By ERIC BENEVIDES

Sports Writer

While the high school girls’ volleyball playoffs were in full swing and the football season was wrapping up its regular-season schedule, the hockey teams in the Blackstone Valley and around this state were quietly lugging their equipment into their home arenas, lacing up their skates, and beginning their preseason drills.
Tonight, several of those teams will kick off the scholastic winter campaign by taking the ice for their season openers.
And while two Division I games highlight the schedule, including a 9 p.m. showdown at Adelard Arena between defending state champ Mount St. Charles Academy and La Salle Academy, there are plenty of other contests worth the price of admission.
In the Division II ranks, defending champ Cumberland High and state finalist St. Raphael Academy begin their season with a pair of 9 p.m. duels. The Clippers will make the short drive to the Smithfield Ice Arena to contest Ponaganset High, and the Saints will be home at Lynch Arena for a game against Coventry High.
In Division III play, Division III-North regular-season champion North Smithfield High, which will take part in the Central ranks this winter, plays North Providence High at 7:30 p.m. in Smithfield, and in a North contest, Woonsocket High hosts Johnston High in the 7:30 p.m. game leading up to the Mounties-Rams clash.
East Providence High, which is returning to the Division III ranks after two seasons as a Division II squad, will entertain Division III-South opponent Cranston East High in the 7:30 p.m. game before the Saints-Knotty Oakers affair.

The Division I-A schedule doesn’t get under way until tomorrow. Defending champion Burrillville High begins its title defense by hosting Cranston West High at 9 p.m. at Levy Arena, and Lincoln High heads to Portsmouth Abbey’s rink for a 6:30 p.m. game against Barrington High.
Smithfield High’s Division II season also begins tomorrow with a 9 p.m. game at home against North Kingstown High.
The girls’ season also kicks off tonight with a doubleheader at the West Warwick Civic Center and one of the Blackstone Valley’s Division II clubs, Burrillville High, facing off with Toll Gate High in the 7:30 p.m. opener.     
On Saturday, Mount St. Charles faces Barrington High in a Division I contest at 9 at the Cranston Ice Rink, and in Division II action at the Rhode Island Sports Center on Route 146, defending champion North Smithfield High hosts Cranston’s co-op squad.
Here’s a capsule glance at the boys’ Division I-A, II, and III and girls’ Division I and II prospects:

Division II
This division promises to offer a lot of excitement, with four of its squads (Smithfield, St. Raphael, Portsmouth, and North Kingstown) expected to make a run at the title.
Of all the teams that got hit by graduation and other offseason losses, no squad absorbed less damage than Smithfield High, which has won two of the last three state titles and lost just a few bodies from last year’s 11-4-1 club.
Junior Colby Fugere (22 goals, 22 assists) and senior Cody Lang (14 goals, 19 assists) were All-Division selections last season, as was junior defenseman Mike Giuliani, and junior netminder Vincent Tedino was among the division leaders in goals-against-average and save percentage.
The Saints performed a first last year by reaching the Division II finals after appearing in the Division III title series the following winter. This winter, they will vie for another first by pursuing the school’s first state championship in hockey.
Even though the greatest scorer in team history, Andrew Bettencourt, exited SRA to attend prep school in Hebron, Maine, the Saints still have plenty of offensive firepower.
Senior Andrew Given, who played a half season after transferring from La Salle, gets a full winter to light up the stat sheet, and seniors forwards Matt Tougas, Tyler Malo, and Dana Joseph, junior defenseman Dom DiSano, and junior goalie Joe Mello have at least three years of experience.
The Clippers, who captured their first state crown in 19 seasons, also lost a lot of their top players to graduation and time will tell if they’re prepared to break into the top four in the division. Among the players the Clippers will rely heavily on are seniors Matt Hayes and Mike Darlington and junior Zach Dohring.
Ponaganset High and Tolman High come into this season with young teams and not a lot of depth (just 16 players on their current rosters).
The Chieftains bring back the division’s top scorer in senior Derek Rogala (30 goals, 19 assists), classmates Colin Cunniff and Anthony Daniels, and junior goalie Craig Shea, but half of their team is made up of freshmen and sophomores.
Senior defenseman Peter Lang and sophomore forward Pat Gray are two of the top names for the Tigers, who in addition to having a new-look lineup, have a new coach in Steven Reynolds. He replaces Tom Vecoli, who retired after a 13-year career that saw his Tigers post over 150 victories and win three state titles.
 
Division I-A
Last winter, Burrillville High won the regular-season title with a 12-4 record and stormed through the playoffs to produce its first state crown in three years. Graduation took its toll on the Broncos, but they will try to defend their championship with a cast keyed by top-notch scorer Cam Leduc (16 goals, 9 assists) and standout defensemen Tim L’Esperance and Brian Molloy.
The Lions, who were 3-12-1 a season ago, were also hit hard by graduation, but received a solid freshman campaign from Ryan O’Dell. They will again look for big contributions from him, seniors Alex Murray and Brendan Sullivan, and junior Mike Wheeler.

Division III
The Blackstone Valley will be represented in each of the three divisions with one squad, and all three have excellent opportunities at competing for their respective division titles and going far in the postseason.
The Townies, who won a Division III crown in 1995 and were state finalists in ’96, come back to the division with a very young roster, as 15 of their players fail from the freshman and sophomore classes. Senior defenseman Nicholas Alix, senior forward Jesse Joy, and junior defenseman Mitchell Palumbo are the players to watch for.
The Northmen will try to put together another 12-plus win season with a group guided by high-scoring forward Nick Naradowy and defenseman Bill Nangle, while the Novans, led by netminder Joshua Sloan, have their sights sets on a winning season after going 5-10-1 last winter.

Girls’ hockey
Will defending state champion Bay View Academy and state finalist Mount St. Charles be Division I state finalists for the seventh straight season? Both teams have a lot of top players back and their sights firmly set on March glory.
The Mounties, who have won four of the first six state titles in girls’ hockey, bring back their top two scorers from last year in junior Katelyn Loiselle (16 goals, 16 assists) and senior Courtney Shea (13 goals, 8 assists), and junior goalie Dana Wozniak.
The Bengals are led by senior forward Brittney Resendes (23 goals, 23 assists), junior forward Samantha Gouin (8 goals, 14 assists), standout senior defenseman Catie Colucci (10 goals, 13 assists), and senior goalie Megan McGhie.
In Division II, the Broncos, which moved down a division after a six-win season a year ago, sport arguably the state’s youngest squad with nine sophomores and four freshmen on their 18-player roster. Corinne Mattera, the team’s third leading scorer from last year, and Jen Kacmarick are the lone seniors.
In Division II, the Lady Northmen, who have averaged 10 victories in each of their last three seasons, have the weapons for another excellent season and some of the best young players in the league.
Sophomore Kayla Kiernan (30 goals, 10 assists) was the division’s scoring champion a season ago. Junior forwards Vanessa D’Andrea (8 goals, 10 assists) and Kristie Yehle are also back, as are sophomore defenseman Jess Salisbury and sophomore goalie Alexandra Euglow.