The Hamilton College men's hockey team played visiting Trinity College to a 2-2 overtime tie in front of a sellout crowd at Russell Sage Rink in a match-up of two nationally ranked NESCAC teams Friday night. The Continentals (12-2-3 overall, 6-2-3 NESCAC) are ranked eighth by USCHO.com and 10th by D3hockey.com; the Bantams (10-5-2 overall, 6-4-1 NESCAC) are 14th in the USCHO.com poll and 15th in D3hockey.com's ranking.

The Continentals remain atop the NESCAC standings after holding the nation's eighth-ranked offense to less than half their average scoring output.

Evan Buitenhuis '18 made 43 saves for Hamilton; four of his six highest single-game save totals have come against the Bantams. He stopped 19 shots in the final 25 minutes.

Ian Nichols '19 and Rory Gagnon '19 scored Hamilton's goals. Nichols tied the game midway through the second with his second goal of the year and Gagnon gave the Continentals their first lead 6:13 into the third period.

After the visitors took a 1-0 lead 8:34 into the second period, Hamilton took advantage of a delayed penalty to tie the score. Nichols sent the puck from one side of the Trinity blue line to Brad Smelstor '17 at the other side, then cut to the net. Smelstor sent the puck to Neil Conway '18 below the left circle and Nichols took Conway's pass between the circles and beat Trinity goaltender Alex Morin with a wrist shot. Conway's 12 assists are second-best on the team.

Gagnon notched a power-play goal to put the hosts up 2-1. Brandon Willett '18 won a faceoff in the Trinity end and played the puck behind the left circle, where Jon Carkeek '17 one-timed a pass to Gagnon at the other circle.

Carkeek's assist was his team-leading 13th of the season. He ranks 10th nationally among defensemen.

Trinity capitalized on a turnover to tie the score with 5:12 left in the third period. Ethan Holdaway sent the puck in front of the Hamilton net where it was collected by a Continental defender whose clearing attempt was intercepted by Holdaway; Holdaway turned and put his fifth goal of the season into the net.

Will Sleeper opened the scoring for Trinity, scoring his second goal of the year on a wrist shot. T.J. Sherman started the play by bringing the puck up the ice and passing it to Barclay Gammill, who dropped the puck for Sleeper between the circles.

Morin preserved the tie with a kick save of a Willett shot in overtime and finished with 37 stops.

Sleeper's goal followed a scoreless opening period. The Continentals peppered Morin with 12 shots in the first 10 minutes before Trinity outshot the hosts 13-2 the rest of the period. Morin made a fantastic save of a backhand shot off the stick of Hamilton's Jason Brochu '19. The Bantams' best scoring opportunity in the opening period came when Ross Mandigo stole a pass below the faceoff circle and fired a quick wrist shot that Hamilton's Sam Jones '20 blocked.

The teams traded stellar scoring chances late in the second with the score tied. First Morin saved a shot by Nick Ursitti '20 and wound up on his back; the puck was loose at the left post but the Continentals couldn't get a stick on the rebound. Trinity moved up ice and Buitenhuis stopped Ryan Pfeffer with a sprawling save.

The Continentals conclude their weekend series with a 3 p.m. game against visiting Wesleyan University Saturday at Sage Rink.