The Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's ice hockey team is the

college ice hockey College ice hockey is played principally in the United States and Canada, though leagues exist outside North America. In the United States, competitive "college hockey" refers to ice hockey played between colleges and universities within the g ...

team of the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campu ...

, competing at the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

Division I level as an associate member of the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

. The Irish play their home games at

Compton Family Ice Arena The Compton Family Ice Arena is a 5,022-seat, two-rink ice facility in Notre Dame, Indiana on the campus of the University of Notre Dame. The arena saw its first game on October 21, 2011. The ice arena replaced the 2,857-seat rink in the north d ...

. The head coach of the Fighting Irish is Jeff Jackson, and his assistant coaches are Paul Pooley, Andy Slaggert, and Max Mobley.

Conference history

Prior to the 2013–14 season, the team competed in the

Central Collegiate Hockey Association The Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) is a college athletic conference that participates in the NCAA's Division I as a hockey-only conference. The current CCHA began play in the 2021–22 season; a previous incarnation, which the curre ...

, and also won its last ever conference championship. In the 2013–2014 season, the team began to play in the

Hockey East The Hockey East Association, also known as Hockey East, is a college ice hockey conference which operates entirely in New England. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as a hockey-only conference. Hockey East came into existence in 1984 for ...

conference, where it played until the conclusion of the 2016-2017 season. Beginning in the 2017–2018 season, the team joined the

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

Conference.

History

Ice hockey has existed on and off as both a club and varsity 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 The Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) is a college athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as a women's ice hockey-only conference. From 1951 to 1999, it operated a ...

(WCHA). The team continued playing in the WCHA for a decade until moving to the

(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 The Central States Collegiate Hockey League (CSCHL) is Division I ACHA level hockey-college athletic conference. The CSCHL is in its 51st season of existence and is one of the top ranked ACHA leagues. It currently has 4 member teams in the Midwe ...

(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 Lake Superior State University (colloquially Lake State, Lake Superior State, Soo Tech, and LSSU) is a public college in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. It is enrolls approximately 2,000 students. Due to its proximity to the Canadian border, and th ...

, 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 ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

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 New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

7–3 and third-seeded

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It i ...

3–1 to advance to the

Frozen Four The annual NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament is a college ice hockey tournament held in the United States by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to determine the top men's team in Division I. Like other Division I cham ...

for the first time in school history. From there, they defeated first-seeded

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

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 The 2009 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament was a single-elimination tournament in which 65 schools competed to determine the national champion of the men's NCAA Division I college basketball as a culmination of the 2008–09 basketball ...

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 The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...

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

2–1 in the Northeast Regional Final. The Fighting Irish faced the East Regional Champion Minnesota-Duluth 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

starting in the 2013–14 season, in response to the conference realignment. The university also announced an expanded television broadcast deal with

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

. The Fighting Irish Hockey began the 2011–12 season in the Edmund P. Joyce Center and played the last hockey game at the Joyce Center on October 15, 2011 against

. The team opened the university's new 5,000-seat

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 Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...

, ranked 3th in the NCAA,

, ranked 4th, and 8th ranked

Western Michigan West Michigan and Western Michigan are terms for an arbitrary region in the U.S. state of Michigan's Lower Peninsula. Most narrowly it refers to the Grand Rapids- Muskegon-Holland area, and more broadly to most of the region along the Lower Pen ...

. 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 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 Save percentage (often known by such symbols as SV%, SVS%, SVP, PCT) is a statistic in various goal-scoring sports that track saves as a statistic. In ice hockey and lacrosse, it is a statistic that represents the percentage of shots on goal ...

; GAA =

Goals against average Goals against average (GAA) also known as "average goals against" or "AGA" is a statistic used in field hockey, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, and water polo that is the mean of goals allowed per game by a goaltender or goalkeeper (depending on s ...

'' 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 (1997)

NCAA

Individual awards

Spencer Penrose Award The Spencer Penrose Award is awarded yearly to the top coach in NCAA Division I men's ice hockey by the American Hockey Coaches Association. The finalists for each year's award comprise the conference Coach of the Year winners from each Division ...

