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.

FROZEN FOUR: Is title No. 11 in the cards for Denver?

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Denver Pioneers Season record: 27-11-3 How they got to Las Vegas: Won the Loveland Regional, beating Cornell 5-0 and Western Michigan 6-2 Top players: F James Reeder (10-23-33), F Rieger Lorenz (16-18-34), D Erik Pohlkamp (18-21-39), F Sam Harris (15-19-34) Top goalie: Johnny Hicks (14-0-1, 1.12, .958) Why they’ll win the national championship: Hicks has … Read more

FROZEN FOUR: Fighting Hawks are back for first time since 2016

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North Dakota Fighting Hawks Season record: 29-9-1 How they got to Las Vegas: Won the Sioux Falls Regional, beating Merrimack 3-0 and Quinnipiac 5-0 Top players: F Will Zellers (18-16-34), F Ellis Rickwood (8-28-36), D Abram Wiebe (5-24-29) F Cole Reschny (6-29-35). Top goalie: Jan Špunar (20-4-1, 1.90 goals-against average, .917 save percentage). Why they’ll … Read more

Miami’s resurgence gratifying for Noreen, upperclassmen

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With only three seniors and eight upperclassmen, the amount of first-hand knowledge of Miami’s recent history in the RedHawks’ dressing room isn’t terribly extensive. But it doesn’t have to be. Not for a team that’s laser-focused on where it is and where it’s going. Not for a Miami team that, entering the final two weeks … Read more

From on-ice leader to ‘war room’ presence, North Dakota GM Chyzyk key to alma mater’s efforts

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Few if any of us see our career paths take the exact same routes that we thought they would when we were growing up. Sometimes, those jobs aren’t even around yet. Such would’ve been the case for Bryn Chyzyk. A former North Dakota assistant captain who later spent the 2019-20 season as a graduate assistant … Read more

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