And the challenge gets tougher. Instead of playing crossover games with the teams in the Division IA circuit, the Mounties will contest each team in their division three times -- as well as take on a grueling non-league schedule that begins with their annual Christmas tournament from Dec. 28-30.  
“The people who are waiting for hockey to arrive are going to get some very good hockey,” offered Belisle. “They’re going to get some very competitive games because I don’t foresee anybody pounding anybody.”
While the Mounties lost some talented players, they also have a strong group coming back, keyed by senior captain Evan Hoffman, junior playmaker and fellow forward Trevor Plante (22 assists a year ago), and senior defenseman James Golden.
“Evan should be one of the better players in the state, if not, the best,” added Belisle. “We’re excited about having Evan and Trevor back together again. And I’m excited about seeing James play this year. He’s improved a lot. He was good last year, but he will be one of the elite defenseman this year.”
Of all the Mounties’ departures, the one that may have hurt the most was the graduation of San Antonio, who had a 1.33 GAA and five shutouts between the pipes, but Belisle thinks he may have found a solid replacement in senior Matt Hall and sophomore backup Ryan Simoneau. 
“We’re excited about our goaltending this year as we were last year,” added Belisle. “Matt’s been waiting for years for this opportunity. He’s solid, and he has a solid backup in Ryan. They’re both very tall and good goaltenders, and I think they’re going to do fine.”
The Mounties begin their season tonight at Adelard Arena with a 9 p.m. duel against always-tough La Salle Academy. And the schedule doesn’t get any easier after that, because the following Friday, they will host Moses Brown, and the Friday after that, they will hit the road to face Bishop Hendricken.
Last year’s games with the Hawks were some of the best showdowns in the state. They split their three-game regular-season series by each winning one game, losing another, and battling to a tie, and in the finals, MSC swept the best-of-three championship series by winning the first game in OT and the clicnher in three extra sessions.
Senior forward Nick Matiello and junior goalie Shane Benjamin are two of the standouts back for the Hawks, who like the Mounties, graduated some of their top players and lost the services of another -- All-State forward and 29-goal scorer Noel Acciari -- to a prep school.
“Hendricken will again be very strong,” offered Belisle. “The teams to beat will be the four private schools, but the three new teams are also going to be very good. I’m excited about having more teams in our division. We have a few different faces and they’re competitive different faces.”
The Sentinels, who graduated just five players in the last two seasons, boast a wealth of experience and three outstanding seniors in high-scoring center Colby Fugere, who led all Division II scorers with 32 goals, goalie Vincent Tudino, and defenseman Mike Giuliani.
“Smithfield played in our summer league and they’re strong,” added Belisle. “They wouldn’t be moving up if they weren’t a strong team or didn’t think they could complete. They’ll be fine. That’s a big community over there and their hockey program has always been good.”   
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Lincoln is the lone Blackstone Valley entry in the Division IA ranks, and it’s a very interesting division with Toll Gate coming down from Division I and Division II finalist North Kingstown and unbeaten Division III powerhouse Narragansett coming up.
Barrington and East Greenwich are also back, and like the Lions, they have been very competitive in this division over the past several seasons.
For the first time in more than a decade, neither veteran coaches Denis Riel nor Ted Polak will be running the ship, but taking over is Riel’s son, James Riel, who was a high-scoring forward for the Lions back in the late ’90s.
The Lions enter this season without their top scorer (Nathan Duquette) and defenseman (Scott Boulis) from a year ago, but they will be keyed by a very strong junior class that includes forward Ryan O’Dell and defenseman Jacob Cabana leading the way.
In Division II, St. Raphael Academy, Cumberland, and Portsmouth look like the early favorites to replace Smithfield and N.K. as the division’s top clubs, but Ponaganset and Division III champion Prout could also make a leap into this group.
The Clippers, who won the Division II title two seasons ago, and along with the Patriots, have totaled 49 victories over the last four years, have also been one of the division’s top defensive units, and returning are junior goaltender Michaelangelo Federici and senior defenseman and captain Jake Howard.
SRA has senior goalie Joe Mello and senior defenseman Dom DiSano back for their fourth years, and the Saints will also get full seasons out of senior forward Redmond Leclaire and Brian Moreau, who transferred from Tolman last year and joined the team in midseason.
Ponaganset’s fortunes are keyed by its senior tri-captains, goaltender Craig Shea and forwards Clayton Smith and Brian Luther.
With undefeated Narragansett and defending champ Prout out of the picture in the Division III ranks, it’s anyone’s guess who will step up and rule this circuit, which features two seven-team divisions from the North and South.
Mount Hope opposed Prout in the finals last year and are expected to be the team to beat in the South, while in the North, big things are expected from Woonsocket, North Smithfield, and East Providence. Tolman is also back in this division after winning just two Division II game last year. 
The Northmen bring back the high-scoring Naradowy brothers, senior Nick and junior Connor, while senior Bill Nangle has been regarded as one of the division’s top defensemen.
Leading the Novans are junior forwards Sean Mowry and Zachary Viggiani and senior netminder Josh Sloan, and the Townies are guided by their senior co-captains, forward Scott Lincoln and defenseman Mitch Palumbo, as well as junior forward James Hall.
The Tigers, who won the then-called Met C titles in 2003 and ’04 (their last two seasons in this division), has a 20-man roster with half of their members hailing from the freshmen and sophomore classes. Senior Thomas Gray and junior Patrick Gray are the top forwards.