The PIHL season is barely four-plus weeks into its four-month marathon, and yet the Plum Mustangs already have as many victories this season as they did in all of 2007-08.

Coming off a 6-13-1 campaign, Plum was one of only three teams in Class AAA that had a perfect record going into this week along with defending champion Pine-Richland and Shaler Area. The Mustangs dropped a tough 5-4 decision to Fox Chapel Tuesday night, however, to drop its record to 6-1-0.

Still, coach Stu Rulnick isn't about to let his team rest on its laurels. Although happy to be 6-1, he sees room for improvement.

"There's no question we know we should be able to be very good," Rulnick said. "It's nice to have a perfect record and get off to a good start like that.

"We beat a good Central Catholic team, obviously a very good Bethel Park team, what I thought was a good Erie McDowell team ... But we know where we are and what we need to be to get where we want to go, and we're not even close to it yet."

Rulnick was reached not long after Plum's 7-5 win against Central Catholic last week. Although it was a victory against a team it lost to last season, Rulnick was upset that his team allowed as many goals in that contest as it had allowed during the first five games combined.

That alone might show how far the Mustangs have come and how expectations have changed. Many of last season's top players have returned, and Rulnick is in his first full season back as head coach after a two-year sabbatical.

"I think we think we have a good team this year," said junior Vincent Somma, an alternate captain on the team. "We're tying not to get overconfident and just keep working on our game and see what happens.

"I'm feeling great. We have three good lines, everyone is working well and everything is clicking. We're just riding the train."

Rulnick returned as head coach at about this point last season, and having spent that time together with the players has made a difference.

"The kids are picking up on the system," Rulnick said. "We tried to run it last year and now actually they know it well enough that we have added a couple things to it. That's a big advantage.

"Teams at times can make adjustments to what you're doing, so it's a big advantage that every kid has a year under them of doing the same thing."

"The system that our coach put in with our team works perfect," Somma said. "No team knows what to do against it. We get turnovers in the offensive zone and create scoring chances."

Senior defenseman Jon Gratton serves as the team's captain, with senior forward Dave Smith joining Somma as the alternates.

Somma, Smith and junior Cody Brenner make up what has been the team's top line, with Somma having posted seven goals and nine assists during the first six games, Smith 10 points and Brenner 10 points during that same span.

But during the Central Catholic game, the so-called "second line" of sophomore Ben Hanus, freshman Brett Hunter and junior Adam Hoener might have taken over the lead as the Mustang's most productive line.

"It's nice to have two [power] lines," Rulnick said. "Like I tell them, there's not really a No. 1 line. We kind of like to match up with the other team.

" It's great, as a coach, to go nine deep with our forwards. We have two solid offensive lines and a real good checking line. When you have three lines, everyone can stay fresh."

The third line consists of Cody Censci, Paul Asmann and Tyler Galanis, all underclassmen.

Seniors Cory Laboone, Viny Silvo and Anthony Citriniti and sophomore Cory Salkosky join Gratton as the team's top defensemen.

Junior goaltender Shane Leonizio is in his second year as a starter and has been sharp. He had a 1.26 goals-against average in six games heading into the Fox Chapel contest.

"Our goalie has been great," Somma said. "It's a lot easier when you have a goalie stopping everything that everyone is throwing to the net."

It all adds up to the heightened expectations for Plum this season -- ones that are so high, a 6-1 start after a 6-13-1 campaign hasn't done anything to yet satisfy them.