The Pilgrim Patriots fell to PCD/Saint Raphael Academy/Wheeler 6-1 Friday night at Thayer Arena.

Pilgrim sophomore goalie M.J. Rocheleau faced 17 shots-on-net while Justin Simmons, the goaltender for PSW, faced 21 shots.

Rocheleau stopped a shot early from Zach Librizzi, but moments later, PSW would take a 1-0 lead when captain forward Griffen Leonard scored on an assist from Cam Yee 57 seconds into the first period.

PSW would strike again 32 seconds later when Leonord’s slap shot deflected off teammate Brenden Sullivan’s stick for a goal, putting PSW up 2-0.

Then, forward Dennis Gastel took two shots for PSW – the first went wide and the second was snubbed in front by Rocheleau.

Pilgrim had its chances in the first period, but a backhand from junior Ty Morgan was blocked by Simmons.

PSW’s Patrick Flemming passed to Leonard, whose shot was rejected by Rocheleau moments before Gastel skated in front and put one past Rocheleau six minutes, 37 seconds into the game, putting PSW up 3-0.

At the end of the first period, Patrick Reilly had a shot on net denied by Simmons.

Pilgrim couldn’t put the biscuit in the basket, but it wasn’t for a lack of effort. In the second, the Pilgrim offense had plenty of opportunities, and Reilly took a lot of shots. Simmons snagged Reilly’s first with his glove and then he stopped two more shots from the junior forward.

“Pat (Reilly) brings it every night,” Pilgrim head coach Stephen Henn said. “He’s one of our most consistent players. He works hard every day and he wears the letter very well.”

Next, Pilgrim’s Liam Strain had a shot stopped by Simmons before Reilly and Jack Clements both shot wide of the net.

Later on, Pilgrim had a chance when there was an opening in front of the PSW net, but no Pats’ players were around to receive freshman Mathew Pacheco’s backhand pass.

Then, Strain had a chance, but it went off the left goal post and Reilly followed with two shots on net – one went wide and the other was snagged by Simmons.

With 6:40 left in the game, Morgan and Reilly assisted to Strain for Pilgrim’s only goal of the game, making it 3-1.

But, PSW would score a power-play goal with 5:23 to play to make it 4-1 when Gastel scored on assists from Yee and Leonard. PSW would strike again 16 seconds later when Gastel scored his third goal for a hat trick on assists from Flemming and Leonard, making it 5-1.

Pilgrim ended the game shooting six times, but couldn’t get a lamplighter. Then, with 43.5 seconds to play, forward Ben Kailher scored on assists from Sam Calise and Tyler Andella, giving PSW a 6-1 cushion.

Henn saw some improvement throughout the game from his Patriots.

“As the game progressed, we played better and that’s really how we have to play,” Henn said. “The further the game goes, the better we have to play. We did that tonight at points and there were points where we just kind of sat back.”