Whether it is Mars or Bishop Canevin, this year’s PIHL Class AA Penguins Cup champion will be placing a large piece of hardware in an already-crowded trophy case.

Canevin (six) and Mars (four) have combined to win 10 Penguins Cups. The Crusaders have also won four state championships and the Planets two.

The Planets and Crusaders will face off for the crown at 8:30 p.m. Monday at the Lemieux Sports Complex.

“We try not to talk about it during the season,” said Canevin coach Kevin Pawlos. “We want each team to form their own identity, but everybody knows how much success the program has had.”

Mars’ previous success came as a Class A team. This is the Planets’ first year at Class AA.

“It was a bit of a change at the start of the season, going up against bigger teams every night,” said Mars coach Steve Meyers. “But when you look at the size of our school and the success we’ve had, (Class AA) is where we belong.”

The Planets (17-5-2) enter this year’s final with more losses than any previous Cup-winning Mars team. Mars won three straight titles 2009-11 and took home last year’s championship. Those four teams arrived at the championship game with a combined eight defeats.

But for Planet defenseman Ian Newman, the fact that his team is still playing says it all.

“I always believed in this team,” he said. “We always had a couple of tough losses. This season, it was a few more than usual, but this is the time of year when we figure things out.”

Mars faced Bishop Canevin (17-6-1) twice during the regular season. The Planets rolled to a 9-3 win in October before the teams played to a 3-3 stalemate in January.

“They were missing some key guys the first time we played them,” said Meyers. “They are a really good defensive team, similar to us. It should be a really good game.”

Pawlos is in his first year of coaching the Crusaders. He spent the previous two seasons as Mars’ junior varsity coach, so he is well-aware of the talent the Planets throw on the ice.

“They are a very well-coached team and are extremely deep,” he said. “It’s a tough test, but one that we’re ready for. I’m looking forward to seeing how we respond.”

Noah Raymundo leads the Planets in goals with 22, but Beau Heakins tops the team in points with 17 goals and 20 assists. Jonathan Kowalkowski (14-19), Keaton Hanna (16-11) and Owen Vasbinder (13-16) have also reached double figures in goals and assists.

Experience will not be a problem in goal for Mars, where junior Tyler Spreng has already started and won a Penguins Cup final. He has been the goalie-of-record in all 24 of Mars’ games this season.

“Having that kind of experience in goal is crucial,” said Meyers. “Tyler had a tough playoff loss (4-2 against Thomas Jefferson in the semifinals in 2014) and I think it helped him grow.”

Forward Thomas Krivak has scored 24 goals to pace the Crusaders, who are 10-1-1 in their last 12 games. What jumps out the most regarding Canevin’s offensive stats is that five players have contributed at least 15 assists. That group is led by Lukas Krukovski’s 22. Alec Bosnic has added 21 helpers and Krivak 20.

“That’s extremely crucial,” said Pawlos. “You need to have at least two good (scoring) lines to be a powerhouse team in this league. It allows us to create good matchups.”

Neko Borghini (11-2-1) and Jonathan Ruffing (6-4) both saw their share of playing time in the regular season, but the former has been the spark of late in between the pipes.

“He has taken his game to a whole new level,” said Pawlos of Borghini, a sophomore. “The guys are rallying around him.”