The Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's ice hockey team is the college ice hockey team of the University of Notre Dame, competing at the NCAA Division I level as an associate member of the Big Ten Conference. The Irish play their home games at Compton Family Ice Arena. The head coach of the Fighting Irish is Jeff Jackson, and his assistant coaches are

Paul Pooley Paul Robert Pooley (born August 2, 1960 in Exeter, Ontario) is a former professional ice hockey player who played 15 games in the National Hockey League with the Winnipeg Jets. He played his college hockey at Ohio State The Ohio State Univ ...

, Andy Slaggert, and Max Mobley.

Conference history

Prior to the 2013–14 season, the team competed in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association, and also won its last ever conference championship. In the 2013–2014 season, the team began to play in the Hockey East conference, where it played until the conclusion of the 2016-2017 season. Beginning in the 2017–2018 season, the team joined the Big Ten Conference.

History

Ice hockey has existed on and off as both a club and

varsity Varsity may refer to: *University, an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in various academic disciplines Places *Varsity, Calgary, a neighbourhood in Calgary, Alberta, Canada * Varsity Lakes ...

sport at Notre Dame since 1912. The modern era of Notre Dame hockey began in 1968, when the Fighting Irish began to play as a Division I independent. In 1971, the team joined its first conference, the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA). The team continued playing in the WCHA for a decade until moving to the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) with the conference's three Michigan schools in 1981. NotreDamehky10810

The Fighting Irish lasted only two years in the new CCHA, when ice hockey was downgraded to a club sport for the 1983–1984 season. During that season, the Fighting Irish played in the Central States Collegiate Hockey League (CSCHL). Notre Dame finished that season second in the CSCHL with a record of 13–2–0. In 1984–1985 Notre Dame Hockey was once again elevated to varsity status with the team playing as a Division I independent. In 1992 Notre Dame rejoined the CCHA. The Irish struggled to remain competitive in the CCHA, but began to improve under head coach

Dave Poulin David James Poulin (born December 17, 1958) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey Centre (ice hockey), centre who played 13 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Philadelphia Flyers, Boston Bruins and Washington Capitals. P ...

. In 2004, Poulin led the team to its first ever NCAA Tournament. However, the following season was dramatically different. They only won five games, the worst season in school history. Poulin resigned after the season.

Jeff Jackson era

In 2005, Jeff Jackson took over as head coach. Jackson, who had already won two national championships at Lake Superior State University, had an immediate impact at Notre Dame. In his first season with the Irish, the team greatly improved upon the five-win season, boosting its record to 13–19–5. 2007 was even more successful. The Irish achieved their first ever number one ranking in both the Uscho.com and USA Today Polls and their first number one seeding for the NCAA Tournament. The following year, the Irish finished fourth in both the CCHA's regular season and playoffs, and again made the NCAA Tournament. Once there, the Irish went on to beat top-seeded New Hampshire 7–3 and third-seeded Michigan State 3–1 to advance to the Frozen Four for the first time in school history. From there, they defeated first-seeded Michigan in overtime to advance to the national title game, ultimately losing to

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...

4–1. Notre Dame also became the first four-seed to advance to the national semi-finals, and eventually to the national title game since the new 16-team format was introduced in 2003. In the 2008–2009 season, the Irish added another CCHA regular season title and a CCHA Tournament title, defeating Michigan 5–2 in the title game. Notre Dame advanced to the 2009 NCAA Tournament where the Irish was upset by 16th seeded Bemidji State 1–5. The following season, Notre Dame finished with a record of 13–17–8 and ended the season after being swept by Ohio State two games to none in the three game opening round series of the CCHA Playoffs. The Irish rebounded in the 2010–11 regular season at 23–13–5, and clinched their second trip to the Frozen Four in program history by defeating New Hampshire 2–1 in the Northeast Regional Final. The Fighting Irish faced the East Regional Champion

Minnesota-Duluth The University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) is a public university in Duluth, Minnesota. It is part of the University of Minnesota system and offers 16 bachelor's degrees in 88 Academic major, majors, graduate programs in 25 different fields, and a ...

in the national semi-finals. The Irish fell to the eventual national champion 3–4. In October 2011, Notre Dame announced the team will join Hockey East starting in the 2013–14 season, in response to the conference realignment. The university also announced an expanded television broadcast deal with NBC. The Fighting Irish Hockey began the 2011–12 season in the

Edmund P. Joyce Center The Joyce Center, formerly the Athletic & Convocation Center, is a 9,149-seat multi-purpose arena in Notre Dame, Indiana just north of South Bend. The arena opened its doors in 1968. It is home to the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish basket ...

