Plum notebook: Mustangs hockey team chasing Class A playoff berth

By: Michael Love
Saturday, January 27, 2024 | 11:01 AM

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The Plum hockey team continues its fight for a spot in the PIHL Class A playoffs.

The Mustangs won three of four games through a 4-3 shootout victory over Richland on Jan. 18 to propel them above .500 at 8-6-0-1.

The 17 points put them in sixth in the Varsity Class A Blue standings, one point behind fifth-place Moon and two behind fourth-place Blackhawk.

The Mustangs hoped to move up the ladder Monday as they were set to face Freeport at Pittsburgh Ice Arena. Plum was seeking a season sweep, since it had doubled up the Yellowjackets, 10-5, on Nov. 3 at Belmont Ice Complex.

The remainder of the regular season has the Mustangs at home against Beaver on Feb. 12 and Wheeling Catholic on Feb. 19 before they hit the road against Wheeling Park at Wesbanco Arena on Feb. 22 and Chartiers Valley at Ice Castle Arena in Castle Shannon on Feb. 26.

Chartiers Valley and Wheeling Park owned the top two spots in Class A Blue at the start of last week, with the Colts undefeated at 14-0 (28 points). Wheeling Park also owned 28 points at 14-4 but had played four more games than Chartiers Valley.

Plum handed Wheeling Park one of its four losses, 6-4, on Oct. 16. Setbacks to Chartiers Valley, 5-2, and Wheeling Catholic, 3-2, were part of a four-game losing skid.

But the Mustangs righted the ship with three straight victories against Freeport, Beaver and Richland.

Through 15 games, Plum owned 71 goals and had surrendered 52.

In its most recent 3-1 stretch, the Mustangs outscored their opponents 22-7.

Plum rallied to beat the Rams on Jan. 18 at the Cambria County War Memorial.

The Mustangs led 2-1 in the second before Richland responded with goals four minutes apart to go up 3-2. The second goal came on the power play.

But Plum, which had three different goal scorers in regulation, tied it with about four minutes left in the third period as junior forward Rylan Schoonover scored with an assist coming from fellow junior forward Nick Majors.

It was Schoonover’s team-leading 11th of the season.

Freshman forward Colby Bartos and junior forward Brody Howell added goals for Plum.

Bartos and junior forward Luca Lapiana assisted on Howell’s goal, while Howell added a helper on Bartos’ tally.

Regulation and overtime were close and competitive. Richland finished with a 34-32 advantage in shots.

Plum had the lone goal in the shootout when Bartos found the back of the net to put the Mustangs in the win column.

Junior goalie Noah Lander stopped 31 Richland shots in regulation and overtime and made the necessary saves in the shootout to give the Mustangs a chance.

It was Plum’s second game this season that went beyond the third period. The Mustangs suffered a 4-3 loss to Hampton on Dec. 18.

Mustangs bowlers sweep Gateway

The Plum boys bowling team made it closer in the WPIBL East section standings with its 7-0 victory over Gateway on Jan. 24 at Nesbit’s Lanes.

The Mustangs improved to 6-2, while the Gators fell to 7-2. Both teams are in the mix at the top of the section standings with undefeated Franklin Regional.

The top two teams from each of the 10 sections secure WPIBL playoff spots for the championships in two weeks. There also are wildcard berths available for four of the 10 third-place teams.

Junior Cade Schimmer fired off one of the top games in all of the WPIBL this season as he recorded a 290 in the first game of his series against Gateway.

He was not able to keep that pace in Game 2, shooting 192. But he rebounded with a 245 in Game 3 for a match-best 705 series.

Sophomore Grayson Koontz had a monster two-game set in relief of fellow sophomore Brian Krall.

Koontz entered the match and bowled a 279 game and followed that up with a 245 for a 524 total.

Also rolling 200-plus scores were senior Josh Cooley (212) and sophomore Grayson Byass-Rascoe (202).

Senior Zach Endler was consistent (173, 170, 177) for a 520 series.

The Plum girls rolled past shorthanded Gateway, winning 7-0 to remain undefeated at 8-0.

Senior Mareana Pilyih, who came into the match leading the WPIBL girls with a 214.10 average, increased that number with a 674 series (224, 237, 213).

Pilyih also was second only to Greensburg Salem junior Dylan Megliorino for the overall WPIBL average lead. Megliorino, who owns one of three 300 games in the WPIBL this season, entered this week’s matches with a 230.04 average.

Senior Jordyn Osche also had a pair of 200-plus games — 225 and 220 — as part of a 589 series.

Others rolling 200-plus games were sophomore Alexandria Fulmer (207), freshman Callie Schimmer (201) and sophomore Addison Then (201).

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

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