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With the exception of their victories in 2005 and 2006, the Pipers had not defeated St. Thomas in over 25 years. Hamline senior Jacob Helling drew first and last bloo with a goal at the 20:40 mark in the first half. Helling’s goal came thanks to an assist from Jason Engedal. The lone goal proved to be enough to stymie the Tommies for the remainder of the bout. Hamline, which has placed a greater emphasis on defense through out the past few weeks, was successfully shut down St. Thomas. This represented the Piper’s fourth straight defensive shutout of the season. Andrew Clement, Hamline’s junior goalkeeper, made two saves in the game that signified his 13th shut out of his short career.

Following their victory over St. Thomas, Hamline shot up to seventh in the West Region rankings.

It goes without saying that strong play from Helling has bolstered the Piper’s offense. One of the question marks going into the season, however, was the role inexperience would play. This is a young Piper squad. Based on the team’s performance thus far, it can be reasonably assumed the team has overcome this potentially injurious attribute.

“I think we have had solid play from our youth. Matt Warhol has played well. Jay Dubs [Jason Werthmann] has really stepped it up as well. Our team is exceeding my expectations,” said Clement.

Hamline’s game against St. Scholastica proved a success in virtually every category, except the final score. Hamline out-shot St. Scholastica 16-9 and held the advantage in shots on goal, 9-7. The game’s only goal, scored by St. Scholastica’s Nick Lister, didn’t come until the 80th minute of the match.

While the loss to St. Scholastica is not seen as a good thing for the team, it has yielded positive effects. The loss has served as motivation for the team to get better.

“Practice today was painful. We all went to get back out on the field and win,” said sophomore Jason Werthmann.
The loss also served as a reminder that the team must continue to improve.

“I definitely wasn’t happy that we loss but the situation reminds me of last year. We were playing well and everything was fine and we then we lost to Carleton,” said Andrew Clement, “It was really a rude awakening. It isn’t good to lose, but it helps to keep our head level. We know we have to keep getting better.”