junior varsity playoffs.
Offensively, Upper Montgomery’s junior varsity has struggled to score all season long. Some of the lack of scoring is the youth of the team. Another core reason for the tepid offense is that the Lightning have played the toughest schedule of the junior varsity teams in the county. Recently, unexpected scoring has emerged from junior forward Mason Jagoz (7GP, 4G, 1A) including a hat-trick against the DC Stars. Ninth grade forward Tima Zamaray leads the junior varsity in goals and scoring with (7GP, 5G, 3A). Sophomore 16U Lower A Matt Rivera (7GP, 3G, 2A) has blossomed at the junior varsity level this season. He has scored on several end to end rushes from his defensive position. He is also playing more confidently at the varsity level as well where his play has gotten better as the season has gone along. Senior team captain Jason Woodman has (7GP, 3A), sophomore center Decklin Hughes (6GP, 1G, 2A) and ninth grade center Wyatt Ostrander (7GP, 1G, 2A) have all chipped in with three points. Sophomore 16U Upper A Max Israfilbek (6GP, 2G) has gone scoreless in the last five games since scoring twice in the season opener. Junior center Jackson Schickler scored last game as he rounds into shape after missing most of the season due to an upper body injury suffered this fall with Poolesville High School’s football team.
It is now time for the students to parlay the learning and development over the initial two thirds of the season into substantive results during the stretch run. How quickly the team develops the defensive habits and edge necessary to lead the program forward will determine if the Lightning can again challenge the upper echelon teams in the county. Or, is the team simply too young to compete right now this season. The squad’s performance leading up to the end of the season will tell us a lot about the team’s fortunes and what to expect in the end of season playoffs.
#Second Half Wins, #UML, #Bleed Green, #Go Bolts!