Matthew Semisch

NCHC ColumnistMatthew Semisch joined USCHO in 2007 as a arena reporter covering Omaha. He later became a WCHA columnist for USCHO before taking a similar role covering the NCHC. He currently works as the sports editor at the Bottineau Courant in Bottineau, N.D.

In wake of stroke, UMD volunteer Haagenson’s support system runs deep

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Minnesota Duluth assistant equipment manager Dale “Hoagie” Haagenson is cherished as someone who bridges present-day Bulldog hockey with what it was when he joined the program in 1981. But as UMD associate head coach Adam Krause puts it, his and any number of fellow former Bulldog players’ relationships with Haagenson doesn’t start and end with … Read more

Same as it ever was: Omaha’s Gabinet, Leahy reflect on decades-old working relationship

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Omaha radio color analyst Terry Leahy, who has held that role since Maverick hockey began nearly 30 years ago, has known the team’s current coach for half of 44-year-old Mike Gabinet’s life. But what sticks out to both of them is that the longer they’ve known each other, the more their working relationship feels the … Read more

‘Putting forth our best product:’ Under first-year coach, LIU keeps flying flag for independents

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frontd1m,   When you first take the reins of a Division I hockey program that doesn’t belong to a conference, you, your staff and your new players are logistically up against it straight away. Of the 63 schools currently fielding D-I men’s hockey teams, just five of them are independents and none are going about … Read more

‘You wake up every day with a postcard:’ Longtime coach Pooley relishing Colorado College role

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  Ed Robson Arena, on the campus of Colorado College, is a long way away from the Dublin, Ohio, yogurt shop that Tigers associate head coach Paul Pooley once ran with his brother. Life’s funny like that. When Pooley’s pro hockey career wrapped up in 1987 with the minor-league Fort Wayne Komets, the Ohio State … Read more

Gap in the market: Omaha coach Gabinet makes use of family pedigree in new recruiting era

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  The recruiting landscape in college hockey these days, and in American college sports in general, isn’t what our parents grew up with. The NCAA rolling out the transfer portal in October 2018, letting student-athletes move freely from one school to another, made sure of that. Seven years later, the recruiting scene in NCAA Division … Read more

NCHC 2025-26 Men’s Hockey Season Preview: Conference looks wide-open with targets on defending national champion Western Michigan

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Year-in and year-out, ever since their conference held its first games in 2013, coaches and players from NCHC member schools have talked about the meat-grinder that is their league. It might be even tougher now, and it’s certainly as difficult as ever to predict who will end up where. The conference boasts the defending national … Read more

Defending national champion Denver has ‘taken a real growth mindset’ during 2024-25 season as Pioneers look to repeat

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This is the third of four previews for teams playing in the 2025 NCAA Men’s Frozen Four this week in St. Louis. Click here for all of USCHO’s Frozen Four coverage. Denver Pioneers Season record: 31-11-1 How they got to St. Louis: Won the Manchester Regional, defeating Providence 5-1 and Boston College 3-1 Top players: … Read more

Western Michigan’s plan for Frozen Four means Broncos ‘going to approach it like we do every other game – that our next game is our most important game’

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This is the second of four previews for teams playing in the 2025 NCAA Men’s Frozen Four this week in St. Louis. Click here for all of USCHO’s Frozen Four coverage. Western Michigan Broncos Season record: 32-7-1 How they got to St. Louis: Won the Fargo Regional, defeating Minnesota State 2-1 and Massachusetts 2-1 Top … Read more

Hockey Humanitarian Award Finalist Feature: By spearheading organ donor awareness events, Fortin’s ‘desire to make an impact to help others is a really great legacy that she leaves here at Bemidji State’

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Like innumerable kids, Kendra Fortin grew up with a list of ideas as to what she may want to do for a profession once she was out of school. What separates the Bemidji State senior defenseman in that regard is how her ultimately chosen career route tied into something that happened to her family when … Read more

Hockey Humanitarian Award Finalist Feature: A star on the ice at Merrimack, Szott, ‘she’s the type of person you hope to have in your life,’ finding greater calling with off-ice initiatives

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As Merrimack defenseman and captain Raice Szott’s collegiate career draws to a close, it’s becoming clearer all the time that her legacy at the North Andover, Mass., college will last far beyond her playing days there. A native of Daysland, Alta., Szott is a finalist for the Hockey Humanitarian Award for the second year running. … Read more

This Week in NCHC Hockey: Arizona State has shot at NCAA tourney as Sun Devils ‘proving our followers right and proving the people who didn’t believe in us wrong’

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It’s tough to predict how much further Arizona State’s first season as a conference member can go. The Sun Devils are 15th in the PairWise Rankings and will need to keep helping themselves as the NCHC playoffs progress. But regardless of which side of the NCAA tournament bubble the Sun Devils land on, they already … Read more

This Week in NCHC Hockey: Defending national champion Denver taking ‘killer instinct’ approach to upcoming conference postseason grind

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The NCHC playoffs officially begin this Friday, but Denver coach David Carle and his Pioneers must feel like they’ve already been there for weeks. Despite being 26-9-1 tied with Boston College and Western Michigan for the most wins in the country, defending national champion Denver had plenty to do in order to secure a favorable … Read more

This Week in NCHC Hockey: Claiming its first Penrose Cup, Western Michigan finding success heading to playoffs with ‘a consistency of play and competitiveness of our players’

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Winning its first-ever regular-season conference title in program history last Friday wasn’t just satisfying for Western Michigan on a surface level. The Broncos were already well aware of what the Penrose Cup looked like ahead of WMU’s 6-4 win Friday against North Dakota, which saw Western lock up the NCHC regular season title with three … Read more

This Week in NCHC Hockey: Colorado College planning for ‘a long run’ as Tigers need to ‘win a lot of games to get to where we ultimately want to be’

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Sitting 32nd in the PairWise Rankings, Colorado College isn’t what you’d call a team on the bubble for a NCAA tournament berth this season. But with two regular-season games left, plus however far into the postseason the Tigers get, coach Kris Mayotte wants his squad to look the part. CC’s series split last weekend at … Read more

This Week in NCHC Hockey: Arizona State on mission to make NCAA tournament as Sun Devils ‘want to be a top-10 perennial program’

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It’s these days, at the business end of the college hockey season, when coaches really bang the drum to get their players geed up for what’s left. On Tuesday, Arizona State coach Greg Powers used his weekly press conference as a soapbox. The Sun Devils are now firmly on the NCAA tournament bubble, 15th in … Read more