ROCHESTER,MN- The 2021-22 North American 3 Hockey League regular season is right around the corner for the Rochester Grizzlies. Friday night’s preseason game offered a glimpse of what the team would look like without perennial stars Peyton Hart, Matt DeRosa, and Shane Soderwall just to name a few. Facing off against Waldorf University, an ACHA D-I club team, the new-look Grizzlies came away with a 5-0 victory on home ice.
TJ Norris, who played four games with Rochester last year, opened the scoring early in the first period for the home team. Later on in the first, newcomer Kyle Bauer from Hastings, MN made it 2-0 for the Grizzlies. The Grizzlies received second period goals from second-year forward Kyle Brown and rookie defenseman Matthew Shaw. Another second-year forward, Justin Wright, added a third period tally for the home team. Zach Wiese stopped 14 shots while rookie goalie Kaleb Bents stopped nine in about a period and a half worth of work.
Rochester has one more tune-up game before the regular season starts. Saturday, Sep. 11 the Grizzlies welcome the New Ulm Steel to the Rochester Recreation Center. Puck drop is 7 PM.