Plum hockey hopes to build off turnaround season

By: Michael Love
Saturday, March 9, 2024 | 11:01 AM

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It was quite a turnaround this season for the Plum hockey team.

The Mustangs were 3-16 a year ago. The organization’s board of directors felt a coaching change was needed, and Plum hockey alumnus Jon Gratton came on board.

The returning team members hit the ice together in August and September hoping to get Plum back to the Penguins Cup playoffs.

They did just that, as they won 12 games in the Class A regular season, finished fifth in the Blue Division, and were tabbed the division’s fourth playoff seed.

Despite a 5-1 loss to Gold Division No. 5 Greensburg Salem in the first round on Feb. 28 at Pittsburgh Ice Arena, Gratton said his players grew throughout the season and represented the organization well.

“Part of that growth is playing in these moments like the playoffs,” Gratton said. “They deserved to be there. I wasn’t upset with anything our team did on the ice against Greensburg Salem. Again, it’s part of that learning and growing process.

“We were a team, I think, that was playing more to not lose the game at times than trying to win the game. We got away from some of the things that had made us successful throughout the season.”

In some cases, Gratton said, the team reverted back to old habits, as the nervousness of being in a one-and-done situation might have sunk in.

“What I took away from that is we have a group of players who now understand that urgency and will used that to their advantage moving forward,” he said.

Greensburg Salem fired off 45 shots to just 25 for Plum. The Golden Lions were 1 for 5 on the power play, and Plum was 0 and 3.

Greensburg Salem led 3-0 in the second period before freshman forward Maksim Popienko scored an even-strength goal 10 minutes, 3 seconds into the period on an assist from fellow freshman forward Colby Bartos.

But the Golden Lions answered a little more than two minutes later and capped the scoring 11 minutes into the third.

Junior Landon Gribbin- Horner started in net and made 39 saves on 44 shots. One Greensburg Salem shot hit the post.

“We played back on our heels a little bit and didn’t attack the way that we can and we have been,” Gratton said.

Gratton said the mood in the locker room after the game was a mix of somber and also promise for the future.

“Nobody in that locker room was thrilled with the result, but the message all year has been that we have young guys in this room who are experiencing varsity hockey for the first time and some guys who haven’t won before,” he said.

“There was the sense in the room of motivation and excitement to come back and right the wrongs we had throughout the year. We, as coaches and players, can look back on this year as a valuable learning experience. The exciting thing is that we have 17 guys coming back who are highly motivated and want do it again and go further.”

Plum had four players finish with more than 10 goals and 20 points.

Junior forward Luca Lapiana led the way with 16 goals and 12 assists, while junior forward Rylan Schoonover added 13 goals and 11 assists.

Bartos (12 goals, 11 assists) and Popienko (11 goals, 11 assists) also were among the team’s scoring leaders.

The team will say goodbye to a trio of seniors, forward Adam Varner and defensemen Mason Wilkes and Travis Marks.

“They are my first senior class as a head coach, and how they took to me was going to be everything,” Gratton said. “Everyone looks to them as leaders. We challenged them in unique ways all year long whether it was on the ice or off the ice.

“It wasn’t easy for them as seniors to come into their last year learning a new system with all these changes. But they maintained a positive attitude. It’s going to be tough to replace their experience and talents. With what they did in laying the groundwork for what we were able to accomplish and hope to accomplish in the future, I will be eternally grateful to them.”

Gratton said the team saw tremendous support throughout the season from the Plum student body and hockey community.

“The school district, the school board and the students were really behind this team,” Gratton said. “You could tell they wanted to have a team at Plum they could get behind. They were awesome all year long.

“That is what high school hockey is all about. It is about being with your peers, playing with your classmates and getting to represent your school. The guys felt that support, and it lifted them as they played.”

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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