Paul Pooley Position: Associate Head Coach Alma Mater: Ohio State '84

Paul Pooley returns for his third season at Notre Dame as the team's associate head coach. He was named to the position on June 3, 2005, by head coach Jeff Jackson.

For Pooley, this is his second time serving as Jackson's associate head coach. During his first stint at Lake Superior State (1992-94), Pooley was instrumental in the Lakers' success as they advanced to the NCAA finals three times, winning in 1992 and 1994.

In just two seasons at Notre Dame, Pooley, along with Jackson and assistant Andy Slaggert, have helped change the culture of Irish hockey.

After a 13-19-4 first season, Pooley saw Notre Dame turn in a record-setting 2007-08 campaign. The Irish set a school record for wins (32) on the way to a 32-7-3 record while winning their first CCHA regular-season and tournament championship. They also returned to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in program history.

The veteran coach joined the Irish staff after spending 11 seasons (1994-2005) as head coach at Providence College. During those 11 seasons, Pooley's Friars were a combined 185-187-40, winning the Hockey East title in 1995-96 and appearing in two NCAA tournaments (1996 and 2001).

In making the announcement of Pooley's hiring, 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."

With the addition of Pooley, 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.

As Jackson's associate head coach, Pooley brings 19 years of coaching experience to Notre Dame.

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 at Providence - forwards Chad Quenneville and Devin Rask, goaltender Nolan Schaefer and defenseman Stephen Wood. Five players who played for him with the Friars - Hal Gill (Boston and Toronto), Joe Hulbig (Edmonton and Boston), Fernando Pisani (Edmonton), Mike Farrell (Washington and Nashville) and Schaefer (San Jose) went on to play in the NHL.

At Notre Dame, he was instrumental in a pair of defensemen - Noah Babin (Carolina) and Wes O'Neill (Colorado) - signing NHL contracts this past summer.

A 1984 Ohio State graduate (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 also was 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, leading 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. He became the first Ohio State hockey player to have his number retired on Nov. 4, 2006 during a game between Notre Dame and the Buckeyes.

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 - 13-year old Scott and 10-year old Taylor.