Keystone Cup Scholastic Showcase

DELMONT - Stu Relnick has been looking forward to a matchup with Franklin Regional to maintain the Mustangs division lead over the Panthers and Gateway, who are breathing down Plums back as the teams enter the final few weeks of the regular season. Franklin, on the other hand, has surged back near the top of the division with a modest three game winning streak. Plum struck first at 7:14 of the first period as Travis Senchur found a loose puck on the doorstep and beat Brandon Stallard for a 1-0 lead. B.J. Schreib stopped Michael Roth on two consecutive golden scoring opportunities towards the end of the period. The second period saw the pace pick up a little with good action at both ends of the ice. The Mustangs John Kalichuk caught Stallard leaning the wrong way and spotted Robbie Tunon with a backhand pass, who buried the puck into the open net at 6:54 to give Plum a 2-0 lead. Thirty seconds later, Tunon took a Senchur feed and scored again to open up the game and a 3-0 Plum advantage. Then at 2:41, Tom Beitler scored on the backhand and the Mustangs opened up a commanding 4-0 lead at the end of two. In the third period, Plum played methodical smart hockey which frustrated the Panthers. Chris White broke Schreib's shutout bid at 6:19 to make it 4-1. Rob Tunon completed the hat trick with Plum on a 5 on 3 to seal the victory for the Mustangs, who outshot Franklin 29-28. The win by Plum sets up a big showdown for the PIHL Eastern Division title with two games against Gateway at the end of February.