MASON CITY, Iowa – The Mason City Toros junior hockey team will soon embark on a new journey, with many exciting stories to tell. All the Toros need now is the right person to tell them.
The Toros are excited to announce Pittsburgh native Joel Norman as their first-ever media manager and play-by-play voice. Norman has told his teams’ stories nearly from coast to coast already, calling hockey games for West Virginia University’s ACHA team and baseball games for the West Coast League’s Wenatchee AppleSox in the summer-collegiate ranks.
As the team’s media manager, Norman will handle announcing duties on all Mason City home games on HockeyTV, as well as the team’s social media efforts, media relations and other related duties. North Iowa Bulls director of media Austin Draude will oversee Norman and contribute as necessary, including handling play-by-play on the Toros’ initial preseason game September 19 against the Wausau Cyclones.
“We are excited about the skill level Joel brings with him for this inaugural season for the Mason CIty Toros,” said Bulls and Toros chief operating officer Kathee Corsello. “Joel’s enthusiasm for our unique setup this year with both an NAHL and NA3HL team in the same town matches our enthusiasm for the upcoming season.”
Norman is a 2018 graduate of West Virginia’s Reed College of Media, and has become a familiar broadcasting voice in central Washington over the last three years, calling high school sports on local radio and spending three summers with the AppleSox. He was hired last March by the Fredericksburg Nationals, then the Washington Nationals’ High-A Carolina League affiliate. The Nationals opted not to retain Norman’s position when they became a low-A team in the 2020-21 reorganization of minor-league baseball.
Originally hailing from the Pittsburgh suburb of Allison Park, he grew up a Penguins fan and served as an intern for the Penguins Radio Network during the 2017-18 season.
“I’m excited to join the Toros for their inaugural season,” said Norman. “It’s going to be an exciting year for both the Toros and the Bulls, and I’m looking forward to helping to tell its story.”
Norman will officially join the Toros in time for their first-ever official NA3HL contest, scheduled for Saturday, September 25 against the Alexandria Blizzard. That game is scheduled for a 3 p.m. start at the Mason City Arena.
