The Red Dragons came up short of expectations in the first round of the SUNYAC tournament following a near comeback during the loss to Buffalo State on Wednesday.
The Cortland men’s hockey season has come to a close. The Red Dragons lost to the Buffalo State Bengals on Wednesday in the opening round of the SUNYAC tournament by a score of 3-2. Ending their season at 16-9-1, their second-highest win total is school history, and finishing as the fourth seed in the SUNYAC.
Buffalo State gained momentum very quickly. Less than twenty seconds into the first period, Buffalo State freshman Aidan LaValley took advantage of a shot that rebounded off the back wall, allowing him to take an open shot which gave the Bengals their first goal of the game. Bengals sophomore Jared Figueroa also scored in the first period, freeing himself on a takeaway and sending the puck into the top left portion of the net. Their third and final goal came from junior Nikita Kozyrev, who added another shot to the left corner which gave Buffalo State a 3-0 lead in the opening minute of the second period.
The Red Dragons rallied late, but the Bengals held on defensively. Twelve minutes into the third period, freshman Colby Seitz scored the first goal of the game for Cortland by splitting two defenders and sending a shot towards the top of the opposing net. The Red Dragons’ second and final goal of the game came from sophomore Anthony Bernardo, giving the team a chance to tie the game with less than four minutes remaining on the clock. Bernardo was given the opportunity to score off of a rebounded shot from junior John Khul, which gave the sophomore enough space to net the open goal.
Down 3-2, with only two minutes remaining in the game, the Red Dragons were forced to pull Durante to add an additional skater to help tie up this matchup. They had a few opportunities but in the end, Cortland could not get it done.
Buffalo State will now advance to the second round of the tournament to play Oswego on Saturday. The winner of that game will face whoever comes up victorious in Geneseo’s matchup against Plattsburgh to compete for the rights to play in the SUNYAC final.
The final will be played on March 4, and will be hosted by the highest seed remaining after the conclusion of the second round.
Following the game, four Cortland players were named to the 2023 SUNYAC men’s ice hockey all-conference team. Sophomore forward Domenic Settimo received first team honors. Settimo, who led the team in goals with 15 and finished third in assists with 14, will look to continue his success next season and beyond for the Red Dragons.
Junior Nate Burke was selected to the second team and Durante and Nick Grupp, both seniors, were selected to the third team. Seitz was named to the All-Rookie team, scoring 8 goals and contributing 15 assists in his first season for the Red Dragons.
Despite the disappointing ending, the Red Dragons will take pride in their accomplishments as the season comes to a close. The team can look forward to building on the success of their talented young players this season and continue to work towards their ultimate goal of winning the SUNYAC next year.