Highlights of Cortland vs Oswego Feature Game; Fidotta Dangles to Earn Top Play Honors

Check out the video's below from this weekend's intense Cortland Oswego matchup. Cortland won 8-5 and will play the Lakers once again at 11 A.M on November 12th in Pottstown, PA.

This next video is the top three plays of the ECRHA's weekend. Check out freshman Chris Fidotta's dangle and goal against Oswego to seal the win as the number one play.

In other news, the Red Dragons next set of games was announced yesterday. Cortland will face-off in Pottstown, PA with the following four teams:

Nov 12- 11 A.M. -Oswego Lakers

Nov 12- 3 P.M.- Lehigh Mountain Hawks

Nov 12- 6 P.M.- Ramapo Roadrunners

Nov 13- 8 A.M.- Loyola Greyhounds

This will mark the end of the fall semester for Cortland. Keep checking back for updates to see if the Red Dragons can keep their 5 game winning streak in tact!

Cortland Continues to Win on Opening Weekend

The Red Dragons traveled to Glastonbury, CT on Saturday to start their regular season. This abbreviated weekend had Cortland scheduled for two games starting Saturday morning at 6A.M against Syracuse.

The Red Dragons wasted no time to get the ball rolling for the first game of the weekend. Max Stern scored at the 1:06 mark of the first period. Only fourteen seconds later, Tommy Farr notched his first of the season on a pass by Gary Krupa. Cortland then controlled the puck for the remainder of the period letting their goalie, Lou Vetri, face only 6 shots. Cortland picked up the pace towards the end of the period scoring two goals in the final 30 seconds by Max Stern and CJ Gilcrist. The second period saw much of the same Cortland dominance as they scored three more goals and only gave up 3 shots. Cortland goals were scored by Farr on the only power play of the game, freshman Tom Hughes, and Brendan Joyce. The final period saw Syracuse put only one shot on Vetri, their 10th shot of the game. The Red Dragons put three

more goals on the board to shut down the Orange. With Lou Vetri turning away 10 shots, he secured the shutout for the Dragons in their first game of the season. Stars of the game were #1- Max Stern (4 goals), #2- CJ Gilcrist (2 goals, 1 assist), and #3- Tommy Farr (2 goals, 1 assist).

The second game on the schedule for Cortland was the Oswego Lakers. This match up was hyped all week leading up to the puck drop by the ECRHA as they deemed it a "Feature Game". Each team was looking forward to the highly anticipated game as they each knew how much it would sway the early season momentum.

Cortland would waste no time setting the tone as the first line of Farr and Joyce skated the puck down the middle cycling in the Laker zone. Joyce found Farr on a back door pass to put the Dragons up 1-0 just 1:05 into the feature game. Cortland extended its lead to 3-0 on goals by Gilcrist and Stern, both assisted by defenseman Sean Glynn. However, Oswego found a bit of fire and scored 2 goals in the final minute and 10 seconds to head into the break with Cortland leading 3-2. Each team tallied three penalties a piece in the first stanza, while only one power play goal was scored by the Lakers Brian Gambardella.

Oswego wasted no time in tying up the game as Tyler Barbariantz scored on rookie Dragon netminder Jay Sartorius on a slapshot from the point just 20 seconds into the second. Gilcrist quickly regained momentum for Cortland as he slid a backhanded shot past the Oswego goaltender Chris Galante to put the Red Dragons back on top 4-3, two minutes into the second. Tommy Farr then took a questionable penalty as he was called for a trip on his brother Billy in the corner of the offensive zone. This sent the Lakers back on the man advantage where they capitalized to even the game up again at four. While penalties by Oswego filled the middle of the period, with Cortland's Bob Motto reciving the only call for the Dragons (a 10 minute misconduct). Cortland's Max Stern struck once again on the power play to put them up by one goal heading into the third and final period of the game and weekend.

