Michael_Souza
Michael Souza
Italian-American ice hockey player
Michael Souza (born January 28, 1978) often referred to as Mike Souza, is a former Italian-American professional ice hockey forward who currently is the head coach of the University of New Hampshire men's ice hockey team.[1]
| Michael Souza | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born |
(1978-01-28) January 28, 1978 (age 46) Wakefield, Massachusetts, U.S. | ||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) | ||
| Weight | 210 lb (95 kg; 15 st 0 lb) | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for |
Norfolk Admirals Bridgeport Sound Tigers Portland Pirates Hershey Bears EHC Basel Kölner Haie SG Cortina HC Bolzano | ||
| National team |
 Italy | ||
| NHL draft |
67th overall, 1997 Chicago Blackhawks | ||
| Playing career | 2000–2011 | ||
| Coaching career | |||
| Current position | |||
| Title | Head Coach | ||
| Team | New Hampshire | ||
| Conference | Hockey East | ||
| Record | 65–87–21 (.436) | ||
| Biographical details | |||
| Alma mater | New Hampshire | ||
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |||
| 2011–2013 | Brown (assistant) | ||
| 2013–2015 | UConn (assistant) | ||
| 2015–2018 | New Hampshire (assistant) | ||
| 2018–present | New Hampshire | ||
| Head coaching record | |||
| Overall | 65–87–21 (.436) | ||
Souza was born in Wakefield, Massachusetts. Souza attended the University of New Hampshire from 1996 to 2000. He is a cousin of fellow UNH player Paul Thompson.[2] In 1997 Souza was drafted 67th overall by the Chicago Blackhawks in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft. At UNH, Souza was noted for his speed and skating skill.[3] In 1999 UNH reached the championship game of the 1999 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament. In the championship game Souza scored a key goal in the third period to force overtime. Maine won in overtime, however.[4] In 2000 Souza was a member of the Hockey East All Star team.[5]
After leaving UNH he played in the AHL for three seasons with the Norfolk Admirals and the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. In 2001 and 2002 he attended the Chicago Blackhawks' training camp.[6][7] The next two seasons Souza split his time between the ECHL and the AHL, playing for the Florence Pride and Reading Royals of the ECHL, and the Portland Pirates, Bridgeport Sound Tigers, and Hershey Bears of the AHL.[8][9]
In 2005 Souza began to play in Europe. In the 2005–06 season Souza played for the Kölner Haie of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga, EHC Basel of the Swiss National League A, and EHC Olten of the Swiss National League B. In 2006, he moved to Italy to play in the Serie A.[10] He played with SG Cortina for four seasons before moving to the Bolzano-Bozen Foxes in 2010.
By playing in Italy, Souza later gained Italian citizenship and participated at the 2009 and 2010 IIHF World Championship as a member of the Italy men's national ice hockey team.[11][10]
Souza retired in 2011 and became an assistant ice hockey coach with Brown University. In 2013, he became an assistant coach with the University of Connecticut, and in 2015 he joined the staff at the University of New Hampshire. On March 14, 2018, Souza officially took over as the head coach of the Wildcats, replacing the retiring Dick Umile.
