CANTON — Pushback.

That’s a key point of emphasis the Canton boys hockey team preaches as the early Div. 2 title favorite starts its hunt to return to TD Garden. And it’s exactly what came to senior captain Andrew Gillis’ mind Saturday night after the Bulldogs (2-0) gutted out a signature 3-1 win over Archbishop Williams that tested its composure in the clutch.

Gillis (goal, assist) scored the game-winner with 3:47 left, and Ryan Elrick scored his second goal of the night with one minute to go to put it away.

The Bishops (1-1) erased a deficit early in the third period, had 32 saves from freshman goalie Austin Gaylord, and had nine minutes and 45 seconds of power play time in a penalty-ridden affair.

But Canton got the job done anyway.

“We’re facing a really good team right there,” Gillis said. “Teams are going to get on us, they’re going to score late — we’re not going to be up all the time. It’s about pushback. Just keeping the boys calm on the bench, and then potting two was huge there.”

“For us to really regain that lead soon after (losing it), that’s mental toughness,” added head coach Brian Shuman. “Very happy with the response after that tying goal. … It was a gutsy win. It was a great high school hockey game, that’s a very good team over there.”

Elrick’s goal early in the second period gave Canton a 1-0 lead, which didn’t seem safe despite a 28-13 advantage in shots heading into the third. Archbishop Williams wasn’t able to capitalize on the power play it started the third period on, but produced the equalizer when Nick Marini started an odd-man rush he set up Steve O’Malley on for a goal with 10:47 left.

Archbishop Williams significantly cut down the action on Gaylord with just seven shots allowed in the third. But defensman Kellen Labanara’s late wraparound found Gillis in front, and he banged home the 2-1 lead.

Another Canton penalty with 2:59 left gave Archies a chance to tie, but it was called for a hold soon after. Elrick went bar-down with one second left in 4-on-4 play from the left circle to seal the win.

“Getting the (goal) in the second was huge for the team, made me feel good,” Elrick said. “It gave us a big boost. And then to close it out was huge, we needed that insurance.”

Canton committed six penalties in all, which Brian Shuman certainly wants to cut down. But holding Archbishop Williams scoreless in nearly 10 minutes of penalty kill proved a major highlight.

Teddy Shuman and Labanara especially stood out on defense, pairing with Gavin O’Toole, Brayden Dickie and Jimmy Howard to help limit shots on Matt Wright (19 saves).

“(The penalty kill) was phenomenal,” Brian Shuman said.

“I think it’s how hard we work,” Elrick added. “Everyone is sacrificing whatever they need to sacrifice to keep the puck out of the net. It gives us so much momentum after we kill penalties.”

Overall, Canton felt this was a big win — especially knowing its path down the line.

“I think it gives us the momentum we need to keep going throughout January,” Elrick said. “This is a big game for us.”

“Just proving to ourselves that we can hang with a private school, we can hang with these (tough) teams,” Gillis added. “We could have something going here.”