The games were played and the losses kept piling up.

But every time Barry Melchi opened the locker room door, whether it was for a practice or a game, he saw players who never lost hope and never lost the desire to play hard.

When the season was over, Warwick's ice hockey team had lost all 16 games it played.

"To the last game, they played like it was the first game," said Melchi, in his third season as the Warriors' head coach.

As tough a season as that was, consider that the Warriors had gone 1-17 the season before last.

All that losing, all those paid dues, makes this season's start in the Central Pennsylvania Interscholastic Hockey League all the sweeter for the Warriors. After six games this season, Warwick is 5-1.

"We have a mix of good players from last year who are back and we have a good young group who have come up from the junior high team," Melchi said. "No one's dominating on the team but there's been a contribution from everybody."

Play is well under way among area scholastic high school hockey teams and Warwick isn't the only team off to a good start this season. Manheim Township and a team that combines players from Lancaster Catholic, Conestoga Valley, Manheim Central and Donegal are also flying high.

Besides the early success of some teams, the season is notable because two area teams, Pequea Valley and the combined Cocalico/Garden Spot team, have left the Central Pennsylvania Interscholastic Hockey League and are playing in the Eastern Pennsylvania Scholastic Hockey League.

The teams changed leagues due to financial and travel concerns.

Warwick senior defenseman Mitch Luckinbill lived through last season's struggles. Somehow, the team didn't let the losses get to it.

"We had a good group of players who were able to handle it," Luckinbill said. "This season, I knew we had some good players coming up from the junior high team so I was looking forward to it."

One of those younger players is freshman Stephen Crawford. A defenseman, Crawford has a goal and two assists this season.

"The younger players have a little more knowledge of how to play the game offensively, how to skate the puck into the zone, how to make the right passes," Luckinbill said.

The Warriors have scoring balance. Nine players have at least one goal with Steve Bochenko and Dan Machin scoring four apiece. Sophomore goalie Steven Jostes, playing his first varsity season, is sporting a 2.17 goals-against average.

Township, too, benefited from an infusion of young talent. But their top line of Kyle Bushong, Matt Marino and Chad Neiss has fueled their 4-1-1 start. The trio has scored 20 goals this season.

"One of the things we have on our team is speed," said Township coach Chris Busque. "When you have a Marino and a Bushong and a Neiss on the ice the puck is moving in the right direction."

Two veteran blueliners, Chris Bolinger and Mike Foster, pace the Blue Streaks' defense, which is playing in front of first-year varsity goalie William Pearson.

Nick Sama already has 11 goals in five games for the Lanc. Catholic/ CV/Donegal team, which opened the season with five straight wins before settling for a tie against Northern Lebanon/Spring Grove. In that game, Sama scored the game's final two goals, the second with 1:51 to play, to salvage the tie.

Nick Shenk and Austin Andrews are also top offensive players for the team.

Lancaster County's two entrants in Tier I, Hempfield and Lampeter-Strasburg, are off to rough starts and will have to do some catching-up to get into the playoffs.

Elizabethtown has won three of its first five games in Tier II and is looking to return to the playoffs. Penn Manor is off to a 3-2 start while Ephrata has one win in its first six games.