Cortland N.Y – What started in excitement ended in shock as Cortland fell to Plattsburgh in overtime on the ice at Alumni Arena Saturday night. The loss marks the end of the road for this year’s Red Dragon team.
Cortland worked its way to a 3-0 lead and held it up until midway through the third period but the Cardinals were able to battle back and make the game interesting with a pair of goals scored in just two minutes’ time.
Plattsburgh was forced to pull their goalie with around a minute to go and were able to find the equalizing goal with only four seconds left in the game to force the golden goal overtime. The bad news would continue for Cortland as a turnover in their defensive zone led to the game winning goal for Plattsburgh a mere 20 seconds into the overtime period.
Despite the loss the season the Red Dragons can still hang their hat on their first regular season conference title in their history and a season that tied the program record for most wins in a single season at 19.
“We achieved some things that haven’t been done here before this season and there’s pride to take in that,” said Nick Harper, assistant coach for the Red Dragons. “The direction we have been going in the past few seasons is something to be really proud of.”
Cortland has seen the program rise to a national level over the past several seasons and was ranked within the top 15 for a majority of this season. At the time of their final defeat Cortland was ranked #12 by the United States College Hockey Organization and #11 by DIII Hockey News.
Cortland made their first appearance in the NCAA tournament last year after winning the SUNYAC tournament and earning an automatic bid. For many of the Seniors on this year’s team that playoff berth is a cherished memory.
“It’s the type of moment you can’t forget no matter how it played out for us in the end,” said Anthony Bernardo, a senior for the Red Dragons. “That’s a big moment in our history and to me really shows that we deserve respect on the national level.”
Cortland looked to earn that respect this season with their out of conference schedule featuring four games against preseason ranked teams. Cortland posted a 2-2 record in those ranked matchups and were able to make the case that last year’s success was not a fluke.
“I think we proved what we are capable of and showed there’s a lot left on the table for us,” Said Domenic Settimo, a senior and team captain for Cortland. “The schedule this year proved we can compete with anyone, anywhere and it gives the young core of the team a lot of experience for them to build with.”
That underclass group of Red Dragons consists of nine freshman and five sophomores who will look to fill some of the shoes being left by the five graduating members of the team. They currently make up over half the teams roster with there being 14 underclassmen to the 12 upperclassmen.
The challenge for Cortland next year will be continuing the trends that have been built over the past two seasons without the core of players who contributed the most to the rise of the program.
“We went through that process last year and we were able to come out of last season with the lessons we learned and build off that success,” said Settimo. “Players come and go but you always remember what you achieved, the core of guys we have right now will be able to build on this year with what they learned from it and run with it.”
Cortland ended the season with a 19-7 overall record and a 12-2 record within conference play. The Red Dragons also earned SUNYAC awards for co-players of the year with forward Nate Berke and goaltender Ronan Mobley earning that honor as well as the coaching staff earning co-coaching staff of the year.