and played the last hockey game at the Joyce Center on October 15, 2011 against Ohio State. The team opened the university's new 5,000-seat Compton Family Ice Arena on October 21, 2011 against Rensselaer. Following the move into the new arena the Irish improved to a 7–3 home record in the new facility that included wins over future Hockey East rivals, Boston University, ranked 3th in the NCAA,

, ranked 4th, and 8th ranked Western Michigan. On January 4, 2012, former coach and long-time Notre Dame Athletic Department employee, Charles "Lefty" Smith died. Smith coached the team from 1968 to 1987 as the first varsity ice hockey after helping the program transition from club to varsity status. Following his coaching career, he continued at Notre Dame in the athletic department until retiring just three days before his death. The Fighting Irish finished the regular season with an overall record of 17–16–3 and a conference record of 12–13–3. The team defeated Ohio State in the opening round of the 2012 CCHA Tournament, sweeping the Buckeyes in two games by scores of 2–0 and 4–2. In the second round of the CCHA Tournament, the team was defeated by the

Michigan Wolverines The Michigan Wolverines comprise 29 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the NCAA's Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except women's water polo, which competes in the NCAA inter-divisio ...

in two games in a series that saw the first game go into a double overtime. The team was defeated in the first round of the NCAA regional playoffs in 2013 and 2014, both times by the St. Cloud State Huskies.

Season-by-season results

Source:

Head coaches

All-time coaching records

As of completion of 2021–22 season † The Program was dropped to club status for the 1983–84 season.

Postseason

NCAA Tournament Results

The Fighting Irish have appeared in the NCAA Tournament 13 times.

Statistical leaders

Source:

Career points leaders

Career goaltending leaders

''GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average'' minimum 30 games played Statistics current through the start of the 2019–20 season.

Players

Current roster

As of August 25, 2022.

Awards and honors

United States Hockey Hall of Fame

Source: *

Bill Nyrop William Donald Nyrop (July 23, 1952 – December 31, 1995) was a professional ice hockey player who won three Stanley Cups with the Montreal Canadiens in 1976, 1977, and 1978. Early life Born in Washington, D.C., his father, Donald Nyrop, served ...

(1997)

NCAA

Individual awards

Spencer Penrose Award * Jeff Jackson: 2007, 2018 Tim Taylor Award *

T. J. Tynan Thomas Joseph Tynan (born February 25, 1992) is an American professional ice hockey player for the Ontario Reign of the American Hockey League (AHL) while under contract to the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League (NHL). Tynan was ...

: 2011 Mike Richter Award *

Cale Morris Christopher Cale Morris (born May 22, 1996) is an American professional ice hockey goaltender for the Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League (AHL). Following success in the United States Hockey League with the Chicago Steel and Waterloo ...

: 2018

All-Americans

AHCA First Team All-Americans *1972-73:

, D; Eddie Bumbacco, F *1975-76:

Jack Brownschidle John Joseph Brownschidle, Jr. (born October 2, 1955) is an American former professional ice hockey player who played 494 NHL games with the St. Louis Blues and Hartford Whalers between 1977 and 1985. He was born in Buffalo, New York. Brownschidle ...

, D *1976-77:

, D; Brian Walsh, F *1979-80: Greg Meredith, F *1982-83:

Kirt Bjork Kirt Bjork is an American retired ice hockey Winger (ice hockey), left wing who was an List of Division I AHCA All-American Teams, All-American for Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's ice hockey, Notre Dame. Career Bjork was recruited to Notre Dame ...

, F *2006-07: David Brown, G *2008-09: Ian Cole, D *2017-18:

, G AHCA Second Team All-Americans *1998-99: Benoit Cotnoir, D *2008-09:

Erik Condra Erik Paul Condra (born August 6, 1986) is an Americans, American former professional ice hockey Forward (ice hockey), forward who played in 372 National Hockey League (NHL) games with the Ottawa Senators, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Dallas Stars. He ...

, F *2013-14:

Anders Lee Anders Mark Lee (born July 3, 1990) is an American professional ice hockey winger and captain of the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League (NHL). Lee attended the University of Notre Dame, where he played hockey for the Fighting Iris ...

, F *2014-15:

Robbie Russo Robbie Victor Russo (born February 15, 1993) is an American professional ice hockey defenceman currently playing for the Utica Comets in the American Hockey League (AHL) while under contract to the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League ...

