Jeff Jackson ( 1955 ) " For the other player of the same name , please see Jeff Jackson ( 1965 ) . " Jeff Jackson ( born June 22 , 1955 in Roseville , Michigan ) is a American ice hockey coach and currently is head coach at the University of Notre Dame . Previously , he was the head coach at Lake Superior State University , where he won two NCAA championships in ice hockey . He has also been an assistant coach with the New York Islanders and head coach for the Guelph Storm . Coaching career . Jackson got his start in college hockey at Lake Superior State University in 1986 , where he worked with Frank Anzalone , helping lead the Lakers to one CCHA championship , and the 1988 NCAA Men ' s Ice Hockey Championship . When Anzalone left the Lakers in 1990 , Jackson was promoted to head coach . In his six years as head coach with Lake Superior , from 1990 – 1996 , Jackson led the team six consecutive NCAA appearances , including three straight trips to the finals from 1992 – 1994 , and winning the 1992 and 1994 championships . Jackson stepped down as head coach of Lake Superior to become the national coach and senior director of the newly founded U . S . National Team Development program , based in Ann Arbor , Michigan . In his first season , he guided the U . S . Junior National Team to a silver medal in the 1997 World Junior Championships . Jackson was also an assistant coach for Team USA at the 1998 Winter Olympics . He left the U . S . National Team in 2000 to become the head coach of the Guelph Storm in the Ontario Hockey League . Jackson led the Storm to a 16 point improvement from the previous season , as Guelph finished in second place in the Midwest Division . In the 2001 – 02 season , Guelph improved once again , as they earned 82 points , finishing in second place once again in the Midwest Division , and hosted the 2002 Memorial Cup , advancing to the tie - breaker game , where they lost to the Victoriaville Tigres . Jackson began the 2002 – 03 with the Storm , however , the team struggled and Jackson was replaced midway through the season . He had a record of 87 - 67 - 24 - 4 during his time in Guelph . Jackson moved on to the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League in 2003 – 04 , as he was hired by Islanders head coach Steve Stirling to work on his staff . The Islanders had a successful season , earning 91 points and a trip to the playoffs , however , they were eliminated by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round . Jackson remained with the club during the cancelled 2004 – 05 NHL season . In 2005 , the Notre Dame Fighting Irish hired Jackson to turn around their hockey team , which had a tough 2004 – 05 season , in which the Irish had a record of 5 - 27 - 6 . In his first year in Notre Dame , Jackson helped the team to a 13 - 19 - 4 record , which was a fourteen point improvement over the previous season . In 2006 – 07 , the Fighting Irish set numerous team records , including overall wins ( 32 ) and CCHA wins ( 21 ) as Notre Dame captured their first ever CCHA regular season and tournament championships . The Irish advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in school history , and earned their first ever tournament win . Jackson was awarded the CCHA Coach of the Year and the Spencer Penrose Award as the National Coach of the Year . Notre Dame had another strong season in 2007 – 08 , and advanced to the NCAA Championship for the second straight season . The Fighting Irish upset the # 1 seed University of New Hampshire 7 - 3 in their first game , followed by a 3 - 1 victory over Michigan State to advance to the Frozen Four for the first time in school history . Notre Dame stayed hot , and defeated the # 1 seeded Michigan Wolverines 5 - 4 in overtime to advance to their first ever berth in the final . Boston College would win the championship , as they defeated Notre Dame 4 - 1 .