Avon Old Farms finished on top of the prep hockey world last March when it took down Cushing, 3-1, in the Elite 8 title game.
But head coach John Gardner knows he can't let this season's team get complacent off last year's success. He's been around far too long to let that happen.
"Everybody goes, 'How are you going to defend [your title]?' and you don't approach it that way," Gardner said. "We're going to go out and play our best and try to win another championship and I'm going to set the tone right away the first day and say, 'This is a new year. Last year was tough. There are a lot of lessons to be learned from last year and the years before but you guys are a different team this year, different personnel, and you've got to make your own way.
"I don't want you all to think you have to defend."
Gardner is correct. This is a very different looking Avon Old Farms team than the one that skated off the St. Anselm ice in March.
But it could be just as lethal.
