MEET THE STAFF…
HEAD COACH, JEFF JACKSON
The 2017-18 hockey season marks University of Notre Dame hockey coach Jeff Jackson’s 13th season behind the Irish bench. During his first 12 seasons, the program has enjoyed a great deal of success, including three trips to the Frozen Four. The highly regarded Jackson now has over 30 years of coaching experience.
Notre Dame’s Jeff Jackson era began in 2005 when the University searched for a man who could move the program among the elite hockey schools in the country.
The veteran coach owned a resume packed with success at the collegiate, junior hockey, professional and international levels. Throughout his coaching career, Jackson’s teams had been successful both on and off the ice and the hope was that he could deliver those same qualities at Notre Dame.
ASSOCIATE HEAD COACH, PAUL POOLEYPaul Pooley returns for his 13th season at the University of Notre Dame as the team’s associate head coach. He was named to the position on June 3, 2005, by head coach Jeff Jackson.
In 12 seasons at Notre Dame, Pooley, along with Jackson and fellow assistant Andy Slaggert, has helped change the culture of Irish hockey. After a 13-19-4 first season, Pooley has seen the last 11 Notre Dame teams go a combined 255-148-48, win a pair of CCHA?regular-season titles and three CCHA Mason Cup championships (2007, 2009, 2013) while advancing to the NCAA Tournament eight times (2007-09, 2011, 2013-14, 2016-2017), including three trips to the Frozen Four (2008, 2011, 2017).
ASSOCIATE HEAD COACH, ANDY SLAGGERTOne of the nation’s top recruiters, Andy Slaggert will be entering his 25th season with Notre Dame hockey in 2017-18, having served the previous eight seasons in an Associate Coach role before being elevated to Associate Head Coach in the summer of 2017.
Slaggert’s keen eye for talent on the recruiting trail was evidenced during the 2016-17 NHL season when a record 10 former Notre Dame hockey players appeared in the league, including back-to-back Stanley Cup champions Ian Cole and Bryan Rust with the Pittsburgh Penguins. In addition to Cole and Rust, Vince Hinostroza (Chicago), Stephen Johns (Dallas), Anders Lee (New York Islanders), Kyle Palmieri (New Jersey), Riley Sheahan (Detroit), Robbie Russo (Detroit) and T.J. Tynan (Columbus) also skated in the NHL in 2016-17.
VOLUNTEER ASSISTANT COACH, ZACK CISEKZack Cisek joined the Fighting Irish program as a volunteer assistant coach prior to the 2017-18 season. Cisek was a goaltender for Michigan State from 2013-15. He was a two-time Academic All-Big Ten selection with the Spartans and was also named to the Dean’s List three times.
COORDINATOR OF HOCKEY OPERATIONS, NICK SIERGIEJ
Nick Siergiej begins his eighth season with the University of Notre Dame hockey program, serving as the program’s coordinator of hockey operations. Siergiej joined the Irish at the beginning of the 2008-09 campaign after three seasons as the director of hockey operations at the University of Minnesota Duluth.
With the Irish, Siergiej oversees all aspects of the team’s video operations, including filming and editing games and practices to create, maintain and manage a complete statistical and video library for the Notre Dame coaching staff. Siergiej also serves as the program’s marketing, media and service liaison and assists with the daily operations of the hockey program.