First Semester Wrap-Up; Will Cortland Be Stopped?

After the first six games of the regular season, the Red Dragons sit atop Division III with a perfect 6-0 record. What may be even more impressive is that the Cortland squad has scored 66 goals and has allowed just 14 in those six games. Assistant Captain, goalie has proven to be on top of his game this, his fourth, season. Verti has allowed just 7 goals in four starts, good enough for a 1.75 GAA. Lou has even chipped in on the offensive side of the game, assisting on a goal from his own crease.

Over the past week, ECRHA league officials have had a lot to say about the Red Dragons. In the Roundtable discussion, here is what Commissioner Bill Bourque and marketing members Ian Prescott, Jesse Creek, and Phil DaSilva had to say about the current state of Division III:

"Ian: I would just like to mention DIII might have the biggest rivalry ever the competition between team representatives of Oswego and Cortland, brothers Billy and Tommy Farr. I can't imagine how brutal Christmas dinner is going to be. With so many inter-squad connections Cortland and Oswego just don't like one another.

Bill: I think its going to be those two teams in the final this season as well. Cortland has been the best team all season, as two victories over Oswego displays, however, Oswego made the DIII final last season and may have what it takes to pull off the upset this season.

Jesse: It is looking that way. Cortland might get a little complacent at times, but they certainly get fired up for any games involving Oswego. Don't forget- we really have not seen a full Syracuse team. Will they ever have one? Who knows.

Ian: On the southern side of the conference I'm pretty impressed with the bit of nastiness developing between Lehigh and Ramapo Ramapo works very hard game in and game out and have always been a very well run team, Lehigh has developed into a formidable team in a short year as well.

Bill: Lehigh and Ramapo are in a dog fight for the playoff bye and Southern Conference Title, who do you give the edge in that battle?

Bill: If either of these teams can put it all together, they might just make a run against Cortland or Oswego.

Ian: I'd give the slight edge to Lehigh who are leading the season series between them and Ramapo.

Bill: I am going to turn around and pick Ramapo. They have one more chance to even the series, I expect them to take it.

Jesse: I am going to say Lehigh. They have enough scoring, and are a more disciplined team than Ramapo. Any time you can spend more time on the power play than your opponent, you gotta like your chances to win that game."

After talking about the Cortland Oswego rivalry, something the league hypes up to be a huge event, Creek, Bourque, and Prescott made their predictions on who will win each divisions championship in March. Here's what each said:

"Jesse: WCU over Stony Brook, Northeastern over Pittsburgh, Cortland over Oswego, and West Chester over Suffolk.

Jesse: Bill?

Bill: WCU over Neumann, Pittsburgh over Queens, Cortland over Oswego, and West Chester over Rowan.

Jesse: Interesting.

Bill: Ian?
Ian: WCU over Hofstra, Northeastern over Pittsburgh, Cortland over Oswego, West Chester Over Hofstra."

With each member selecting Cortland to take the crown, the sights have been set high. After the Roundtable discussion, a semester wrap-up was written, looking at each of D-III's teams highs and lows, subtitled "Who Will Take Down Cortland?". Here's what Cortland's report

looks like:

"After one semester of play, the season could not have gone much better for the Red Dragons. Sporting a perfect 6-0-0 record, Cortland has outscored its opponents by an impressive 66-14 margin. Leading the way offensively for Cortland are CJ Gilcrist (16-13-29) and Thomas Hughes (9-11-20). Perhaps the most interesting part of Cortland’s season thus far is the fact that margin of victory for five of their games were at least eight or more goals. Going into the second half of the season, one wonders if Cortland can keep up this torrid pace, or will they fall into a sense of complacency?"

Once again, with the league favoring Cortland to take it all, will they be able to do so? The spring semester lies ahead of the Red Dragons starting on January 21 with games against Syracuse, Loyola, Lehigh, and Ramapo.

