Thirteen Hamilton College players registered at least one point and the Continentals posted a 5-1 NESCAC win against the Williams College Ephs at Hamilton's Russell Sage Rink on Saturday afternoon.

The Continentals (17-3-4, 11-3-4 NESCAC) clinched the No. 1 seed for the 2017 NESCAC Men's Hockey Championship for the second time. Hamilton also captured the top spot for the 2011 championship. The Continentals will host a quarterfinal on Saturday, Feb. 25 against Bowdoin College at 1 p.m.

Hamilton won its fifth straight game and has outscored its opponents 18-6 during that five-game stretch. The Continentals, who are second in NCAA Division III in scoring defense with 1.58 goals allowed per game, are ranked ninth in both the D3hockey.com and USCHO.com Division III Top 15 polls. Hamilton and Williams played to a 3-3 tie in Williamstown, Mass., back on Dec. 10.

Jon Stickel '19 came into the day with one point this season but scored a goal and added an assist against the Ephs. Evan Buitenhuis '18 made 23 saves and picked up his first career assist on a short-handed goal in the third period. Buitenhuis leads Division III with a .949 save percentage and is third with a 1.50 goals against average.

Alex Hagerty gave Williams (13-8-3, 10-5-3) an early 1-0 lead with his seventh goal. Buitenhuis got his glove on Hagerty's wrist shot from the faceoff dot in the right circle, but he couldn't squeeze the puck and it squirted out of his glove and into the goal at 5:40 of the first period. Colby Cretella and Wyatt Glover had the assists.

The Continentals broke the ice 3:24 into the second period. Jonny Stimola '19 took a wrist shot from the blue line above the right circle that caromed off Richard Court '19 into the high slot. Stickel got to the loose puck and beat goaltender Michael Pinios low to the glove side. Stimola's point was the first of his Hamilton career.

Nick Ursitti '20 put the Continentals ahead to stay with 5:25 left in the second. A Williams shot whistled past the goal and the puck bounced down the right-side boards until Neil Conway '18 finally caught up to it in Hamilton's offensive zone. Conway skated behind the Williams goal and sent a perfect pass from below the left circle through the low slot to a hard-charging Ursitti, who one-timed it into the back of the net from just outside the crease. Conway picked up his 16th assist and leads the team with 23 points.

The Continentals gave themselves a two-goal cushion at 2:12 of the third period on the first goal this season for Seamus O'Neill '17. Stickel gained possession of the puck near the center line along the right-side boards and carried it all the way behind the Ephs' goal. He fought off a check and his centering pass bounced over the side of the net to O'Neill, who scored from the bottom of the right circle just before he fell to the ice.

The score was still 3-1 when a Hamilton player was sent to the penalty box for interference with 7:08 remaining. Williams called its timeout but it didn't work as Truman Landowski '17 potted a short-handed goal with 14 seconds left in the penalty kill. Buitenhuis played the puck behind his goal to Blayne Oliver '20 on the right side. Oliver swept the puck ahead to Landowski and he skated with it from the Continentals' defensive zone all the way to the right circle in Hamilton's offensive zone where he unleashed a wicked wrist shot that beat Pinios (18 saves) low on his glove side with 5:22 to go for his sixth goal. It was the second short-handed goal this season for the Continentals.

Bennett Morrison '20 put the finishing touches on Hamilton's victory with his fifth goal with 3:33 left. Morrison's wrist shot from along the right-side boards above the circle found its way through traffic and settled in the back of the net. Conor Lamberti '17 collected his 11th assist and Ian Nichols '19 contributed his third.

The Ephs held a 24-23 edge in shots and they went 0-for-5 on the power play. The Continentals were held scoreless on four opportunities.