No team in the Greater Columbus High School Club Hockey League has been more successful in the past seven years than the PRPC Ice Prowlers.

Since 2002, the Prowlers have won four regular season league titles and three Blue Jackets Cup titles. They also reached a semifinal in the Buckeye Cup state tournament twice and a state final once.

For PRPC to maintain that level of success this season, it must find a way to replace possibly the league's best all-time player. Adam McGrath started for the Prowlers for four years and finished as the team's career leader in points with 218.

"Everybody, including our team and other teams, knew that if you shut down McGrath, you shut down PRPC," second-year coach Joe Tonello said. "It's definitely changed the way we've approached this year. We need more contributions from more players this year."

Aside from McGrath, however, the Prowlers have most of their top players back and have added some talented players to the mix as well.

"We've all started to pick up our own roles and we've all started to contribute more to the team," Pickerington North senior forward Taylor Kantor said. "With a big loss like Adam, everybody was kind of thinking after last year, 'How are we going to replace Adam?' But you could see it in tryouts, everybody has stepped up their game."

Last season, PRPC finished 20-11-8 overall and was second in the GCHSCHL in the regular season at 10-4-6 with 26 points, behind Newark (13-5-2, 28 points). The Prowlers lost to Newark 3-1 in the Blue Jackets Cup final, and two weeks later, they lost to Newark, 4-1, in the Buckeye Cup state final. It was the second consecutive season in which a team from central Ohio won the state title.

The Prowlers have gotten off to a solid start. They are 8-3-4 overall and 2-3-3 in the GCHSCHL entering Friday's game against Newark at Chiller Ice Works.

"We're playing pretty good right now," Licking Heights junior defenseman Sean Straker said. "We can do better, but it all comes with practice. That's what we're doing, we're practicing hard. Coach expects a lot out of us after what happened last year. He expects us to win state and win the Blue Jackets Cup."

The Prowlers are led offensively by Kantor, Watkins Memorial junior forward Jake Miller and Canal Winchester junior forward Kyle Baughman. Last season, Miller was second in points behind McGrath with 25 goals and 16 assists. Baughman was third with 12 goals and 12 assists and Kantor was fourth with five goals and 12 assists. Kantor is the captain and has been a "leader on and off the ice," according to Tonello. Miller and Straker are assistant captains.

Another returnee, Reynoldsburg junior Matt Gorgias, is one of the team's most physical forwards at 6-foot-4, 190 pounds. The Prowlers also added Pickerington North freshmen Nathan Billups and Kyle Hyer, both of whom played travel hockey last season and have contributed immediately at forward.

Straker, a third-year player, leads the defense and is the team's biggest hitter. Reynoldsburg senior defenseman Alex Daniels also returned and has taken on a leadership role this season, according to Tonello.

Also at forward are Pickerington Central senior Matt Thompson, Reynoldsburg junior Darien Bryant, Pickerington North junior Alex Fultz, Pickerington Central sophomore Bradley Bowers, Pickerington North sophomore Alex Giles, Canal Winchester sophomore Seth Hunter and Pickerington North freshman Michael Matsanoff.

Also contributing on defense are Reynoldsburg senior Erik Flom, Pickerington North junior Trevor Annetts and Pickerington North sophomore Christian Arnold.

Reynoldsburg senior Jeremiah Holland and Hartley junior Erik Heinmiller have split time at goalie. Last season, Holland had a .919 save percentage and Heinmiller had a .877 save percentage. Tonello plans to alternate Holland and Heinmiller throughout the season.

"The nice thing about our goaltenders is they're very good friends," Tonello said. "There's not necessarily competition. They want to win, so if one of them is playing better, the other one will come to me and say 'Play him, he's playing better.' There's no selfishness involved."

Pickerington North freshman Drake Holdren also will contribute at goalie.