Gilcrist, Krupa Earn Player of the Week Honors

CJ Gilcrist (Monroe, NY) was named first star of the week for the Pottstown event during the ECRHA's Roundtable Discussion between Commissioner Bill Bourque and Marketing member Jesse Creek. Gilcrist registered 12 goals and 12 assists for a total of 24 points over the four game weekend for Cortland. Jesse Creek noted about CJ, "... he pretty much had a hand in half of his teams goals this weekend, which is pretty impressive especially when you score forty-nine goals." GIlcrist currently has a total of 29 points through the first 6 games of the season for the Red Dragons.

Gary Krupa (Port Jefferson, NY)

earned third star of the week. Gary had 15 points over the weekend. Krupa, the newly named assistant captain of the Cortland squad is leading by example. As a defenseman Krupa has tallied 47 career points through his first 22 games as a Red Dragon. He is second on the career leaders.

Commissioner Bourque stated in the discussion, "... they (Cortland) seem to be the favorites right now to win Division III." With Cortland being 6-0 heading into the winter break they have a stranglehold on the standings. The Dragons have netted 66 goals in 6 games averaging 11 goals per game. They have also allowed only 14 goals against thus far for a total of 2.33 goals against per game. Cortland is on pace to break every record in school history. They are only 9 goals off of their 75 goal output in 2010-2011.

First Semester Play Ends; Cortland Continues to Dominate

The Cortland Red Dragons traveled to Pottstown, PA over the weekend to finish their first semester schedule. The most anticipated game of the weekend was Cortland's first game against the Oswego Lakers. The previous meeting between these two teams was a very physical game, tallying up 75 minutes of penalties combined. However, the Red Dragons would prevail in that meeting with an 8-5 victory.

This time around, penalties would also play a role in the game. While Cortland put up 6 PIM's, Oswego tallied 16. This was a deciding factor of the game. The first period started out with Cortland controlling the puck, Adam Gould scored his first goal as a Red Dragon just three minutes into the period. For the next six minutes, the two teams were trying to find the next spark to set up a scoring play. This came at the 9:28 mark when Gary Krupa fired a shot past Oswego's goaltender on a pass by Sean Glynn. With a 2-0 lead with 2:32 to play in the first period, Oswego was looking to set a tone going into the second. At the 10:13 mark, Laker Brian Gambardella found a hole in Cortland goalie Lou Vetri on a short wrist shot. Just over one minute later, a slapper by Krupa at the point was blocked by Oswego's Ryan Oliveri, who skated down on a breakaway and scored a shorthanded goal to knot the game up at two goals a piece at the end of the period.

Cortland started the second period on a carry-over power play in which they couldn't connect

on. However, another penalty by Oswego sent the Dragons on yet another power play. CJ Gilcrist found the back of the net on that man advantage to put Cortland back in the lead, 3-2. Once again, Oswego took a penalty and connected for their second shorthanded goal of the game to even up the game at three. On the same power play opportunity for Cortland, Gilcrist fired another shot past the Laker goalie to go up by a goal again. With the lead, the Dragons controlled the tone of the game for the rest of the game with crisp passes and cheeky moves around defenders. They registered four more even strength goals before the end of the stanza (Gilcrist, Krupa, Hughes, Stern). The six goal second period gave the Red Dragons 7-3 lead going into the third.

With the third period looming, Cortland anticipated a physical final period of play. With the play intensifying, Oswego took eight minutes of penalties, all on roughing calls. This opened the door for Cortland. Their power play dominated scoring three more power play goals in the period to shut down the Lakers. The Red Dragons rolled to an 11-3 win over their rival Laker foes in the first game of the weekend. The Cortland power play of Hughes, Fidotta, Gilcrist, and Stern shined in the game notching four out of the five power play goals.

