ROCHESTER, Minn. – Two Grizzlies were honored with monthly awards following the conclusion of the regular season with third-year Grizzlies’ forward Matt DeRosa being named NA3HL Forward of the Month and Shane Soderwall earning the NA3HL Goaltender of the Month honor.
DeRosa, 19, was named the NA3HL’s Central Division of the Month in March, and the Alphretta, GA, native continued his strong play. With nine goals and five assists in seven games, DeRosa averaged two-points-per-game in the final month of the Grizzlies’ regular season. Rochester capped off the regular season on a twelve-game win streak and it’s thanks in large part to the play of DeRosa.
Not to be overlooked, goaltender Shane Soderwall’s play in March also garnered attention, netting him the NA3HL’s Goaltender of the Month. Soderwall was nothing short of a “wall” for the Grizzlies in net this last month, stopping 107 of the 113 shots he saw, with three of those goals-against coming in one game but a game the Grizzlies prevailed in nonetheless. Soderwall, 18, not only had himself a strong month, but he also finished the regular season in the NA3HL ranked as the top-goaltender in goal-against-average and shutouts. The Algonquin, IL, native finished the 2020-21 campaign with a record of 19-2-0-0 and heads into the playoffs as one of the hottest netminders in all of junior hockey.
Up next for DeRosa and Soderwall, they, along with their Grizzlies teammates, take on the Oregon Tradesmen for the first round of the Fraser Cup Playoffs. For DeRosa, this is familiar territory having been with the Grizzles for the past three seasons and playing in the Grizzlies inaugural playoff series back in 2018-19. For Soderwall, and most of the Grizzlies, this is new grounds as the team didn’t compete in the playoffs last season due to the NA3HL’s cancellation of the postseason due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Game 1 between the Grizzlies and Tradesmen comes Friday night at the Rochester Rec Center with Game 2 scheduled for Saturday, also in Rochester. The teams will meet for a Game 3, if necessary, on Sunday at Oregon’s home rink. Tickets for the Friday and Saturday night game are available now at the Grizzlies website by visiting www.rochestergrizz.com/single-tickets.