Cedar Rapids RoughRiders goaltender Brady Hjelle and defenseman Matt Donovan have been named to the Center Trophy United States Hockey League All-Rookie Team, the USHL announced today.

“Both Brady and Matt have worked very hard and shown a lot of poise and composure this season,” said RoughRiders Coach and General Manager Mark Carlson. “They’ve competed hard night in and night out and that’s paid off tremendously for them.”

Hjelle, 17, finished the regular season third in the USHL in save percentage (.921), tied for third in shutouts (3), fifth in goals against average (2.50) and sixth in minutes played (2380:07). The International Falls, Minnesota, native went 22-15-4 in 41 games and finished tied for fifth in wins.

All-Rookie honors cap off a memorable regular season for Hjelle. The Minnesota-Duluth recruit started January’s USHL Prospects/All-Star Game in Green Bay and was named USHL Goaltender of the Week on three separate occasions.

Hjelle shouldered the Riders’ goaltending responsibilities almost on his own for the first two months of the season, starting Cedar Rapids’ first ten games and 16 of the first 18 while injury kept second year netminder Kent Patterson out of the lineup until December 7.

In November Hjelle helped the United States Junior Select Team to a bronze medal at the World Junior A Challenge in British Columbia. That was Hjelle’s second chance to wear the red, white and blue in a matter of months. He and Donovan played on the U.S. Under-18 Select Team that finished fifth in last August’s Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament in Piestany, Slovakia and Hodonin, Czech Republic.

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 overall choice.

This is the second year straight year a Rider goaltender has made the league’s All-Rookie Team- Patterson earned the honor last season.

Donovan, 17, finished tied for second among USHL defensemen in goals (12) and was tied for seventh among blue liners in points (30). The Edmond, Oklahoma, native led the RoughRiders in plus/minus rating (+19) while playing in all but one of the Riders’ 60 regular season games. Donovan was twice this season named USHL Defensive Player of the Week.

The Riders picked Donovan in the first round of last May’s USHL Draft with the tenth overall selection. The Denver recruit played midget hockey for the Dallas Junior Stars last season.

The RoughRiders (33-22-5, 71 points) finished the regular season in third place in the USHL’s East Division and will open the best-of-five first round of the Clark Cup playoffs Friday night in Waterloo against the Black Hawks. Game two will be played Saturday night in Waterloo. The series will shift to the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena for game three on Wednesday April 16 and, if necessary, game four on Friday, April 18. If a fifth and deciding game is required, it will be played in Waterloo on Saturday, April 19. All games in the series will face off at 7:05PM.

RoughRiders playoff tickets can be purchased in person at the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena ticket office, over the phone at (319) 261-4625 or online at www.roughridershockey.com. The ticket office is open from noon to 5:00PM on weekdays and from noon through the end of the second period on game days. Playoff ticket prices range from $8 to $18.