With the win over Oswego behind them, Cortland prepared to face the Lehigh Mountain Hawks in their next match up. In the pre-season preview written by ECRHA's Jesse Creek, Lehigh noted "Lehigh has their first game against Cortland circled on their calendar. The consensus

amongst the team was that the games against them last year were not their best. Avenging those losses is fresh on the Mountain Hawks mind. Playing Cortland will also be interesting to see where they stand in the division, as they should be one of the stronger teams that have returned. In their eyes, Cortland is the team to beat in Division III in 2011-2012." Cortland took this statement to heart and was determined to prove to the Hawks why they should be considered the team to beat this year.

The Red Dragons wasted no time to make a statement as Max Stern scored just one minute into the contest on an assist by Mike Weber in his second game of the season after suffering from internal bruising. Later on in the first, Stern struck again, this time on the man advantage. This was all the scoring the Dragons could muster in the period as they fired off 13 shots. Cortland found their scoring power in the second as they netted five goals by five different players (Fidotta, Krupa, Farr, Weber, Stern). On the five goals, Sean Glynn and CJ Gilcrist each had three assists, while Krupa had two. Lehigh had one goal in the period on a shot that bounced off Jay Sartorius' leg. The period ended in favor of the Dragons 7-1. The third saw much of the same dominance by Cortland as they netted three even strength goals (Hughes, Krupa, Gilcrist) and one on a power play one timer goal as Glynn fired a pass across the rink to Farr who put it top shelf. Cortland won the game 11-2 and gave Lehigh reason to believe they were right about calling the Red Dragons the team to beat.

The third game of the day called Ramapo to the rink to try and give Cortland their first loss of the season. The Roadrunners still had the bad taste in their mouth from pre-season when Cortland won 13-0. This game saw much of the same dominance by the Dragons as they scored early and often. The first period of the game saw Cortland score five goals in the first eight minutes. Farr found the back of the net on the power play and Fidotta scored a goal on a four on two penalty kill. Other goal scorers of the period were Krupa, Gilcrist, and Fidotta all even strength goals. The second period was much more physical as the teams had a scuffle in front of goalie Vetri. Bob Motto and Mike Weber were given penalties as well as two Ramapo players. Cortland showed it power play asset once more as the only two goals in the period were scored on the man advantage by Farr and Gould. In the third period Ramapo scored

one goal just 48 seconds into the stanza. The remainder of the game was dictated by Cortland as they netted one more power play goal by Fidotta, two more short handed goals by Gilcrist and Hughes, and three even strength goals (Gilcrist [2], Gould). Cortland rolled away from Ramapo with a 13-2 win to end the day with a 3-o record.

A final game against Loyola for the weekend and the semester would set the tone for the winter away from the rink. The Red Dragons, short players due to commitments on campus, were with an eight man roster for the game. The first period was handled with ease by the Dragons as the notched five goals (Gilcrist [2], Hughes [2], Krupa) while only allowing one goal. Cortland came out sluggish in the second as the Greyhounds scored two quick goals to shrink their deficit to two goals. This was a call for Cortland to wake up. The Dragons were undoubtedly up to the task as they wouldn't allow another 'Hound goal for the remainder of the game. Their shots and puck movement picked up considerably as they netted 9 more goals to polish off a determined Loyola squad.

The Cortland Red Dragons finished the weekend with a 4-0 record, the first in the history of

the University. Cortland also finished the first semester undefeated with a 6-0 record. Dating back to pre-season, the squad is on an unbelievable 9 game winning streak. Just to put that in perspective, in Cortland's pervious three seasons they had a total of 10 regular season wins. The power that the Dragons added in the offseason has certainly made a huge difference in the play of the team. CJ Gilcrist now has 29 points to lead the league. Hughes (20), Krupa (19), and Stern (19) are trying to catch up to Gilcrist in points as they are the next closest in the league to him. Sean Glynn is having a career year as his move to defense has surprisingly increased his point total. Glynn already has 13 assists (tied with Gilcrist for first in the league), and with his one goal on the year he has already surpassed his highest point total of 11 in his freshman year. Cortland veteran goalie Lou Vetri is also having a career year. He is currently 4-0 with just 7 goals against in those four games. His goals against average of 1.75 is tops in the league along with his save percentage of 88.5. Players are seldom to find the back of the net against Verti. He is the backbone of the Cortland team and looks to carry them for the rest of the year.

