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 Brock Sheahan.
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 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.
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. 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 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 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 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 3rd in the NCAA, Boston College, 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 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, 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 Tenure Coach Years Record Pct. 1911–1912 No Coach 1 1–0–0 1912–1913 G.R. Walsh 1 1–2–0 1919–1923 Paul Castner 4 19–5–1 1923–1926 Tom Lieb 3 3–9–3 1926–1927 Benjamin Dubois 1 3–7–1 1968–1987 Lefty Smith 18† 285–314–30 1987–1995 Ric Schafer 8 112–152–15 1995–2005 Dave Poulin 10 139–197–50 2005–2025 Jeff Jackson 20 419–291–74 2025–present Brock Sheahan 0 0–0–0 Totals 9 coaches 66 Seasons 982–977–174 † 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.
Year Seed Round Opponent Results 2004 No. 4 Midwest Regional semifinal #1 Minnesota L 2–5 2007 No. 1 Midwest Regional semifinalMidwest Regional Final #4 Alabama-Huntsville#3 Michigan State W 3–2L 1–2 2008 No. 4 West Regional semifinalWest Regional FinalFrozen FourNational Championship #1 New Hampshire#3 Michigan State#1 Michigan#2 Boston College W 7–3W 3–1W 5–4L 1–4 2009 No. 1 Midwest Regional semifinal #4 Bemidji State L 1–5 2011 No. 3 Northeast Regional semifinalNortheast Regional FinalFrozen Four #2 Merrimack#4 New Hampshire#3 Minnesota-Duluth W 4–3W 2–1L 3–4 2013 No. 1 Midwest Regional semifinal #4 St. Cloud State L 1–5 2014 No. 2 West Regional semifinal #3 St. Cloud State L 3–4 2016 No. 3 Midwest Regional semifinal #2 Michigan L 2–3 2017 No. 4 Northeast Regional semifinalNortheast Regional FinalFrozen Four #1 Minnesota#2 UMass-Lowell#1 Denver W 3–2 W 3–2 L 1–6 2018 No. 1 East Regional semifinalEast Regional FinalFrozen Four National Championship #4 Michigan Tech#2 Providence#2 Michigan #3 Minnesota-Duluth W 4–3 W 2–1 W 4–3 L 1–2 2019 No. 3 Northeast Regional semifinalNortheast Regional Final#2 Clarkson#1 UMass W 3–2L 0–4 2021 No. 4 East Regional semifinal#1 Boston College No Contest – Covid Cancellation 2022 No. 3 East Regional semifinalEast Regional Final#2 North Dakota#1 Minnesota St. W 2–1 OTL 0–1
Statistical leaders Source:
Career points leaders Player Years GP G A Pts PIM 1973–1977 140 89 145 234 273 1969–1973 123 81 145 226 159 1970–1974 133 103 117 220 71 1970–1974 126 92 119 211 239 1984–1988 124 83 115 198 80 1978–1982 135 89 107 196 175 1976–1980 149 104 88 192 72 1969–1973 125 89 97 186 272 1973–1977 145 70 113 183 231 1988–1993 141 73 109 182 86
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 Player Years GP Min W L T GA SO SV% GAA 2005–2009 94 5506 59 26 7 182 12 .918 1.98 2016–2020 73 4299 46 21 4 148 8 .938 2.07 2010–2014 106 5909 57 38 5 216 13 .914 2.19 2014–2017 110 6499 55 39 15 249 11 .924 2.31 2003–2007 111 6326 55 38 11 245 8 .916 2.32
Statistics current through the end of the 2023–24 season.
Players
Current roster As of August 16, 2025.
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 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: 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 Jordan Pearce: 2009 T. J. Tynan: 2013
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: Mark Eaton, 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, G 2010–11: T. J. Tynan, F; Anders Lee, F 2011–12: Robbie Russo, D 2012–13: Mario Lucia, F
Hockey East
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, 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: Vinnie Hinostroza, F 2014–15: Cal Petersen, G