Through Sunday’s action, teams in SHL play that hold a lead after two periods have a record of 57-3-4. So after host Loyola and Glenbrook South played a scoreless first period Sunday, the second period was a pivot point.

And just as it did in a win over South on Oct. 22, Loyola scored three goals in the second period to grab statistical control of the game, en route to a 5-0 shutout win for Illinois’ top-ranked team.

And the Ramblers did it against a third-ranked Glenbrook South team that had not been shut out in a game all season.

“They score a lot of goals, they’re good all over the ice, and they’re a quick team getting up and down,” Loyola defenseman Will Steele said of South. “But we’ve been playing shut-down, too, in the D zone. Getting the shutout tonight says a lot, just playing on our man and playing tight.”

Loyola (12-3-0 in SHL play) got goals from Charlie Merrill, Charlie Baine, and Julian Gabal in the second period, and goals from Cole Joubert and Chris Sipe in the third. Baine and Joubert also had an assist each in the win.

All of those goals came after a first period that was as much a track meet as it was a hockey game, with both teams flying up and down the ice for 17 minutes.

“We expect it to be more like that first period when we play them, when it’s just kind of back-and-forth,” Loyola coach Scott Ciraulo said.

“In the first period I think we handled the puck a little bit too much on the breakout, and it kind of disrupted the flow. We spent too many shifts in our defensive end because we didn’t have clean breakouts. In the second we just focused on getting pucks behind their defensemen, making them break it out, getting our forecheck going, and that’s when we started to look right.”

The game’s first six minutes went back-and forth before Loyola managed to apply a bit of steady pressure. Glenbrook South (9-3-0) answered with some steady pressure of its own with roughly six minutes remaining in the period.

Loyola’s Liam Finegan, John Dwyer, and Baine all forced South goalie Eli Kamins to make some quality stops, while Glenbrook South’s Asher Vander Ploeg, Wyatt Sherwood, Nick Ventura all found shots on Loyola goalie Charlie Trapp.

Trapp was solid in earning his second SHL shutout of the season “and he earned it tonight. He made some big saves,” Ciraulo said. “It wasn’t a game where we dominated in a 5-0 win. We needed our goalie to help us and he did.”

Back on Oct. 22, Loyola led 2-1 over South after one period before second-period goals from Finegan, Joubert, and Dwyer effectively iced the game. On Sunday, it was Baine, Merrill, and Gabal’s turn to key a second-period outburst.

The second period began with South’s Zack Freimuth finding Ventura for a quality chance that flew just high of frame. Kamins turned away a Sipe shot and Trapp did the same on a shot from South’s Marty McAuley, six minutes into the period.

Trapp deflected a shot from South’s Frank Surma off the bar, and Loyola took the puck into transition, scoring quickly when Merrill fired from the left side. Merrill’s shot hit the right-side bar and the post before settling into net with 9:53 remaining in the second period. Merrill’s goal ultimately stood up as the game-winner, with Sam Walker and Tyler Lawriw getting assists on the play.

Baine’s goal came next with 5:32 left in the second, immediately after he had a prime scoring chance that went awry.

“I had a wide open chance in the slot. I saw a ton of open ice and saw that below (Kamins’) glove on the right side was open,” Baine said. “But I kind of mis-shot it. It went in the corner, and DJ Long passed it out front. I had to get it back.”

Baine buried his second chance and Finegan also assisted on the play. Gabal made it 3-0 at 3:46, busting in on a feed from Nick Gonzalez and burying his first SHL goal of the year to the upper ninety.

The third period saw South whistled for five of its six penalties in the game. Joubert scored unassisted with 4:27 left in the game, and Sipe scored on the power play at 2:45 to end the day’s scoring, on assists from Baine and Joubert.

Trapp has been in net for 10 league games and of the nine SHL goalies with at least 10 games in net, he leads the pack with a goals-against average of only 1.38.

Loyola now has five shutouts in 15 SHL games; the others came once each against New Trier and Carmel, and twice against Fenwick. And Sunday’s shutout came against a South team that features three of the top 10 leading point-scorers in the SHL in league-leading Freimuth, along with McAuley, and Blake Hoffer.

Loyola has now held South to one goal in two meetings this year.

“Our preparation for both games was the same,” Baine said. “They’re so good on the rush and that was the major thing that we emphasized. They have some really skilled players that are tough to defend, and we had to shut them down.”

Ciraulo liked what he got from his boys on Sunday.

“They have Freimuth and some really talented forwards, and we had to rely on our defensive play,” Ciraulo said. “I’m really, really happy with our defensive effort tonight.”

Loyola’s skipper also applauded the leadership and reliable play Loyola has gotten from captain Sipe and assistant captain Steele, “and up front I thought everyone was going well,”he said.

“It was nice to see Julian (Gabal) get his first (SHL) goal. And Charlie had a nice look on his first (missed) shot but he stuck with it. That’s been a little bit of a difference with him this year — he has really embraced our system and our forecheck. He wins a battle on the forecheck, gets the puck out front, and finishes it.”

Freimuth leads the SHL with 27 points (14 goals, 13 assists) and Baine is second with 25 points (10 goals, 15 assists).

New Trier and Glenbrook North currently sit atop the SHL standings with 26 points apiece, and Loyola is third with 25 points. Steele sees a difference in his side since the season began.

“We’re more focused as a team and we’ve bought in a little bit more,” Steele said. “We’re a fairly older team but getting everyone on the same page in understanding what it takes to win has been something we’ve been focusing on.

“We’re playing really well, so it’s just consistency in our effort, night-in and night-out. That will be big, especially down the stretch. If we do that and we’re prepared for every game, I think we’ll be able to go far this year.”