PEABODY — It has quietly become one of the better rivalries in Division 1 girls hockey.

And on Wednesday at McVann-O’Keene Rink, Winthrop and Peabody gave fans a tournament-like battle.

The unbeaten Vikings had an early 2-0 lead before Peabody rallied back to tie things, but Hannah Parker’s second-period goal held up as the winner in a 3-2 Winthrop victory.

The win moves Winthrop to 12-0-0 and 11-0-0 in the Northeastern Hockey League, giving the Vikings a two-game buffer over the Tanners (12-3-0, 11-2-0).

“This really has become a rivalry over the last few years and that’s a credit to what Michelle (Roach) has done over there. This really was a battle and I’m glad to come out on the end we did,” Winthrop coach Anthony Martucci said.

The way things began, it looked like the Vikings might blow the Tanners out of their home barn. Less than a minute into the game, Emma Holmes beat Alyse Mutti on the first Winthrop shot of the night. Just under three minutes later, the Vikings were shorthanded but turned the tables as Mia Norris fended off a backchecker and flicked a shot over Mutti to make it 2-0.

Instead of taking a timeout, Roach decided to let her squad try to get going on the power play. It proved to be a wise choice as Shirley Whitmore banged home an Angela Fabbo rebound just 71 seconds later to cut the margin to 2-1.

Just over three minutes later, the Tanners got back on the power play and evened the game. Taking a pass from sister Chloe in the neutral zone, Hannah Gromko raced up the right side and fired a shot over Riley Towse’s shoulder.

“I was really proud of how well we kept fighting after the way we started,” Roach said. “Our effort was huge.”

For as frantic as the first 15 minutes were, things settled down into a more controlled pace in the middle period. Forechecking made getting out of the defensive zone a challenge and shots on goal a premium. Fittingly, it was a hard working play that got the Vikings back in front.

Parker took a pass from Talia Martucci in the left wing corner and cut out to the left circle and snapped a tough angle shot past Mutti for a 3-2 lead.

“Hannah is one of our hardest workers and she really deserves to get a goal like that,” Martucci said.

Peabody kept battling in the third as a change to its checking game allowed the Tanners to crank up the pressure. It nearly paid off with eight minutes left but a whistle on a scrum in front of the net took away the potential tying goal.

Winthrop’s defense did the rest, including a fantastic effort in the final 90 seconds that kept Peabody from pulling Mutti for an extra skater until inside the final minute.

“Peabody came out and answered the bell and we had to do the same,” Martucci said.