Bedford has won two straight Northwest Hockey Conference White Division titles, but don t count on the Mules, favored to win another crown, to become complacent.

Bedford coach Randy Menchaca prefers to live in the present.

I don t like contentment, Menchaca said. I don t like that tag. So I ve pushed this team further than any other team and they are responding to it.

Menchaca bristles at the mention of a preseason coaches poll that predicts a three-peat.

I don t like cockiness, he said. We don t talk about three-peats. I d love to stay away from that. As a program overall, we can only better ourselves each and every day. We have talent. But that doesn t mean we can rely on that talent. We have to work on it.

Menchaca has the top-rated goalie in the division back. Senior Lucas Fournier posted a 1.60 goals- against average and a .937 savepercentage in league play.

The Mules also have offensive weapons in junior Jesse Bachli, senior Justin Snyder and junior Garryt Kujawa.

Senior captain Andrew Backus leads a solid defensive unit.

We ve raised the bar with the program, Menchaca said. Their maturity and confidence is starting to show. The players will yell before I start yelling.

Menchaca said he tests his players with certain situations in practice and games.

That s what sets our program apart. We challenge our skill players and others to push it, Menchaca said. We know what we can do if we control the game from the beginning.

Menchaca said his team learned a lot from a tough loss in triple overtime in a Michigan playoff opener last season.

The experience that this team brings every day to the rink in practice will carry over into games and will ensure that we are holding one another accountable and ready to play 45 minutes of hockey, he said.

Whitmer, which returns 14 starters, is expected to give the Mules a stiff challenge. Perrysburg, which finished second last year and has most of its offense back, was picked to finish third.

Whitmer and Perrysburg will be our two toughest opponents, Menchaca said. They are always tough. They bring a whole other element.

But Maumee, Central Catholic and Clay also will test the top three night in and night out,according to Maumee coach Scott Young.

We know there are some good teams out there with Bedford and Whitmer, Young said. But the whole division is great.

Here is a look at the White Division in predicted order of finish:

Bedford (14-9-3, 7-2-1) is loaded with offensive talent and a quality netminder.

Menchaca, who is in his fourth season at Bedford, has five seniors and 10 letterwinners.

This team is mentally tougher and is staying away from the mistakes that result in penalties and goals against, Menchaca said.

Fournier had a 2.15 GAA and a .919 save percentage in 20 games last season.

Lucas is a strong goalie. But he can t do it on his own, Menchaca said. We have to have the defense play well in front of him. Backus (2 goals, 9 assists) anchors the defense. Assistant captain Bachli scored 14 goals and had 11 assists last season. Kujawa netted six goals and had nine assists. Snyder (5 G, 9A) also is an assistant captain. Junior Nick Hintz is another key forward.

The upperclassmen set the standard for the younger players to battle every shift, Menchaca said.

The leadership that our senior class brings is truly immeasurable, he said. They have the heart, dedication and desire.

Whitmer (14-14-1, 4-6) finished fifth last season, but coach Andrew Craig has 14 starters back.

Craig, who has a 27-25-2record in two seasons at the helm of the Panthers, has 18 players, including nine seniors.

Senior defenseman Steve Dilorenzo (24 G, 22 A) was Whitmer s leading scorer last season. Senior forwards Derek Soldner (17, 10) and Jon Fischer also return. Junior Kyle Wood will be counted on heavily on defense.

We have a solid core returning from last year, Craig said. We are extremely excited about some of the new players that joined the team this year. The team is more experienced at all of the positions this year with nine seniors in the lineup. Our biggest strength is the team s positive attitude. This year we re hoping to put a good run together.

Craig said he expects to have a good season despite a non-league schedule that is very competitive.

We should improve with each game, he said. With a good work ethic in practice and a willingness to improve on mistakes, we should be very competitive this season.

At Perrysburg (28-6-1,5-4-1), Jeff LaCourse takes over and has nine returning starters. But LaCourse has just three seniors among 13 players.

Senior forwards Steve Lowe and Kevin Quinn will be joined up front by junior Dan Lopez. The Yellow Jackets top defenseman is junior Steve Sobanski.

We should be a very strong offensive team, LaCourse said. The players we have back accounted for most of our offense last year.

Defensively Perrysburg is young with only Sobanski returning with any experience.

But I think he is one of the best in the league, LaCourse said.

Goalie Chad Kinshaw saw a lot of action as a freshman, but did not play as much last year. When he did play, he was very solid and he has improved, LaCourse said.

LaCourse said he believes his team can contend for the title if the Yellow Jackets stay healthy and the defenders mature quickly.

Maumee (14-16, 3-7) also has a new coach, Scott Young, who was an assistant with thePanthers last season.

Nineteen players and 10 starters return. Four are seniors.

We re a pretty young club, Young said.

The defense will count on senior Ethan Koralewski, junior Bobby Chapman and sophomore Kevin King. Chapman led the team with 14 points (3 G, 11 A) in 10 league games last season.

Junior right winger Jason Young (16 G, 20 A) and Chapman are two of the top players.

Defensively we will be strong and we have some speed up front, coach Young said. Our defense is experienced and strong.

But the youthful Panthers have five freshmen that will play this season, including goalie Austin Tubbs.

We ve very realistic. But the ultimate goal would be to win our division, he said. We ll fight tooth and nail.

The aspirations of Central Catholic (5-5) hinge upon inexperienced goaltending.

First-year coach Steve Nowak, who was an assistant at Central and Bedford, said he has 10 starters back.

I m confident in our returning starters, but our goaltending is a huge concern, Nowak said.

Senior Mike Hayes, who has never played in net, replaces Chris Meyers. Senior Kevin Justen (5 G, 6 A) will serve as the top defender in front of Hayes.

The offensive punch will come from senior forwards Todd Keil (13 G, 12 A), Alan Clark (5, 15) and Tony Sofo Jr. (1, 6).

Nowak said he lost 80 percent of his scoring but he has 20 varsity players, including eight seniors.

Our strength will be our senior leadership. They work hard and that experience will help us win some games, Nowak said. If our goaltending comes through, there s no reason why we can t compete for the division.

Clay (24-7-2, 5-5) was hit both by graduation and defection to junior hockey teams.

The Eagles lost the division player of the year, junior Jerry Murray, to travel hockey.

That makes us very young, coach Frank Butler said. We have eight freshmen, four sophomores, three juniors and two seniors. We lost four quality players.

But Butler, who enters his third season with a 34-18-6record, said his team s biggest attribute is its work ethic.

Nine starters are back led by senior defenseman and captain Drew Burns. Fellow senior and defenseman Shane Luce helps form a tough duo in the back.

The offense will be led by Michael Wojciechowski, a junior center, who shows a lot of promise. Junior goalie E.J. LeMay finished with a 2.72 overall goals-against average and an .881 save percentage.

They re all very coachable, Butler said. It s a cohesive team. They re starting to jell.

First Published November 29, 2007, 5:38 a.m.