SUNY - Cortland Women's Ice Hockey

Rick Filighera enters his 10th year as Cortland's women's ice hockey head coach in 2025-26. Filighera led Cortland to a 17-5-4 record in 2024-25, guiding the Red Dragons to their sixth consecutive conference tournament berth and an appearance in the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) semifinals. For the season, Cortland allowed just 30 goals over 26 games for a 1.14 goals-against average, the fewest goals allowed and lowest goals-against average in a season in program history. Seven Red Dragons earned conference postseason honors, including defenseman Ainsley Delacourt winning SUNYAC Defensive Player of the Year honors. In the 2023-24 season, Filighera led the Red Dragons to the program’s first-ever conference title and NCAA Division III Tournament appearance. Cortland was second in the SUNYAC regular season before defeating Oswego in the semifinals and winning in overtime at Plattsburgh in the finals, breaking the Cardinals’ streak of 10 straight seasons with a conference title. Cortland tied for ninth nationally after losing a tight contest to eventual national runner-up Elmira in the NCAA first round. The Red Dragons finished the season 20-6-2 to tie the school wins record. Filighera also led Cortland to four Northeast Women’s Hockey League (NEWHL) playoff appearances in four seasons from 2018-23 (the 2020-21 season was canceled). His 2022-23 squad finished 20-7-0 to set the school victories record. The Red Dragons were NEWHL tournament runners-up in 2019, 2022 and 2023. Filighera was recognized twice by the NEWHL. He was the league’s Coach of the Year in 2018-19 and he and his assistants were the NEWHL Coaching Staff of the Year in 2021-22. In eight seasons at Cortland, Filighera has fashioned an overall record of 115-79-15, and he has a total of 225 NCAA coaching victories over 17 years. Filighera joined the Red Dragons with an extensive coaching background having served as the girls’ ice hockey head coach at Gilmour Academy in Gates Mills, Ohio, for 12 years. Prior to the Gilmour Academy, he was hired as the inaugural women’s ice hockey head coach at Division I University of Maine in 1997 and led the squad through the 2003-04 season. He was nominated for the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC) Coach of the Year during his first season behind the bench and finished as the runner-up for Hockey East Coach of the Year in his final campaign. Previously, Filighera held his first collegiate head coaching position with the Rochester Institute of Technology women’s ice hockey team from 1995-97. He helped guide the program to a pair of ECAC playoff semifinal appearances, including a runner-up finish in 1996. He began his career as an assistant coach at Brockport (N.Y.) High School and eventually assumed the head coaching position from 1993-95. Throughout his career, Filighera has attended multiple clinics and mentored at several regional and national ice hockey camps. He also served as the head coach of the Gilmour Gladiators, a girls’ U14 Tier 2 team, from 2014-16, guiding the team to a Mid AM District title and quarterfinal appearance at the USA Tier 2 Nationals in Lansing, Mich., in 2015. A native of Buffalo, N.Y., Filighera received a bachelor’s degree in physical education from Brockport in 1991 and earned his master’s degree in educational leadership at Maine in 2004. He and his wife, Palma, have two children, Kyra and Griffon. (updated 6/10/2025)

Utter begins his ninth season as Cortland's women's ice hockey head coach in the 2015-16 season. He led the team to its first ECAC West playoff appearance during the 2014-15 season. Utter was named the program's head coach in June of 2007 after a highly successful run as the mens ice hockey coach at Morrisville State from 1997-2007. He compiled an overall record of 177-60-13 at Morrisville and led the program in its transition from the junior college to NCAA Division III ranks. He guided the Mustangs to four National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) national titles, including three straight from 2004-06 and four in five years, and was named the NJCAA National Coach of the Year three times. Utter was also chosen as the Eastern Junior College Hockey League (EJCHL) Coach of the Year on three occasions. His players earned 11 All-America honors along with numerous all-league and all-region awards. Off the ice, his players earned 10 NJCAA Academic All-America and Academic All-Region honors. He was inducted into Morrisville's Wall of Fame in 2015. Prior to Morrisville, Utter spent two seasons as a volunteer assistant coach at Division I Cornell University. He has also coached in the North American Hockey League and at the high school and midget levels. In the summer, Utter has worked for USA Hockey as an instructor at National Player Development camps and as a lecturer in the USA Hockey Coaching Development programs. He has worked with coaching staffs of two Under-22 national womens teams. Utter earned a bachelors degree from SUNY Brockport and a masters degree from Western Michigan University.