Regular Season: Glastonbury, CT February 20th and 21st

The Red Dragons took their second five hour trip of the season to Glastonbury, CT over the weekend. Cortland's overall record at the Z-Rink (3-1-2) brought confidence to this set of games. The UMass- Amherst Minutemen was the first game of the weekend. Lou Vetri started the game in net and made 28 saves on 36 shots. Down 3-1 at the end of the first period, the Red Dragon squad crawled back in the second period to shorten the deficit to 5-4 by the end of the period. The third period saw UMass score two power-play goals and one even strength goal. Cortland dropped the first game 8-4. Chris Poplarski and Tommy Farr had 2 goals each while Brendan Joyce tallied 3 assists.

Confidence was down starting the second game. Cortland faced the Ramapo College Roadrunners and if the pre-season game (12-4 Cortland) between the two teams would be an indicator of the outcome this should have been a victory. Cortland controlled the first period of the game however, they trailed 2-1 after the period with the goal coming with 14 seconds left by Tommy Farr off a rebound. Ramapo came out strong in the second stanza scoring one power-play goal and one even strength goal putting the Red Dragons down 4-1 going into the third. Ramapo went up 5-1 four minutes into the third and nothing clicked the rest of the way for the Red Dragons. Nick Boffoli tallied a goal with four minutes remaining in the game but it was not enough. Cortland lost 5-2.

The final game of the weekend was a rematch of an earlier game in the year against the first place Northeastern University Huskies (10-0-1). Cortland managed a 3-3 tie in the first meeting. However, 37 shots on goaltender Ross Midgen would be too much for the Red Dragons to handle. Max Duncan, the top ranked netminder in the league, shut out Cortland as they took 23 shots on net. 6-0 loss.

The Red Dragons head into the playoffs on March 5th as the 7th seeded team in the ECRHA. They will play the second seed Loyola, third seed Delaware, and the sixth seed UMass-Amherst in their round robin pool. A third place or better finish in the pool with qualify the Red Dragons for the quarterfinals. The regular season is over as Cortland begins to prepare for their playoff run.

Regular Season: Feasterville, PA January 23rd and 24th, 2010

The Cortland Red Dragons traveled to Feasterville over the weekend to continue their season. Their first game was against the defending Division Three Champion Scranton Royals. Cortland gave up a goal one minute into the contest. However, the Red Dragons battled back and Mike Barbariantz scored a power play goal with the assist going to Chris Poplarski. The period ended 2-1 in favor of the Royals. The second period saw just one goal by Scranton. Nick Boffoli netted his first goal of the year in the third period. Penalties once again hindered the Red Dragons play making abilities. Goaltender Ross Midgen kept the team in the game by making 17 saves on 22 shots. Cortland lost 5-2.

The following game was a tough test for Cortland when they played the first of two games against the Delaware Fighting Blue Hens. Cortland played strong defense for the majority of the first period until Delaware got two quick goals in the final minute of the period. The second period started well for the Red Dragons scoring two goals in the first two minutes from Chris Poplarski and Tommy Farr. With the game knotted up at two the Blue Hens stepped up their offensive play making ability netting three goals in a row until Poplarski scored his second goal on a slap shot from the point. However with fatigue setting in, Cortland couldn't step up to the overpowering Delaware team. A three goal third sealed a second straight loss- 8-3.

With Saturday's two loss day in the rear view, Cortland played Delaware for the second time. A goal was scored by Tommy Farr assisted by Bob Motto three and a half minutes into the game. Two goals were the scored by Delaware putting the Red Dragons down 2-1 at the end of the first. Shut-down defense and great goaltending by Lou Vetri only saw the Hens net one goal in the second stanza while Brendan Joyce scored one of his own for Cortland. With the Hens leading 3-2 going into the third period Cortland stepped up their offensive abilities as Chris Poplarski scored one minute into the period to knot it up at three. Two goals in a row by Delaware left for an exciting finish. With a power play opportunity Cortland controlled the zone and a crisp pass by Joyce found Miguel Valle's stick who knocked it home to pull the Dragons even closer. Another power play with one minute left in the game called for Vetri to be pulled for an extra attacker. The 5 on 3 power play saw great puck movement and a shot by Farr was kicked out to the front of the net by the Blue Hen net minder which found the stick of Joyce who scored the tying goal with 22 seconds left in the game. A 5-5 tie increased Cortland's confidence going into the fourth and final game of the weekend. Cortland's stars of the game: #2 Brendan Joyce, #3 Tommy Farr.

With a come from behind tie, momentum was on Cortland's side when they faced Loyola. Three goals (Barbariantz, Farr, Poplarski) in five minutes is just what the Red Dragons needed to bolster their confidence to an even higher level. With a three goal lead, Loyola battled back to make it 3-2 at the end of the first. Two power play goals and one even strength goal by Cortland put them up 6-2 in the middle of the second period. Loyola netted one in the second. With the score in the Red Dragons favor going into the third, the team let up two quick goals. The game was tied at six going into the final minutes of the hard fought game. After a Loyola time-out, Cortland was quick to rush the puck into their offensive zone and tally 3 quick shots. However, an odd-man rush and a slick move by a Loyola forward saw the puck slide right into the back of the net with 1:01 left on the clock. Cortland fired shots from all angles but it was to no avail. The Cortland Red Dragons lost 7-6.

