The North Iowa Bulls are a Tier II junior

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

team in the

North American Hockey League The North American Hockey League (NAHL) is one of the top junior hockey leagues in the United States and is in its 48th season of operation in 2022–23. It is the only Tier II junior league sanctioned by USA Hockey, and acts as an alternati ...

(NAHL). They play their home games at the Mason City Multipurpose Arena in

Mason City, Iowa Mason City is a city and the county seat of Cerro Gordo County, Iowa, United States. The population was 27,338 in the 2020 census, a decline from 29,172 in the 2000 census. The Mason City Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Cerro Go ...

. The organization also operates a Tier III junior team in the

North American 3 Hockey League The North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL) is an American Junior ice hockey#Tier III, Tier III junior ice hockey league that consists of teams from Connecticut, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, M ...

(NA3HL) that was known as the North Iowa Bulls from 2011 to 2021 before relocating the Tier II

Amarillo Bulls The Amarillo Bulls were a Tier II junior ice hockey team based in Amarillo, Texas. They were a member of the North American Hockey League's South Division and played home games in the Amarillo Civic Center. History The franchise joined the NAHL ...

' franchise to Mason City and rebranding the Tier III team as the Mason City Toros. The Bulls are coached by Todd Sanden, who has been with the North Iowa team since its inception in 2011.

History

Tier III: 2011–present

The Bulls began playing in 2011, losing their first game to the

Chicago Hitmen The Chicago Hitmen were a Junior A Tier II ice hockey team based out of the Chicago region. NAHL team history The Chicago Hitmen played in the North American Hockey League from 2010 to 2012. The team first played in the 1,000-seat West Meadows I ...

3–1 before earning their first win on October 2, 2011, with a 5–4 win over the

Peoria Mustangs The Peoria Mustangs are a USA Hockey-sanctioned Tier III ice hockey team in the North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL). The team plays their home games at the Owens Center in Peoria, Illinois. The players, ages 16–20, carry amateur status und ...

. After losing seven of their first eight, the team finished 29–15–0–4 and second place in the West Division. The Bulls won their first round series over the

Twin City Steel Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of TwinLast Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two e ...

two-games-to-none, but lost their division final series to the

Granite City Lumberjacks The Granite City Lumberjacks are a Tier III Junior A ice hockey team playing in the North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL) and plays their home games at the Armadillo Deck Sports Arena, located in Sauk Rapids, Minnesota. The Lumberjacks play 48 r ...

two-games-to-one. The teams traded overtime victories in the first two games before the Lumberjacks took the final game by a score of 3–2. The Bulls won their first division championship the following year finishing 41–4–1–2. They swept the

Minnesota Flying Aces The Willmar WarHawks are a Tier III ice hockey team playing in the North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL). The team plays their home games at the Willmar Civic Center located in Willmar, Minnesota. NA3HL teams play a 48-game regular season, in ad ...

in three games in the first round before advancing through round-robin play at the Silver Cup tournament to beat Granite City 3–2 in overtime. An 11–0 win over the

gave the team its first league championship. The Bulls then advanced to the

USA Hockey USA Hockey is the national ice hockey organization in the United States. It is recognized by the International Olympic Committee and the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee as the Sport governing body, governing body for organized ice ...

Tier III Junior National Championships in

Rochester, Minnesota Rochester is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Olmsted County. Located on rolling bluffs on the Zumbro River's south fork in Southeast Minnesota, the city is the home and birthplace of the renowned Mayo Clinic. Acco ...

, sweeping all three games in pool play. The Bulls defeated the

Helena Bighorns The Helena Bighorns are a Junior A ice hockey team in the North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL) based in Helena, Montana United States. The team plays their home games at the 1,600-seat Helena Ice Arena. The Bighorns were members of the NorPa ...

in double-overtime in the semifinal and won their first Tier III Junior National Championship with a 6–2 win over the Twin Cities Northern Lights. In the 2013–14 season, North Iowa set an NA3HL record with 90 points, finishing with a 45–3 record and their second straight West Division title. The team's top line of Matt Kroska, Rihards Marenis, and Timothy Santopoalo combined for 353 points, with Kroska's 122 points and Marenis's 55 goals setting the league records in both categories. After sweeping the

in the first round of the NA3HL playoffs, they once again met the Lumberjacks in the West Division finals, winning the decisive third game by a 9–5 score to advance to their second straight Silver Cup Tournament. The Bulls then outscored their opponents 24–4 over the next four games. They defeated the

Flint Jr. Generals The Coulee Region Chill was a Tier III junior ice hockey team that played at the Green Island Ice Arena in La Crosse, Wisconsin. The team played in the North American 3 Hockey League. The franchise was previously known as the Flint Jr. Generals ...

