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: Colorado College not investing in transfer portal, stocking roster with ‘guys we think we can pull out a lot of return on’

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It’s less and less surprising these days when college coaches peek through the NCAA transfer portal. There isn’t necessarily anything wrong with just looking, either, as second-year Colorado College coach Kris Mayotte can attest. But he refrained in the last offseason from signing anyone through those means, and that’s helping a Tigers team (6-9-1 overall, … Read more

Dual benefits galore as NCAA, ACHA men’s hockey teams now available to schedule, play one another during regular season

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Their teams don’t compete at the same level of college hockey, but with regards to scheduling games, there’s a lot to the shaded area of the Venn diagram for Alaska Anchorage coach Matt Shasby and UNLV’s Anthony Vignieri-Greener. Shasby, an Anchorage native and former UAA player, was introduced in Oct. 2021 as the Seawolves’ seventh … Read more

This Week in NCHC Hockey: Miller providing scoring punch for Omaha as junior is ‘going to do nothing but continue to improve’

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One reason unranked Omaha pulled off last weekend’s biggest upset victory, on Friday at top-ranked Denver, is a junior Mavericks forward who’s now on a four-game goal streak. Matt Miller posted a point in eight of his first 11 games this season, and the United States National Team Development Program product scored twice in UNO’s … Read more

This Week in NCHC Hockey: North Dakota’s ‘One More Shift’ event puts spotlight on former goalie, NHL star Belfour

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Former North Dakota goaltender and 2011 Hockey Hall of Fame inductee Ed Belfour got a chance last week to strap on the pads and don the colors of one of his old teams. And not for the first time. In 2017, Belfour participated in a “One Last Shift” pregame ceremony with the Chicago Blackhawks, the … Read more

This Week in NCHC Hockey: Travel struggles aside, Denver finds way to get first weekend sweep at North Dakota in 12 years

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Since Ralph Engelstad Arena opened in 2001, no North Dakota home series has ever been rescheduled due to weather. Late last week, there was a threat of that changing. Denver was originally scheduled to fly into Fargo, N.D., on Thursday afternoon, then take an 80-mile bus ride up to Grand Forks. Most of the state … Read more

Monday 10: Penn State topples top-ranked team, again, Denver breaks losing drought against North Dakota, Quinnipiac wins twice

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Each week, USCHO.com will pick the top 10 moments from the past weekend in our Monday 10 feature. 1. Penn State beats No. 1 for second consecutive week Eighth-ranked Penn State loves a challenge. A week after the Nittany Lions took a win and overtime loss at home against then-No. 1 Michigan, Penn State knocked … Read more

This Week in NCHC Hockey: Western Michigan captain Polin ‘the epitome of leadership and professionalism’

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Three years and a bit into his collegiate career, there’s little about the way Western Michigan forward Jason Polin operates that surprises the Broncos’ coach. Pat Ferschweiler has been in Kalamazoo that whole time, starting in 2019 when he became Western’s associate head coach. Polin was fresh off a 35-goal campaign in his last of … Read more

This Week in NCHC Hockey: After dropping U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game to Arizona State, North Dakota planning to ‘turn the page’

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Many things come to mind when North Dakota fans think about their hockey team’s unique selling points. There are the eight national championships, but more recently, the Fighting Hawks have also become known for their destination games. The U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game, exempt from teams’ 34-game regular-season limit, is a tradition that has … Read more

This Week in NCHC Hockey: After three years at Colorado College, Cruikshank filling major role, playing top minutes for St. Cloud State

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As he recalls it, on the day he learned current St. Cloud State forward Grant Cruikshank entered the transfer portal ahead of his fifth season of eligibility, Huskies coach Brett Larson met Cruikshank for lunch. Larson had been close to securing Cruikshank’s commitment before, but SCSU came up second to Minnesota after Cruikshank finished a … Read more

This Week in NCHC Hockey: Preseason polls notwithstanding, Miami starting 2022-23 season on strong note with two wins, tie

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It has been an interesting first two weeks of the season for a Miami team in a unique spot both geographically and competitively. Fourth-year RedHawks coach Chris Bergeron has no complaints over Miami being rooted to the bottom of the NCHC preseason poll, after his team’s 1-4-1 start to the 2021-22 campaign continued at pace … Read more

