BELLINGHAM, Wash. — The Butte Cobras skated past the Bellingham Blaze 2-1 in the opener of a three-game series Friday night. Stats

Vaclav Beran scored a first-period goal off assists from Jan Marcilis and Dominik Hula to put the Cobras up for good at 1-0. Marcilis made it 2-0 on a goal assisted by Petr Panacek and Artsiom Puntas in the second period.

Thomas Steven got the Blaze on the board later in the second period.

The Cobras hung on to the win with Eric Ahlberg between the pipes. He saved 25 shots, including a furry late in the game.

The win, which was Butte’s 19th in 23 games, lifted the Cobras to 24-17-2. Bellingham fell to 13-33-1.

The teams play again Saturday night and Sunday afternoon.