The Cedar Rapids RoughRiders’ Brady Hjelle has been named Stauber’s Goalcrease United States Hockey League Goaltender of the Week for the second week in a row.
“This is obviously quite an honor for Brady,” said RoughRiders Coach and General Manager Mark Carlson. “He has performed well so far this season and we’ve also done a good job defensively as a team.”
Hjelle, 17, posted his first career USHL shutout as the RoughRiders defeated the Green Bay Gamblers 4-0 last Friday night in Green Bay. Hjelle made 34 saves on the way to what was also the first shutout in the league this season.
Hjelle holds the early league lead in goals against average (1.0), save percentage (.969) and wins (3). The International Falls, Minnesota, native has gone a total of 108:51 without allowing a goal. Paul Carey of Indiana was the last player to put the puck past Hjelle, scoring at 11:09 of the first period of the RoughRiders’ 3-1 win over the Ice on October 6.
Hjelle’s efforts have helped the RoughRiders to a 3-0-0 start and the top spot in the USHL’s East Division. He took home Goaltender of the Week honors last week after turning aside 60 of 63 shots while backstopping the Riders to wins in their first two games of the season.
Hjelle, who played for International Falls High School last season, was selected by the Riders in the ninth round of the 2006 USHL Futures Draft with the one hundredth choice. He will play college hockey at Minnesota-Duluth.
The RoughRiders will head to Indiana to take on the Ice this Friday night at 6:05. The Riders will return home to meet the Des Moines Buccaneers Saturday evening at 7:05.
Tickets for all RoughRiders regular season games- including this Saturday’s- are now on sale at the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena ticket office. The ticket office is open from noon to 5:00PM Monday through Friday and from noon through the end of the second period on game days. Tickets can be purchased in person at the box office or over the phone at (319) 261-4625. Tickets are also available on line at www.roughridershockey.com. Ticket prices range from $7 to $17 in advance and from $8 to $18 on game days.