* Jeff Jackson: 2007, 2018 Tim Taylor Award * T. J. Tynan: 2011

Mike Richter Award The Mike Richter Award is an annual award given to the goaltender voted to be the most outstanding in Division I NCAA men's ice hockey during the regular season. The award is named in honor of former Wisconsin goaltender Mike Richter. The inaugur ...

* Cale Morris: 2018

All-Americans

AHCA First Team All-Americans *1972-73: Bill Nyrop, D; Eddie Bumbacco, F *1975-76: Jack Brownschidle, D *1976-77: Jack Brownschidle, 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 Ian Douglas Cole (born February 21, 1989) is an American professional ice hockey defenseman currently playing for the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League (NHL). Cole won the Stanley Cup with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2016 and 201 ...

, D *2017-18: Cale Morris, 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, F *2014-15: Robbie Russo, D *2016-17: Anders Bjork, F *2018-19:

Bobby Nardella Robert Virgil Nardella III (born April 22, 1996) is an American professional ice hockey defenseman currently playing for the Hershey Bears in the American Hockey League (AHL), while under contract with the Washington Capitals of the National Ho ...

, 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 Many sports leagues, sportswriting associations, and other organizations confer "Coach of the Year" awards. In some sports — including baseball and association football — the award is called the "Manager of the Year" award. Some of the ...

* Lefty Smith: 1973

All-Conference Teams

First Team All-WCHA *1972–73: Eddie Bumbacco, F *1975–76: Jack Brownschidle, D *1976-77: Jack Brownschidle, D; Brian Walsh, F *1979-80: Greg Meredith, F Second Team All-WCHA *1972–73: Bill Nyrop, D; Ian Williams, F *1973–74: Ray Delorenzi, F *1976–77: John Peterson, G

CCHA

Individual awards

Player of the Year Several sports leagues honour their best player with an award called Player of the Year (POY) . In the United States, this type of award is usually called a Most Valuable Player award. Association football In association football, this award is he ...

* David Brown: 2007 Rookie of the Year *

Mark Eaton Mark Edward Eaton (January 24, 1957 – May 28, 2021) was an American professional basketball player who spent his entire career (1982–1993) with the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Named an NBA All-Star in 1989, he wa ...

: 1998 * T. J. Tynan: 2011 Best Defensive Defenseman *Kyle Lawson: 2009 * Sean Lorenz: 2011 Best Goaltender * David Brown: 2007

* Jeff Jackson: 2007, 2011 Scholar-Athlete of the Year * Cory McLean: 2005 * Jordan Pearce: 2009

Terry Flanagan Memorial Award The Terry Flanagan Memorial Award was an annual award given out at the conclusion of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association regular season to the player who best demonstrates perseverance, dedication and courage while overcoming severe adversi ...

Steve Noble ''yes'Steve is a masculine given name, usually a short form (hypocorism) of Steven or Stephen Notable people with the name include: steve jops * Steve Abbott (disambiguation), several people * Steve Adams (disambiguation), several people * Steve ...

: 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 * Neil Komadoski: 2004 Tournament Most Valuable Player * David Brown: 2007 * Jordan Pearce:

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 ...

* T. J. Tynan:

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:

, D *2011–12: T. J. Tynan, F *2011–12: Anders Lee, F Second Team All-CCHA *1981–82:

John Schmidt John R. Schmidt is a lawyer and former United States Associate Attorney General who served from 1994 to 1997 under President Bill Clinton. His responsibilities included oversight of the Civil, Antitrust, Civil Rights, Environment and Tax Divisio ...

, D;

, F *1982–83:

, F *1998–99: Ben Simon, F *2003–04: Brett Lebda, D; Aaron Gill, F;

Rob Globke Robert Frederick Globke (born October 24, 1982) is an American former professional ice hockey player. Biography Globke was born in Farmington, Michigan, but grew up in West Bloomfield Township, Michigan. As a youth, he played in the 1996 Quebec ...