Over the weekend, Cortland amassed a total of 49 goals and allowed only 9. Of the 49 goals the Red Dragons scored, 11 were on the power play. At the mid-way point of the season Max Stern and Tommy Farr are tied for the league lead in power play goals with 4 each. With 40 power play chances in the season, Cortland has capitalized 15 times for a 37.5% success rate. The Dragons also have stressed keeping their opponents shot totals low. This has shown through the first six games as they have only allowed 102 shots to reach their netminders. In stark contrast, Cortland has fired off 225 shots on goal good enough for a shooting percentage of 29.3%. A stat that recognizes Cortland's accurate shots past the opposing goalies.

Along with Vetri's superb play thus far, he is preparing to take over in the front office aspect of the club. As treasurer since the clubs inception, Lou has made numerous contributions to the club. He will take over as President of the team as Tommy Farr will be off campus next semester student teaching to finish his degree in physical education. Gary Krupa will take over Vetri's position of treasurer in the front office starting in the Spring semester.

Top Spot Still in Cortland's Possession

After the Southern Conference started their regular season, Cortland still has first place in their possession at 2-0 good enough for 4 points. Lehigh and Ramapo faced off twice over the weekend with the Lehigh Mountain Hawks taking the first game of the double header 8-3. The second game was a much closer contested game as the Roadrunners held a 4-3 lead until 2 minutes left in the third period when Lehigh knotted up the game at four to seal the tie. This puts Lehigh in second place with 3 points. The Oswego Lakers sit in third place with 2 points, Ramapo is in fourth with 1 point. Syracuse and Loyola are tied for last place with zero points. Loyola was unable to attend last weekends games.

Cortland will be traveling to Pottstown, PA on November 12th and 13th for four games against Oswego, Lehigh, Ramapo, and Loyola. The Red Dragons will be tested against the Southern Conference and Oswego next weekend. They'll try and continue their hot streak, winning 5 straight dating back to preseason.

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.

Cortland Rolls Through Pre Pre-Season Scrimmages

The Cortland Red Dragons traveled to Ithaca's Cass Park on Saturday for a little pre pre-season action. Their first twenty minute scrimmage pitted them against the D-III runner up Oswego Lakers. An early lead, plus a 3 goal output by rookie Max Stern put them on pace to take the contest 5-2. An early statement that a Cortland is a force to be reckoned with in D-III. The following game had Cortland against Cornell. Cortland started the game out strong and carried momentum throughout the contest. A 6-1 victory over the Big Red, a D-II team, was a huge accomplishment for a young Cortland squad.

The biggest competition of the day would come in the next game. The Binghamton Bearcats were on the schedule. Last year's D-II champions would be the biggest test for Cortland. A very evenly matched game saw Cortland score just ten seconds into the scrimmage. The carried the momentum throughout the game and won 3-1. The biggest accomplishment for Cortland yet. A final game against an Ithaca team with only 4 skaters was no contest for Cortland as they skated to a 7-1 victory.

With a 4-0 day Cortland's chances of winning a D-III title is the most realistic it has ever been. Stay tuned for updates throughout the year!

Cortland's First Test Comes Saturday

With tryouts in the books and the pre-season two weeks away, the Red Dragons have entered the "Pre Pre-Season" warm-up tournament. This event will be made up of teams from the area (Binghamton (DII), Cornell (DII), Cortland, Ithaca, and Oswego). Cortland will play each team once with 20-mintute running clock. With Binghamton winning ECRHA's Division II last year, it should be a big test for Cortland to see how they stack up to a D-II contender. This schedule for Saturday is as follows:

2:25- Oswego

3:40- Cornell

4:30- Binghamton

5:40- Ithaca

All games tomorrow will be played at Ithaca's Cass Park. Come out and support your Red Dragons as their quest begins for an ECRHA D-III Championship Title.

