Talk about confidence. Eric Glover and his Mars High hockey team have plenty of it.

"I wouldn't be surprised if we don't lose a game all year," the third-year coach said. "We're taking aim at the Penguin Cup. It's where we want to be.

"We have the tools to get there. Now it's up to us."

The Planets finished 15-6 last year, losing in the second round of the WPIHL playoffs to eventual champion Bishop McCort.

Forward Steve Matuzak and defenseman Shawn Becker are Mars' only graduation losses. Becker, last year's team captain, is playing for Slippery Rock University this season.

"We gave Bishop McCort its toughest game (3-1 final score) in the playoffs last year," Glover said. "Now our team is more balanced and more seasoned."

Senior goaltender Bryan Ross had a 2.30 goals-against average last year and is described by Glover as "the best goalie in the WPIHL at any level."

Other seniors on the roster include defenseman Adam Bridges, centers Tyler Brooks, Michael Randolph and Bryan Reel, and wingers Tommy Day and Jimmy Kelly.

Randolph, this year's team captain, joined Ross and Becker in playing in the WPIHL All-Star Game last year.

Mike Riefner is another forward, joining juniors Mike Kenitz, Sam Mashuda and sophomore Ian Finney up front.

"All of our front-liners can score and they can all check," Glover said. "My job is easy. I've got three lines I can put out there without having to worry about who matches up against anybody."

The Class A Planets defeated Peters Township, one of the top Class AA teams, 4-2 in a scrimmage.

Mars plays its home games at Warrendale Blade Runners.

Leo Cancilla returns for his second year as coach of the Golden Tornado and has a young squad.Coming off a 6-18 season and missing the playoffs by one game, Butler graduated its top three scorers in Greg Rogerson, Spencer Crouse and defenseman Mike Guentner. Guentner is now playing at Western Michigan while Rogerson is at Indiana (Pa.) University.Defensemen Jon Pakutz and Rob Ramirez have also graduated."We lost three starting defensemen and only have 13 skaters," Cancilla said. "Shutting down the opposition is a concern."Top returnees for Butler are center Bryan Rodgers, forward Fletcher Crouse, both seniors, along with junior forwards Zach Carben and Jeremy Hensel, defenseman Steve Stepanian and goaltender Kris Rhodaberger.Crouse had about six goals and 20 assists last year.Butler had a 4-0 lead on Norwin in its season opener this year before losing, 6-5."We ran out of gas in the third period," Cancilla said. "That's going to be a problem early, but we have a young, fast team that will be able to adjust."Senior Travis Riesmeyer is a first-year defenseman. A pair of sophomores, forward/defenseman Beau Bechtel and forward Zach Pennington, could provide some scoring punch.Junior forward Ryan Kradel, defenseman Tony Strange and sophomore defenseman Warren Schultz are other key players."Numbers will hurt us, but we'll get stronger as the season goes on, and I expect to challenge for the playoffs," Cancilla said.Butler plays its home games at Belmont Arena in Kittanning.

Mike Schall enters his second year at the helm of the Raiders, who graduated five seniors from last year. Forward Brent Tranter is now playing at Penn State University.Tranter was the team's leading scorer a year ago. Senior center Kevin Rawnovich is the top returning scorer. Seneca Valley's only other senior is forward Justin Ball.Other key players back are junior forwards Caleb Hudspath and Mike McChesney, sophomore forward Matt Jarrett, sophomore defenseman Joey Sasalla and junior goaltender Nick Miller."Rawnovich, Hudspath, McChesney and Jarrett were four of our top five scorers from last year," Schall said. "We should be able to put the puck in the net."Newcomers who figure to contribute are sophomores Nick Jones, Conner Johnson and John Raymus, and freshman goalie Tommy Comunale."Our strongest attribute is hard work," Schall said. "Our goalies should split time and we want to finish above .500 this year. These guys just have to get to get used to each other."The Raiders play their home games at Warrendale Blade Runners.

Second-year coach Dave Hepler must overcome the graduation loss of Dustin Gaworski, one of the Yellowjackets' all-time leading scorers. He is playing at Robert Morris University this season.Lucas Chrissman, J.J. Jones and Jason Bubb also are gone."But we've still got a good nucleus of kids back who can play," Hepler said.Among them is junior center Beau Zack, who assisted on most of Gaworkski's goals last year, and junior defenseman Zach Hepler, who had approximately 15 goals and 30 assists a year ago.Other key returnees are sophomore forward Cody Barker, junior forward Josh Schrecengost, sophomore goalie Tim Zahumenski and junior defenseman Bradon McQueen."We went to the playoffs last year and lost in the first round," Coach Hepler said. "We want to get back to the playoffs and improve on that."Key newcomers are junior forward Patrick Spangler, freshman center Johnny Reichenbaugh and freshman defenseman Jeremy Hepler.The Yellowjackets play their home games at Belmont Arena in Kittanning.

The Knights won't field a varsity team for the second consecutive season as three players quit the program and a fourth is lost to injury.Fourth-year coach John Nicholas has a 12-player junior varsity squad."It's disappointing, but we have no seniors, so we can build toward next year," Nicholas said. "We came on strong toward the end of last season and won our own tournament, so we're riding some momentum."Team captains are sophomore center Braden Beblo and forward Chris Dowling. Top defensemen include sophomore Shane Swigart and freshmen R.J. Hughes and Shane Donnelly.Junior Cameron Lang is the goaltender.The Knights play their home games at the Valley Sports Complex in New Kensington.