, D *2016-17: Anders Bjork, F *2018-19: Bobby Nardella, D

WCHA

Individual awards

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

* Brian Walsh: 1977 Freshman of the Year * Brian Walsh: 1974 Coach of the Year *

Lefty Smith Charles 'Lefty' Smith (January 5, 1930 – January 3, 2012) was an American ice hockey player and coach most well known for his long tenure with Notre Dame. Career A Saint Paul native, Smith spent four years at the nearby University of St. Thoma ...

: 1973

All-Conference Teams

First Team All-WCHA *1972–73: Eddie Bumbacco, F *1975–76:

, D *1976-77:

, D; Brian Walsh, F *1979-80: Greg Meredith, F Second Team All-WCHA *1972–73:

, D; Ian Williams, F *1973–74: Ray Delorenzi, F *1976–77: John Peterson, G

CCHA

Individual awards

Player of the Year * David Brown: 2007 Rookie of the Year * Mark Eaton: 1998 *

: 2011 Best Defensive Defenseman *Kyle Lawson: 2009 * Sean Lorenz: 2011 Best Goaltender * David Brown: 2007 Coach of the Year * Jeff Jackson: 2007, 2011 Scholar-Athlete of the Year * Cory McLean: 2005 *

Jordan Pearce Jordan Paul Pearce (born October 10, 1986) is an American former professional ice hockey goaltender. Playing career Pearce began his hockey career with the U.S. National Team Developmental Program and the Lincoln Stars of the USHL. While playin ...

: 2009 Terry Flanagan Memorial Award * Steve Noble: 1997 * Dan VeNard: 2008 *

: 2009 *

Joe Rogers Joe Rogers may refer to: *Joe Rogers (politician) (1964–2013), Lieutenant Governor of Colorado 1999–2003 *Joe Rogers (businessman) (1919–2017), American businessman, co-founder of Waffle House * Joe Rogers Jr. (born 1950/51), American busines ...

: 2013

Ilitch Humanitarian Award The Mike and Marian Ilitch Humanitarian Award was an annual award given out at the conclusion of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association regular season to the league's top citizen. The Award was donated by and named after Mike and Marian Ilit ...

* Neil Komadoski: 2004 Tournament Most Valuable Player * David Brown:

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

All-Conference Teams

First Team All-CCHA *1998–99: Benoit Cotnoir, D *2006–07: David Brown, G *2008–09: Ian Cole, D *2011–12:

, F *2011–12:

, F Second Team All-CCHA *1981–82: John Schmidt, D;

, F *1982–83:

, F *1998–99:

Ben Simon Benjamin Clarke Simon (born June 14, 1978) is an American former professional ice hockey center who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Atlanta Thrashers and Columbus Blue Jackets between 2001 and 2006. He was the head coach of th ...

, F *2003–04:

Brett Lebda Brett Steven Lebda (born January 15, 1982) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman, who last played with the Binghamton Senators of the American Hockey League (AHL). He has played in the National Hockey League with the Detroit Red ...

, D; Aaron Gill, F; Rob Globke, F *2008–09: Kyle Lawson, D;

, F; Christian Hanson, F *2010–11:

, F;

, F CCHA All-Rookie Team *1992–93: Jamie Ling, F *1996–97: Joe Dusbabek, F *1997–98: Mark Eaton, D *1998–99: David Inman, F *2000–01:

, D *2005–06:

, F *2006–07: Kyle Lawson, D; Kevin Deeth, F; Ryan Thang, F *2008–09: Billy Maday, F *2009–10:

Mike Johnson James Michael Johnson (born January 30, 1972) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the List of speakers of the United States House of Representatives, 56th speaker of the United States House of Representatives since October 25, 20 ...

, G *2010–11:

, F;

, F *2011–12:

, D *2012–13: Mario Lucia, F

Hockey East

Individual awards

Best Defensive Forward *

Sam Herr Sam, SAM or variants may refer to: Places * Sam, Benin * Sam, Boulkiemdé, Burkina Faso * Sam, Bourzanga, Burkina Faso * Sam, Kongoussi, Burkina Faso * Sam, Iran * Sam, Teton County, Idaho, United States, a populated place People and fictional c ...

: 2016 Best Defensive Defenseman * Dennis Gilbert: 2017 Three-Stars Award * Anders Bjork: 2017

All-Conference Teams

First Team All-Hockey East *2014–15:

, D;

Vinnie Hinostroza Vincent Enrique Hinostroza (born April 3, 1994) is an Americans, American professional ice hockey Forward (ice hockey), forward who currently plays for the Rochester Americans in the American Hockey League (AHL) while under contract to the Buffal ...

, F *2016–17:

Cal Petersen Calvin Louis Petersen (born October 19, 1994) is an American professional ice hockey goaltender for the Ontario Reign of the American Hockey League (AHL) while under contract to the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was s ...

