The Pilgrim boys’ hockey team took advantage of six Toll Gate penalties on Saturday night, scoring three power play goals en route to a 5-3 win at Thayer Arena.

The Pats (2-3) overcame two one-goal deficits early on the night, scoring three unanswered across the second and third periods to build a 4-2 advantage that would carry them to a win.

“We worked at it,” Pilgrim head coach Steve Henn said of the power play. “It just takes reps and consistency. It’s gonna be a work in progress for us. We still gotta get better on that. We gotta understand the power play is an opportunity to outwork teams. It’s another opportunity to outwork teams, not take a step back. We still gotta work on our power play.”

Both teams battled to start the game as neither side got on the board for nearly 10 minutes. Toll Gate captain Kyle Palumbo had one of the best chances early, but Pilgrim netminder M.J. Rocheleau turned him away.

The Titans (2-4) got on the board first at the 9:52 mark after freshman Jack Dean scored off a faceoff in the Pilgrim zone.

“I didn’t like the way we came out today,” Henn said. “We didn’t come out the way we wanted to, but we have a lot of work to do.”

The Pats tried to equalize, but had very few even-strength chances early on. Late in the period, Toll Gate’s Connor Sullivan took his first of three penalties on the evening to give Pilgrim a brief 5-on-3 advantage on the tail end of James Squire’s interference penalty.

The Titans would kill the last few seconds of Squire’s infraction, but couldn’t work off the rest of Sullivan’s. Senior Dean Russo came down the right side and slipped a shot past the right side of goaltender Brendan Aunchman with two minutes to go in the period.

“They worked harder than us in front of the net,” Toll Gate head coach Mike Champagne said. “When those shots got through they just did a good job battling.”

That tie didn’t last long, though, as Jack Dean got on the sheet again when he found Squire in front of the net nearly unmarked for a goal 40 seconds later. The Titans took a 2-1 lead into the second period, but it was the last time they would hold an advantage.

Toll Gate stayed on top for most of the second period, but once again cracked when the Pats went back on the power play after Sullivan was whistled for tripping. Liam Strain sent a pass in to a sliding Morgan Almon on the right side of the net, who put a shot past Aunchman for the equalizer.

Sullivan would be sent to the sin bin again before the period came to a close, and it would be costly for the Titans. Pilgrim senior captain Patrick Reilly found the twine with just 18 seconds to go in the period to give the Pats a 3-2 lead heading into the second intermission.

Rocheleau had 13 saves on 15 Toll Gate shots through the first two periods, helping to keep the Pats within reach.

“M.J. kept us in the game,” Henn said. “They came out flying. They came out ready. M.J. kept us in the game for that first period and a half.”

Sullivan would not play in the third period, as Champagne said he would have to miss the next game if he tallied his fourth penalty. Heading into the Pilgrim game, Sullivan led Toll Gate with nine points on one goal and eight assists.

“It was a long-term versus short-term, and we got put in that situation,” Champagne said. “One lazy penalty and I guess a couple hustle penalties.”

Russo would notch another score at the 4:32 mark of the third period when he slipped past his defender and put the puck by Aunchman’s right side to give Pilgrim the 4-2 lead.

Less than a minute later, Christopher Williams would make it a 4-3 game, but it wasn’t enough. Pilgrim’s defense stepped up, while Toll Gate didn’t help itself with two penalties in the final eight minutes.

Reilly’s empty netter with 43 seconds left sealed the victory for Pilgrim over its crosstown rival.

“We’re happy with the outcome, we’re happy with the effort, but we have a lot of work to do,” Henn said. “We’re gonna take the game, we’re gonna take the points, but we definitely have room for improvement.”

The Pats will travel to Dennis Lynch Arena for a matchup with the PCD/St. Ray’s/Wheeler Co-op (2-3) on Jan. 2. The Titans will look to get back on track the same night at the Rhode Island Sports Center against North Smithfield (2-1).

“Just being more prepared,” Champagne said of what the Titans will work on during the next week. “Simplifying the game and just being ready to outwork the other team. We got outworked, outplayed, outcoached, all of it. We just weren’t ready to go today (Saturday). The coaching staff will reevaluate how we have to get these guys ready to go and from there hopefully implement it starting Monday.”