Matthew Semisch
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
It was an unseasonably warm Wednesday afternoon in Omaha — 75 degrees, on March 2 — when Mavericks coach Mike Gabinet spoke about a UNO team that seems to be heating up. Six points back in the NCHC standings from fourth-place Minnesota Duluth, UNO (20-14) is all but assured of a road trip for the … Read more
With its inaugural season winding down, firsts for Colorado College’s Ed Robson Arena are starting to come less regularly. Two more came last weekend, though, when the Tigers earned their first two overtime wins, and CC’s first weekend sweep, at the new on-campus facility. The Tigers (9-18-3) had lost five straight heading into last weekend’s … Read more
Seventh-ranked Minnesota Duluth’s 3-2 win Saturday at Denver marked the first time that the No. 3 Pioneers had lost at home this season, but that wasn’t what the Bulldogs were thinking about when the final horn sounded. Sophomore goaltender Zach Stejskal had made 20 saves in relief during his first game since Oct. 15. When … Read more
Today marks one year since the nationwide College Hockey for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion initiative was publicly announced, and the NCHC has proudly maintained its involvement. Omaha assistant coach Paul Jerrard has been a committee member since the initiative’s creation. Outgoing NCHC commissioner Josh Fenton has stayed on as a working group leadership member while … Read more
There’s no getting around the fact that, to date, this hasn’t been a vintage Miami hockey season. Miami (4-20-2, 1-14-1) sits eight points adrift at the bottom of the NCHC standings. The RedHawks are also winless in regulation in nine games (0-8-1) since Dec. 12, though they did take an overtime shootout Jan. 15 at … Read more
Where is the line between enough rest for a hockey team, and too much? Western Michigan seems to have found it, albeit in less-than-ideal circumstances. The Broncos jumped up one spot to No. 3 in the latest DCU/USCHO Division I Men’s Poll, following a home sweep last weekend against then-No. 9 North Dakota. Two Ronnie … Read more
Each week, USCHO.com will pick the top 10 moments from the past weekend in our Monday 10 feature. 1. Top-ranked Quinnipiac downs Colgate, falls in OT to Cornell Quinnipiac’s new run at the top of the DCU/USCHO Division I Men’s Poll was thrown into jeopardy last weekend, when the Bobcats split the first two games … Read more
After COVID-19 conditions last season saw Denver split its players into cohorts in three different locker rooms, David Carle now feels more like a regular hockey coach. His fourth season with the Pioneers hasn’t been normal, though. Another reminder of that arrived last Wednesday afternoon, when Denver learned it wouldn’t be hosting St. Cloud State … Read more
We’re not yet waking up to Sonny & Cher every morning, but college hockey teams might feel they’re living out “Groundhog Day” with the COVID-19 pandemic entering, to borrow an eligibility term, its junior year. St. Cloud State, ranked fifth in the latest DCU/USCHO Division I Men’s Poll, is fresh off an unexpected bye week. … Read more
Omaha announced bad news Tuesday, as COVID-19 protocols forced the Mavericks to postpone a home series scheduled for this weekend against Denver. When the Mavericks return to action, though — as of now, Jan. 14-15 at North Dakota — they’ll expect to have a strong-playing goaltender starting between the pipes. Omaha junior Isaiah Saville is … Read more
Chances are, you have gone to the Internet for tips on all sorts of activities. Social media platforms, in particular, are chock-full with videos that provide inspiration. In that way, at least, hockey players are just like the rest of us. Western Michigan fifth-year forward Ethen Frank had a remarkable first half of the season … Read more
NCHC commissioner Josh Fenton is always busy at this time of year, with the college hockey season nearing its halfway point. Now, though, he has even more on his plate as he transitions from leading a conference with one sport to another with 19. Fenton was announced Friday as the next commissioner of the Summit … Read more
“Through These Doors,” North Dakota’s in-house digital series chronicling life inside the university’s men’s hockey program, reached a major milestone Thursday when the show’s 200th episode premiered on YouTube. The show, aired weekly during the hockey season, is now in its 10th year. That’s six years on top of what David Folske, one of the … Read more
When Western Michigan’s players gathered Tuesday to continue a tradition created last year in which they bonded over a Thanksgiving-week team meal they cooked themselves, the Broncos knew they had plenty for which to be thankful. The Broncos had every reason to celebrate, not only for the holiday but also the team’s recent success. WMU … Read more
Minnesota Duluth is the No. 4 team in the county and has reached the last four Frozen Fours, winning two of them. Seldom do the Bulldogs see scoring as a huge chore. Neither do other teams of that caliber, so what sets them apart from the rest are players who can do a bit of … Read more
Miami coach Chris Bergeron on Tuesday approached the dais at his weekly press conference appearing to have a point to make to his team. The good news for the RedHawks out of last weekend’s series at No. 9 Omaha was that Miami (2-5-1) earned a road split against a top-10 team. Still, Bergeron wasn’t exactly … Read more
Each week, USCHO.com will pick the top 10 moments from the past weekend in our Monday 10 feature. 1. North Dakota sweeps rival Pioneers Eleventh-ranked Denver entered last weekend having won just two of the Pioneers’ last 17 games at long-time rival North Dakota’s Ralph Engelstad Arena. Make it two of 19, after UND swept … Read more
Fans of several NHL teams may have been noticing the creation of land acknowledgements, in which teams publicly recognize that their facilities sit on land stewarded by Indigenous peoples since time immemorial. Western Michigan is one of a growing list of universities also participating in this practice. In September 2019, the university’s trustees approved an … Read more
For Ralph Engelstad Arena general manager Jody Hodgson, looking back three years to North Dakota’s last destination game sometimes feels like it happened a decade ago. The world has changed immensely since the COVID-19 pandemic started, let alone since UND beat Minnesota 3-1 in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game three years ago this … Read more