Oswego found momentum after killing off carry-over penalties from the second to knot the game back up at five. The penalties started to come at a more constant pace starting at the 4:04 mark of the third when Cortland's Farr was pushed into Oswego's goalie by the Laker's James Schunk. After the play, Schunk went after Farr, cross-schecking him from behind sending him to the locker room. Just seconds later, Oswego's Danny Gambardella was called for a hook putting the Red Dragons on the power play once again. Stern found the back of the net for his hat trick goal, and his 7th goal on the weekend, putting Cortland on top 6-5 with 6:15 left to play in the game. Just 30 seconds later, Tom Hughes found the back of the net on an even strength three on three play. After the Hughes goal, things got nasty between the two teams. Hughes was targeted by the Lakers and was

involved a scuffle while Stern stepped in to help his teammate. The final three minutes of thegame saw eight penalties, 6 by Oswego and 2 by Cortland. Freshman rookie Chris Fidotta found the twine for the eighth and final goal of the game on a one on one dangle around a Laker forward, "a shoe in for play of the week" called by ECRHA's Ian Prescott. Subsequently Fidotta was called for an unsportsmanlike penalty for riding his stick in celebration of his goal. Cortland came away with the win 8-5, evening up the all-time matchup with the Lakers at two wins a piece.

With the Cortland Red Dragons skating away from the weekend with a 2-0 record, they sit alone in first place of the ECRHA's Division III Northern Conference. Although the Dragons have only played two regular season games, they have not lost yet this season (5 wins). After the weekend Cortland has many names showing up on the leader boards. Max Stern finds himself in first place in goals with 7, first in points with 7, and first in star points with 6. CJ Gilcrist is placed in second in goals with 4, and tied for second in points with 5. Sean Glynn, who has made the transition to defense this season with ease, is in first place in assists with 4. Veteran Gary Krupa, who led the team in points last season finds himself tied for second in assists with 3. Captain Tommy Farr comes in tied for third in goals with 3, tied for second in points with 5, and tied for fourth in assists with 2. Goalies Lou Vetri and Jay Sartorius sit atop the wins leaders with one each. Vetri has the only shutout in the league thus far, making him a sure starter for the All-Star game, as preseason and early stats would show.

Cortland has three weeks off until their next and final weekend of the Fall semester. The four games will take place in Pottstown, PA, a venue where Cortland has not traveled before. Opponents for the Pottstown event will be Loyola, who Cortland beat 10-1 in preseason, Ramapo, who the Dragons also beat in preseason 13-0, Lehigh, Cortland holds a 1-0 lifetime record against the Mountain Hawks, dating back to last season, and either Syracuse or Oswego.

Be on the lookout for scores and standings of the Southern Conference over this weekend as those three teams kick off their season. Also, with Cortland and Oswego being a feature game over the past weekend, look out for game highlights and plays of the week here on this website and on www.ecrha.net.

Cortland Set to Kick Off Regular Season

On Saturday October 22nd, the Red Dragons will travel to Glastonbury, CT to begin their regular season campaign. The first test of the season will come against the Syracuse Orange. Cortland has a lifetime record of 2-1 against the Orange with the loss coming in the Red Dragons first year of existence. The last time the two teams played, Cortland skated to a 9-1 victory in Old Bethpage, NY last November. That game saw netminder Lou Vetri stop 15 out of 16 Syracuse shots, Tommy Farr notched a 4 point game (3 G, 1 A), and Gary Krupa had a 3 point day (1 G, 2 A). The new look Dragons will look to continue the trend this time around in the first of three match-ups with the Orange.

The second and last game of the weekend will come against the Oswego Lakers. The SUNY match-up will be one of three feature games of the weekend. Cortland has a lifetime record of 1-2 against the Lakers with the one win coming two weeks ago in preseason. Previously, Mike Weber had the only two goals scored against the Lakers. In Cortland's preseason win they had four different goal scorers (Gould, Gilcrist, Hughes, and Fidotta). Cortland will look to even up the lifetime series against Oswego at 2PM on Saturday.

