Cottonmouths rip Huntsville, move into tie for second place

The Columbus Cottonmouths climbed into a tie for second place in the SPHL standings with a 5-1 win over Huntsville on Tuesday night.Shawn Bates and Nick Curry scored goals in the first period only 13 seconds apart as the Snakes took a 2-0 lead.

Bryce Williamson and Matt Gingera scored in the second period as Columbus extended the lead to 4-1.

Louis Belisle added the final goal 2:49 into the final period.

Shannon Szabados stopped 34 of 35 shots to earn the win.

Columbus (31-17-2) has 64 points and are tied with Mississippi. Both are five points behind Peoria. They are three points ahead of Knoxville and four ahead of Pensacola.

Columbus will host Pensacola on Thursday at 10:30 a.m., then host Knoxville on Friday at 7:30 p.m. and go to Knoxville at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.

Peoria is at Mississippi on Friday and Saturday.

This story was originally published March 18, 2015 at 9:48 AM with the headline "Cottonmouths rip Huntsville, move into tie for second place."