3–0 to win their second straight Silver Cup. North Iowa advanced to the Tier III Junior National Championships in

Simsbury, Connecticut Simsbury is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 24,517 at the 2020 census. The town was incorporated as Connecticut's 21st town in May 1670. History Early history At the beginning of the 17th century, the ...

, again going 3–0 in round-robin play against the Florida Jr. Blades, Dells Ducks, and

Boston Bandits The Bridgewater Bandits, also called the Boston Bandits, are a junior ice hockey organization from Bridgewater, Massachusetts, in the United States, with teams playing in the United States Premier Hockey League. The organization plays home games ...

. The Bulls defeated the

Northern Cyclones The Northern Cyclones are a junior ice hockey organization playing in the United States Premier Hockey League. The team plays their home games at the Cyclones Arena, located in Hudson, New Hampshire. The Cyclones organization also fields junior ...

5–1 in the semifinal game before losing 2–1 in the championship game to the

Boston Junior Bruins The Boston Junior Bruins are an American junior ice hockey organization playing in Marlborough, Massachusetts. They currently field three junior and a number of youth teams in the United States Premier Hockey League (USPHL). Mission Junior hockey ...

of the USPHL Premier Division. In 2014–15, the Bulls had a record of 6–4 through the first ten games on the road before returning home and winning 11 straight games. The Bulls and Lumberjacks led the West Division throughout the entire season, leading up to the final weekend series between the two teams to end the regular season with the Bulls winning to finish with a 37–9–1 record and the West Division title. In the playoffs, the Bulls swept the Twin City Steel in two games then defeated Granite City in three games in the division finals. In round-robin play at the Silver Cup Tournament, the Bulls defeated Granite City, the

West Michigan Wolves The Lansing Wolves were a junior ice hockey team a member of the United States Premier Hockey League (USPHL) as part of the Premier Division. The team played its home games at the Summit Sports and Ice Complex in Dimondale, Michigan, a suburb of L ...

, and the

Great Falls Americans The Great Falls Americans are a USA Hockey-sanctioned Tier III Junior A ice hockey team from Great Falls, Montana, playing at the Great Falls IcePlex in the North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL). The players, ages 16–20, carry amateur status u ...

. The Bulls then lost the Silver Cup championship game to the Lumberjacks. The Bulls still advanced to the Tier III national championship as the league runners-up in

. The tournament was split into an "A" and "B" division with the Bulls in the "A" Division with the Granite City Lumberjacks, Dells Ducks, and Northern Cyclones. The Bulls would go 2–1 in the tournament, losing only to the Lumberjacks once again. The Bulls advanced to the title game over the Lumberjacks due to a higher score differential. The Bulls won their second Tier III national championship over the Northern Cyclones, 2–1. North Iowa finished the 2015–16 season with a 42–2–3 record after moving to the Central Division, including a 27-game winning streak and a league-record 57 goals from captain Brett Gravelle. The Bulls defeated the

Rochester Ice Hawks The Rochester Grizzlies (formerly the Rochester Ice Hawks) are a junior ice hockey#Tier III, Tier III junior ice hockey team in the North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL). The team plays their home games at the 2,600-seat Rochester Recreation Cent ...

and

La Crosse Freeze The Coulee Region Chill was a Tier III junior ice hockey team that played at the Green Island Ice Arena in La Crosse, Wisconsin. The team played in the North American 3 Hockey League. The franchise was previously known as the Flint Jr. Generals ...

in two-game sweeps to reach the Silver Cup Tournament for the fourth straight year. The Bulls defeated the

Yellowstone Quake The Yellowstone Quake is a USA Hockey-sanctioned Tier III junior ice hockey team playing in the North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL). The team plays their home games at Victor Riley Arena in Cody, Wyoming. The franchise is a non-profit corpor ...

and

in the round-robin, followed by an overtime win against Twin City in the semifinal and a 4–1 victory over the

Metro Jets The Metro Jets are a non-sanctioned junior ice hockey team that plays their home games at Mount Clemens Ice Arena in Mount Clemens, Michigan. They are members of the Great Lakes Conference in the United States Premier Hockey League's Premier Div ...

for their third league championship in four seasons. The Bulls earned their fifth straight trip to the Silver Cup tournament the following 2016–17 season, with another division title and a 35–10–1–1 finish in the regular season. North Iowa swept Rochester and La Crosse in two games each to advance to the Silver Cup tournament. The Bulls won two games against the Long Beach Sharks and Binghamton Jr. Senators but lost to Yellowstone in the round-robin and did not advance. North Iowa won one more Central Division title in 2017–18, going 39–4–2–2 and sweeping the Wausau RiverWolves in two games in the first round. The

then defeated the Bulls with a two-game sweep in the Central Division finals, failing to make a tournament appearance for the first time since their inaugural season. North Iowa finished in second place in their return to the West Division in 2018–19, going 32–12–3 and finishing behind Granite City with 67 points. The Bulls defeated the

