The SUNYAC tournament is here, the Red Dragons will host Buffalo State on Wednesday night. Cortland will look to build off their semi-finals appearance last season.
The Red Dragons Men’s Hockey have completed yet another historic regular season, having won a record-breaking eleven conference games, surpassing the record they set just last year. Cortland will host the Buffalo State Bengals at Alumni Arena on Wednesday in the opening round of the SUNYAC conference playoffs.
Head coach Joe Cardarelli is in a favorable position, having just played Buffalo State on Saturday, the team has plenty of film to work with leading up to the rematch.
“We will be able to adjust on Monday and Tuesday with whatever we see that works and doesn’t work on Saturday,” Cardarelli said.
After playing two games the weekend before this matchup, Cardarelli emphasized how important it is keeping players both mentally and physically healthy for the upcoming rigors of the playoffs. He values the culture that this team has, and knows that it contributes to success.
“When you like the guys that you are sharing a locker room with and you live with them and there are no clicks, everyone gets along,” said Cardarelli. “I think you are willing to work a little bit harder for that individually.”
Cortland hosted Fredonia on Friday, beating them 8-1, in a matchup that allowed The Red Dragons to clinch home field advantage in the upcoming tournament. Junior Nate Burke and freshmen Colby Seitz each scored two goals and Sophomore Dominic Settimo recorded one goal and four assists in the matchup.
Back in December, the Red Dragons took a road trip to Buffalo to play their final game before winter break. They took a loss to Buffalo State by a score of 4-2. This time around, after starting the game down 0-1, Cortland was able to score three unanswered goals and defeated the Bengals on Saturday.
Assistant coach Nick Harper believes that this crew is well prepared for the highly competitive tournament.
“We have shown that we can compete with any team in our conference, either at home or on the road,” said Harper. “The guys have been working hard and preparing for this since they stepped on campus in August.”
As for the SUNYAC tournament bracket, #1 Oswego and #2 Plattsburgh have earned a bye and will wait for the results of the first round to determine who they will face. In the first round, #3 Geneseo will be hosting #6 Fredonia and #5 Buffalo State will be traveling to Alumni Arena to face #4 Cortland.
The semi-finals will be held on Saturday, February 25th and the final will be played on Saturday, March 4th.
After falling to Oswego State in the semifinals last season, The Red Dragons have set the bar much higher. This team is determined to make it to the SUNYAC championship. But this achievement is just mere stepping stones for coach Cardarelli. He said it best himself.
“If we can do that, then we are one of twelve teams in the country fighting for a national title in single elimination, why not us?”