Two years, two runner-up finishes in the state tournament.

The Pioneer High School girls hockey team, though pleased with the past two seasons, wants more.

"We're hoping to make it the first state title for the school," said Pioneer co-head coach Steve Chronis, who joins Lon Grantham on the bench for the fifth season.

"Each year we've improved our record. We have to play even better (this year). That's our challenge ... to keep improving."

That's not an easy task for a team that lost only 3 games in the 2008-2009 season.

Boding well for the 2009-10 Pioneers, however, is the fact that they return every starter from a year ago, led by the quartet of Emy Guttman, Rachel Freeman, Beth Johnson and Hannah Bogard, who are all junior captains.

Freeman leads this winter's Pioneers (5-2) with 7 goals and 1 assist. Also making an early impact is sophomore Julia Franceschi, who has 7 goals and 1 assist. Other players Chronis expects to make major contributions for the rest of the season are junior Danielle Arsenault, sophomore Kristina Keil (5 goals, 1 assist) and freshman Shelby Supica.

Except for a few new faces, "the core group of those girls have playing together for about six years," said Chronis. "They have a lot of experience in teamwork and playing together."

Additionally, Pioneer's 18-player roster is the biggest in the program's 6-year existence. And the Pioneers will need as many players as they can get while competing against teams with 25-30 players, like Grosse Pointe South, which Chronis called Pioneer's "nemesis."

Why?

Well, the Pioneers have fallen shy of a state title the past two seasons due to losses to South, including a 3-2 double overtime loss last year and a 2-goal loss the year prior.

"They've always been tough," said Chronis. "They're the perennial powerhouse."

Already this winter, Pioneer lost 4-2 to South on Dec. 10. But the Pioneers hope to exact revenge when the two teams rematch on Feb. 10 at 7 p.m. in Ann Arbor.

That showdown won't dictate a state title just yet, but it will be a crucial game for Pioneer's morale. Chronis feels his team has the ability to rise to the occasion.

"When it comes to the tough games, they step it up and play with aggressive discipline," he said. "When we do that, we can play with anybody."

After a three and a half week break, Pioneer continues it season against Detroit Country Day at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 13, at Veterans Park Ice Arena in Ann Arbor.

Kaleb Roedel is a sports writer for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at (734)623-2562, e-mailed at kalebroedel@annarbor.com or followed on Twitter @KalebisReal.