Zack Cisek enters his third season as an assistant coach with Miami Hockey in 2024-25. He returned to Oxford after working at Lake Superior State from 2018-2022, first as an assistant coach and then as associate head coach. Cisek was previously a graduate assistant with the RedHawks (2015-17).
In 2023-24, Miami finished with seven wins, including a third-period comeback from down three goals to stun then-No. 13 Arizona State in overtime. The RedHawks earned votes in the national polls for the second consecutive year and also went on the road to tie eventual national champion Denver. Individual honors for the Red and White included 12 NCHC All-Academic picks (including seven Distinguished Scholar-Athlete awards) and one Hobey Baker Award nominee (Matthew Barbolini).
The RedHawks went 8-24-4 during the 2022-23 season with a lineup that featured as many as nine freshmen, receiving votes in the national polls for the first time since December 2019. The Red and White earned key wins against eventual Frozen Faceoff champion St. Cloud State at home and on the road at North Dakota, as well as securing the 750th victory in program history. 22 RedHawks qualified for NCHC All-Academic honors, with half of those also claiming Distinguished Scholar-Athlete status. Miami’s Ryan Savage received CSC Academic All-District recognition, while captain Jack Clement was a finalist for the NCHC’s Sportsmanship Award.
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During Cisek's time at LSSU, the Lakers won the 2021 WCHA tournament championship and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1996. Lake Superior State finished that 2020-21 season 19-7-3, posting a 13-6-0 mark in conference play. The Lakers also won 23 games in Cisek's first season with the program (2018-19), the most in a dozen years.
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In 2021-22, LSSU defeated No. 1 ranked and eventual national runners-up Minnesota State and produced two All-CCHA Second Team performers as well as an All-CCHA Rookie Team honoree. The Lakers won five of their last six regular-season games and recorded a total of 18 wins that season.
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Cisek's duties at LSSU included goaltender development, video analysis, prescouts for upcoming opponents, overseeing the penalty kill and power play. He also led individual and small group sessions, organized and ran the Laker Hockey School Summer Youth Camps, and served as the program's co-head of recruiting.
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Cisek spent the 2017-18 season as a volunteer assistant coach at Notre Dame, where he was responsible for goaltender development, practice planning, individual film sessions, and postgame film analysis and player evaluation. That team won the Big Ten regular season and tournament championships, advancing to the title game at the NCAA Frozen Four. Irish goaltender Cale Morris was a Hobey Baker Award Top 10 finalist that season, winning the Mike Richter Award and Big Ten Player of the Year awards as well.
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Cisek was a goaltender for Michigan State from 2013-15, graduating with a Bachelor's degree in Psychology. He was a two-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree and a three-year Dean's List recipient. Cisek holds a Master's in Kinesiology and Health from Miami University, which he earned in 2017.
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