Cortland Men’s Hockey kicked off their run in the SUNYAC playoffs on Wednesday in a matchup with Brockport at Park Center in Cortland, New York. Families and fans packed into the arena as both teams prepared for the most important games of their season.
Cortland entered the game as the number four seed within the SUNYAC Playoffs, 15-8-2 on the season. Brockport entered the game as the number five seed with an 8-13-4 record.
The first period saw a back-and-forth battle, with a complete lack of scoring for the first fifteen minutes. The puck was continuously moving up and down the ice, with neither team able to create much space for each other offensively. Towards the end of the first period, Cortland began to apply pressure on Brockport’s defense. Forward Stephen Kyrkostas scored Cortland’s first goal with 4:16 left in the first period, and the period ended with seventeen shots on goal for Cortland and nine shots on goal for Brockport.
The second period saw Cortland take control of the momentum. With 17:19 left in the second, Anthony Bernardo scored his eighth goal of the season. At the end of the second period, Cortland scored two more goals, the first by Nate Berke and the second by Evan Beaudry. At the end of the second, the Red Dragons led Brockport with a dominating 4-0 score, with twenty-nine shots on goal for Cortland compared to Brockport’s nineteen.
“Going into the locker room after the second period, the team was feeling good and positive,” said Forward Nate Berke. “I think everyone was able to relax and calm the playoff nerves once we had a solid lead. We all mostly stayed focused on the game and figuring out how to close this game strong.”
Schuyler Flansburg scored the first and only goal of the night for Brockport with nine minutes to go in the third period. This was followed up by a fifth goal for Cortland, which came with 2:37 left in the period. Nate Berke was credited with the goal, which was his second of the night and fourteenth of the season.
“I just tried to simplify my game going into the playoffs, try and play calm and not overthink too much”, said Cortland Goalie Jack Riedell after the game.
In the 5-1 victory for the Red Dragons, Cortland finished the game with thirty-five shots on goal and thirty-two saves for goalie Jack Riedell, and Brockport finished with thirty-three shots on goal and thirty saves for goalie Dylan Weimer.
“At the end of the day it’s just another hockey game and that’s the mentality I have been trying to approach the game with”, said Riedell. “The team around me makes that much easier, I love playing behind those guys.”
Cortland will head to Geneseo, New York on Saturday evening to face the Knights in the SUNYAC semifinals. Plattsburgh will head to Oswego at the same time, with the winners of each game going on to face each other in the finals next weekend.