Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM OCT. 19, 2024 49 BY TODD D. BURLAGE S taying true to form, veteran Notre Dame hockey head coach Jeff Jackson spent the last four or so months this pre- season deflecting personal inquiries about his future, and putting all of his focus on what's needed to bring his program back to where it was just two short years ago. Sapping any personal attention or locker room distraction out of a break- ing news story, Jackson announced in June that this 2024-25 season — his 20th on the Notre Dame bench — will be his final one as Irish head coach. "I don't want to call this a retirement," said Jackson, keeping future coaching opportunities open. "… And we're de- termined to focus on the coming year." This coming year brings Jackson a chance to end his terrific Irish career on a high note and to leave the program in great shape for when he passes the coaching torch in 2025-26 to former Irish player and current associate head coach Brock Sheahan. This season also pro- vides the Irish players a chance to give their esteemed skipper a proper sendoff. "The guys know how important it is, and I think Coach Jackson relayed that message," senior forward Tyler Carpen- ter said. "Not only are we playing for each other but there's another reason and another person we're playing for this year, and it's definitely him." A winner of two national champion- ships at Lake Superior State, Jackson has also led Notre Dame to four Fro- zen Four appearances, eight conference championships, and 12 NCAA Tourna- ment appearances. In all, Jackson, 69, entered this season with 589 career victories in 25 years on the bench, including 407 wins during his two decades at Notre Dame. "I've been pleased with our guys," Jackson said before his season-opening exhibition game Oct. 4. "Their attitude, work ethic, everything's been positive. They've had a really good camp so far. They've made me excited and that's what you hope for at the start of your season." And while preseason enthusiasm ran high, Jackson and Notre Dame faced an offseason roster reload after losing four of the top six scorers from last season's squad, including star forward Landon Slaggert, who led the Irish with 20 goals and 31 points in 2023-24. Notre Dame also lost two-year starter and 2023 Big Ten Goaltender of the Year Ryan Bischel, who finished second in the nation last season with 1,112 saves. "We lost some good people last year," Jackson said. "We lost some leadership. We lost some talent." That said, the cupboard is far from bare for Jackson and the Irish, with standout sophomore forwards Danny Nelson and Cole Knuble both back. Last season, Nelson finished third on the Irish with 23 points (9 goals, 14 assists) while Knuble tallied 20 points (9 goals, 11 assists). In the net, all three Irish goaltenders are new to the team, including junior Owen Say, a transfer from Mercyhurst who is the favorite to hold down starting duties this season. Even with a new-look lineup, Notre Dame still expects to restore program momentum after finishing 16-16-5 in 2022-23, followed by last season's 15-19-2 mark, which meant two straight misses in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2005 and 2006. "I've learned some lessons this year that go way back to my early roots about the importance of discipline," Jackson said in reflection of last season's disap- pointing results. "And I think that was a huge factor in why we didn't accomplish some things I think we are capable of accomplishing." ✦ Fighting Irish Hockey Chasing A Return To Form In 2024-25 N O T R E D A M E S P O R T S Notre Dame has missed the NCAA Tournament in back-to-back seasons for the first time in nearly two decades, but head coach Jeff Jackson is opti- mistic that his 20th and final season behind the Irish bench will result in a return to the postseason. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS IRISH ROUNDUP CROSS COUNTRY The No. 9-ranked men notched a first-place finish while the No. 3-ranked women posted a third-place showing — behind No. 2 Northern Arizona and No. 5 BYU — in the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational Oct. 4 at South Bend. MEN'S GOLF Carded a 12-over-par 864 team score to place eighth in the Windon Memorial Classic Sept. 29-30 at Lake Forest, Ill. … Finished first with a 5-under-par 835 in the Fighting Irish Classic Oct. 6-7 at South Bend. WOMEN'S GOLF Finished fifth out of 14 teams with a 27-over team score of 867 at the Evie Odom Invitational Oct. 4-6 in Virginia Beach, Va. HOCKEY (0-0 OVERALL, 0-0 BIG TEN) Notched a 5-2 victory over in the United States National Team Development Program in an exhi- bition Oct. 4 in South Bend … Opened the season a t St. Lawrence Oct. 11 and Clarkson Oct. 12. MEN'S SOCCER (5-3-3 OVERALL, 2-2-0 ACC) Defeated Clemson 2-1 Sept. 27 at Alumni Sta- dium … Defeated Trine 7-1 Oct. 1 … Lost 2-1 at Syracuse Oct. 5 … Fell to Michigan 1-0 Oct. 8 at Alumni Stadium. WOMEN'S SOCCER (8-1-2 OVERALL, 2-0-2 ACC) The No. 13 Irish remained unbeaten in the ACC with a 3-0 victory at Syracuse Oct. 5. VOLLEYBALL (9-4 OVERALL, 2-2 ACC) Opened ACC play at home by falling 3-1 to No. 3-ranked Stanford Sept. 27 and then beat- ing Cal 3-1 Sept. 29 … Lost 3-2 to Georgia Tech Oct. 4 but bounced back with a 3-0 triumph over Clemson Oct. 6.