Looking back at the players their team had lost to graduation, Devyn Tankesley and Ben Phillips weren't sure what to expect when the 2010-11 version of Hempfield High School's ice hockey team first took the ice.

Actually, both players thought the team might struggle again, coming off a 1-16-1 record.

Then two things happened.

One, the Black Knights shifted from the Central Pennsylvania Interscholastic Hockey League's Tier 1 to Tier 2. Tier 1 teams generally have greater depth and more club hockey experience.

Two, team chemistry, which tops the list of must-haves for first-year head coach Tom Garman, was in evidence right away.

Those things have added up to a 7-1-0 start for the Black Knights, who occupy first place in the CPIHL's Tier 2 Lancaster/Lebanon Division.

"I thought we might be a little worse (than last season) because we lost five seniors," said Tankesley.

Ben Phillips, the team's senior captain, felt the same way until the Black Knights got a couple of practices under their belts.

"The team has really meshed," he said. "There is a lot of teamwork. There are players who score more than others but everyone works really well together."

Some high school teams, whether it's hockey, basketball or any other sport, will be divided along class lines. Sometimes, the experienced players don't gel with the new players.

That has not been the case for Hempfield's hockey team.

"Last season's team was more of a veteran team," Phillips said. "The new kids are more open to learning so we're all learning together and that's creating team chemistry."

Tankesley, a sophomore center, is part of the Black Knights' top-scoring line, which includes Kyle Long, a junior left wing, and Neil Clarkin, a senior right wing.

In seven games, Long has 23 goals and 15 assists and is the third-leading scorer in the CPIHL, all tiers considered. The speedy Tankesley is lighting up the scoreboard, too, with 16 goals and 19 assists.

"Kyle and Devyn work well together because they understand each other and read and react," Garman said. "Neil came in off of football. He is basically a bull in a china shop. He's big and not afraid."

Overhearing his name as a visitor talked to Tankesley prior to practice this week, Clarkin proclaimed himself, "the distractor." In other words, he draws the attention of opposing goalies and defensemen while Long and Tankesley score the goals.

But Clarkin has three goals and six assists this season, too.

Hempfield's second line is made up of Alex Murphy and his brother Degan along with Derrick Matthews. That line has scored four goals. The Black Knights' checking line is consists of Chris Christaldi, Andrew Norton and Jarrett Lehman.

Goaltender Wes Bagrowski is new to the team this season and Garman is glad to have him. On the tall side at 5-foot-11, Bagrowski plays the low shots well.

"When it comes to goaltending, Wes gets it," Garman said. "He plays his angles well."

Hempfield heads into the post-Christmas portion of the season just looking to take one game at a time. According to Tankesley, however, the Black Knights are looking forward to the Cedar Crest game (8:45 p.m., Jan. 3, Klick-Lewis Arena). The Falcons dealt Hempfield its only loss this season.

"The players understand that they let one go," said Garman, talking about the first game between the two teams, which Cedar Crest won, 4-3. "We got lackadaisical and they know it."

No one knows whether a move back to Tier 1 is in Hempfield's future. But for right now, the chemistry the team has forged is suiting it well.

"The biggest things are understanding the game, having fun and learning things, on and of the ice," said Garman.

They seem to be accomplishing all three.

kfreeman@lnpnews.com