CRANBERRY TWP — Noah Raymundo landed a dizzying array of shots showcasing how dangerous the Mars hockey team can be Monday night at the UPMC Lemieux Complex.

Ben Heltman set up the junior forward for his first goal 1 minute, 18 seconds into the Planets' Class AA debut, a 9-0 win over North Hills.

Raymundo was on his way to a four-goal night, including three tallies in the first period.

“We were making a statement,” Raymundo said.

Scoring punch was the top concern for the defending Class A Penguins Cup champions during the transition.

Raymundo gave his teammates no choice but to try and keep up.

Five different players — Raymundo, Andrew Norris, Keaton Hanna, William Foley and Jonathan Kowalkowski — registered goals for Mars (1-0).

“(Raymundo) really gave the vibe of let's go out and win this, put some pucks in the net and beat this team,” said Norris, who scored twice.

Raymundo, who played primarily on defense last season, was moved to forward when Mars lost Paul Maust to the North American Hockey League's Wilkes-Barre Scranton Knights.

“When we found out we were losing Paul, we moved him into Paul's spot,” Mars coach Steve Meyers said. “He played defense for us last year and he has good hands and instincts. I didn't think the transition would be too hard for him.”

Raymundo scored in a variety of spots.

Three minutes after Raymundo's first goal, he got in on net and launched a shot from the circle that sailed over North Hills goalie Kaden Mahsoob's shoulder.

Raymundo's third goal was shorthanded, getting in on Mahsoob's stick side before launching a shot off the crossbar that leaked in with 3:08 left in the period.

“I think we showed a lot of intensity with how we can get a lot of shots,” Raymundo said. “We played well all around.”

A goal from Norris followed by another strike by Raymundo put Mars ahead 5-0 52 seconds into the second period.

The Indians, who lost 11 players from last year's team, played two freshmen on defense and their inexperience showed.

“We do a lot of running around,” North Hills coach Carl Kelchner said. “We have to learn to stay at home a little bit and manage the puck better.”

Goals from Hanna and Foley stretched the lead to 7-0 after two periods.

Tyler Spreng made 12 stops in net for Mars to pick up the shutout. Heltman had three assists, while Patrick Roach and Williams Foley each had two.

Norris was happy the Planets made a strong opening statement. Making a strong follow up will be even more important.

“We're going to work hard in practice, get the technique down and play as hard as we can to possibly get to the Pens Cup again,” Norris said.

Meyers knows Mars can keep getting better. The Planets need to keep improving their offensive game.

“It's hard to judge us in a game like that, try to reinforce to keep the game simple,” Meyers said. “I thought we held to the small, simple tasks really well. A couple minor things to fix here and there.”