Lang, Basehart lift Red Sabres over White Sabres

Third period goals from Noah Basehart and Blake Lang was all the offense the Red Sabres needed in a 2-1 win over the White Sabres in Squirt playoff action on Sunday.

The White Sabres found the momentum quickly as their offense seemed to dominate play in the first half of the game. First period scoring chances by George Korn and Jonathan Utech were thwarted by Red Sabre goalie Andrew Welchoff, who played another excellent game.

Defensemen Jamey Irish-Ryan and Ethan Evenson and goalie Alex Jackson kept the Red Sabres offense at bay in the early going but the White Sabres scored first when Jim Roberto slipped one into the net from Utech with only seven seconds left in the opening period.

That would prove to be the only goal the Red Sabres would allow as their defense tightened and the momentum seemed to shift at the halfway mark of the second period. Red Sabre defensemen Matthew Deeb, Max Tracy, Alex Gervase and Matthew Tripi combined to frustrate the White Sabre offense the rest of the way.

After a scoreless second period, the Red Sabres found a pair of unexpected heroes. Basehart drove home a rebound and tied the score with his second goal of the season with 8:49 left in the game. Dominic Caruso and Adam Tucker assisted.

With 4:07 remaining, Lang went top shelf with a rebound of an Andrew Mosher shot for what proved to be the game winner. Lang was mobbed by his teammates after scoring his first goal of the season.

Welchoff and the defense shut out the White Sabres the rest of the way as they won their second straight playoff game.