After two one-goal victories – one thanks to an overtime score, another to a shorthanded one – Josh Saball admitted he’d like to win by more. Then he laughed.

“But we’re trying to keep it looking good for the fans,” joked Saball, a senior forward for the John Stark boys hockey team. “Just keeping it interesting.”

No matter the spread, that shouldn’t be a problem for the Generals this year.

With all but six players back from a team that reached the Division III semifinals last winter, John Stark has big plans for this season, one in which it intends to return to the final four. Thus far, it’s done well in backing that up.

Led by eight seniors and a line that coach Ed Campbell said “can skate with anybody in the league,” John Stark followed a 6-2 season-opening loss to Souhegan – the defending champion that ended the Generals’ run last year – with a 4-3 overtime win over Kennett on Dec. 13 and a back-and-forth 6-5 win over a much-improved Pembroke Academy squad on Friday, Dec. 15.

That explosive first line of Evan Stenberg, Saball and Corey Janelle backed up its coach’s opinion by accounting for five of the team’s goals against Pembroke – three coming off the stick of Stenberg and the gamewinner from Janelle.

With a second line that includes two promising freshman in Cam Stewart and Peter Medvetz and senior captain Jake Philibert, Stark has more than made up for the loss of offensive star Jimmy Thomas from last season.

Graduation hit the Generals hardest on defense, but it’s not necessarily keeping Campbell up at nights either. Seniors Pat Kilar and Zintis Jones should lead from the blue line, along with another senior, Jeff Cann, while Stenberg and Saball are also capable of playing back, as they do on the penalty kill.

“This year I think we’re a little stronger in a few areas that we just didn’t have last year, which we needed last year to win,” Stenberg said. “With myself and a couple other players, we could play defense and offense at the same time, so they can help us all around.”

Stark is currently without starting senior goalie Chris Bridges, who suffered his second concussion in less than a year in a collision against Kennett. But with a promising 23-save performance against Pembroke, sophomore Liam Tupper gives Stark “two strong goalies,” Campbell said.

After this season, the team becomes very young; Stenberg and Derek Myrdek are the only juniors on the varsity roster. But Campbell said it’s something that’s pushing, not worrying, this team, which continued its march through the schedule on Wednesday, Dec. 20, vs. Monadnock.

“This is the best team I’ve had,” said Campbell, in his seventh year as coach. “Looking at what you have coming back and looking at what other teams have, I think we should be there, one of the top six teams. I don’t know where – I’d like to be in the third spot. But I don’t care about having a bye. I’d rather not sit (in the first round).”

That’s understandable, since sitting doesn’t keep it interesting.