Northeastern University Athletics

On June 30, 2021, Jerry Keefe was named the 11th Fernie Flaman Head Men’s Hockey Coach in Northeastern history and is in his 15th season overall on Huntington Avenue.

In four seasons with Keefe at the helm, Northeastern has set a 73-62-12 record. Last season, Keefe took NU to the Hockey East tournament semifinals at TD Garden for the first time since 2019 and became the first-ever nine-seed to advance to the semifinals in Hockey East history. In 2023 and 2024, he saw the Huskies to back-to-back Beanpot titles, claiming five championships in the last six tournaments. During the 2021-22, the Huskies saw one of their best seasons in recent history, going 25-13-1 overall, 15-9-1 in Hockey East play to claim the program’s first-ever Hockey East regular season championship. Keefe’s first four seasons produced five All-Americans, the first-ever two-time Richter Award winner, the first-ever two-time Hockey East Best Defensive Forward, a Hockey East Player of the Year, a Hockey East Goaltender of the Year and several other Hockey East accolades including the Bob Kullen Award for Hockey East’s Coach of the Year in 2022.

Keefe spent the previous seven seasons as associate head coach helping the Huskies to three straight Beanpot championships, three NCAA tournament appearances, two Hockey East titles and one Belpot championship in the Friendship Four in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Additionally, Northeastern’s power play was No. 1 in Hockey East at nearly 27 percent under Keefe’s tutelage two seasons ago.

Along with his role at Northeastern, Keefe was selected to coach with the United States National Junior Team from 2018-20, helping Team USA win the silver medal in 2019. During the World Junior Championships, Keefe worked with fellow Huskies Tyler Madden (LA Kings), Cayden Primeau (Montreal Canadiens) and Jordan Harris (Montreal Canadiens).

Before Northeastern, Keefe established himself as a notable name in the New England college hockey ranks, making stops as an assistant coach at UMass Boston (2006-07) and a head coach at Westfield State (2008-09), before his two seasons as an assistant coach at Brown University (2009-11). He resurrected Westfield State’s hockey program and led the Owls to a runner-up finish in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) for the first time since 1981.

Keefe was a four-year center at Providence College from 1996 to 2000 and finished with 98 points (30 goals, 68 assists) in 102 career games. After leading the Friars with 52 points in 37 games, the highest single-season point total in 15 years, Keefe was honored as New England’s Most Improved Player (1998-99). Upon graduation, Keefe’s professional hockey career started at the end of the 2000 season with the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks (AHL) and Trenton Titans (ECHL). He spent five seasons playing professional hockey, including a pair of seasons in Europe, before retiring in 2004.

A native of Billerica, Mass., Keefe was a three-time All-Scholastic player and a member of a state championship team at Matignon High School, earning Massachusetts Player of the Year honors in 1993. Prior to enrolling at Providence, Keefe also played for the U.S. National Under-17 Team that won a silver medal in Tokyo, Japan in 1994 and the U-16 team that went 4-0 in Switzerland.

• 2021-22 Hockey East Coach of the Year
• 2021-22 Clark Hodder Award (New England D1 Coach of the Year)
• Associate Head Coach for seven seasons, assistant coach for three seasons at Northeastern
• 25 players drafted to the NHL
• 13 All-Americans
• No. 1 power play in Hockey East at 26.9% (2020-21)
• Claimed five Beanpot Championships, a Belpot Championship, two Hockey East Championships and a Hockey East Regular Season title
• Four NCAA Tournament appearances
• Helped to recruit and coach the second most winningest class in program history (86 wins)
• Served as Assistant Coach on Team USA at the World Junior Championships, winning a silver medal in 2019
• Coached at Brown (2009-2011)
• Coached at Westfield State and UMass Boston

• Four-time letterwinner at Providence College (1996-2000)
• Finished with 98 points in 102 games (30-68-98)
• New England Most Improved Player
• Played in the AHL, ECHL, and Europe
• 1993 Massachusetts Player of the Year
• Two-time USHL All Star, Omaha Lancers MVP (1995)