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1996–97 | U. of New Hampshire | HE | 39 | 15 | 11 | 26 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1997–98 | U. of New Hampshire | HE | 38 | 13 | 12 | 25 | 36 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1998–99 | U. of New Hampshire | HE | 41 | 23 | 42 | 65 | 38 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1999–00 | U. of New Hampshire | HE | 38 | 15 | 25 | 40 | 58 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2000–01 | Norfolk Admirals | AHL | 75 | 14 | 17 | 31 | 44 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2001–02 | Norfolk Admirals | AHL | 66 | 20 | 11 | 31 | 58 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002–03 | Norfolk Admirals | AHL | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 7 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002–03 | Bridgeport Sound Tigers | AHL | 59 | 7 | 15 | 22 | 89 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 12 | ||
| 2003–04 | Florence Pride | ECHL | 17 | 8 | 13 | 21 | 29 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2003–04 | Portland Pirates | AHL | 27 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2003–04 | Bridgeport Sound Tigers | AHL | 14 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2004–05 | Reading Royals | ECHL | 12 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2004–05 | Hershey Bears | AHL | 53 | 14 | 8 | 22 | 36 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2005–06 | Kölner Haie | DEL | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 14 | ||
| 2005–06 | EHC Basel | NLA | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2005–06 | EHC Olten | NLB | 23 | 16 | 18 | 34 | 38 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | SG Cortina | Serie A | 31 | 22 | 31 | 53 | 32 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 12 | ||
| 2007–08 | SG Cortina | Serie A | 31 | 13 | 15 | 28 | 32 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | SG Cortina | Serie A | 42 | 23 | 20 | 43 | 34 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | SG Cortina | Serie A | 28 | 6 | 11 | 17 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| Serie A totals | 132 | 64 | 77 | 141 | 110 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 12 | ||||
| Award | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| All-Hockey East Rookie Team | 1996–97 | |
| All-NCAA All-Tournament Team | 1999 | [12] |
| All-Hockey East Second Team | 1999–00 | |
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Hampshire Wildcats (Hockey East) (2018–present) | |||||||||
| 2018–19 | New Hampshire | 12–15–9 | 8–10–6 | 8th | Hockey East Quarterfinals | ||||
| 2019–20 | New Hampshire | 15–15–4 | 9–12–3 | 9th | |||||
| 2020–21 | New Hampshire | 6–14–3 | 5–13–3 | 10th | Hockey East Quarterfinals | ||||
| 2021–22 | New Hampshire | 14–19–1 | 8–15–1 | 9th | Hockey East Opening Round | ||||
| 2022–23 | New Hampshire | 11–21–3 | 6–15–3 | 10th | Hockey East Opening Round | ||||
| 2023–24 | New Hampshire | 19–14–1 | 12–11–1 | T–5th | |||||
| New Hampshire: | 77–101–21 (.440) | 48–76–17 (.401) | |||||||
| Total: | 77–101–21 (.440) | ||||||||
|
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
| |||||||||
- "Mike Souza Introduced As Men's Hockey Head Coach". University of New Hampshire. 14 March 2018.
- McMahon, Mike (13 December 2010). "Thompson follows cousin to UNH, paves his own path". The Eagle-Tribune. North Andover, MA. Retrieved 3 February 2011.
- Monahan, Bob (21 March 1999). "Wakefield's Souza has made a big impact for UNH hockey". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 25 February 2011.
- "Maine Skates Past New Hampshire". The Telegraph-Herald. Dubuque, Iowa. Associated Press. 4 April 1999. Retrieved 25 February 2011.
- "Hockey East All Stars". HockeyEastOnline.com. Archived from the original on 24 February 2011. Retrieved 25 February 2011.
- Fornabaio, Michael (9 November 2002). "Fresh face, legs: Newcomer Mike Souza gets Sound Tigers rolling". Connecticut Post. Retrieved 25 February 2011.
- Sassone, Tim (11 September 2001). "Let the competition begin for Hawks". Daily Herald. Arlington Heights, Illinois. Retrieved 25 February 2011.
- "Sound Tigers Re-Sign Mike Souza". Our Sports Central. 20 February 2004. Retrieved 25 February 2011.
- "Transactions". The New York Times. 8 December 2004. Retrieved 25 February 2011.
- "Mike Souza si trasferisce dal Cortina al Bolzano". HockeyTime.net (in Italian). 13 August 2010. Retrieved 25 February 2011.
- IIHF (2010). IIHF Media Guide & Record Book 2011. Moydart Press. p. 181. ISBN 978-0-9867964-0-1.
- "NCAA Frozen Four Records" (PDF). NCAA.org. Retrieved 2013-06-19.
- Official Biography, New Hampshire Wildcats
- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or The Internet Hockey Database