, G; Anders Bjork, F Second Team All-Hockey East *2013–14: Stephen Johns, D *2015–16: Jordan Gross, D; Anders Bjork, F Third Team All-Hockey East *2016–17: Dennis Gilbert, D Hockey East All-Rookie Team *2013–14:

, F *2014–15:

, G *2015–16: Bobby Nardella, D *2016–17:

Andrew Peeke Andrew Phillip Peeke (born March 17, 1998) is an American professional ice hockey defenseman who is currently playing for the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League (NHL). Peeke was selected 34th overall by the Blue Jackets in the 20 ...

, F

Big Ten

Individual awards

Player of the Year *

: 2018 Goaltender of the Year *

: 2018 Tournament Most Outstanding Player *

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

All-Conference Teams

First Team All-Big Ten *2017–18:

, G; Jordan Gross, D; Jake Evans, F *2018–19: Bobby Nardella, D Second Team All-Big Ten *2018–19:

, G *2020–21: Spencer Stastney, D;

Alex Steeves Alex Steeves (born December 10, 1999) is an American professional ice hockey forward. He is currently playing with the Toronto Marlies in the American Hockey League (AHL) as a prospect to the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NH ...

, F *2021–22: Max Ellis, F Big Ten All-Freshman Team *2018–19: Michael Graham, F

Fighting Irish in the NHL

As of July 1, 2022. File:Ian Cole 2017-04-29 1.jpg, Ian Cole File:Erik Condra 2013-05-19.JPG,

File:Mark Eaton 2013-03-17.JPG, Mark Eaton File:Anders Lee - New York Islanders.jpg,

File:Kyle Palmieri - New Jersey Devils.jpg,

Kyle Palmieri Kyle Charles Palmieri (; born February 1, 1991) is an American professional ice hockey right winger for the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously played for the New Jersey Devils and Anaheim Ducks. Growing up ...

File:Bryan Rust 2017-12-09 2.jpg, Bryan Rust File:Riley Sheahan 2018-03-03 19621.jpg, Riley Sheahan File:Tim Wallace 2012-02-25.JPG,

Tim Wallace Timothy Todd Wallace (born August 6, 1984) is an American professional ice hockey center and ice hockey coach. He is currently signed to National Ice Hockey League (NIHL) side Milton Keynes Lightning as Player/Coach and Director of Hockey Devel ...

WHA

Several players also were members of WHA teams. Source:

Team captains

* Terry Lorenz & Steve Noble, 1996–97 * Steve Noble, 1997–98 * Brian Urick, 1998–99 *

, 1999–2000 * Ryan Dolder, 2000–01 * Evan Nielsen, 2001–03 * Aaron Gill, 2003–04 * Cory McLean, 2004–05 * T. J. Jindra, 2005–07 * Mark Van Guilder, 2007–08 *

, 2008–09 * Ryan Thang, 2009–10 *Joe Lavin, 2010–11 * Sean Lorenz & Billy Maday, 2011–12 *

, 2012–13 *Jeff Costello, 2013–14 *

Steven Fogarty Steven Fogarty (born April 19, 1993) is an American professional ice hockey forward currently playing for the Iowa Wild of the American Hockey League (AHL) while under contract to the Minnesota Wild of the National Hockey League (NHL). Fogarty w ...

, 2014–15 *

, 2015 *

, 2015–16 *

, 2016–17 * Jake Evans, 2017–18 *

, 2018–19

Compton Family Ice Arena

In February 2009, The University of Notre Dame announced it will begin construction on a new, freestanding, on-campus ice arena designed to meet the needs of both the Irish hockey team and the local community. Construction on the 5,022-seat arena began on March 15, 2010 with the venue opening in the Fall of 2011. The arena held its first Notre Dame hockey game on October 21, 2011 when a sellout crowd saw Notre Dame defeat Rensselaer 5–2. The new ice arena is located south of the Joyce Center, just north of Edison Road, and just west of where the new Irish track and field facility is being constructed. The majority of the general public arena seating is of the chair-back variety with bleacher seating in the student section. The Compton Family Center replaced the rink inside the

. During the time that the Irish played at the Joyce Center, the facility was the second smallest home rink in the CCHA with a hockey capacity of 2,857. All seats were benchers, and most of the seating consists of temporary bleachers. In 2007, the Irish compiled an impressive 14–2–2 home record at the Joyce Center.

References

External links

* {{Big Ten Conference Big Ten Conference ice hockey Ice hockey teams in Indiana