Sh-h-h-h-h!

Don't tell anyone, but the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Hockey League Class AA's best-kept secret might be the Moon Tigers.

At least that's what the Tigers believe. And that's OK with them, because they'd prefer to sneak up on the favorites in the classification.

"With the talent we have, if we get motivated and play our best, we have a really good shot at being the best team in Double-A," Moon captain Nick Grace said.

"We know the talent is there, and we feel like if we play the way we know how, we'd like to win a Penguins Cup. That's our ultimate goal. We have one of the best teams. But we just want to play our best and see where that takes us. That's our main goal."

The Tigers beat Greensburg Central Catholic, 9-1, in their opener Oct. 19 then split consecutive games against rival Montour, losing, 6-2, Oct. 26, then coming back to win on Monday, 5-3.

Moon went 8-12-2 last season and has generally floated around .500 for most of the past few seasons. But coach Craig Bioni has genuine excitement about his experienced team with a balanced top two lines and defensive pairings -- enough so that he believes the Tigers can make it to Mellon Arena for the Penguins Cup final four.

"I think we've got a good shot this year if we stay healthy," Bioni said. "We've got a small group of kids, but there's a very high talent level. ... And we're getting better as time goes on, which is a good thing."

Grace and fellow seniors Jake Rosnack, an alternate captain, and Marco Bartoletta and sophomore A.J. Coleman form a solid defensemen corps that has experience, both at the varsity level and for amateur teams.

Senior Brandon Smitsky is the other alternate captain, and he skates on the top line with junior Nigel Crighton and senior Andrew Brown. Those three combined for 29 goals and 33 assists last season, including 17 goals and 24 assists in 20 games for Crighton, who was selected to participate in the PIHL Class AA All-Star Game.

Juniors Beau Danfroth and Denny Beaulieu and senior Brandon Buck form a second line that also is capable of producing and is responsible in its own end.

"It's a well-rounded team," Bioni said. "It's hard to say who the best players are. As a whole, they've all filled their roles and we're finding out all the different ways they can help out the team.

"What I like about this team is as a whole, we're a very good team; we're not reliant on one or two people. Everyone is pushing each other, too."

The starting goalie spot has been rotated between freshman Andy Grace, Nick's brother, and sophomore Eric Owens.

"But as we move along, whoever's playing better will be starting," Bioni said. "There's nothing set in stone. Both will compete for the job and both are 'AAA' players, so they do play on other teams. They've got a very good relationship, so they push each other in a good way and are very supportive of each other when they're not in the net, which is nice."

Owen was the backup last season.

The Tigers also have several other players who have fit nicely into the team concept, including some who are regular call-ups from the junior varsity squad.

"We have a lot of younger kids who are real contributors," Nick Grace said. "Everyone on the team can play. We don't really have any weak spots."

The PIHL season is a long one, with the playoffs still more than four months away. But at this early juncture, the Tigers aspire to be mentioned in the same class as recent powers and ranked teams.

"I would say we're a top-five team if we stay healthy and continue to play together," Bioni said. "I know one of the goals we set is to definitely have a homestand for the playoffs. We've been on the road the last couple years come playoff time. We definitely have a goal of getting home-ice -- and a bye would be nice, but we will see."

Mike White's "High School Sports Edition" videos are featured exclusively on PG+, a members-only web site from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.