Aftn intense and unusually long preseason, the Knights have shown that their hard work has paid off by securing a MIAC best 8-0-1 overall record thus far. Although graduating key players from last year’s team, Thomas Ashton and Peter Grassman, along without having injury-plagued Robert Carlton ’10 able to play, the Knights have proven themselves up to the task of defending their MIAC crown. Some highlights from their early season victories include their 1-0 victory over regional rival University of Wisconsin-Platteville, their inspiring overtime victory over the St. John’s, and their recent 5-1 thrashing of No. 21 St. Thomas. Furthermore, the Knights’ idealistic freshman class has proven their mettle in battle several times, with goals by the elusive Ryan Cammarota and the coolly clinical finishes of Tim Wills. Without a doubt, the Knights’ most impressive victory thus far was their utter dismantlement of the much-hated St. Thomas squad. While last year’s match ended in a double overtime draw, the Knight’s were quick to bury the bone in the first half with goals by the intrepid Brett Adelman ’10 and Paul “the Powerhouse” Pedtke ’09. Pedtke, keen to avenge a cowardly tackle in last year’s match-up against St. Thomas which left him with a debilitating concussion, also found the back of the net in the second half on a rebound off the opposing keeper. Though leading 3-1, the Knights were not satisfied with their two-goal advantage and promptly upped it to four with goals by the gravity-defying Jack Boller ’09 and Ross “the Beast” Hamilton ’10. Pete Semmer ’11, a mainstay in the Knights’ nearly impenetrable defense, made 6 key saves and kept the Tommies out of the game with his booming punts and goal kicks. Other players of note were Brian TenHoor ‘09 and Bobby Phillips ’09, who ran the St. Thomas defense into the ground with trelentless attacks on goal and managed to pick up a few assists along the way. Furthermore, the substitutes put in the second half also proved themselves up to the challenge, with Jerry McIntyre ’11 posting a shutout between the pipes and Kyle Burkhardt ’10 leading the defense. Despite this impressive victory, the Knights will need to be at the top of their game as they travel to Gustavus Adolphus on Saturday for what already has the makings of an epic battle of MIAC titans.