ROSEMONT, Ill. – University of Notre Dame head coach Jeff Jackson has been named one of three finalists for Big Ten Hockey’s Coach of the Year award.
The league announced the top-three finalists for its individual awards on Wednesday (March 9), including Jackson, Minnesota’s Bob Motzko and Ohio State’s Steve Rohlik for Coach of the Year honors. The winners will be announced on Big Ten Network’s B1G Today at noon ET on Tuesday, March 15.
Jackson guided the eighth-ranked Irish to a third-place finish in the Big Ten standings and helped Notre Dame to a Big Ten Tournament Quarterfinal series win over Wisconsin, two games to one (March 4-6) to advance to the Big Ten Tournament Semifinals for the third time in five seasons since joining the league.
Jackson, who has led his teams to seven Frozen Four appearances as a head coach, added four graduate transfers as well as a sophomore transfer and five freshmen to his core of returners for the 2021-22 campaign. Blending that group, Jackson saw his team post a 27-10-0 record thus far and the team is poised to make the NCAA Tournament field as well. The Irish closed out the regular season by sweeping then second-ranked Michigan (Feb. 25-26) to secure third place as Notre Dame became the only team to sweep Michigan this season (did so twice).
The Fighting Irish roster features seven players with at least 20 points and a goalie tandem that boasts two of the top-13 save percentages in the country. Notre Dame’s scoring offense ranks eighth in the NCAA with a 3.35 goals per game average, while its defense ranks sixth with a 2.09 goals against per game as the Irish are one of only three teams to rank in the top 10 in both categories. Notre Dame has the nation’s second-best penalty kill (90.30%) while also adding seven shorthanded goals, which also ranks tied for second in the NCAA.
Jackson now has 557 career wins, which ranks second among active NCAA Division I head coaches, spanning six seasons at Lake Superior State and 17 seasons at Notre Dame. Jackson’s win total also ranks 10th all-time for wins at the NCAA Division I level.
With the most recent being the 2019 Big Ten Tournament title, Notre Dame has won eight conference championships in program history, each under Jackson (three regular-season). Notre Dame has made each of the last five NCAA Tournaments, the longest streak in program history, and eight of the last 11 NCAA Tournaments overall.
Jackson continues to develop NHL talent on a consistent basis. This season, Former Irish forward Alex Steeves (2018-21) made his NHL debut for the Toronto Maple Leafs on Dec. 7 against Columbus (and former Notre Dame teammate Andrew Peeke) in a 5-4 Toronto win.
Steeves, who earned Second Team All-Big Ten honors in 2020-21, became the 25th former Irish player under head coach Jeff Jackson to reach the NHL. Former Irish captain Steven Fogarty made his Boston debut late in January to become the 14th former Fighting Irish player to appear in the NHL this season.
Next Up
- Notre Dame has advanced to this weekend’s single elimination Big Ten Tournament semifinals and, as the No. 3 seed, the Irish will play at No. 2-seeded Michigan on Saturday, March 12, in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
- Puck drop is set for 6:30 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on Big Ten Network.
– ND –