Nick Bruneteau – Head Coach
Head Coach Nick Bruneteau is in his second season as the North Iowa Bulls’ Head Coach and his fourth season here in Mason City. Bruneteau arrived to River City in 2021 as the Head Coach of the NA3HL’s Mason City Toros. He led the Toros to the postseason both years he coached that group, including a trip to the 2022 Western Division Championship Series. Before coaching, Bruneteau played an excellent collegiate and professional career. The Shattuck-St. Mary’s alumnus played four seasons of NCAA DI College Hockey at the University of Vermont, leading the Catamounts to the 2014 NCAA DI Hockey Tournament. He played two seasons in the ECHL with the Reading Royals & the Indy Fuel before spending the next five seasons playing professionally in Europe. As part of the Stavanger Oilers, Bruneteau recorded the EliteHockey Ligaen’s best Plus/Minus and claimed the League’s 2016 Championship.
Email: nbruneteau@northiowabulls.com
Alex North – Assistant Coach
Coach Alex North is in his second stint in Mason City. He served as an assistant on the 2013-14 NA3HL Edition of the North Iowa Bulls who dominated en-route to a 45-3 overall record, the Silver Cup Championship, and claimed the 2014 Tier 3 National Championship. The Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota & Shattuck-St. Mary’s alumnus spent time on the bench of the Coulee Region Chill before getting a season and a half stint as the Head Coach of the NA3HL’s New Ulm Steel. North spent the 2023-24 season as the Associate Head Coach of the NA3HL’s Helena Bighorns, where he helped lead the Bighorns to the NA3HL’s Regular Season Championship, the Frontier Division Championship and the 2024 Fraser Cup.
E-Mail: anorth@northiowabulls.com
AJ Ruskowski – Assistant Coach
Coach AJ Ruskowski begins his first season on the North Iowa Bulls’ bench this season. The Traverse City, Michigan, native graduated from Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota following the 2024-25 Cardinals’ season, which saw the 6’6″ goaltender be named a letter-wearing captain in between the pipes. He suited up for 62 games across four seasons in the Cardinals’ crease, during which he posted a career .902 save percentage. Ruskowski was named to the MIAC’s All-Academic team in both 2023 & 2024. Prior to enrolling at Saint Mary’s, Ruskowski played three seasons of junior hockey. He debuted in 2019 for the NA3HL’s Bozeman Ice Dogs, helping the Ice Dogs reach the Fraser Cup Playoffs. The next season, a dominant four game stretch which saw his save percentage hit a .959 mark, resulted in a call-up to the NAHL’s Minot Minotauros. He laced up for 15 games the rest of that season, posting a .903 save percentage, a 7-3 record, and had helped the Minotauros into a postseason spot before the onset of the Covid-19 Pandemic halted the 2020 Robertson Cup Playoffs. The next season, Ruskowski started the year with Minot before departing to play for the NCDC’s P.A.L Junior Islanders, where he posted a .904 save percentage in 15 games. Following his last collegiate season, Ruskowski signed a contract to play professional hockey for the SPHL’s Pensacola Ice Flyers. While in the Sunshine State, Ruskowski played 7 professional games, and posted a .918 save percentage, including a shutout against the Peoria Rivermen, the SPHL’s top team.
Randy Walker – Scout