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.
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