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 go ...

team of the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

, competing at the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

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, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...

. The Irish play their home games at Compton Family Ice Arena. The head coach of the Fighting Irish is Brock Sheahan.

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 in the Midwestern United States that participates in the NCAA's Division I as a hockey-only conference. The current CCHA began play in the 2021–22 season; a previ ...

, 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, among others) is a collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives in 1 ...

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 ice hockey conference which operates in the Midwestern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as a women's-only conference. From 1951 to 1999, it operated as a me ...

(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) was a Division I ACHA level hockey-college athletic conference. The CSCHL was one of the top ranked ACHA leagues. In its final state, it contained two member teams in the Midwestern United St ...

(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. 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, Soo Tech, and LSSU) is a public college in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, United States. It enrolls approximately 1,600 students. Due to its proximity to the Canada–United States border, ...

, 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'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

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

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 peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

in overtime to advance to the national title game, ultimately losing to

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...

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 The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one of the largest universities by enrollme ...

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 commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

. 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 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 Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

, ranked 3th in the NCAA,

, ranked 4th, and 8th ranked

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

. 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 National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except wo ...

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. On June 24, 2024, Jackson announced he would step down as head coach following the 2024–25 season, after 20 seasons at Notre Dame. On March 7, 2025, during the first quarterfinals game of the 2025 Big Ten men's ice hockey tournament against

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, Jackson earned his 600th career victory.

Brock Sheahan era

On March 17, 2025, Brock Sheahan was named the head coach for Notre Dame.

Season-by-season results

Source:

Head coaches

All-time coaching records

As of completion of 2024–25 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 (sports), goal-scoring sports that track Save (goaltender), saves as a statistic. In ice hockey and lacrosse and association football, it is a sta ...

; GAA =

Goals against average Goals against average (GAA), also known as average goals against (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 spo ...

'' minimum 30 games played Statistics current through the end of the 2023–24 season.

Players

Current roster

As of September 3, 2024.

Awards and honors

United States Hockey Hall of Fame

Source: * Bill Nyrop (1997)

NCAA

Individual awards

Spencer Penrose Award * Jeff Jackson: 2007, 2018 Tim Taylor Award * T. J. Tynan: 2011 Mike Richter Award * 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, F *2006-07: David Brown, G *2008-09: Ian Cole, D *2017-18: Cale Morris, G AHCA Second Team All-Americans *1998-99: Benoit Cotnoir, D *2008-09: Erik Condra, F *2013-14: Anders Lee, F *2014-15: Robbie Russo, D *2016-17: Anders Bjork, F *2018-19: Bobby Nardella, D *2022-23: Ryan Bischel, G

WCHA

Individual awards

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player (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 particular competition, or ...

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

: 1998 * T. J. Tynan: 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: 2009 Terry Flanagan Memorial Award * Steve Noble: 1997 * Dan VeNard: 2008 * Erik Condra: 2009 * Joe Rogers: 2013 Ilitch Humanitarian Award * Neil Komadoski: 2004 Tournament Most Valuable Player * David Brown:

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

* Jordan Pearce:

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

* T. J. Tynan:

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

All-Conference Teams

First Team All-CCHA *1998–99: Benoit Cotnoir, D *2006–07: David Brown, G *2008–09: Ian Cole, D *2011–12: T. J. Tynan, F *2011–12: Anders Lee, F Second Team All-CCHA *1981–82: John Schmidt, D; Dave Poulin, F *1982–83: Kirt Bjork, F *1998–99: Ben Simon, F *2003–04: Brett Lebda, D; Aaron Gill, F; Rob Globke, F *2008–09: Kyle Lawson, D; Erik Condra, F; Christian Hanson, F *2010–11: T. J. Tynan, F; Anders Lee, F CCHA All-Rookie Team *1992–93: Jamie Ling, F *1996–97: Joe Dusbabek, F *1997–98:

, D *1998–99: David Inman, F *2000–01: Brett Lebda, D *2005–06: Erik Condra, 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 2023. A member ...

, 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: 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 Vincent Enrique Hinostroza (born April 3, 1994) is an American professional ice hockey forward for the Minnesota Wild of the National Hockey League (NHL). Hinostroza was selected by the Chicago Blackhawks in the sixth round (169th overall) of t ...

, F *2016–17: Cal Petersen, 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: Cal Petersen, G *2015–16: Bobby Nardella, D *2016–17: Andrew Peeke, F

Big Ten

Individual awards

Player of the Year * Cale Morris: 2018 Goaltender of the Year * Cale Morris: 2018 * Ryan Bischel: 2023 Tournament Most Outstanding Player * Cale Morris:

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

All-Conference Teams

First Team All-Big Ten *2017–18: Cale Morris, G; Jordan Gross, D; Jake Evans, F *2018–19: Bobby Nardella, D *2022–23: Ryan Bischel, G Second Team All-Big Ten *2018–19: Cale Morris, G *2020–21: Spencer Stastney, D; Alex Steeves, F *2021–22: Max Ellis, F *2023–24: Landon Slaggert, F *2024–25: Cole Knuble, F Big Ten All-Freshman Team *2018–19: Michael Graham, F

Fighting Irish in the NHL

As of July 1, 2024. File:Ian Cole 2017-04-29 1.jpg, Ian Cole File:Erik Condra 2013-05-19.JPG, Erik Condra File:Mark Eaton 2013-03-17.JPG,

File:Jake Evans - Canadiens Capitals Hockey (51706742966) (cropped).jpg, Jake Evans File:Jordan Gross 2022 (2).jpg, Jordan Gross File:Vinnie Hinostroza 2019-11-11 2.jpg,

File:Anders Lee - New York Islanders.jpg, Anders Lee File:Kyle Palmieri - New Jersey Devils.jpg, Kyle Palmieri File:AndrewPeekeCropped.png, Andrew Peeke 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

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 * 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, 2007–08 * Erik Condra, 2008–09 * Ryan Thang, 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 College ice hockey teams in Indiana NCAA Division I men's ice hockey teams Ice hockey clubs established in 1911 1911 establishments in Indiana