Michael Souza

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
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
TitleHead Coach
TeamNew Hampshire
ConferenceHockey East
Biographical details
Alma materNew Hampshire
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
2011–2013Brown (assistant)
2013–2015UConn (assistant)
2015–2018New Hampshire (assistant)
2018–presentNew Hampshire
Head coaching record
Overall58–84–20 (.420)

Playing career

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.

International career

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]

Coaching career

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.

Career statistics
    Regular season   Playoffs
SeasonTeamLeague GPGAPtsPIM GPGAPtsPIM
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

Awards and honors
Award Year
All-Hockey East Rookie Team 1996–97
All-NCAA All-Tournament Team 1999 [12]
All-Hockey East Second Team 1999–00

Head coaching record
Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
New Hampshire Wildcats (Hockey East) (2018–present)
2018–19 New Hampshire 12–15–98–10–68thHockey East Quarterfinals
2019–20 New Hampshire 15–15–49–12–39th
2020–21 New Hampshire 6–14–35–13–310thHockey East Quarterfinals
2021–22 New Hampshire 14–19–18–15–19thHockey East Opening Round
2022–23 New Hampshire 11–21–36–15–310thHockey East Opening Round
2023–24 New Hampshire 0–0–00–0–0
New Hampshire: 58–84–20 (.420)36–65–16 (.376)
Total:58–84–20 (.420)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

References
  1. "Mike Souza Introduced As Men's Hockey Head Coach". University of New Hampshire. 14 March 2018.
  2. McMahon, Mike (13 December 2010). "Thompson follows cousin to UNH, paves his own path". The Eagle-Tribune. North Andover, MA. Retrieved 3 February 2011.
  3. Monahan, Bob (21 March 1999). "Wakefield's Souza has made a big impact for UNH hockey". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 25 February 2011.
  4. "Maine Skates Past New Hampshire". The Telegraph-Herald. Dubuque, Iowa. Associated Press. 4 April 1999. Retrieved 25 February 2011.
  5. "Hockey East All Stars". HockeyEastOnline.com. Archived from the original on 24 February 2011. Retrieved 25 February 2011.
  6. Fornabaio, Michael (9 November 2002). "Fresh face, legs: Newcomer Mike Souza gets Sound Tigers rolling". Connecticut Post. Retrieved 25 February 2011.
  7. Sassone, Tim (11 September 2001). "Let the competition begin for Hawks". Daily Herald. Arlington Heights, Illinois. Retrieved 25 February 2011.
  8. "Sound Tigers Re-Sign Mike Souza". Our Sports Central. 20 February 2004. Retrieved 25 February 2011.
  9. "Transactions". The New York Times. 8 December 2004. Retrieved 25 February 2011.
  10. "Mike Souza si trasferisce dal Cortina al Bolzano". HockeyTime.net (in Italian). 13 August 2010. Retrieved 25 February 2011.
  11. IIHF (2010). IIHF Media Guide & Record Book 2011. Moydart Press. p. 181. ISBN 978-0-9867964-0-1.
  12. "NCAA Frozen Four Records" (PDF). NCAA.org. Retrieved 2013-06-19.
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