WARRENDALE — Detroit is known as “Hockeytown.”

Seneca Valley may soon earn the moniker of “Hockeyschool.”

The Raiders are off to a head start in that regard after claiming the school hockey association's first-ever Penguins Cup Class AAA championship last winter while repeating as Penguins Cup junior varsity champs.

The championship banners for the Raiders' varsity and JV teams were unfurled during a ceremony Tuesday nght at the Baierl Ice Complex.

“The Pittsburgh Penguins have been successful by rolling out four lines and staying consistent with them,” SV varsity coach Anthony Raco said. “We're trying to follow that model at this level.

“By using four lines and juggling the players on them, we made it difficult for other teams to plan a defense against us. The balance works for us.

“We want to make nights like this a habit around here,” he added.

No Seneca Valley player scored more than 16 points in the regular season. Hunter Mueller had six goals and 10 assists. Michael Spokane was the only SV player with as many as 10 goals.

Yet the team finished 12-6 in the regular season, earned the No. 2 seed in the playoffs, then defeated No. 7 seed Bethel Park 4-1, No. 3 seed Cathedral Prep 3-2 and No. 1 seed Peters Township 4-2 to win the Cup.

“Defense and goaltending,” senior captain Noah Watkiss said. “That's what did it for us. We believed in that system and we played it.”

SV goalie Logan Johnson had a 1.72 goals against average and .930 save percentage this season. He is continuing his hockey career at Slippery Rock University.

“Our defense was incredible,” Johnson said. “They made it easy for me. I could see every puck coming.

“When you're in the net with a defensive unit clearing the way like that, you get more and more confident every game. That's what happened to me.”

SV hockey has been around since the mid-1990s, but never won a Penguins Cup until this year. A boom in numbers has a lot to do with the current success.

“When I first got here 11 years ago, we had three teams in our program. Now we have five,” Raco said.

The Seneca Valley Hockey Association has 100 players now, filling rosters for two middle school teams, two junior varsity units and a varsity team.

SVHA president Chris Belt said this season's championship has only increased that interest.

“More and more kids are getting interested in organized hockey around here,” Belt said. “This has become a huge hockey area, especially with the Lemieux Complex coming in.”

Bill Diamond, Director of Hockey Operations for Seneca Valley, said the UPMC Lemieux Complex has “clearly impacted youth hockey in our district.

“They put on incredible hockey events there involving some of the top youth talent in the country, even the world,” Diamond said. “And when kids can't see that, they can always go over and watch the Penguins practice.”

The UPMC Lemieux Complex hosted the Penguins Cup finals this year and 1,000 SV fans were able to see the game.

“It's a great facility, but seating space is limited in there,” Diamiond said. “We probably had another 1,000 people around here who wanted to see the game and couldn't.”

The Raiders' top junior varsity team finished 11-5 in the regular season and went on to repeat as Penguins Cup champion. Senior captain Brandon Garzez was a member of both JV title teams.

Garzez was unable to make the varsity lineup, but was grateful to play hockey for his school.

“There's a lot of excellent hockey players here and it's tough to find and hold a spot on any team,” Gorzez said. “I'm grateful I had to chance to play hockey for four years with my friends.

“I have no doubt this program is going to sustain itself for a long time.”

Six players on this year's varsity team have played for two SV championship teams in their careers. Ten played for three title teams and two played on four championship squads.

Belt conceded that the deep number of hockey players in the SV school district “helps to make everybody strive to get better, more competitive toward landing a spot.”

Nothing builds success like winning.

“The kids believe and trust in the system here,” Raco said. “We're ready to get at it again.”

PENGUINS CUP CHAMPIONS

The following player names are on the SV championsip banners at the Baierl Ice Complex:

VARSITY

Head coach: Anthony Raco

Logan Johnson, Robert Henn, Hunter Mueller, Will Hohman, Noah Watkiss, Nate Lenze, Luke Maier, Jackson Blucher, Drew Diamond, Shane Raible, Jon Flaugh, Alex DeDionisio, Christopher Belt, Austin Gildernew, Austin Albert, Michael Spokane, Reese Garvin, Bryce Korner, Giovanni Sarachine, RJ Testa, Tyler Draper

JUNIOR VARSITY

Coach: Ryan Lamberger

Robert Henn, Tyler Tocci, Adam Raible, Clayton Blucher, Charlie McKee, Zak Murphy, Andrew Zowacki, Ethan Koontz, Brad Cichra, Dylan Frazier, Tyler Tappe, Samuel Kaiser, Carson Brethauer, Brandon Garzez, Ryan Koch, RJ Testa, Gavin Riddle, Philip Funovits, Logan Koontz