PEABODY — Wednesday night’s battle between the top two teams in the Northeast Hockey League at McVann/O’Keefe Rink started about as well as the Winthrop girls’ hockey team could have hoped.
After senior Emma Holmes scored just 34 seconds into the game, her classmate Mia Norris broke in past the Peabody/Lynnfield/North Reading defense and scored shorthanded with just 3:38 off the clock for a 2-0 lead.
Though PLNR tied the game before the end of the first thanks to a pair of power-play goals, the No. 6 Vikings wrested the lead away in the second period on a bar-down snipe from junior Hannah Parker that beat PLNR netminder Alyse Mutti.
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Winthrop never relinquished it to remain unbeaten with a 3-2 win over 11th-ranked PLNR (11-3-0).
“[PLNR] is always ready, willing, and able, they’re well-coached, and it’s just a fantastic battle every time we play,” said Winthrop head coach Butch Martucci, whose team improved to 12-0-0. “We love to be a part of those hockey games. It’s not easy, but we love being a part of it.”
Trailing 2-0, PLNR tied it on power-play tallies by Shirley Whitmore and senior Hanna Gromko.
“We came out strong and I was hoping that it was going to last,” Martucci said. “But obviously Peabody does not wilt, and they came right back and answered the bell, and we had to do the same.”
Parker’s goal, though, came as a welcomed answer for Winthrop.
“I don’t know where that shot came from,” Martucci said. “She doesn’t usually shoot like that so we’ll take that. She worked so hard and deserved that goal.
“We go into these situations, we say how we want to play: trying to keep pucks in, little chips into the corners,” Martucci added. “But of course, the girls don’t listen — they keep trying to score, which is okay.
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“We knew there was going to be a lot of pressure from Peabody and we expected a good run at it and just had to weather the storm.”