Rochester Grizzlies The Rochester Grizzlies (formerly the Rochester Ice Hawks) are a Tier III junior ice hockey team in the North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL). The team plays their home games at the 2,600-seat Rochester Recreation Center, located in Rochester, M ...

in a three-game series. The

Alexandria Blizzard The Alexandria Blizzard is a USA Hockey-sanctioned Tier III Junior ice hockey team playing in the North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL). The team plays their home games at Runestone Community Center in Alexandria, Minnesota. The franchise is o ...

beat the top-seeded Granite City in a three-game first-round series, advancing to the West Division Finals before the Bulls swept them in two games. North Iowa split its first two games at the Fraser Cup tournament, formerly known as the Silver Cup, with a loss to the Lewiston/Auburn Nordiques and a win over the

, but ended their season with a 3–1 loss to the eventual champion Texas Jr. Brahmas in the semifinal. The Bulls took the West Division title in 2019–20, going 38–7–2 for the season and winning their final eight games. The team also moved out of its longtime home at the North Iowa Ice Arena, moving downtown to the new Mason City Multipurpose Arena at midseason. The team drew record crowds in its new home, averaging 1,585 fans over its first 11 games. Prior to the start of the playoffs, the onset of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

caused the playoffs to be cancelled. At the time of the announcement that the North Iowa Bulls would be promoted to Tier II, it had not been decided if the organization would continue to have a Tier III team as well in 2021–22, originally deciding to only have the Tier II team in Mason City. The NA3HL Bulls won the Fraser Cup championship in their final season. The organization the stated it will still operate a Tier III team, but has not determined a brand or location. On June 1, 2021, the organization announced the Tier III team had been rebranded the Mason City Toros and would remain in Mason City for at least one more season. With Sanden staying on as head coach of the Tier II Bulls, the Toros hired Nick Bruneteau as the next head coach.

Tier II: 2021–present

In 2019, owners of the North Iowa Bulls, F&S Management Company LLC, acquired the

of the

(NAHL) and the North Iowa Bulls gained a Tier II affiliation. On March 5, 2021, it was announced that the Amarillo team would relocate to Mason City starting in the 2021–22 season as the North Iowa Bulls. Todd Sanden remained the head coach and general manager of the North Iowa Bulls after joining the NAHL. They then decided on the moniker Mason City Toros.

Season-by-season records

USA Hockey Tier III Junior Hockey National Championship

Alumni

The Bulls have advanced a number of players on to higher levels of

junior hockey Junior hockey is a level of competitive ice hockey generally for players between 16 and 21 years of age. Junior hockey leagues in the United States and Canada are considered amateur (with some exceptions) and operate within regions of each cou ...

like the

, as well as

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...

NCAA Division III NCAA Division III (D-III) is a division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States. D-III consists of athletic programs at colleges and universities that choose not to offer athletic scholarships to their stu ...

and ACHA college programs.

Division I

*Adam Carlson (2012–13);

Mercyhurst University (Seize the day) , former_names = Mercyhurst College (1926–2012) , established = , type = Private university , religious_affiliation = Roman Catholic (Sisters of Mercy) , endowment = $31.8 million , faculty = 136 full-time , administrat ...

*Aaron Davis (2012–13);

Lake Superior State University Lake Superior State University (colloquially Lake State, Lake Superior State, Soo Tech, and LSSU) is a public college in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. It is enrolls approximately 2,000 students. Due to its proximity to the Canadian border, and the ...

*Dominik Florian (2013–14);

American International College American International College (AIC) is a private college in Springfield, Massachusetts. History American International College was originally established on July 18, 1885, as the French Protestant College by Rev. Calvin E. Amaron, who sough ...

*Greg Ogard (2011–12);

University of Denver The University of Denver (DU) is a private university, private research university in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1864, it is the oldest independent private university in the Mountain States, Rocky Mountain Region of the United States. It is ...

*Kohei Sato (2014–16);

University of New Hampshire The University of New Hampshire (UNH) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Durham, New Hampshire. It was founded and incorporated in 1866 as a land grant college in Hanover in connection with Dartmouth College, mo ...

*Jeff Solow (2015–16);

Merrimack College Merrimack College is a private Augustinian university in North Andover, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1947 by the Order of St. Augustine with an initial goal to educate World War II veterans. Its campus has grown to a campus with nearly 40 bu ...

*Josh Benson (2016–17);

Sacred Heart University Sacred Heart University (SHU) is a private, Catholic university in Fairfield, Connecticut. It was founded in 1963 by the Most Reverend Walter W. Curtis, Bishop of the Diocese of Bridgeport, Connecticut. Sacred Heart was the first Catholic un ...

*Seth Eisele (2016–17);

References

External links

Bulls' website
{{Iowa Sports North American Hockey League teams Junior ice hockey teams in the United States 2011 establishments in Iowa Ice hockey clubs established in 2011 Mason City, Iowa