A win right before the holidays is one of the best gifts there is.

The Toll Gate boys’ ice hockey team shut out its second adversary in a row, Providence Country Day/St. Ray’s/Wheeler, 3-0 on Friday night at Thayer Arena. The Titans haven’t allowed a goal since dropping a 3-0 decision to Ponaganset on Dec. 16.

Toll Gate scored once in each period, including a shorthanded empty-netter that sealed the victory with five seconds to go. Its defense shut down the PSW attack, holding the co-op to only 12 shots-on-goal.

“I think the team defense is doing a heck of a job,” Toll Gate head coach Mike Champagne said. “Our D are allowed to stand up because we know our forwards are coming back, and then we cover each other’s mistakes with hard work.”

PSW All-Division goaltender Justin Simmons had his hands full all night, stopping 35 of the 37 shots he faced. Even with some of his mind-boggling saves, the Titans found just enough chances to carry them to victory.

Toll Gate took advantage of a lapse in the PSW defense to strike first. D.J. Kowalik fed a pass from behind the net that found the unmarked stick of Max Fields, who drove home the game’s first score at the 3:16 mark.

The Titans (4-2) continued to pepper Simmons after that, but he stood on his head to keep it a one-goal deficit. PSW struggled to manufacture much in the offensive zone, leaving the defense to slowly wilt at the other end.

Toll Gate had chance after chance during the second period. It had a 5-on-3 for 57 seconds before PSW killed both power plays. Ryan Sabol ripped a shot later in the action, but Simmons was there to turn it away again.

“He was excellent,” Champagne said of Simmons. “Especially halfway through the game, his rebound control was perfect. We were going far post, he’s kicking it out to the side, getting it away from the danger areas.”

Finally, the home side broke through for some insurance. Jack Dean tried to hammer the puck past Simmons with about 1:30 left in the period, but the senior stonewalled him. The rebound came out to Collin Csoszor, who slid a shot under Simmons for the 2-0 lead.

“We kept at it,” Champagne said. “We were getting too fancy. We had gotten away from our game a little bit. To really just grind it out and push, and Collin and Jack [were] attacking with speed. Nothing really bouncing exactly the way we want it, but because the effort’s there, Collin, grinding in front of the net, pops one in. It was really the goal we needed.”

It was Toll Gate sophomore Austin Sequeira’s chance to showcase his goaltending abilities during the third period. PSW applied more pressure during the final three minutes, but Sequeira and the defense, led by top pairing Camden Palumbo and Tim Chaffee, kept the co-op at bay.

“Austin does a heck of a job back there,” Champagne said. “Not a ton of shots, but nothing’s clean. He has to fight a lot of stuff. Even when they were coming in clean, we had a great backcheck that took it away from them. Good five-, six-man team defense is really the key. We have some defensemen coming into their own.”

PSW had a 6-on-4 after receiving a power play and pulling Simmons with less than a minute to go, but the Titans only managed to add to their cushion. Will Fox crept through the PSW defense at center ice and deposited the loose puck in the vacant net to secure the shutout.

Toll Gate will take a break for the holidays before returning to the ice for a three-game road trip starting tomorrow at the Bradford R. Boss Ice Arena. The Titans take on North Kingstown (3-4) at 9 p.m. in its only tilt this weekend.

The boys in blue and red will then have a pair of contests at East Providence/Lincoln (1-4-1) and South Kingstown (2-3) on Jan. 6 and 7, respectively. Toll Gate won’t play at Thayer again until Jan. 21 when it hosts the Rebels.

“I think we’ll be prepared,” Champagne said of the upcoming gauntlet. “I think we’ll be ready to go, but every game’s going to be a challenge. We’ve seen it. You beat Ponaganset by one, they come out and they shut you out. Every team out here is ready to go, and we’re not going to sneak up on anybody. We’ve got to be prepared for that.”