MASON CITY, Iowa – Carter Rapalje’s weekend against the Bismarck Bobcats turned a lot of heads this past week, and it’s now turned him into an award-winning North Iowa Bulls forward.
Rapalje was named the North American Hockey League’s Central Division Star of the Week, becoming the second Bulls player to be so honored this season, following Hunter Garvey’s honor four weeks ago.
After going his first five appearances in Mason City without a goal in front of the home fans, Rapalje charged ahead in the team goal-scoring race with a career-best four goals on Friday night in a 6-4 win over the Bobcats. Rapalje scored goals on both the power play and the penalty kill in the game, plus two more in 5-on-5 action, becoming the first Bull since Cam Fagerlee in March of 2019 to post a four-goal game. He opened the scoring on Saturday with another marker less than four minutes into the game, before later posting an assist as well.
“Carter has been working very hard to create chances for himself and his linemates,” said North Iowa head coach and general manager Todd Sanden. “It was good to see him get rewarded for those efforts by finding the back of the net.”
With 11 goals on the season, he now stands five goals clear of the field among Bulls teammates, and ranks fourth in that category league-wide. His 14 points on the year ranks him in a tie for fourth on the North Iowa roster.
The Burlington, Vermont native has a chance to propel his team back into first place in the NAHL Central Division standings when they square off with the division-leading Austin Bruins this weekend. Friday’s game at the Riverside Arena is slated for 7:05 p.m. and Saturday’s game at the Mason City Arena gets underway at 7:30 p.m., with live streaming coverage of both games on HockeyTV and Mixlr.
Saturday’s game against the Bruins is Military Appreciation Night, with active and retired military receiving free admission to the game. Tickets to that game and all North Iowa home games are on sale now – to purchase advance tickets to any upcoming Bulls home game, call 641-423-4625 or click here. Updated news and information on North Iowa Bulls hockey are always available at www.northiowabulls.com, and by following the team’s social media platforms on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.