July 10, 2009
Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. – Notre Dame hockey coach Jeff Jackson will be inducted into the Lake Superior State University Sports Hall of Fame tonight in conjunction with the annual Soo BlueLiners Golf Outing this weekend. The induction ceremonies will take place on Friday night at the LSSU Cisler Center beginning at 7:00 p.m. On Saturday, July 11, the Soo BlueLiners golf scramble, which benefits Laker hockey, begins at 9:00 a.m. at the Sault Country Club.
Jackson, now in his fifth season at Notre Dame, spent 10 seasons at Lake Superior State (1987-1996), the first four as an assistant coach and the final six as head coach. From 1990-96, his teams advanced to the NCAA Tournament six consecutive years, winning the national championship in 1992 and 1994. The Lakers also appeared in the national title game in 1993. During those six years, Lake Superior won two Central Collegiate Hockey Association regular-season championships and four CCHA tournament championships.
The veteran coach got his start in college coaching in 1986 at Lake Superior when he was hired as an assistant on Frank Anzalone’s staff. In his four years as an assistant under Anzalone, the Lakers won their first NCAA championship in 1988. When Anzalone moved on to the pro ranks, Jackson took over as head coach in 1990.
In six seasons as the Lakers’ head coach, Jackson’s teams were 182-52-25 (.751) overall and 120-38-23 (.727) in CCHA action. During those seasons, his Lake Superior State teams produced 12 All-Americans plus several players who played or are currently playing in the National Hockey League.
He left Lake Superior in 1996 to become the national coach and the senior director of the newly founded U.S. National Team Developmental Program based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. After four seasons there, he moved on to become the head coach of the Guelph Storm in the Ontario Hockey League (2000-03) followed by two seasons as an assistant coach for the New York Islanders (2003-05).
Jackson became the head coach at Notre Dame on May 6, 2005 and in his first four seasons he has guided the Irish to two CCHA regular-season and playoff titles (2007 and 2009), three NCAA tournament appearances and one trip to the Frozen Four and the national title game (2008). In that span, the Irish are 103-47-14 (.671) overall and 68-30-14-3 (.670) in CCHA play. Over the last three seasons (2006-09), Notre Dame is the winningest program in the country with 90 wins and a 90-28-10 record for a .742 winning percentage. With the Irish, Jackson’s teams have produced three All-Americans (David Brown in `06-’07 with Ian Cole and Erik Condra taking honors for 2008-09.
In 10 seasons as a Division I coach, Jackson has the best winning percentage (.718) among active coaches with a 285-100-39 overall record.