BUTLER TWP — Slippery Rock High School graduate Jeff Lindey never played hockey himself — until Mario Lemieux came along.

“That's when it seemed like we all started to play,” Lindey said of the arrival of the Pittsburgh Penguin star and Hall of Famer. “All I did was play in some adult leagues, mainly in New Castle and Youngstown.”

His children were into the sport from an early age, however.

Both of his daughters and his son, Eric, played hockey as youths and Lindey coached all three of them much of the time.

“Slippery Rock had a co-op with Knoch in hockey and my kids played there,” he said. “Eric started when he was 3 or 4 years old and I was at least an assistant coach on all of his teams as he grew up.”

Eric Lindey played for the Butler Valley Dawgs and Pittsburgh Predators. Now he is in his third year as head coach of the Butler Middle School team.

His father is one of his assistant coaches, along with former Butler High School player Brandon Lawrence.

And they're guiding an unbeaten team.

The Golden Tornado play in the PIHL's Tier III White Division and are 8-0-2 through 10 games. They have four games remaining on the regular season schedule.

“I've played hockey my entire life and my dad's been there with me the whole time,” Eric Lindey said. “He's been a big help. I'm 23 and it's nice to have him alongside on the bench.”

The Tornado's two ties are with North Hills and McDowell. North Hills is 9-0-3 on the season while McDowell is 8-1-2.

Beaver (7-3), West Allegheny (6-4-1) and Moon (6-4-1) also have winning records in a highly competitive division.”

“Our top three players are our captains. Owen Denny is only a seventh grader, but he's our captain. He's a phenomenal kid, a hard worker, and the other players on the team, including the older kids, all respect him and listen to what he has to say.”

Lindey's father said that “you look for a true leader in a captain and that's what Owen Denny is.”

He is far from the Tornado's only standout player, however.

“(Defenseman) Aaron Shoup and (forward) Brayden Povlick are our assistant captains,” Eric Lindey said. “I play Owen and Brayden on the same line. When one's scoring goals, the other is getting assists. They are unselfish players who pass the puck to each other.”

Povlick has five goals and 13 assists, Denny six goals and eight assists. They are the leading scorers on a team that's had 16 players score at least one goal thus far this season.

Shoup has six goals and six assists. Carson Bish and Tullio DiDomenico have five goals each while Carter Bohonak, Landon Romett and K. Kuczynski have netted four each.

“Everybody on this team has a great attitude,” Eric Lindey said. “We finished 8-6 last year, won the lower bracket championship and seven of those guys are back.

“Everybody comes to practice. They're working, learning, having a lot of fun. It's been a great experience coaching these kids.”

Butler has outscored its opposition 54-22, incluuding 36-10 in the first two periods. E.J. Delaney and Lauren Legrand split time in goal. Delaney has a 2.39 goals-against average and two shutouts.

“We stress defense,” Jeff Lindey said. “We don't give up a whole lot of shots. Our job as coaches is to get these kids from middle school to varsity hockey as quickly as possible.”

Butler has 19 players on its roster. Eric Lindey said he's never had to cut a player in his three years at the helm.

Other players on the team include Jonathan Baxley, Matthew Codispot, Kian Fries, Cullen Miller, Andrew Roskovski, Jaxon Salata, Rowan Musko, Nathaniel Querry and Jack Johnson.

“Having coached my son since he was 4 and now having the opportunity to coach along with him, and with a very good team ... This has just been a neat thing for me,” Jeff Lindey said.