Sports
Buitenhuis ’18 named men’s hockey Player of the Year for dominant winter season
By Patrick Malin ’18
March 30, 2017
Tags sports
Goaltender Evan Buitenhuis ’18 was selected as the winner of the Sid Watson Award, designating the Division III Men’s Hockey Player of the Year. The award is selected by the American Hockey Coaches Association. Buitenhuis is the first Hamilton player to ever receive the accolade. In addition to being selected player of the year, the Burlington, Ontario, Canada native was chosen to the Men’s Hockey Division III All-America Team. These accomplishments cap off a season for Buitenhuis where he was named 2017 NESCAC Player of the Year at the conclusion of the regular season.
Buitenhuis led the Continentals to one of their most successful seasons in program history. Hamilton finished the season with a record of 20-5-4, including an NCAA Tournament appearance. In the first round of the Division III NCAA tournament, Buitenhuis held SUNY-Oswego to one goal, making 34 saves in the historic victory.
Buitenhuis had a dominant season between the pipes for the Continentals this season, and was the key to the immense regular and postseason success of the team. Buitenhuis finished the season fourth in Division III hockey with a .941 save percentage. The junior goaltender was the king of consistency all season, logging 1,581 minutes in net during the 2016-17 campaign. He posted an impressive 1.78 goals against average, starting in all but three of the Continentals’ 29 games this season. In 24 of his 26 starts, Buitenhuis allowed fewer than three goals.
Buitenhuis has been putting up excellent numbers throughout his career for Hamilton, and his improvement has had clear impact on the team as a whole. During his freshman season, the Continentals finished in sixth in the NESCAC. The following year, Hamilton earned a home playoff game with a fourth place finish in one of the toughest conferences in collegiate hockey. This season, Buitenhuis anchored the dominant Hamilton back-line that progressed to the team’s first NESCAC championship appearance. Buitenhuis holds a 1.77 goals against average and a .942 save percentage in 53 career starts, tallying 1,550 career saves to claim fifth place on the Hamilton all-time list.
With one year remaining at Hamilton, Buitenhuis will hope to become the first Sid Watson award winner to repeat as player of the year. The Continentals will return many of their top scorers, defenders, and playmakers from this season’s NCAA tournament team. Topping a player of the year season is no easy task, but Buitenhuis has worked tirelessly to improve throughout his career and has the potential to solidify his position as one of Hamilton’s greatest student-athletes with another strong season in 2017-18.