The Hamilton College men’s hockey team has moved up the two Division III polls again after winning both of its NESCAC games this past weekend.
The Continentals are fifth with one first-place vote in the D3hockey.com Top 15 poll and are sixth in the USCHO.com Top 15 poll. Hamilton was previously ranked ninth in both polls.
The Continentals are 10-0-2 overall and 5-0-2 in conference play. Hamilton is the only remaining team in NCAA men’s and women’s hockey in Division I or III without a loss this season. The Continentals’ 12-game unbeaten streak is believed to be the longest in program history and it’s the longest current streak in Division III men’s hockey.
Hamilton leads Division III in scoring defense with 1.42 goals allowed per game. The Continentals average less than 11 penalty minutes so they don’t give opponents power-play chances too often but when they do they have killed 87.5 percent of them.
Brandon Willett ’18 was named the NESCAC Men’s Hockey Player of the Week on Monday for his role in Hamilton’s two wins during the weekend. Willett notched his first hat trick for the Continentals in Saturday’s 6-3 victory against Bowdoin College and picked up the primary assists on both goals in Friday’s 2-1 triumph against then-No. 14 Colby College.
Willett and Neil Conway ’18 are tied for seventh in the NESCAC with 13 points apiece, and Willett is tied for fourth with eight goals. Jon Carkeek ’17 is tied for fifth with nine assists and leads the conference in defenseman scoring with 12 points. Fellow defenseman Bennett Morrison ’20 is tied for 10th in freshman scoring with seven points.
Evan Buitenhuis ’18 is currently second in Division III with his .957 save percentage and is third with a 1.38 goals against average. Buitenhuis has started all seven NESCAC games this season and has a 1.26 goals against average and .960 save percentage with two shutouts in conference action.