NCHC Hockey 2022-23 Season Preview: Denver the early favorite as Pioneers look to repeat as national champions

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You’ve clicked on a link to this conference season preview, so chances are you already know how strong the NCHC is. So does Heather Weems, who spent the last decade as St. Cloud State’s athletic director before being named in May as the NCHC’s new commissioner. She succeeds Josh Fenton, who previously accepted another NCAA … Read more

Hockey Humanitarian Award Finalist Spotlight: Minnesota Duluth’s Hughes excelling on ice, off ice with Sophie’s Squad raising awareness for mental health

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So many college student-athletes thrive off the highly-regimented routines that come with the territory. When they have a lot of free time, they suddenly risk being unproductive. Minnesota Duluth senior forward Gabbie Hughes doesn’t have that problem. One of UMD’s two finalists for the Patty Kazmaier Award, given to the country’s top women’s college hockey … Read more

Previewing the 2022 NCAA hockey tournament, Worcester Regional: Western Michigan, Minnesota, Massachusetts, Northeastern

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WORCESTER REGIONAL When: Friday, March 25 & Sunday, March 27 Where: DCU Center, Worcester, Mass. Matchups: Western Michigan vs. Northeastern, March 25, noon, ESPNU; Minnesota vs. Massachusetts, March 25, 6 p.m., ESPNU; championship, March 27, 4 p.m./6:30 p.m., ESPN2 1. WESTERN MICHIGAN How they got here: At-large bid Overall season record: 25-11-1 Top players: F … Read more

Previewing the 2022 NCAA hockey tournament, Allentown Regional: Michigan, Quinnipiac, St. Cloud State, American International

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ALLENTOWN REGIONAL When: Friday, March 25 & Sunday, March 27 Where: PPL Center, Allentown, Pa. Matchups: Michigan vs. American International, March 25, 3 p.m., ESPNU; Quinnipiac vs. St. Cloud State, March 25, 8 p.m., ESPNews; championship, March 27, 4 p.m./6:30 p.m., ESPN2 1. MICHIGAN How they got here: Won Big Ten tournament championship Overall season … Read more

Previewing the 2022 NCAA hockey tournament, Loveland Regional: Denver, Minnesota Duluth, Michigan Tech, UMass Lowell

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LOVELAND REGIONAL When: Thursday, March 24 & Saturday, March 26 Where: Budweiser Events Center, Loveland, Colo. Matchups: Minnesota Duluth vs. Michigan Tech, March 24, 3 p.m., ESPNU; Denver vs. UMass Lowell, March 24, 9 p.m., ESPNU; championship, March 26, 4 p.m./6:30 p.m., ESPNU 1. DENVER How they got here: At-large bid Overall season record: 27-9-1 … Read more

Previewing the 2022 NCAA hockey tournament, Albany Regional: Minnesota State, North Dakota, Notre Dame, Harvard

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ALBANY REGIONAL When: Thursday, March 24 & Saturday, March 26 Where: MVP Arena, Albany, N.Y. Matchups: Minnesota State vs. Harvard, March 24, noon, ESPNU; North Dakota vs. Notre Dame, March 24, 6 p.m., ESPNU, championship, March 26, 4 p.m./6:30 p.m., ESPNU 1. MINNESOTA STATE How they got here: Won CCHA tournament championship Overall season record: … Read more

This Week in NCHC Hockey: ‘Elite goaltender’ Driscoll has North Dakota ’embracing these games and embracing playing in these big moments’

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At the start of this season, North Dakota goaltender Zach Driscoll told USCHO.com about how playing pickleball has reminded him of the importance of pressing the reset button following a setback. There haven’t been many of those lately for the graduate student netminder, or for his Fighting Hawks teammates. Driscoll has accounted for UND’s nine … Read more

This Week in NCHC Hockey: Even with No. 1 seed in conference tournament, Denver not taking Miami lightly this weekend in opening round of playoffs

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For as much as coaches and players talk about how brutal NCHC campaigns are, it comes as a surprise that only now, in Year 9 of its existence, the conference has crowned split regular-season champions. That quirk was news to Denver coach David Carle, whose Pioneers earned on Saturday a share of the Penrose Cup … Read more