Hockey / Cobras take opening game at Southern Oregon

Cobras take opening game at Southern Oregon

Date:  Source: Butte Cobras

MEDFORD, Ore. — The Butte Cobras got goals from Jacob Rudloff and Augusts Veidenbaums and solid goalie play from Eric Ahlberg in a 2-1 win over the Southern Oregon Spartans Friday night. Stats

The game was the opener of the best-of-three second-round Thorne Cup Playoff series.

Butte (35-18-2) can close out the series with a win at 8:30 (MST) Saturday. Game 3, if necessary, will be at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday. The winner moves on to the Western States Hockey League Northwest Finals.

The Cobras picked up the win despite being outshot 38-22 and seeing the Cobras spend a total of 57 minutes in the penalty box. The Spartans (33-16-4) spent a total of 41 minutes in the box.

Ahlberg turned away 37 shots, including seven in the game’s final 6 minutes.

Rudloff put Butte on top 1-0 with a goal off an assist by Earl Webb and Veidenbaums with 8.3 seconds left in the first period.

Southern Oregon’s Chris Seto, the WSHL’s leading scorer, tied the game at 1 with a goal with 13:17 left in the second.

Veidenbaums goal, which came off a Chance Aquino assist, proved to be the game winner with 17:07 left in the third.

The Cobras are now 3-0 in the playoffs. Butte swept a best-of-three series against Bellingham last week at the Butte Community Ice Center. That was the first playoff victory in Cobras history.