June 3, 2005
Notre Dame, Ind. – Notre Dame hockey coach Jeff Jackson has announced his coaching staff for the 2005-06 hockey season. Joining the Irish coaching staff as associate head coach (beginning July 1, 2005) is 11-year Providence College head coach Paul Pooley, who was a member of Jackson’s staff at Lake Superior State (1992-94), while current assistant, Andy Slaggert, will return for his 13th season at Notre Dame.
With the addition of Pooley to the staff, the Irish coaching staff, including Jackson, becomes one of the most experienced staffs in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) and all of college hockey as they combine for over 50 years of coaching experience at the junior, collegiate or professional level.
In making the announcement, Jackson said, “Paul Pooley brings a certain level of integrity, work ethic and professionalism that I have great respect for. Our relationship in the past became a friendship, but our experience in the past will stay in the past. We’re hoping to re-establish a new center of excellence similiar to the one that we had at Lake Superior State together.”
“I’m extremely excited to be able to retain Andy Slaggert who I believe has done a tremendous job over the last several years at Notre Dame. The combination of Andy and Paul will give us one of the most recognized coaching staffs in the country. And, in the end, my hope is that we will have one of the most successful staffs in the country. Andy is someone who can lead Paul and I through the process of becoming more familiar with Notre Dame and, in turn, his passion for this University will rub off on both of us. That will give us the combination of experience and the element of pride in what this University represents.”
“Our staff will all recruit. Andy will remain in the position of coordinator for recruiting, but all three of us will actively recruit across North America. Andy will work in a direct relationship with our alumni and Paul will work with the campus and the local communities as far as trying to re-energize the fans and our alumni base in regards to our program.”
Pooley, who will become Jackson’s associate head coach for the second time in his career, brings 17 years of coaching experience to Notre Dame, including the last 11 seasons at Providence College where he was head coach of the Friars. In his 11 seasons at Providence, Pooley’s teams were a combined 185-187-40, winning the Hockey East title in 1995-96 (just the second Hockey East title in school history) while making two trips to the NCAA tournament in 1996 and 2001.
The 2001 Hockey East and New England coach of the year and a two-time finalist for the Spencer Penrose Award as the national coach of the year, Pooley was instrumental in the development of four All-American players during his tenure – forwards Chad Quenneville and Devin Rask, goaltender Nolan Schaefer and defenseman Stephen Wood – while four others who played for him – Hal Gill (Boston), Joe Hulbig (Edmonton and Boston), Fernando Pisani (Edmonton) and Mike Farrell (Washington and Nashville) – have seen action in the National Hockey League.
Prior to taking over as the head coach at Providence, the 44-year-old Pooley served three seasons as Jackson’s top assistant at Lake Superior State. In those three years, the Lakers were a combined 93-27-13, won CCHA tournament titles in 1992 and 1993 and advanced to the NCAA Championship game all three years. In 1992, the Lakers defeated Wisconsin, 5-3, for the NCAA title; in 1993, they lost 5-4 to Maine in the championship game and then they defeated Boston University in 1994, 9-1.
A 1984 graduate of Ohio State (Cum Laude in accounting and marketing), Pooley got his start in college coaching at his alma mater, serving as an assistant to Jerry Welsh with the Buckeyes for three seasons (1988-91) following the end of his professional career.
No stranger to the CCHA, Pooley was one of the conference’s top players from 1980-84 and was a second team selection to the conference’s all-decade team of the 1980’s. A three-time member of the CCHA’s all-Academic team, he took Academic All-American honors in 1984. A second team all-CCHA selection in 1981, he was also selected as the CCHA’s co-rookie of the year that season. Pooley capped his brilliant Ohio State career in 1984 as he was selected as the CCHA player of the year and Bauer’s national player of the year as he led the nation in scoring with 32 goals and 64 assists for 96 points in 41 games. Selected first team all-CCHA and first team All-American as a senior, Pooley is Ohio State’s all-time leader in goals (114), assists (156) and points (270) and joined the Ohio State Athletic Hall of Fame in 1994.
A native of Exeter, Ont., Pooley signed with the NHL’s Winnipeg Jets following his collegiate career and played two seasons with the Jets top farm team, the Sherbrooke Canadiens of the American Hockey League, playing on a Calder Cup championship team in 1985. He moved on to play one season with the Fort Wayne Komets of the International Hockey League where he was co-captain of a Komet team that won the 1987 regular season championship. In his three seasons as a pro, Pooley played in 15 NHL games with the Jets. He retired in 1987 to go into private business with his twin brother, Perry, also an Ohio State hockey All-American.
