After scoring three straight goals over the first 16 minutes Monday night, Upper St. Clair gave up two to Plum and with eight minutes left in regulation the Mustangs were starting to gain momentum, the crowd at the Valley Sports Complex in New Kensington was getting louder and they were starting to smell a comeback.
But the Panthers didn't panic, scoring three goals in less than two and a half minutes and cruising to a 6-3 victory.
Captain C.J. Murray and sophomore winger Luke Stork scored two goals apiece for Upper St. Clair, and goaltender Michael Stein stopped 16 of 19 shots.
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Murray's second goal with 5:58 left in the third period was the game-winner and gave Upper St. Clair 110 goals this season, having been the first team in the PIHL Class AAA to surpass 100 during their last Friday.
"We've got kids that can score," said head coach Larry Marks, who didn't know about the season milestone, but also expressed no surprise at the feat. "That's not the problem; it's getting the puck out of our own zone and playing defense."
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Stork started the scoring with a goal at 4:36 of the first period, and Murray followed him with a goal two minutes later, assisted by Tim Shoup, to take a 2-0 lead into the first intermission.
Stork followed suit in the second, scoring a goal within the first five minutes of the period when he cleaned up a loose puck in front of the net for a 3-0 lead.
"Luke's a great player," Murray said. "And he's only a sophomore, so he has great potential."
Plum finally got on the board at 12:58 of the second with a power play goal by Tyler Galanis, and then tallied another on the power play when senior forward Cody Genci beat Stein on the glove side from the slot at 7:02 of the third.
"There was some tension on the ice," Murray said, "but once we got the first one [in the third period], we kept going, we kept shooting and they kept going in."
After Murray's goal off a faceoff made it 4-2, Parker Phillips scored from the right point 36 seconds later. Justin Selep scored on a rebound with 3:19 remaining for a four-goal lead.
"We kind of have an instinct in which we know that it's getting close and then we fire it up," Murray said. "We just keep it going and if we score once, you better watch out."
"We saw what happens when they decided to go back out and play," Marks said. "I keep telling them, 'You can't do that. You're going to play a team [in the playoffs] that's just the same as you guys are, and you have to go out and play all 45 minutes.'"
Plum's last goal came from Nicholas Ciccolini on a deflection off a shot by defenseman Domenico Andreoli with seven seconds left in the game.
Upper St. Clair (12-6-1) is now unbeaten in their last four games (3-0-1), out-scoring their opponents 21-10 in that span. They will look to keep that streak alive in their season finale, when they face Pine-Richland at the Ice Castle Arena Friday night at 9 p.m.