Cortland now finds themselves with a 1-3-3 record and in seventh place. They will certainly need to pick up their play for their last set of games if they plan to make a run at the division crown.

Tommy Farr was selected by the ECRHA to represent Cortland in the D-III All-Star game against the "B" Division All-Stars.

Cortland vs Scranton

Cortland vs Scranton - 10/10/09 from ECRHA Gameday on Vimeo.

Cortland Red Dragons Player Bio's

Click on the link to the right to read about your favorite players!
www.cortlandrollerbio.blogspot.com

Regular Season: Glastonbury, CT October 31, November1, 2009

The regular season opener was held in Glastonbury, CT. A 5 hour trip for the Cortland team. Game one "Cortaca". Ithaca, a newly formed team in the ECRHA, was not taken lightly by the Red Dragons. Cortland came out strong with a goal by Farr 0:34 into the game and a goal by Nick Boffoli 1 minute later. The first period ended with a 4-0 lead in Cortland's favor. The second period saw more of the same with 2 goals by Barbariantz and a goal by Barton. The third period was the icing on the cake with 2 shorthanded goals by Poplarski and Valle. Cortland rolled to a 10-0 win and preserved the shutout for Vetri. Cortland's stars of the game: #1 Tommy Farr, #2 Mike Barbariantz, #3 Brendan Joyce

The Red Dragons next contest was against another new team of the ECRHA, University of Massachusetts Minutemen. The game saw 18 minutes of penalties taken by Cortland. Shorthanded was Poplarski's calling to do damage. Chris had 3 shorthanded goals and 1 even strength goal. Midgen, with strong goaltending, and Poplarski, with playmaking abilities, kept the Red Dragons in the game. Cortland yeilded 33 shots agianst Midgen who made 28 saves. The penalties hindered the Red Dragons who struggled to a 5-5 tie. Cortland's star of the game: #1 Chris Poplarski

The final game of the weekend was Sunday morning at 8 A.M. against the Northeastern University Huskies. The squad took the early wake up call and ran with it. The line of Farr and Joyce provided all the scoring. Joyce scored 0:10 into the game on an assist from Farr. The next goal came 15 seconds later from Farr on a pass from Joyce. Their third goal was scored by Farr 2:46 into the game. The first period ended 3-0 in favor of the Red Dragons. Cortland then laid back, stopped pressuring the puck and took bad penalties. The second period saw Northeastern climb back from a 3-0 deficit to a 3-3 tie. In the third period the two teams stepped up their defense and allowed no more goals. However, a Husky power play at the end of the game called Midgen to make several mind blowing saves to preserve the 3-3 tie. Cortland's stars of the game: #1 Tommy Farr, #2 Brendan Joyce

The Cortland Red Dragons finished the weekend with a 1-0-2 record.

Pre-Season: Feasterville, PA October 10th and 11th, 2009

Preseason was a good starting point for Cortland. Their first game pitted them against the defending DIII ECRHA champions, Scranton Royals. Cortland finished 0-2 against the Royals last season. The first goal was scored shorthanded by Bob Motto 1:47 into the contest. Another shorthanded goal was scored by Chris Poplarski 6 minutes later. The first period ended in Cortland's favor 3-1. Scranton scored 3 goals in 3 minutes to start the second period. The Red Dragons battled back with goals by Bob Motto and Harris Barton. A hard fought third period by Cortland saw 2 more goals by Poplarski, 1 goal from Barton, and 1 by Lou Vetri. A late goal scored by the Royals left for an exciting finish. Goalie Ross Midgen faced a flurry of hard shots and made some spectacular saves to preserve the win for Cortland. The Red Dragons ended the game with an 8-7 victory. Cortland's stars of the game: #1- Chris Poplarski, #3- Harris Barton

The second game of the day for the Red Dragons was against the newly formed Ramapo College Roadrunners. Cortland came out lazy and allowed the first goal of the game 3 minutes into the contest. However, that was enough for Cortland to realize they needed to play shut down defense. Allowing only 10 shots the entire game on goaltender Bryan Buchalski. Goals were scored by Tommy Farr (3), Sean Glynn (3), Poplarski (2), Miguel Valle (1), Barton (1), and Lou Vetri (2). Stellar defense was played by the pairings of Barton and Barbariantz, Dan Rocklein and Vetri, and Motto and Dan Titterton. The Red Dragons ended the game with a 12-4 victory. Cortland's stars of the game: #1- Tommy Farr, #2 Sean Glynn, #3 Chris Poplarski

The third and final game of the weekend proved to be a struggle for a very winded Cortland team. They were up against the Temple University Owls "B" team. The game started slowly for the Red Dragons. They were down 2-1 at the end of the first period with the only goal being scored on the power play by Poplarski from Glynn. The second period saw 2 goals scored by Tommy Farr which knotted up the game 3-3 at the end of the 2nd period. The tie lasted until 3:07 left in the game when a goal was scored by Temple to put the game away. Netminder Lou Vetri played great allowing only 4 goals on 40 shots. A lackluster game was played by Cortland Sunday morning at 11A.M. 4-3 loss. Cortland's stars of the game: #1- Tommy Farr