Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Interested in Becoming a Red Dragon?

After the best season in the history of the Cortland State, the Red Dragons are looking to become stronger for the 2011-2012 season.

If you are interested in attending SUNY Cortland and being a part of the Dragons run toward the title next year please click the link below or the link on the right hand side of this page under "Important Links" titled "Interest Form" and the link on the following Sport Club Blog Page and download the Roller Hockey Interest Form. Fill out the required information and email the completed form to President Tommy Farr at thomas.farr@cortland.edu . Please feel free to include any additional information about yourself in the email.

Send COMPLETED forms to thomas.farr@cortland.edu

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Cortland Bows Out in Quarter-Finals


The Cortland Red Dragons traveled to Feasterville, PA on March 4th for the regional playoffs. After a full 12 game season, the Dragons were seeded in 4th place overall. The first game of pool play pitted Cortland against Oswego. An young and scrappy Laker squad stole the wind from the Dragons sails in the first game. They handed Cortland a 5-1 loss on Friday night. Mike Weber had the lone goal for Cortland.

The second game of playoffs quickly became a must win for Cortland if they wanted to keep their hopes of a championship alive. The Ramapo Roadrunners skated against Cortland at 12 noon on Saturday. A sluggish start by Cortland saw Ramapo score just 1:26 into the game. Cortland's Gary Krupa and Bob Motto struck back to take the lead for the Dragons at the end of the first. In the second period, Krupa finished off his hat trick by netting two more goals, along with a goal by Farr and Glynn. One goal by the Roadrunners in the period made the score 6-2 Cortland at the end of the 2nd. The third period was all Cortland as they showed no mercy for the Roadrunners as they scored six goals in the period. Two each by Joyce and Farr, and one each by Krupa and Barbariantz. The Red Dragons skated away with a 12-2 victory, their first ever playoff win.

Top seeded Scranton was the last pool play game. An evenly matched first period was one goal by each team, Cortland's by Motto. The second period was Cortland's downfall, giving up three goals, two on the power play. The third period saw Joyce score a power play goal. However, the Royals CJ Murray, scored three straight goals to put Cortland away. The Dragons lost the pool play finale 7-2.

The SUNY squad came in 3rd place in Pool "A" and were set to face 2nd place seed of Pool "B", Queens College. Cortland played with Queens for the half of the game, keeping the score tight at 2-1. Krupa had the goal in the beginning of the second period. However, the Knights woke up at the 7:38 mark of the period and dominated the remainder of the game. Cortland saw Queens score 11 straight goals to end the game.

As yet another season comes to an end, progress has been made by the Red Dragons. With six wins, and their first playoff win ever, things are moving in the right direction for the team. Congratulations to the Queens College Knights and the SUNY Oswego Lakers who both made the Championship game in their first season of existence. The Knights defeated the Lakers 7-4 in a close game to win the ECRHA Championship.

Check back over the summer for interest forms and contact information!

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Farr and Section IX Recognized in Times Herald Record

Farr comes to roller hockey club's rescue

Burke grad makes mark at SUNY Cortland
BY WILLIAM MONTGOMERY

CORTLAND — Tommy Farr really wants to be modest about it, but there is only one way he can tell the story.

He saved roller hockey at SUNY Cortland.

Farr, a 2008 graduate of John S. Burke Catholic, headed to Cortland to study physical education. As a three-year member of

the varsity ice hockey team at Burke, he hoped to play club ice hockey at Cortland. Farr tried out for the team but was cut.

On the advice of a friend, Farr then went out for Cortland's first club roller hockey team, which wound up being a life-changing

decision.

The team, with Farr as an assistant captain, finished 3-8-1 that first year. But the won-loss record wasn't the biggest disappointment.

During a road trip, one of the players was involved in a car accident. The school-required itinerary had not been filed with the recreational sports department and the office was not notified until one day after the accident. The roller hockey team was suspended from participating in a weekend tournament.

Farr then stepped forward and volunteered to take care of the paperwork and behind-the-scenes administrative work needed to keep the team afloat.

"There probably wouldn't be a team if not for that," Farr said.

Entirely self-funded for the first season, the team received about $2,000 from the school during the 2009-10 season. At the endof that campaign, the roller hockey team received the most improved sports club award from Cortland's recreational sports department.

Now, as a junior, not only is Farr the team captain and a three-time Eastern Collegiate Roller Hockey Association all-star, he's the team president and a league representative. The responsibilities are endless.

Aside from planning practices and meetings and organizing caravans for road games, Farr has to submit detailed plans for every road trip and work with the registrar to provide proof of player enrollments to the league office. Farr also authors a blog at cortlandroller.blogspot.com.

"It's definitely worth it," Farr said. "As the president, I'm in charge of scheduling the practices and the meetings. As the captain, I'm kind of like the coach of the team. I'm a player, coach and team president."

It's also a résumé-booster. Farr hopes to coach ice hockey in some regard in the future and has gained plenty of real world experience.

