Rochester Grizzlies clinch NA3HL Central Division
The Rochester Grizzlies finish the 2021-22 regular season with a strong (38-6-2-1) record. Accumulating 79 points – good enough to clinch the NA3HL Central division.
Rochester Grizzlies cap regular season with record-setting victory
Zach Wiese earned his fourth shutout of the season and Justin Wright scored twice as the Rochester Grizzlies beat the Oregon Tradesmen on Saturday to set a franchise record for victories in a regular season.
The 2022 NA3HL Central Division playoffs
The Rochester Grizzlies now have as many victories as every other team in the North American 3 Hockey League — zero.
The Grizzlies are looking ahead, to the start of the NA3HL Central Division playoffs on Friday against the Wausau Cyclones, the start of a “new” season, the start of the league’s postseason. And the Grizzlies, the top seed in the Central Division, have high hopes for where their postseason will end.
If their regular season is any indication, they may need to make room at the Rochester Recreation Center for more banners.
Rochester closed the book on its regular season — the most successful regular season in the brief four-year history of the franchise — with a 5-0 win against the Oregon (Wis.) Tradesmen on Saturday at the Rec Center. The Grizzlies ended their regular season with a 38-6-3 record, setting the franchise record for wins in a regular season, surpassing the 2019-20 team’s 37 victories. In fact, over the past three seasons, Rochester has won 109 out of 134 regular-season games.
They used a familiar formula on Saturday, outshooting the Tradesmen by more than a 2-to-1 margin and getting balanced scoring. Owatonna native Zach Wiese recorded an 18-save shutout (the Grizzlies outshot Oregon 40-18), while veteran Justin Wright scored twice and Max Breon, Kade Shea and Kyle Bauer scored once each.
Breon scored unassisted just 11 seconds into the game and the Grizzlies never were threatened. They limited the Tradesmen to just two shots on goal in the first period and six in the second.
Rochester led 2-0 after one — Wright scored his first of the game with 35 seconds left in the period — and that’s how the score remained after two periods.
Wright scored again 45 seconds into the third, then Shea made it 4-0 five minutes later, and Bauer capped the scoring at the 9:33 mark of the third. Wright added one assist, Bauer had two assists, and Adam Johnson had three assists, giving them all three-point games.
The top-seeded Grizzlies will now face the fourth-seeded Wausau Cyclones (21-24-2) in the NA3HL Central Division semifinals. The best 2-out-of-3 series is scheduled to begin at 7:05 p.m. Friday at the Rec Center. Game 2 is set for 7:05 p.m. Saturday in Wausau, and a Game 3 — if needed — is set for 1:05 p.m. Saturday at the Rec Center.
Third-seeded Oregon (26-15-6) will meet second-seeded Peoria (32-10-6) in the other division semifinal series.
