University of New England men's hockey player Noah Szretter keeps his eyes on the puck during practice Thursday. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Portland Press Herald

The University of New England men’s hockey team knows the roller coaster ride that the NCAA Division III tournament can provide.

The Nor’easters (18-7-1), ranked ninth in the United States College Hockey Online poll, went to consecutive Frozen Fours in 2022 and 2023 but missed out on the NCAA tournament last season.

They are back this season, having received an at-large bid, and will host No. 8 Hamilton (20-6-1) in a first-round game at 7 p.m. Saturday.

“We’ve battled adversity in this tournament,” senior forward Anthony Sciucco said. “We’ve had games where we’ve been up and we’ve (gone) down and we’ve (come) back. So, just really sticking to the process there.”

The ups and downs were certainly present in a 2023 semifinal against Adrian, a team from Michigan that beat UNE 8-7 in overtime.

UNE led 5-2 midway through the second period before Adrian scored four straight goals to take a 6-5 lead midway through the third. UNE promptly scored two goals in a 51-second span to surge ahead and was 69 seconds away from reaching its first national championship game, but Adrian was able to force overtime.

“It was, without a doubt, the craziest game I’ve ever been a part of,” junior defenseman Chip Hamlett said. “The highs were incredible, and the lows were heartbreaking. But, you know, to have so many guys on this team that are battle-tested with that experience, I think, is going to be a key contributor in taking us a long way here.”

Nor’easters coach Kevin Swallow did take a positive from the loss against a team that went on to win the national championship. He said it showed UNE could “play with anyone in the country.”

The current UNE squad features 15 holdovers from the 2022-23 team — including Ryan Kuzmich, Jayden Price, Anthony Sciucco and Noah Szretter, who each recorded 10 or more points two years ago, as well as this season.

Those returners took cues from the upperclassmen two years ago and are sharing their tournament experience with the current freshmen and sophomores.

Kevin O’Keefe chases a loose puck during a University of New England men’s hockey practice Thursday. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Portland Press Herald

“We’re just telling every guy to enjoy every moment of it. Every day is a new opportunity to come to the rink that a lot of teams don’t get, so that’s awesome,” Sciucco said.

Swallow said there are similarities between this season’s team and the 2023 postseason run.

“I look back to two years ago, we lost the same exact scenario,” Swallow said. “We lost in the conference semifinals, and it really just did not sit well with our group. It really lit a fire under us. … I think a lot of guys think we have unfinished business.”

The Nor’easters earned an at-large bid to this year’s tournament after losing 4-3 in overtime to Endicott in the Conference of New England semifinals on March 1.

Swallow said a tough nonconference schedule paid off. The Nor’easters faced three other NCAA tournament teams in Curry, Utica and Oswego. UNE also went to New York in January and won Plattsburgh State’s Comfort Inn Winter Classic. They defeated Wilkes, then No. 10 in the country, and Plattsburgh in the championship game.

UNE is 4-3-1 in nonconference games.

“We played teams like Utica and Plymouth and Wilkes, all in the top 20,” Hamlett said. “Obviously, in our conference, we have Curry and Endicott as well. And those are all top-20 teams. And to be able to perform well against them has prepared us really well for the team we’re going to be facing in the tournament.”