Cortland roster notes for the weekend: Mike Weber is still recovering from internal bruising and Adam Gould will miss the weekend series due to a personal issue. Cortland will get their first look at rookie netminder Jay Sartoruis as he will start the game against Oswego. Veteran Lou Vetri will get the nod against Syracuse. Cortland will welcome back Brendan Joyce from an illness as he will skate along side Tommy Farr for the weekend series. The forward lines will be rounded out with Max Stern skating with CJ Gilcrist, the freshman pairing of Chris Fidotta and Tom Hughes will look to continue their domination as they each had 6 points in the preseason. Look for the defensive pairings of Mike Barbariantz and Bob Motto, and Gary Krupa and Sean Glynn to continue their shutdown performance from the preseason as they only allowed 44 shots in three games. Cortland forwards will look to shoot at will as they fired off 104 shots in just three preseason games.

Be sure to follow the gamecast of each game on www.ecrha.net, also be on the lookout for game highlights from the Cortland vs Oswego "Feature Game" after the weekend is over.

Cortland Shows Power in Pre-Season

The Cortland Red Dragons had their annual Pre-Season Columbus Day Event over the weekend in Feasterville, PA. A strong Cortland squad was without three key players, Brendan Joyce (illness), Mike Weber (injury), and Jason Sartorius (personal). Never-the-less, the Red Dragons made their powerful team known for the upcoming season.

The Ramapo Roadrunners were the first test of the day for Cortland. The first line of Max Stern and Adam Gould wasted no time as Stern scored less than a minute into the contest. Not to be outdone by the first line, the pairing of CJ Gilcrist and Tommy Farr scored two goals on their first shift, both by Farr, assisted by Gilcrist. The third line of freshmen Tom Hughes and Chris Fidotta, found the back of the net. The score was 5-0 in favor of Cortland, just four minutes into the game. Cortland carried momentum throughout the game winning the Pre-Season opener 13-0. Goalie Lou Vetri recored his second shutout of his career.

The second game of the day came four hours later against last year's runner up, Oswego Lakers. Oswego scored on a power play in the first period. That would be the only goal let up by Cortland in the contest. Adam Gould struck back seven minutes later to even the score at one. Cortland owned the second period, outshooting Oswego 10-6 and notching a goal by CJ Gilcrist. The third period was the deciding factor. The freshmen tandem of Hughes and Fidotta each scored goals. Fidotta scored on a 4 on 2 penalty kill to put the dagger into the hearts of the Lakers. Another outstanding game by netminder Lou Vetri, allowing only one goal on 19 shots.

The third and final game of the weekend placed Cortland against the Loyola Greyhounds. A lazy first period by the Red Dragons saw them score only 3 goals (Barbariantz, Gilcrist, Stern) and giving up one. A stronger second period saw 4 goals by Cortland and string play along the boards and in the defensive zone. The third period was the icing on the cake was the Red Dragons scored three more goals.

After a 3-0 Pre-Season weekend, the first in Cortland State history, Cortland has made themselves known to the league that they are the team to beat. Allowing only two goals in three games is the best mark over a weekend Cortland has ever had. The rookies shined in the weekend event, the veterans clicked the way they have been over the past three seasons.

The first regular season event will be held in Glastonbury, CT on October 22. The Red Dragons will play the Syracuse Orange at 7 A.M and the Oswego Lakers at 4 P.M, the feature game of the weekend. Cortland will look to carry momentum into the first event of the season.

Cortland Tapped to Participate in D-III "Feature Game"

Mark it on the calendars. Cortland Red Dragons vs Oswego Lakers on Saturday October 22nd, 2011, at 4PM in Glastonbury, CT's Z-Rink. In an effort to make the ECRHA more marketable the league has asked Cortland and Oswego to participate in a "Feature Game". Each weekend event during the ECRHA's season has two to three Feature Games. Cortland's first shot at a Feature Game will come in their first regular season event in three weeks. This is a huge chance for the Red Dragons to showcase their talent on the rink to the nation. The biggest reason for Cortland and Oswego to be pitted against each other in the "Feature Game" is the sibling rivalry between Cortland's President Tommy Farr and Oswego's President Billy Farr. Cortland assistant captain Mike Barbariantz will face off against his brother, Oswego defenseman Tyler Barbariantz.