, F *2008–09: Kyle Lawson, D;

, F; Christian Hanson, F *2010–11: T. J. Tynan, F; Anders Lee, F CCHA All-Rookie Team *1992–93:

Jamie Ling Jamie Ling (born February 22, 1973) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Prior to turning professional, Ling attended the University of Notre Dame where he played four seasons of NCAA Division I college hockey with the Notre Dame ...

, F *1996–97: Joe Dusbabek, F *1997–98:

, D *1998–99: David Inman, F *2000–01: Brett Lebda, D *2005–06:

, F *2006–07: Kyle Lawson, D; Kevin Deeth, F;

Ryan Thang Ryan William Thang (born May 11, 1987) is an American professional ice hockey player. He was selected by the Nashville Predators in the 3rd round (81st overall) of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft. Thang was born in Chicago, and was a 3-year member and S ...

, F *2008–09: Billy Maday, F *2009–10: Mike Johnson, G *2010–11: T. J. Tynan, F; Anders Lee, F *2011–12: Robbie Russo, D *2012–13: Mario Lucia, F

Hockey East The Hockey East Association, also known as Hockey East, is a college ice hockey conference which operates entirely in New England. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as a hockey-only conference. Hockey East came into existence in 1984 for ...

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: Robbie Russo, D; Vinnie Hinostroza, F *2016–17: Cal Petersen, G; Anders Bjork, F Second Team All-Hockey East *2013–14: Stephen Johns, D *2015–16:

Jordan Gross Jordan Alan Gross (born July 20, 1980) is a former American football offensive tackle for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Utah, where he was recognized as a consensus All-American. He s ...

, D; Anders Bjork, F Third Team All-Hockey East *2016–17: Dennis Gilbert, D Hockey East All-Rookie Team *2013–14: Vinnie Hinostroza, F *2014–15: Cal Petersen, G *2015–16:

, D *2016–17: Andrew Peeke, F

Big Ten

Individual awards

* Cale Morris: 2018 Goaltender of the Year * Cale Morris: 2018 Tournament Most Outstanding Player * Cale Morris:

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: Cale Morris, G;

, D; Jake Evans, F *2018–19:

, D Second Team All-Big Ten *2018–19: Cale Morris, G *2020–21: Spencer Stastney, D; Alex Steeves, 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,

File:Erik Condra 2013-05-19.JPG,

File:Mark Eaton 2013-03-17.JPG,

File:Anders Lee - New York Islanders.jpg, Anders Lee 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 Bryan Peter Rust (born May 11, 1992) is an American professional ice hockey right winger for the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL). Rust was born in Pontiac, Michigan, but grew up in Troy, Michigan. He won back-to-back Sta ...

File:Riley Sheahan 2018-03-03 19621.jpg,

Riley Sheahan Riley Michael Sheahan (born December 7, 1991) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre for EHC Biel of the National League (NL). He was drafted 21st overall by the Detroit Red Wings in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. Sheahan has previously played ...

File:Tim Wallace 2012-02-25.JPG, Tim Wallace

WHA

Several players also were members of WHA teams. Source:

Team captains

* Terry Lorenz &

, 1996–97 *

, 1997–98 * Brian Urick, 1998–99 * Ben Simon, 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 Mark David Van Guilder (born January 17, 1984) is an American former ice hockey player. He played one game in the National Hockey League with the Nashville Predators during the 2013–14 season. The rest of his career, which lasted from 2008 to ...

, 2007–08 *

, 2008–09 *

, 2009–10 *Joe Lavin, 2010–11 * Sean Lorenz & Billy Maday, 2011–12 * Anders Lee, 2012–13 *Jeff Costello, 2013–14 * Steven Fogarty, 2014–15 * Steven Fogarty & Robbie Russo, 2015 * Steven Fogarty, 2015–16 * Cal Petersen, 2016–17 * Jake Evans, 2017–18 * Andrew Peeke, 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 Edmund P. Joyce Center. 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