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.

This Week in NCHC Hockey: Penrose Cup champs for 2024, North Dakota aims to keep winning as Fighting Hawks ‘want to keep moving forward here with the momentum that we’ve got’

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Third-ranked North Dakota’s 3-0 home win Saturday over No. 12 Western Michigan saw the Fighting Hawks capture their fourth Penrose Cup title in five years, as the NCHC’s regular-season champion. That kind of regular success always looks a little bit different from one year to the next, and this season has been no exception. Seven … Read more

This Week in NCHC Hockey: Omaha coach Gabinet reflects on Kemp’s retirement announcement, says, ‘We wouldn’t have what we have today without his time and dedication to hockey in Omaha’

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It’s been half his life since Omaha coach Mike Gabinet played for the Mavericks under current UNO executive associate athletic director Mike Kemp. The dynamics of their relationship have changed over the resulting couple of decades, but Gabinet’s respect for Kemp has only grown. This Tuesday, after it was announced last week that Kemp will … Read more

This Week in NCHC Hockey: After sweeping then-No. 2 North Dakota, Colorado College starting to ‘believe more and more and more’

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Colorado College this week jumped up five spots to No. 10 in the latest USCHO.com Division I Men’s Hockey Poll, the highest spot the Tigers have held in 12 years. Two blowout home wins last weekend against then-No. 2 North Dakota helped explain the Tigers’ big rise. More to the point, CC swept its four-game … Read more

This Week in NCHC Hockey: Miami getting rejuvenated mentally, physically with Denver next weekend, end of regular season approaching

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It’s not uncommon for teams to hit a bye week at inopportune times, having been firing on all cylinders and perhaps viewing an extended break between games as a momentum-stopper. Miami is now in its last bye week of the season, with six games remaining. The RedHawks have dropped eight straight and are all but … Read more

This Week in NCHC Hockey: North Dakota netminder Persson says return to Miami last weekend ‘was really fun to be out there, for sure’

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Throughout his time in junior and high school-age hockey, North Dakota senior goaltender Ludvig Persson had never suited up against one of his former teams. So when he faced Miami last weekend on the road, the Swedish former RedHawk got maybe his biggest taste of culture shock since he began playing in the United States … Read more

This Week in NCHC Hockey: Colorado College netminder Mbereko keeps winning for Tigers, knows ‘always an opportunity to get better’

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Colorado College’s Kaidan Mbereko was named Monday as the NCHC goaltender of the week, and it’s never a surprise when the Tigers sophomore receives that recognition. Sixty-one saves over two 2-1 overtime wins last weekend at then-No. 12 Western Michigan gave Mbereko the conference’s weekly goalie award for the fourth time this season. Also last … Read more

This Week in NCHC Hockey: St. Cloud State looking to give special teams a boost moving forward as Huskies aiming for NCAA tournament berth

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We’re not saying polls and standings lie, but it’s hard not to notice that while St. Cloud State is tied for first place in the NCHC, the Huskies are listed 15th in the latest USCHO Men’s Division I Poll, behind three teams from their own conference. Huskies coach Brett Larson doesn’t believe his team came … Read more

This Week in NCHC Hockey: Omaha’s road split with powerhouse North Dakota ‘feeds the belief that we’re right on the cusp’

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Fresh off earning a road split against sixth-ranked North Dakota, Omaha this week re-entered the USCHO.com Men’s Division I Poll at No. 19. But for as competitive as the Mavericks were in Grand Forks, being ranked isn’t just about what you did over the previous week. This UNO team is as battle-tested as most anyone … Read more

This Week in NCHC Hockey: After strong first half of ’23-24 season, Western Michigan figuring out ‘a great recipe for long-term success’

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Tenth-ranked Western Michigan’s road sweep last weekend against Lindenwood was a trip down memory lane of sorts for coach Pat Ferschweiler, while watching his Broncos start the second half of the season how they mean to continue. Friday’s come-from-behind 3-2 win and a relatively easy 6-1 victory Saturday at the Centene Community Ice Center saw … Read more

This Week in NCHC Hockey: Despite losing, ACHA powerhouse Minot State impresses in exhibition games against Colorado College, Denver

