The Hamilton College Continentals take on the University of New England Nor'easters in the first round of the 2025 NCAA Division III Men's Hockey Championship at UNE's Harold Alfond Forum in Biddeford, Maine, on Saturday, March 15 at 7 p.m.
 
Hamilton has won the only two meetings between the teams, but they haven't played since January 2011 when the Nor'easters were members of the ECAC East.
 
Saturday's winner moves on to face Curry College in the quarterfinals on Saturday, March 22. Curry has an overall record of 24-3-0 and has won 16 straight games.
 
Here's a glance at both teams heading into Saturday night's matchup.
 
Records
Hamilton: 20-6-1 (13-4-1 in New England Small College Athletic Conference, first place)
UNE: 18-7-1 overall (14-4-0 in Conference of New England, second place)
 
Rankings
Hamilton: No. 8 in March 10 USCHO.com Division III Top 15 poll and No. 9 in March 9 NCAA Power Index
UNE: No. 9 in March 10 USCHO.com Division III Top 15 poll and No. 8 in March 9 NCAA Power Index
 
How They Got Here
Hamilton: Automatic bid for winning the NESCAC Championship
UNE: At-large bid after losing in the Conference of New England Championship semifinals
 
NCAA History
Hamilton: Second appearance, 1-1 record in NCAA Championship
UNE: Fifth appearance, 5-4 record in NCAA Championship
 
Head Coaches
Hamilton: Rob Haberbusch, 13th season, 162-129-38 record
UNE: Kevin Swallow, 10th season at UNE, 171-62-21 record (226-82-28 overall)
 
Team Stats
Hamilton: 3.8 goals/game; 37.5 shots/game; 23.7% PP pct. (23-97); 77.0% PK pct. (17-74); 6.8 PIM/game; 54.7% faceoff win pct.
UNE: 4.2 goals/game; 33.4 shots/game; 30.8% PP pct. (24-78); 88.9% PK pct. (10-90); 10.4 PIM/game; 55.8% faceoff win pct.
 
Individual Stat Leaders
Hamilton: Luke Tchor '27 (F, 5-10, 180, 16G-17A-33P); Jackson Krock '26 (F, 5-11, 188, 14G-14A-28P); Devon de Vries '27 (F, 5-11, 175, 7G-16A-23P); Nick Kent '27 (D, 5-11, 205, 4G-19A-23P)
UNE: Drew Olivieri (So., F, 6-0, 175, 11G-24A-35P); Ryan Kuzmich (Sr., F, 6-1, 200, 20G-14A-34P); Dominic Murphy (So., F, 6-0, 195, 16G-18A-34P); Juraj Elias (Jr., F, 6-4, 230, 7G-12A-19P)
 
The Goaltenders
Hamilton: Charlie Archer '25 (6-0, 206, 20 starts, 16-3-1 record, 1.37 GAA, .943 save pct., 5 shutouts)
UNE: Joey Stanizzi (Sr., 5-11, 205, 14 starts, 9-4-0 record, 2.44 GAA, .917 save pct., 4 shutouts) or Stefan Carney (Fy., 6-0, 185, 12 starts, 9-3-1 record, 1.83 GAA, .926 save pct., 3 shutouts)
 
Notes
Hamilton captured its first NESCAC title with a 3-0 win against Tufts University in the conference final on March 9. … Left wing Luke Tchor '27 was selected the NESCAC Player of the Year and goaltender Charlie Archer '25 was named the NESCAC Defensive Player of the Year. … Rob Haberbusch was voted NESCAC Coach of the Year. … Tchor, Archer, center Jackson Krock '26, and defensemen James Philpott '25 and Nick Kent '27 all made the all-NESCAC first team. … The Continentals are 2-0 in Maine this season. … UNE advanced to the NCAA semifinals in 2022 and 2023. … Sophomore forward Dominic Murphy and junior defenseman Chip Hamlett made the all-CNE first team, and senior forward Ryan Kuzmich and sophomore forward Drew Olivieri were on the second team. … Junior defenseman Kevin O'Keefe was placed on the third team. … The Nor'easters are 1-6-1 against ranked teams. … UNE lost 4-3 at Colby College in the Nor'easters' only game against a NESCAC team this season.