The Toll Gate hockey team lost eight seniors that were all contributors from last year’s squad and, of the Titans’ current 20-man roster, 12 are underclassmen.

Maybe a change of scenery isn’t such a bad thing.

After a lengthy run in Division I, Toll Gate will compete in Division I-A this winter. Since winning the D-I title in 2005, the Titans had enjoyed just one winning season at the state’s top level. That record, combined with a largely untested crop of incoming players, was enough to convince Toll Gate coach Bill Russo that it was a good time to make the move.

“I think that it was a great decision for us,” Russo said. “We’re a young team and we’re trying to develop young players. With our situation and the amount of young guys that we have, it was absolutely the right move. There is going to be another realignment next year, so we can assess where we are again at that point, but right now I think this is the right division for us to be in.”

Toll Gate will bring back some familiar faces this season but has more inexperience than veteran leadership. Of the team’s 20 players, the Titans have four seniors, four juniors, five sophomores and seven freshmen. That kind of youth leaves Toll Gate with a lot of work to do before the regular season kicks off.

“It’s still early but so far, so good,” Russo said. “We got our first taste in the Injury Fund last weekend and, even though we lost 2-0 to East Greenwich, I was happy with the effort. It’s early in the season and we have a lot of guys learning a new system. They’re not familiar with it yet so there are going to be some growing pains, but they’ll learn.”

Russo will count on his returning players to help lead the way.

The bulk of Toll Gate’s experience comes on the defensive end, where juniors Brandon Colombo and John May will join seniors Nick Miranda and Nick Nardone. All four saw varsity action at times last year. Freshman Ryan Charette will also be in the mix as the team’s fifth defenseman.

“The defense has to lead the team,” Russo said. “From my standpoint it always starts back at the goal and works its way out from there. If you’re getting sound defense and goaltending then everything else will take care of itself. But priority one is taking care of business defensively.”

That defensive unit will be charged with protecting sophomore Josh Giarrantano, who will start in net for the Titans. Giarrantano didn’t see much ice time last season but will be counted on to step in as an underclassman and anchor Toll Gate’s defense.

“He’s going to get thrown right into the mix,” Russo said. “But I’m very confident in Josh and I think that he’s more than capable of doing the job. Very few goalies in any division get to start at this age, so for him to grow and develop and potentially have three years as a starter is huge.”

The Titans’ offense is a little less secured. Toll Gate lost its top scoring threats last season and brings back seniors Eli Lamothe and Kyle Mercier to lead its attack. The pair combined for two points last year but will likely lead the Titans’ top scoring line this season.

While experience is playing against Toll Gate, the Titans’ depth may be one of their biggest assets on offense. Russo cited a number of different options for his top three lines, providing the team with greater flexibility.

“We’ve got a lot of young guys and we’re not returning a lot of big-time scorers, but we have some real depth up front,” Russo said. “Lamothe and Mercier have the potential to be right up there for us and we’re going to look to our older guys first. But from there we have nine or 10 forwards that have the capability of skating a regular shift or even seeing time on the top line.”

Toll Gate will open its regular season schedule against Barrington tomorrow at Thayer Arena at 6:30 p.m. The Eagles finished as the Division I-A runners-up last year to Cranston West. The Titans will return, briefly, to Division I action when they face Bishop Hendricken at Thayer on Saturday at 7 p.m., in a non-league game.

“We’re going to be playing in a new division and that’s going to make for some interesting hockey,” Russo said. “There are seven teams that are all pretty close and I expect us to be right in the mix. The key for us, especially with a young team, is taking it game by game. The quicker we can develop our guys, the more success we’ll have.”