Cortland's roller hockey team still practices on fenced-in basketball court behind a firehouse, but it received about $2,700 in school funding this year.

The 15 players pay $235 apiece in dues, which go toward hotel and gas costs as well as team registration fees with the ECRHA. In the fall of 2013, the Student Life Center is set to open on campus, which will include a roller hockey rink.

Roller hockey is growing in popularity among former ice hockey players from Section 9, with 16 of them competing on teams on the ECRHA. Farr has already received requests from potential players for next season.

This weekend, Farr will be busy as Cortland (6-6-0) travels to Feasterville, Pa., for the ECRHA regionals. They'll arrive early for a 3:30 p.m. practice — they haven't had a practice on a proper surface in two weeks — and will then wait until their 11:40 p.m. game against SUNY Oswego.

That game will have a little extra meaning to Farr, whose younger brother Billy is an all-star freshman defenseman for the Lakers.

wmontgomery@th-record.com


Locals playing in the ECRHA

Mike Barbariantz (S.S. Seward '08), SUNY Cortland

Tyler Barbariantz (S.S. Seward '10), SUNY Oswego

Eric Caprarola (Monroe-Woodbury '08), UMass

Mark Denga (M-W '06), Boston University

Brian Donovan (M-W '09), Northeastern

Billy Farr (Washingtonville '10), SUNY Oswego

Tommy Farr (John S. Burke Catholic '08), SUNY Cortland

Brian Gambardella (Washingtonville '08), SUNY Oswego

Danny Gambardella (Washingtonville '10), SUNY Oswego

Sean Glynn (Washingtonville '08), SUNY Cortland

Brendan Joyce (Warwick '08), SUNY Cortland

Matt LoBiondo (Newburgh Free Academy '10), Vermont

Ryan McAleer (Washingtonville '09), SUNY Oswego

Ryan Oliveri (Washingtonville '08), SUNY Oswego

Steve Popoloski (Washingtonville '08), SUNY Brockport

Mike Sobel (M-W '08), Northeastern

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Playoffs on the Horizon

The ECRHA playoffs will take place this weekend, March 4th to March 6th, in Feasterville, PA. The 6-6 Cortland Red Dragons finished the season in 4th place overall in Division III. They have been placed in "Pool A" with newly appointed number one seed Scranton University, fifth seeded Oswego State, and eighth place Ramapo College. Game one takes place on Friday night at 11:40 PM against SUNY rival Oswego State. The Red Dragons will look to redeem themselves for last weekends 5-1 loss against the Lakers. Game two will be held at 12 noon on Saturday against Ramapo College. Cortland won the pre-season match up with the Roadrunners handily, 8-1, behind strong goaltending by Ross Midgen. The regular season match up between the Roadrunners and the Red Dragons, came down to the wire. The Dragons scored in the final 13 seconds in the game to seal the win. The final game of the Pool Play Round will be against Scranton University. In their pre-season meeting, Cortland tied the Royals. However, in the regular season meeting, the Royals dropped Cortland by the score of 10-6. With the score tied at 6 early in the third period, the Red Dragons saw Scranton score two power play goals. Penalties were the downfall of Cortland. The Red Dragons will look to correct their miscues and defeat the Royals this time around.

After Pool Play ends, the Knockout Stage will begin. A 3-0 record in the Pool Play Round will guarantee Cortland a spot in the semi-finals, clinching a bye past the quarter finals round. If Cortland comes in second or third in the Pool Play Round, they will be forced to play in the quarter finals on Saturday night in a crossover game with "Pool B's" second or third seeded team. An 0-3 record in Pool Play will send Cortland on a long trek home. The ECRHA finals will take place on Sunday afternoon.

Come out and support the Red Dragons as their quest for the ECRHA D-III Championship commences this weekend.
Final ECRHA D-III Standings
Scranton- 11-1 (22 points)
UMass- Amherst- 9-2-1 (19 points)
Queens- 9-3 (18 points)
Cortland- 6-6 (12 points)
Oswego- 5-5-2 (12 points)
Lehigh- 5-7 (10 points)
Ithaca- 4-8 (8 points)
Syracuse- 4-8 (8 points) - Syracuse denied bid to playoffs, Ramapo takes their spot.
Ramapo- 4-8 (8 points)
Loyola- 3-7-2 (8 points)


Top Point Scorers For Each Team
Scranton- Jeremy Dublon 24 points (13 G, 11 A)

UMass-Amherst- Jonathan Aprile 41 points (29 G, 12 A)

Queens- Thomas Esposito 50 points (27 G, 23 A)

Cortland- Tommy Farr 23 points (13 G, 10 A)

Oswego- William Farr 13 points (9 G, 4 A)

Lehigh- Steve Trombetta 20 points (13 G, 7 A)

Ithaca- Brian Wojcik 27 points (17 G, 10 A)

Syracuse- Timothy Freyburger 21 points (14 G, 7 A)

Ramapo- Joe Venezia 27 points (16 G, 11 A)

Loyola- Mike Brolly 35 points (25 G, 10 A)