There’s no way around it – last year was a down year for the Pilgrim hockey team.

Traditionally a playoff team and sometimes a contender in Division II, the Pats went 2-14-1-1 last year and missed the postseason for the second straight year.

This season, Pilgrim is hoping to rectify that quickly and get the program back on the track to success.

At the helm is first-year head coach Steve Henn, who served as an assistant coach the past three years, the past two under former head coach Chad Tvenstrup. Henn also played at Toll Gate under head coach Dave Tober.

He inherits a roster that graduated many of its top players from a year ago, but the Pats aren’t planning on using that – or anything – as an excuse. They’re going to make the best of what they have.

“The bottom line is, we work hard,” Henn said. “We work very hard. That’s one of the things that we’re trying to build with this program, is the fact that we have to control everything about a hockey game that we can control.”

Pilgrim had its Injury Fund game last weekend against PCD/Wheeler/St. Raphael where it lost 6-1, but Henn doesn’t anticipate that being the norm. His group is still sorting some things out.

In the meantime, they’re doing all they can to get better.

“We want to be that team that is going to show up and battle every single day,” Henn said. “Our short term goal is make the playoffs and compete and battle this year.”

Gone are defensive stalwarts Bryant Palermo and Joe Paliotte, while leading scorer Sam Adamo and fellow forward Ryan Oatley have also moved on.

That said, Pilgrim still believes that its top talent is up front, where sophomore Patrick Reilly is serving as an assistant captain after a 10-point freshman campaign that put him second on the team.

“We’re looking for him to create a lot of our offense,” Henn said. “He’s a natural scorer. He’s got that knack to find the back of the net.”

Another significant piece back in the fold is junior forward Dean Russo, who was fourth on the team last year with seven points.

“We’re looking for him to come up with some points this year and breakout and have a year,” Henn said. “He looks good, he works hard, he’s a leader and we’re hoping that he can put it all together this year.”

Pilgrim has other veteran depth up front, beginning with senior captain Matt Parente. Sophomores Ty Morgan and Morgan Almon will be on the ice as well after playing some their freshman years, and sophomore Steven Pezzullo is moving from defense up front.

Junior Nick Demoranville, who only started playing hockey last year but has caught on in his brief career, will see some time up front too, as will freshman Scott Campbell.

In the back, senior veteran Brett Casale and junior veteran Nolan McCusker are the top two defensemen and should provide a stabilizing presence. Nick Yehle, a junior, will join them after converting to defense from forward. Freshmen Ty Balutowski and Derek Plowman will see time, as well.

Overall, the team doesn’t have a ton of depth, meaning its players will spend quite a bit of time on the ice.

“Our mentality is who can step up,” Henn said. “We’re worried about stepping up and trying to get the job done. Instead of letting our depth be an Achilles’ heel, it’s going to be a strength. We’re going to get a lot of ice time this year.”

In net, Pilgrim hopes that its three goalies will keep it in a lot of games. Right now, freshman MJ Rocheleau has seized the starting job, ahead of juniors Cam Gagnon and Kam Murphy. But Gagnon and Murphy are veterans and will almost certainly push Rocheleau for playing time.

“Our strength this year is in net,” Henn said. “We have three very good goalies.”

So far, everyone has been buying in, according to Henn.

“It’s a little different brand of hockey that we’re trying to introduce here,” Henn said. “It’s really not that different, but I’m just explaining it a little bit differently. And the kids are buying into that. But we’re not satisfied until we meet our goals.”

The Pats will get their first real taste of where they stand this weekend, as they’ll take on rival Toll Gate on Friday night at Thayer Arena at 6 p.m. On Saturday, they’ll play Portsmouth at 6 p.m. at the West Warwick Civic Center.

“Our concern is finding a way to get our job done,” Henn said. “I’m fully confident in the group of guys that we have going forward this year that we can attain our short term goals.”