The Mason City Toros finished a win short of qualifying for the 2022 Fraser Cup Tournament but nonetheless enjoyed an impressive 2021-22 season. Thanks to milestones, callups and much more, it proved to be a memorable campaign.
The Toros finished second in the West Division with a 33-13-1-0 record and made it to the final game of the West Division Finals. They finished seventh out of 147 teams on My Hockey Rankings‘ Tier III teams this year. The Toros faced four of the six Fraser Cup Championship finalists and defeated all of them at least once.
Mason City lit the lamp regularly this season, scoring 241 goals, the second-most in the West Division. Carter Newpower found the back of the net more than any other Toro by scoring a team-high 37 goals. Newpower finished second in the North American 3 Hockey League with 91 points. He and defensemen Rex Staudacher were the only two Toros to appear in all 47 regular-season games and five postseason games.
Three different Toros achieved significant milestones this past year. Newpower recorded the 100th point of his junior career with an assist on Jan. 29. Team captain Brendan Sloth appeared in his 100th junior hockey game on Dec. 22 against the Oregon Tradesmen at the NA3HL Showcase. Forward Sota Isogai scored the 100th point of his junior hockey career on Nov. 19 with a goal against the Minnesota Loons. The next night he appeared in his 100th juniors game with the North Iowa Bulls in his North American Hockey League debut. Isogai wrapped up his third season in the River City with his best statistical effort; 27 goals and 45 assists.
Isogai wasn’t the only Toro to advance to the NAHL. He spent three weeks with the Bulls and was joined by Newpower and Jack Campion in mid-December. The three of them started for the Bulls on Dec. 11 and Campion has remained with the Bulls since the start of the new year. Forwards Derek Humphreys, Luke Robertson, Nik Howell, defenseman Colin Hedland and goaltender Erik Chaffe also joined the Bulls for stints in the NAHL this season.
The Toros will already have an impact on the 2022-23 Bulls. Newpower signed a tender with them in December and Ulve signed one shortly after the season ended.
Although the Toros finished short of their ultimate goal it was still a memorable year for all involved in the River City. Stay tuned to masoncitytoros.com this offseason for news on 2022-23 tender announcements as well as the NA3HL Draft results on April 20.
