Last season was a nightmare for the Mars and Freeport hockey teams, but both squads have quickly put those campaigns behind them.

And that's proving to be bad news for their opponents so far this year.

As of Tuesday, Freeport finds itself atop the PIHL Class A East Division with an 8-2-1 record, just ahead of Westmont-Hilltop (7-4) and Deer Lakes (3-8).

Mars is third in the four-team Class A West Division with 15 points (7-3-1), trailing Quaker Valley (17 points, 8-1-1) and Sewickley Academy (16 points, 8-3).

Both teams benefited by incorporating younger players last year and have seen an increase in their roster sizes as well.

"Last year, we only played nine guys," said Freeport coach Dave Hepler. "We lost three seniors who were pretty good. The core of the team is still there and we added a couple of ninth graders.

"They help to give some of the upperclassmen a blow. They get out and get up and down the ice a few times to give them a breather," he added.

Freeport was 6-16 last season and dropped its final eight games of the season while Mars was 7-12

"We had a lot of kids coming back, a lot of freshmen coming back that got a full year of experience," said Mars coach Eric Glover. "We have a good, solid goalie (Bryan Ross) back.

"He started as a freshman and now he's a junior and he's got a lot of experience," Glover added.

Freeport has been led by a pair of cousins, both of whom also play for the Pittsburgh Stars, a major midget team: senior center Dustin Gaworski and sophomore defenseman Zack Hepler.

Gaworski leads Class A with 22 goals and is third in points (39) behind Serra's Joey Manning (41) and Sewickley Academy's Alec Shannon (40). Hepler has seven goals but has contributed 22 assists to place him seventh in Class A in points.

Gaworski led the team last year with 27 goals and 16 assists.

"Dustin has always been a goal scorer and always will be," said coach Hepler. "The guys feed him the puck, and if they put guys on him, he sees that and passes it back."

Hepler broke the team mark for assists by a defenseman when he surpassed Scott Gallagher's 21.

"Hopefully, the rest of the year, he and Dustin will continue to work well," said the Freeport coach.

"It all goes back to when we played on the driveway," said Gaworski about Hepler. "As a defenseman, to be in the top 10 in scoring is great. It helps the team in scoring and he outs in a few good goals and good passes."

Other top scorers for the Yellowjackets are senior center Jason Bubb (9 goals and 5 assists for 14 points), freshman wing Cody Barker (7-5-12), sophomore wing Josh Schreckengost (6-5-11), sophomore center Beau Zack (2-8-10), junior wing Charlie Rowley (0-6-6), freshman winger Kyle Waddell (3-2-5) and junior defenseman Tommy Ferrante (1-4-5).

"All these guys can put it in the net," said Hepler. "One guy's faster, one guy has better hands. One guy doesn't have to weave and score."

Other key contributors include freshman goalie Tim Zahumensky, who has 92-percent save percentage and three assists, sophomore defenseman Braden McQueen, freshman defensemen Wyatt McQueen and David Bonitsky, senior forward James Johns and senior goalie Lucas Crissman.

"I think one of the differences this year is we've had a lot of freshmen stepping up. We've had five freshmen called up and we're all working as a team," Gaworski said.

"I thought we'd be pretty decent and we're doing pretty well. As the season goes on, we're getting better and better. As long as we don't let down, we could go to the finals and win it," he added.

For Mars, scoring has been a balancing act as nine players have between six to 13 points each.

"We don't have the superstars, but we have three lines we can put out there at any time. There are no kids that are weaknesses," Glover said.

"It's a real even team. Everyone works hard. With no superstar, it allows everyone to step up. If your superstar doesn't bring his A game, you're in trouble," he added.

Top scorers include junior wing Jim Kelly (7-6-13), junior center Bryan Reel (5-7-12), senior defenseman Shaun Becker (3-8-11), sophomore wing Sam Mashuda (3-6-9), junior center Tyler Brooks (5-3-8), senior center Steve Matuzak (3-5-8), junior wing Tom Day (4-3-7), and junior forwards Mike Riefner (3-4-7) and Mike Kenitz (5-1-6).

Others that have helped the Planets reverse their fortunes are sophomore defensemen Carroll Smith, Adam Bridges, Dave Anderson, Cody Kier, junior wing Mike Randolph, freshman wing Ian Finney and freshman defenseman Shawn Roach.

With only two seniors, the play of Ross in net (90.4 save percentage) has had a steadying influence on the squad.

"It definitely helps. This is the first year he's ever had to be vocal," said Glover. "Last year he came to the rink like a mouse. You'' never have known he was there.

"It helps when you have a goalie as good as he is and gets the team fired up to play. It's been a huge help for us," Glover added.

It's amazing what a new attitude and some winning can do for a team's confidence.

"Everyone's picked it up," said Ross. "Coach has got us playing well. Last year, we had one or two wins at the halfway point last year and this year we had seven.

"Last year the attitude wasn't very good. … But this year, there's a good positive attitude in the locker room," Ross added.

Said Glover, "Last year, it didn't seem like the kids were having fun. This year it's a tight-knit group. I haven't seen one argument between them.

"It's just been a good team. It kind of makes my job a lot easier."