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Last weekend’s exhibition games for No. 20 Colorado College and fifth-ranked Denver were looked forward to by many college hockey fans across the region, wanting to get their fix after the holiday break. I include myself among that number, but those games meant more to me than they probably did to most. Minot State, which … Read more

This Week in NCHC Hockey: ‘Absolute rock star’ West, former national champion with Minnesota women’s team, fitting in as Colorado College’s director of hockey operations

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It was only a month ago when Colorado College coach Kris Mayotte found out that Emily West, the Tigers’ first-year director of hockey operations and video coach, had scored a NCAA national championship game-winning goal on a penalty shot. “No (way),” Mayotte said, shortly before seeing YouTube footage of West’s goal for Minnesota in the … Read more

This Week in NCHC Hockey: Inconsistent Miami squad maintaining positive mindset as RedHawks ‘have to do better’ rest of season

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The NCHC’s collective nonconference record so far this season has been nothing to sneeze at, winning at a .681 rate, second only to the Big Ten but having also played 15 more of those games. Miami has held up its end of the bargain in that regard, sitting at 5-2-1 in those games ahead of … Read more

This Week in NCHC Hockey: North Dakota transfer Berg finding niche with team, filling needed role with Fighting Hawks

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North Dakota coach Brad Berry knows the importance of doing due diligence on recruits from the NCAA transfer portal, but junior forward Cameron Berg’s commitment may have been secured easier than most. A West Fargo native with family elsewhere in North Dakota, including a grandmother living three hours west in the Bottineau area, Berg spent … Read more

This Week in NCHC Hockey: ‘What an experience’ for longtime Omaha broadcaster Leahy, approaching 1,000 games with Mavericks

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Omaha hockey radio color analyst Terry Leahy never thought he would reach 1,000 broadcasts covering the same team. On Friday night, when the Mavericks host Augustana, he’ll be there. Quite literally, in fact, in much the same capacity he has held since UNO’s hockey program first hit the ice in 1997. There have only ever … Read more

Monday 10: Michigan State sweeps No. 1 Wisconsin, Quinnipiac keeps winning, Niagara coach Lammers hits 100 wins, Penn State earns win No. 200

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Each week, USCHO.com will pick the top 10 moments from the past weekend in our Monday 10 feature. 1. Down goes Wisconsin, twice There will almost certainly be a new No. 1 team in the country this week, after top-ranked Wisconsin lost both games of a weekend series against No. 11 Michigan State. Wisconsin had … Read more

This Week in NCHC Hockey: Colorado College showing marked improvement, moving toward becoming ‘the program we talk about being’

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Ten games into this season, Colorado College’s average of four goals scored per game means the 7-3 Tigers have had the joint fourth-best scoring offense in the country. Bagging goals at such a high clip, including CC’s 5-1 road win Friday at Miami and a 4-1 victory Saturday over the RedHawks, has been a happy … Read more

This Week in NCHC Hockey: Confidence booming for Omaha blueliner Mancini after first NCAA goal as Mavericks ‘trending in the right direction’

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Two seasons and five games into his third campaign with Omaha, junior defenseman Victor Mancini was well aware that he had still yet to score his first collegiate goal. He finally ticked that box Saturday in the Mavericks’ 3-2 overtime win at home to Western Michigan and did so with a move that looked as … Read more

This Week in NCHC Hockey: Remembering former Minnesota Duluth standout Johnson, who ‘was fun to be around, sometimes the life of the party’

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Former Minnesota Duluth forward Adam Johnson played two seasons with the Bulldogs, and earlier this week, UMD coach Scott Sandelin explained why Johnson would’ve gone on to captain the team if he hadn’t left early for pro hockey. Johnson’s intangibles on and off the ice helped make him a coveted prospect out of Minnesota high … Read more

This Week in NCHC Hockey: Denver goalie Davis going through ‘a growth curve and a learning curve’ as Pioneers off to fast start

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It can be a very unenviable task, being the guy who takes over for the guy. That’s the hand Denver junior goaltender Matt Davis was dealt entering this season, holding the most prior experience among the Pioneers’ three goalies who were looking to take over for the since-graduated Magnus Chrona. The Swede now plying his … Read more