The "Feature Game" will have a feel of a National Championship game, according to league sources. The teams will have music play throughout warm-ups, the starting line-ups will be announced and the National Anthem will be played to kick off the game. Goals and assists will be announced along with music in between periods and whistles.

The biggest rivalry in Division III will take the biggest stage on October 22nd at 4PM. Come out and support your Red Dragons as they take the biggest stage in the ECRHA.

Pre-Season Schedule Finalized

The Cortland Red Dragons will travel to Feasterville, PA on Friday October 7th for their annual Columbus Day Pre-Season Event. With Ithaca dropping their team for the upcoming year, the original schedule went through some changes with Cortland getting the short end of the stick, having to play all three of their games on Saturday October 8th. The schedule is as follows:

12 PM vs Ramapo Roadrunners

5 PM vs Oswego Lakers

9 PM vs Loyola Greyhounds

The new look Red Dragons will look to establish dominance over the weekend events. Cortland is still searching for the elusive undefeated weekend, yet to be reached in the history of the club. Look for rookies CJ Gilcrist, Max Stern, Adam Gould, Tom Hughes, Chris Fidotta, and Jason Sartorius to shine in their Cortland debuts this weekend.

Stay tuned over the weekend for game updates, scores, and stats at www.ecrha.net.

Stay on the lookout for Cortland's new red jersey over the weekend.

ECRHA Season Previews

The ECRHA has posted season previews for each of the six teams in Division III for the upcoming season. Oswego and Lehigh have circled their games against Cortland on their schedules, citing that it will be their toughest test of the year. This immediately places a target on the Red Dragons back as they will be "the team to beat" this year. You can read the Red Dragons season preview below written by ECRHA's Jesse Creek:

Cortland finished in 4th place after the regular season (6-6-0), beating Oswego in a tie breaker. In the playoffs, Cortland got booted in the quarters, coming in 5th place after the playoffs finished. This year, Cortland has lots of new faces to add to its roster. Cortland has added 6 new players this year, five of them being forwards, and one being their new starting goalie. Of the five forwards they added, five have played PIHA, two played for Mission Black Ice, and one played for Suffolk CC. They have one returning forward, while two guys that played forward last season volunteered to make the move to defense so the new guys can shine. It could very well be the best year ever for the Cortland program. Senior Tommy Farr is looking to hit the century mark in points in his final season. He currently sits at 70 career points. Gary Krupa had 28 points last season as a defenseman, so look for him to be a force at the point.

The game Cortland has circled on its calendar this year is against Oswego. Tommy Farr’s brother, Billy Farr, is the president of their team. In addition, Mike Barbariantz is the brother of Tyler Barbariantz, so look for this sibling rivalry to intensify the meetings between these two teams. If Cortland is going to win the division this year, it will be because of it’s extremely well rounded team. Cortland is confident that every offensive and defensive pairing they put together will thrive. The goaltenders are some of the best in the division. They should be an awesome team to watch this year, however, the biggest challenge this year will be getting to the Division III Championships. With only one playoff win in Cortland history, their biggest challenge will not only be getting into the playoffs, but making it to Sunday afternoon.

As already stated, Cortland’ s goal is to finish in first place at the end of the regular season and winning the Division III championships. With three teams moving out of their division this past year, their biggest competition is now Oswego and Loyola. Ultimately, Cortland looks to move up to Division II next year.

Fun fact about Cortland: “They practice behind a firehouse on a fenced in basketball court. Due to the terrible weather in Cortland for most of the season they don't get to practice much. They rely on teaching the teams set plays in a classroom setting. Another fun fact is that at the end of each season they do a fundraiser called "Letters for Hope". Recently they donated to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and The Garden of Dreams Foundation. This gives us a great sense of pride knowing that they are helping the needy.

All other team's previews including Cortland's can be viewed at the ECRHA's website- http://ecrha.net/article.php?article_id=54878

Good luck to all teams as the preseason starts this weekend in Feasterville. Cortland schedule for preseason will be posted once it is finalized later this week.