Seneca Valley is defending Penguins Cup Class AAA champion. Butler is coming off a playoff season and has a new head coach.

The teams opened the 2018-19 PIHL season against each other Monday night at the Frozen Pond in Valencia. The Raiders claimed a 3-2 overtime shootout victory.

Such competitiveness may be a harbinger of things to come this high school hockey season.

“There are a lot of good teams in Triple-A,” Butler coach Mavrik Goepfert said. “There are only nine teams in the division and eight will make the playoffs.

“There will be a lot of jockeying for position.”

Goepfert is a 2008 Butler graduate and former Golden Tornado hockey player. He inherits a team that went 10-8 last year before losing in the first round of the playoffs.

“Now we want to go deeper,” Goepfert said. “The talent and the numbers are here.”

There are 58 players in the Butler hockey program from middle school through varsity.

Anthony Raco returns as Seneca Valley coach. The Raiders were 12-6 in the regular season — no player scoring more than 10 goals in the regular season — before capturing the program's first-ever Penguins Cup.

“We lost a lot of seniors from last year, but some top players are back,” Raco said. “It's about staying committed to the process and doing the hard work.

“To succeed in Triple-A, you have to have depth. You can't just count on two lines and one set of defensemen. You have to roll out four lines and be deep on defense.”

Here is a look at the five Butler County varsity hockey programs:

Butler

Ronan Miller (10 goals, 9 assists last year) is a senior right wing and team captain. Connor Bachman (2-16-18) is a senior leader on defense and junior Bekk McClaine is a returning 10-goal scorer at center.

Another key center is junior Troy Gilliland (5-8-13). Goaltenders are junior Connor Strobel (8-4-01, 2.81 GAA) and newcomer Bryce Rearick.

“We've got a lot of offensive firepower and strong goaltending,” Goepfert said.

Other key players for Butler include junior right wing Ben Thrash, sophomore left wing Matt Bernardi, junior defenseman Jerome Oliver, senior defenseman and assistant captain Taite Dusheck.

Butler's next game is at 7:10 p.m. Oct. 15 against Central Catholic at the Frozen Pond.

Seneca Valley

Top players returning from the Raiders' championship team are junior winger Michael Spokane (10-4-14) and senior center Tyler Draper (6-6-12).

Seneca Valley loses standout goaltender Logan Johnson (10-5-2, 1.72 GAA), but has a top-level replacement in 6-foot-3 junior Aiden Campbell.

“That kid is a tremendous athlete,” Raco said. “He has played some high-level hockey and has already been drafted by the Erie Otters of the OHL and by the USHL. He's just not ready to leave yet.

“We probably only have him for a year, but he will provide a big boost in goal.”

Other key newcomers for the Raiders are senior defenseman Bryce Korner, center Drew Diamond, sophomore winger Ryan Russell and junior winger Tyler Kovac.

“Draper plays Pens Elite hockey and Spokane is a very consistent player,” Raco said. “He will help provide leadership.

“A number of new, quality kids have joined our program. Having the success we had last year will help the program to continue to grow.”

Seneca Valley's next game is at 9 p.m. Monday against Cathedral Prep at the Baierl Ice Complex.

Mars

The Planets qualified for the Class AA playoffs a year ago with a 9-10 record, but lost in the opening round.

Hunter Reimer (10-3-13) is the top returning scorer for Mars. Braden Hanna (7-4-11), Nick Kiefer (5-6-11) and Zach Koerbel (4-6-10) will be counted upon for offense as well.

Daniel Mitchell (9-10-3, 3.32 GAA) returns as goaltender for the Planets, who will again be coached by Steve Meyers.

The Planets open the season at 8:35 p.m. Thursday against Armstrong at Nevin Arena.

Freeport

Kelly Mason enters his first year as head coach of the Yellowjackets, who are looking to rebound from a 3-17 season in Class A.

Kyle Hazlett, a 16-goal scorer and Freeport's top offensive threat from a year ago, is gone. Three of the team's other top scorers return, however, in forwards Alex Colflesh (6-11-17), Connor Hoffman (6-9-15) and Karter Halleran (4-6-10). Team captain is defenseman Slade Ohl, a PIHL all-star last year

Sean Fennell, a junior, will be Freeport's goaltender.

“He's an athletic kid, an excellent lacrosse player, and played well in our last scrimmage,” Mason said.

“We have a small roster, so we need to be fast and aggressive on the ice, be a team that's difficult to play against. Our kids really committed to our off-season conditioning program.”

The Yellowjackets open the season at 8:20 p.m. Thursday against Blackhawk at the Belmont Complex.

Knoch

Ryan Cooper takes over as coach as the Knights return to varsity status for the first time in several years.

Knoch will play in the Class D2 division with 10 other teams. There are 13 players on the varsity roster.

“We have seven seniors on the team and the organization felt it was time to go back to varsity,” said Cooper, a former Freeport coach. “It will take a while for the kids to adjust to the speed of the game at this level.

“Every game, every period, every shift, we just want to become better hockey players and compete at this level.”

Senior center Lance Cotton is the team captain. Senior Kyle Errera is a “flex” player and will see action at different positions. Splitting time in goal will be Joel Cendrowski and Luke Hentschel.

After dropping their opener (6-1) at Connellsville, the Knights play McDowell at 9:10 p.m. Oct. 15 at the Frozen Pond in Valencia.