November 1, 2009
Glastonbury, CT
The SUNY Cortland roller hockey club began their second season of conference play this past weekend in Glastonbury, CT with three league games. Looking to pick up where they left off last season, Cortland was matched up against Ithaca in the season opener. The Red Dragons dominated play from the start, getting four goals from Tommy Farr and another from Sean Glynn - and that was just in the first period. Michael Barbariantz (2G) and Harris Barton combined to score three goals in the second to take an 8-0 lead over the Bombers going into the third. Miguel Valle and Bryan Buchalski each added a short-handed goal to finish off the scoring as Cortland rolled, 10-0. Dan Titterton added four assists and Lou Vetri made 23 saves in net in the win.
Game two pitted Cortland against UMass - Amherst. Cortland’s Chris Poplarski started the scoring with a short-handed goal in the first period, but the score would be tied at 1 after the first. In the second, UM-A scored two power-play goals and another even strength goal to take a 4-2 lead after the second. Cortland would rally in the third, getting goals from Miguel Valle and Poplarski to tie the game at 4. UM-A took a 5-4 lead late in the period, but Cortland responded and Poplarski finished off the hat-trick with another short-handed goal. Final score: Cortland 5, UMass - Amherst 5.
In the third and final game of the weekend, Cortland got all of their scoring done in the first period behind two goals from Tommy Farr and another from Brendan Joyce. Northeastern fought back in the second, scoring three goals of their own and tying the score for the final period. In the third, Cortland received stellar goaltending from Bryan Buchalski (24 saves) and the Red Dragons managed a 3-3 tie against the Huskies.
After the weekend, Cortland owns a 1-0-2 record, good enough for 4 points and a fourth place standing in the nine team league. The club will continue league play after the winter break. Check back soon for updates and results!
