PEABODY – Entering its classic Northeastern Conference matchup Wednesday night, the Peabody/Lynnfield/North Reading girls hockey team was well-aware of, and driven by, the fact that Winthrop hadn’t lost a regular season game in over two years.

Not anymore.

Catie Kampersal’s go-ahead goal through contact in the second period was the decider in a 2-1 win over the No. 16 Vikings (3-1), capping off an exceptionally gritty effort from No. 15 PLNR (4-1) to get the monkey off its back in this matchup.

Scrappy plays in its defensive zone nixed a handful of promising Winthrop chances in the final frame, adding to Alyse Mutti’s 14-save performance for a meaningful win.

“This game is always circled on our calendar because we know that if you want to be competitive in the league, all roads lead through Winthrop at some point,” said PLNR head coach Michelle Roach. “We knew this was going to be ugly, it was – we were going to need to get gritty. … This is a big one.”

“It’s very exciting, we were all ready,” added defender Leah Buckley. “We all knew it was going to be a tough game.”

Kampersal dropped jaws with 7:30 left in the second period, following Tegan Pereira’s tying goal for Winthrop with her own score for a 2-1 lead. A loose puck floated behind the Vikings defense into their zone, and she split two defenders in a race to the puck. Despite contact, she scooped it up and deposited the goal.

Winthrop was relentless in its pursuit to tie the score again from there, but PLNR was determined to win every inch.

A 3-on-1 rush saw Buckley get a stick on the shot. Later, Mutti stayed home on a rebound by the right post, but a defender dove to knock it away right before Winthrop could get to it. Another sequence saw Talia Martucci find space along the left wall for a wide-open lane, but PLNR’s Shirley Whitmore hustled back and dove to spoil the chance.

Add in two earlier saves Mutti needed to make on Winthrop breakaways, and PLNR thrived in critical moments.

“We all knew we had to put the effort in, we had to work hard for everything,” Buckley said. “We wanted a really defensive mindset. … In our zone, we just needed to make sure the back door was covered. Everything in the middle, we wanted on the sides or out.”

Winthrop put pressure on PLNR early, but the Tanners’ first zone entry with possession gave them an early lead. A loose puck floated to the Vikings blue line, Abby McInerney scooped it for an odd-man rush, and her shot was finished by Ava Buckley on the rebound.

PLNR created a wealth of chances in the first, but Riley Towse (17 saves) settled in to keep it a one-score game for Winthrop. All her teammates needed was nine seconds on a power play to tie things up in the second, with Pereira sending a heavy shot through traffic.

Towse had an eight-save shutout in the third period to keep it close, but the Vikings couldn’t pot another one for a rally.

“We had to keep working,” Roach said. “We knew whoever made less mistakes tonight was going to come out on top. And I’m very thankful it was us for tonight. But we know they are going to reset and going to be ready for the next time we see them.”