The Toll Gate boys’ ice hockey team used its balanced scoring attack and a 19-save shutout from freshman Austin Sequeira to close the regular season with a 3-0 senior night victory over cross-town rival Pilgrim.

The Pats (4-14) could have earned a playoff spot with a win or tie and Lincoln loss, but that was a far cry from their winless campaign a year ago. Meanwhile, the Titans (9-8-1) are playoff bound as the No. 6 seed in the Division II playoffs with 19 points, a huge turnaround from their five-point 2014-15 season (2-15-1-0).

“It was big,” Toll Gate head coach Mike Champagne said of the senior night victory. “The seniors deserve it. They’ve worked hard. It kind of typifies that we’re trying to change the program, first time in the playoffs, first winning record in a while. And they’re [the seniors] a huge part. They’ve been doing it since they were freshmen, and they’re my first group as head coach and they’ve helped change the culture.”

It was a defensive battle for a majority of the first two periods, as both teams’ young goaltenders stood on their heads. Pilgrim sophomore goaltender M.J. Rocheleau made a couple of impressive saves out of the gate, setting the tone for battle between the two netminders.

Just over five minutes into the action, Rocheleau made two consecutive sprawling saves. A little pressure was taken off him when Toll Gate junior captain Kyle Palumbo was called for tripping to send Pilgrim on the power play.

The Pats couldn’t make much work on the power play, though, which was a far cry from the last time out against Toll Gate. Pilgrim won 5-3 after scoring three power play goals.

“It was a big difference,” Champagne said of the penalty kill. “Now, [they were] turning around, just squaring up, blocking shots and just being aggressive. Made all the difference. Total team effort.”

From there on out, Pilgrim found itself more often down a man. Senior forward Liam Strain was whistled for roughing nine minutes in, and then got called for a slash just one minute after being released from the sin bin.

The Pilgrim penalty kill stood strong, and Rocheleau gloved up all of Toll Gate’s chances during both man advantages. Rocheleau would finish the night with 24 saves on 26 shots-on-goal.

“He kept us in the game when it could have been a lot worse,” Pilgrim head coach Steve Henn said. “That’s his game, that’s how he does it. I’m proud of him.”

The first period ended without a score, but Toll Gate had a solid chance to change that coming into the second. Pilgrim senior captain Nolan McCusker was sent to the box for a trip just 37 seconds into the period, but a defensive display from freshman Matt Pacheco helped kill the penalty. Sophomore forward William Fox ripped a shot just in front of the net with one second to go on the power play, but it went right into Rocheleau’s chest.

“It threw us off, really, big time,” Henn said of the penalties. “We didn’t have an opportunity to get a lot going, but despite that fact we still battled the whole way and that’s honestly all I can ask. We gave it our all, that’s what we were asking all year and nobody’s got anything to be ashamed of in that locker room.”

Freshman Blake Roberti gave Pilgrim its fourth penalty across 10 1/2 total minutes with a hook at the 4:22 mark, but the Pats had the best chance of the ensuing sequence. Junior forward Ty Morgan came down the ice for the shorthanded opportunity, but Sequeira turned him away.

Strain would try to make up for his two penalties later in the second when he rang a shot off the left post for Pilgrim’s best chance to that point. Sequeira made another save on the next Pilgrim charge up the ice, then got some help from his defense in getting the loose puck out of the blue paint.

Toll Gate sniffed blood in the water during its next power play, after another McCusker infraction, and would eventually strike. Palumbo took a shot unmarked in front of Rocheleau, but sent it wide right, while senior captain Jake Stachurski also had an attempt sent away by the sophomore.

Seconds after the man advantage dried up, the Titans managed to draw first blood. Rocheleau made a glove save on a shot a few feet from the net, but the puck ricocheted out to Fox out in front. Before Rocheleau could locate it, Fox put it past him to open the scoring with 1:43 left in the second.

Strain and junior assistant captain Patrick Reilly tried to level the score when Palumbo was called for roughing 30 seconds later, but they couldn’t capitalize.

Reilly nearly found twine after the power play carried over into the third, too, but Sequeira was able to turn him away.

Sequeira heated up in the third period, making save after athletic save to preserve the Titans’ razor-thin lead. After an interference whistle on senior captain Sean Vittum, Sequeira stepped up and stopped a close-range shot from Morgan and a blue-line laser off the stick of Strain.

“He was good, he was good,” Champagne said of Sequeira. “He settled in and total team defense in front of him. So when he scrambled, we reacted to it and did a great job so as well as a goalie plays, it’s hard to get a shutout without them in front of him. It was nice to have Austin as the backbone, great job by the defense, it was a whole team effort.”

The freshman kept his shutout in order after the power play as well, stopping a McCusker rocket from just inside the blue line.

The Toll Gate offense then took over in the final minutes, providing some insurance down the stretch. Fox tallied his second goal of the outing on an unassisted effort to put the Titans up 2-0 with 3:30 remaining.

Sequeira stopped Morgan again during a 1-on-1 before freshman defenseman Camden Palumbo sealed the victory with a long-distance empty-netter at the 13:46 mark.

Outside of Stachurski and Vittum, Toll Gate’s other seniors included David Beaumier, James Squire, Brendan Aunchman, Bradley Meunier and captain Nolan O’Brien.

Henn said the Pats won’t have this season on their minds when they drop the puck for 2016-17, but that they will miss their senior class of captain Dean Russo, McCusker, Strain, Kameron Murphy, Cameron Gagnon, Elias Pariseau, Nicholas Demoranville and Nicholas Yehle.

“It’s been fun to work with them,” Henn said of the seniors. “It’s been an absolute pleasure to coach these kids and I wouldn’t trade this experience working with this group of kids for anything.”

The No. 6 Titans will take on No. 3 North Smithfield in the quarterfinals, though the times and dates for the series have yet to be released as of press time. The two sides played twice this season, tying 2-2 on Jan. 2 before North Smithfield won 4-1 on Feb. 19.

“It’s also nice for them to know that senior night wasn’t their last game,” Champagne said with a smile. “We’re just ramping up the intensity knowing that it’s a little bit different when you get into [the playoffs]. You’re facing some really good teams who have been there before. I think we’ve worked 3 1/2, four months to get them ready, it’s tough to say what we’re gonna do in a week.”