UTICA, N.Y. – Hamilton College's Justin Biraben '27 and Noah Leibl '27 scored two goals apiece and the Continentals posted a 6-3 win against the Aurora University Spartans in a 2026 NCAA Division III Men's Hockey Championship semifinal inside Adirondack Bank Center at the Utica Memorial Auditorium on Friday afternoon, March 27.
 

Season Update

• Nationally ranked No. 6 Hamilton (22-5-2 overall) won its third straight game and has scored six goals twice during that span. The Continentals are the first Hamilton team to reach a national final since women's lacrosse in 2010.
• No. 4 Aurora (25-6-1), which went 13-4-1 in the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association, had won seven of its previous eight games coming into Friday's contest.

 

How It Happened

• The Spartans had the first five shots on goal but the Continentals drew a tripping penalty on Aurora 4:39 into the first and flipped the script. Just 24 seconds into the power play, defenseman John Wojciechowski '28 sent a pass from the high slot to Luke Tchor '27 in the right circle, and Tchor blasted a one-timer from the faceoff dot past goaltender Matt O'Donnell.
• Hamilton made it a two-goal advantage with 5:43 left in the first. Alex Danis '26 forced a turnover below the goal line in the Spartans' defensive end and eventually the puck ended up on the stick of Michael Gallary '28. Gallary's shot from the high slot was tipped in front by Leibl from close range.
• Aurora intended to quickly cut into the Continentals' lead coming out of the first intermission, and Lukas Sedlacek sliced it in half with his goal 4:04 into the second period.
• It took almost exactly nine minutes, but Hamilton eventually restored its two-goal lead. Wojciechowski stopped a shot attempt and immediately made a long pass up the middle of the ice past the red line to Biraben, who had snuck behind the defense. He skated in 1-on-1 with O'Donnell and scored on a wrister from the slot through O'Donnell's five-hole.
• Ben Zimmerman '26 notched a huge goal for the Continentals with 4:19 remaining in the second. Zimmerman created a turnover in the Spartans' defensive zone and Max Bulawka '26 hammered a shot from the left circle. The rebound kicked out to Zimmerman and he put the puck in the back of the net on a shot from the bottom of the right circle before O'Donnell could recover. Hamilton had 13 shots on goal in the middle period.
• With its backs against the wall, Aurora threw everything they had at the Continentals in the third period. Jakson Kirk scored 6:54 into the period and Landry Schmuck's goal 54 seconds later pulled the Spartans within a goal at 4-3.
• Aurora thought it had tied the score with 4:42 to go, but the goal was disallowed after a lengthy video review. The Spartans pulled O'Donnell for a sixth skater with 2:49 left before Aurora took a faceoff violation penalty 16 seconds later.
• O'Donnell left the ice again with 2:14 remaining, but now it was just 5-on-5 due to the penalty on the Spartans. Biraben scored on the empty net from the blue line near the left-side boards with 1:35 to go, and Leibl sealed the national final appearance with a breakaway empty-net tally with 2.7 seconds left. Aurora put 18 shots on net in the third.

 

Notes

• Biraben added an assist and finished with three points. It was his second three-point game in the last seven. Biraben has 10 goals in 2025-26.
• Leibl registered his third multi-goal game this season and has 11 total.
• Tchor scored his team-leading 17^th goal and became the 27^th player in Hamilton team history with 100 career points. He's just the third Continental in the last 20 years to reach the milestone.
• Zimmerman scored his first goal since Feb. 13 and his fourth this season.
• Aksel Reid '27 made a career-high 35 saves, including 16 in the third period.
• Bulawka registered two assists and won 13-of-23 faceoffs. He has seven points in five postseason games this season.
• Wojciechowski chipped in two helpers and three blocked shots. He has 21 assists this season and 10 in the last six games.
• Gallary, who is a defenseman, picked up two assists for his second career multi-assist game.
• Devon de Vries '27 collected his team-high 25^th assist.
• Jackson Krock '26, who scored the overtime game winner against Norwich University in the quarterfinals, contributed his 42^nd career assist.
• Hamilton scored on both of its power-play chances and is 30-for-120 (25 percent) this season.
• The Continentals set a team record with their 22^nd win this season.
• Hamilton is 3-0 this season in the Adirondack Bank Center. The Continentals defeated Utica University and SUNY Morrisville in a tournament in late November.
• Hamilton and Aurora had never played each other before Friday.

 

Next Game

The Continentals take on Hobart College (30-0-0) for the national title at the Adirondack Bank Center at 3 p.m. on Sunday, March 29. Hobart defeated University of Wisconsin-Stout 4-2 in the second semifinal Friday night.