Born August 2, 1960, Pooley and his wife, Kelly, have two children – 11-year old Scott and seven-year old Taylor.
Slaggert, a two-time hockey monogram winner for the Irish, will begin his 13th season with the Irish and has now been involved with Notre Dame hockey since 1986 (three years as a player and 12 years as an assistant coach), playing for Lefty Smith and Ric Schafer and then serving as an assistant to Schafer, Dave Poulin and now Jeff Jackson.
Andy Slaggert returns for his 13th season as an assistant coach at Notre Dame.
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During Slaggert’s 12 previous seasons as an assistant, he has been involved in the recruiting of 17 players who were selected in the National Hockey League Draft including, four current team members — Mike Walsh, David Brown, Wes O’Neill and Victor Oreskovich.
The Irish have also had 14 players from the U.S. National Team Development Program matriculate to Notre Dame, with eight playing for the U.S. Junior National Team in the World Junior Championships.
The energetic and hardworking assistant has been highly involved with coaching on the national level since 1997. During the summer of 2004, Slaggert reached his highest level when he was named head coach of the Under-17 select team that finished second at the Five Nations Tournament in Germany in late August.
Since 1997, Slaggert has been involved in coaching and the selection of various Michigan Select teams to play at the state and national levels.
The 36-year-old Slaggert received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Notre Dame in 1989. He then went on to earn his master’s degree in physical education from Ohio University in 1991. A right wing for the Irish from 1986-89, Slaggert totaled seven goals and six assists over 55 games during his three-year Notre Dame career. Slaggert’s first venture into coaching came in 1989, as player-assistant coach with the Wurzburg ESV team in the German professional league. He moved on in the same capacity with the Amerisport International European Hockey Tour and returned to Notre Dame in 1992.
Slaggert and his wife Tara were married in the summer of 1996. The couple resides in South Bend with their three sons, Graham (5), Landon (2) and Carter (three months).
PAUL POOLEY YEAR-BY-YEAR
Year Team Position W-L-T Conference1988-89 Ohio State Assistant Coach 9-26-5 CCHA1989-90 Ohio State Assistant Coach 11-24-5 CCHA1990-91 Ohio State Assistant Coach 11-25-4 CCHA1991-92 Lake Superior St. Assistant Coach 30-9-4 CCHA1992-93 Lake Superior St. Assistant Coach 32-8-5 CCHA1993-94 Lake Superior St. Assoc. Head Coach 31-10-4 CCHA1994-95 Providence College Head Coach 14-17-6 Hockey East1995-96 Providence College Head Coach 21-15-3 Hockey East1996-97 Providence College Head Coach 15-20-1 Hockey East1997-98 Providence College Head Coach 15-18-3 Hockey East1998-99 Providence College Head Coach 20-17-1 Hockey East1999-00 Providence College Head Coach 18-18-2 Hockey East2000-01 Providence College Head Coach 22-13-5 Hockey East2001-02 Providence College Head Coach 13-20-5 Hockey East2002-03 Providence College Head Coach 19-14-3 Hockey East2003-04 Providence College Head Coach 16-14-7 Hockey East2004-05 Providence College Head Coach 12-21-4 Hockey EastCareer Head Coaching Record 11 seasons 185-187-40 .498
• Assistant coach (1991-93) and Associate Head Coach (1993-94) on three Lake Superior State teams that went to the CCHA championship game three consecutive years, winning in 1992 and 1993; those Lake Superior State teams also went to the NCAA championship game three consecutive years, winning in 1992 and 1994.
• Led Providence College to Hockey East championship in 1996 (second in school history); took Friars to NCAA tournament in 1996 and 2001.
Andy Slaggert YEAR-BY-YEAR
Year Team Position W-L-T Conference1993-94 Notre Dame Assistant Coach 11-22-5 CCHA1994-95 Notre Dame Assistant Coach 11-25-1 CCHA1995-96 Notre Dame Assistant Coach 9-23-4 CCHA1996-97 Notre Dame Assistant Coach 9-25-1 CCHA1997-98 Notre Dame Assistant Coach 18-19-4 CCHA1998-99 Notre Dame Assistant Coach 19-14-5 CCHA1999-00 Notre Dame Assistant Coach 16-18-6 CCHA2000-01 Notre Dame Assistant Coach 10-22-7 CCHA2001-02 Notre Dame Assistant Coach 16-17-5 CCHA2002-03 Notre Dame Assistant Coach 17-17-6 CCHA2003-04 Notre Dame Assistant Coach 20-15-4 CCHA2004-05 Notre Dame Assistant Coach 5-27-6 CCHA
• Assistant coach on Notre Dame's first-ever NCAA Tournament team (2003-04).