As the Upper Montgomery families enjoy the start of summer, the Lightning program is gearing up for the 2026 – 2027 high school hockey season. Many of the team’s student-athletes are participating in various camps and clinics over the summer to improve their individual skill level. The team is just a few short weeks away from organized dryland workouts, beginning once the school year starts at the end of August. Then, the team will hit the ice for its first evaluation session scheduled for Monday evening, September 14.
This year, all team practices will be held on Monday evenings at either Cabin John Ice Rink or Skate Frederick. It is a much better schedule with no afternoon practices in Frederick, where students would have to rush directly from school to the ice rink. With the graduation of last season’s four seniors, the program will proceed through a natural cycle where younger student-athletes will have ample opportunity to earn significant playing time. With the exception of sophomore 16U AA Miles Gleason and senior 18U Upper A Aiden Zheng, almost all of the Lightning’s leading scorers from last season have graduated. The Lightning’s defense and goaltending are expected to be solid next season. The coaching staff is hard at work installing a playing style that will accentuate the strengths of the students, keeping the team competitive against the other programs in the county. It is anticipated once again this season that there will be very few students who do not receive varsity playing time.
Additionally, the Montgomery Hockey Conference recently announced the return of Gaithersburg High School and Watkins Mill High School to the Upper Montgomery program. These additions will bolster the team’s lineup as two student-athletes from Gaithersburg will participate with the program. The team will again have only four seniors this season, further reinforcing the youth of the students. The younger students will be counted on to play large roles sooner than would normally occur, but early varsity playing time will assist in their development down the road.
#UML, #Bleed Green, #Go Bolts!