All Star Game 2011

Check out this video from last seasons D-III All-Star Game. Representing Cortland in the game was #19 Gary Krupa and #23 Tommy Farr. Although Cortland's side lost the game, Krupa and Farr each had a goal. In the video you can find these four plays by Cortland:

6:43- Farr scores to increase White's lead to 3-0

33:07- Krupa nets an assist to Ramapo's Paul Cantanzaro, White's down 7-6

43:55- Krupa scores to increase White's lead to 10-7

55:11- Farr gets denied by UMass goalie, Max Sparr

Enjoy the video, Cortland hopes to have more representatives this upcoming season.

DIIIAllstar-MPEG-4 from ECRHA Gameday on Vimeo.

2011-2012 Final Roster

After two talented days of tryouts, the final roster has been made for the upcoming 2011-2012 season. The following players will be dawning the Red Dragon jersey this season:

1- Lou Vetri- Goalie

2- Sean Glynn- Defense

10- Adam Gould- Forward

13- Chris Fidotta- Forward

14- Mike Barbariantz- Defense

16- CJ Gilcrist- Forward

17- Brendan Joyce- Defense

18- Bob Motto- Defense

19- Gary Krupa- Defense

23- Tommy Farr- Forward

27- Tom Hughes- Forward

29- Mike Weber- Defense

30- Jason Sartorius- Goalie

96- Max Stern- Forward

With tryouts now behind Cortland, a new season lies ahead of a very talented group of players. With pre-season set for Columbus Day weekend, October 7th, this leaves the team a short turn around to prepare. With scrimmages and practices on the horizon, there is no doubt that this new look team will come to pre-season with a fire in their eyes, ready and willing to take a championship run. Welcome to the 2011-2012 season, fourteen players with one common goal.

Change in Try-Out Location, Days

Cortland State will be holding tryouts on Saturday, September 10th at 5:30 PM and Sunday, September 11th at 12PM noon. These tryouts will be held in Homer, NY behind the Home Firehouse. If you have not yet filled out a Policy Form please do so.

The roster will be announced by Sunday evening. Good luck to all students trying out.

Interest Meeting, Try-Outs Announced

Cortland Roller Hockey is gearing up for the 2011-2012 season. With the fall semester less than a week away, the Red Dragons have announced an interest meeting for all students to attend. The meeting will take place on Wednesday September 7^th at 8 PM at Poolside in Park Center. If you are interested please bring something to write with, insurance cards, and driving information. Also know what position you would like to try-out for. This meeting is mandatory for students hoping to be on the team.

Try-outs will be held on Monday September 12^th at 6:45PM and Tuesday September 13th at 6:45PM. These tryouts will be held at Cass Park in Ithaca. Incoming freshmen and transfer students need to bring their equipment up to school when they first arrive.

This is the fourth year of SUNY Cortland Roller Hockey. Come join a growing tradition!

Any questions about the meeting or try-out dates, please contact Tommy Farr at thomas.farr@cortland.edu.

Historical Players Page

Check out the new Historical Players Page located in the "Important Links" section on the right hand side of the page. The page is also located at www.cortlandrollerhistory.blogspot.com . This new page takes a look at all of the players to ever be a part of the Cortland Red Dragons Roller Hockey Team. Twenty-four student athletes have dawned a Red Dragon uniform. Take a look at how each player faired! For each player, their stats are listed as well as individual accolades they have received.

As always, we are looking for new players for the 2011-2012 season. If you are interested in becoming a Red Dragon, please download and fill out the "Interest Form" located in the "Important Links" section on the right hand side of the page.

Once a Red Dragon - Always a Red Dragon!

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.

Roller Hockey Interest Form

Send COMPLETED forms to thomas.farr@cortland.edu

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!

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