Michael Souza (born January 28, 1978) often referred to as Mike Souza, is a former Italian-American professional
ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...
forward
Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward.
Forward may also refer to:
People
* Forward (surname)
Sports
* Forward (association football)
* Forward (basketball), including:
** Point forward
** Power forward (basketball)
** Sm ...
who currently is the head coach of the
University of New Hampshire
The University of New Hampshire (UNH) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Durham, New Hampshire. It was founded and incorporated in 1866 as a land grant college in Hanover in connection with Dartmouth College, mo ...
men's ice hockey team.
Playing career
Souza was born in
Wakefield
Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population, ...
,
. Souza attended the
University of New Hampshire
The University of New Hampshire (UNH) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Durham, New Hampshire. It was founded and incorporated in 1866 as a land grant college in Hanover in connection with Dartmouth College, mo ...
from 1996 to 2000. He is a cousin of fellow UNH player
Paul Thompson Paul Thompson may refer to:
Education
*Paul Thompson (professor) (born 1951), British management professor at the University of Strathclyde
*Paul B. Thompson (philosopher) (born 1951), American philosopher at Michigan State University
*Paul H. Tho ...
.
In 1997 Souza was drafted 67th overall by the
Chicago Blackhawks
The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division i ...
in the 1997
NHL Entry Draft
The NHL Entry Draft (french: Repêchage d'entrée dans la LNH) is an annual meeting in which every franchise of the National Hockey League (NHL) systematically select the rights to available ice hockey players who meet draft eligibility requirem ...
. At UNH, Souza was noted for his speed and skating skill.
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.
In 2000 Souza was a member of the
Hockey East
The Hockey East Association, also known as Hockey East, is a college ice hockey conference which operates entirely in New England. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as a hockey-only conference.
Hockey East came into existence in 1984 for ...
All Star team.
After leaving UNH he played in the
AHL for three seasons with the
Norfolk Admirals Norfolk Admirals has been the name of two professional ice hockey franchises:
*Norfolk Admirals (AHL), a team which played in the American Hockey League from 2000 to 2015
*Norfolk Admirals (ECHL)
The Norfolk Admirals are a professional ice hocke ...
and the
Bridgeport Sound Tigers
The Bridgeport Islanders (previously known as the Bridgeport Sound Tigers) are a professional ice hockey team playing in the American Hockey League (AHL). They are the AHL affiliate of the National Hockey League's New York Islanders, who own the f ...
. In 2001 and 2002 he attended the Chicago Blackhawks' training camp.
The next two seasons Souza split his time between the
ECHL
The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams scattered across the United States and Canada. It is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL).
The E ...
and the AHL, playing for the
Florence Pride and
Reading Royals
The Reading Royals are a professional ice hockey team that currently plays in the ECHL. The team participates in the North Division of the ECHL's Eastern Conference. The Royals play their home games at the Santander Arena located in downtown Re ...
of the ECHL, and the
Portland Pirates
The Portland Pirates were a minor league professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). Their home arena was the Cross Insurance Arena in downtown Portland, Maine. The franchise was previously known as the Baltimore Skipjacks fr ...
, Bridgeport Sound Tigers, and
Hershey Bears
The Hershey Bears are a professional ice hockey team based in Hershey, Pennsylvania, a town located 14 miles east of the state capital of Harrisburg
Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the c ...
of the AHL.
In 2005 Souza began to play in Europe. In the 2005–06 season Souza played for the
Kölner Haie
The Kölner Haie (English: ''Cologne Sharks'') are an ice hockey club based in Cologne, Germany that plays in the professional Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). The team was one of the founding members of the DEL.
The ''Kölner Haie'' play their hom ...
of the
Deutsche Eishockey Liga
The Deutsche Eishockey Liga (for sponsorship reasons called "PENNY Deutsche Eishockey Liga") (; English: ''German Ice Hockey League'') or DEL, is a German professional ice hockey league and the highest division in German ice hockey. Founded in ...
,
EHC Basel
EHC Basel known as Eishockey Club Basel are a professional Swiss ice hockey team. They are based out of the St. Jakob Arena in Basel, Switzerland. EHC Basel was founded on October 14, 1932. Were promoted to the Nationalliga A for 2005–06 aft ...
of the Swiss
National League A
The National League (NL) is a professional ice hockey league in Switzerland and is the top tier of the Swiss league system. Prior to the 2017–18 season, the league was known as National League A. During the 2018–19 season, the league ha ...
, and
EHC Olten
EHC Olten is a Swiss professional ice hockey team based in Olten, Switzerland. It plays in the Swiss League, the second tier ice hockey league in Switzerland. It has claimed two Swiss League Championships, gaining promotion to the National League ...
of the Swiss
National League B
The Swiss League is the second tier of the main professional ice hockey league in Switzerland, behind the National League. The winners of the league each season plays a best-of-seven series against the bottom team of the NL, and if they win, the ...
. In 2006, he moved to Italy to play in the Serie A.
He played with
SG Cortina
Sportivi Ghiaccio Cortina is an ice hockey team from Italy. They play their home games at ''Stadio Olimpico del Ghiaccio'', located in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Veneto. They currently play in the Alps Hockey League and formerly the Serie A.
Achievement ...
for four seasons before moving to the
Bolzano-Bozen Foxes
Bolzano ( or ; german: Bozen, (formerly ); bar, Bozn; lld, Balsan or ) is the capital city of the province of South Tyrol in northern Italy. With a population of 108,245, Bolzano is also by far the largest city in South Tyrol and the third la ...
in 2010.
International career
By playing in Italy, Souza later gained Italian citizenship and participated at the
2009
File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...
and
2010 IIHF World Championship
The 2010 IIHF World Championship was the 74th IIHF World Championship, an annual international ice hockey tournament. It took place between 7 and 23 May 2010 in Germany. The games were played in the Lanxess Arena in Cologne, SAP Arena in Mannhei ...
as a member of the
Italy men's national ice hockey team
The Italian men's national ice hockey team is the national ice hockey team of Italy, and is controlled by the Federazione Italiana Sport del Ghiaccio (FISG), a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation.
Tournament record Olympic Gam ...
.
[
]
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
Awards and honors
Head Coaching Record
References
External links
Official Biography, New Hampshire Wildcats
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Souza, Michael
1978 births
American men's ice hockey forwards
Bolzano HC players
Bridgeport Sound Tigers players
Chicago Blackhawks draft picks
Florence Pride players
Hershey Bears players
EHC Basel players
Ice hockey coaches from Massachusetts
Italian ice hockey players
Kölner Haie players
Living people
New Hampshire Wildcats men's ice hockey players
Norfolk Admirals players
EHC Olten players
People from Wakefield, Massachusetts
Reading Royals players
SG Cortina players
Sportspeople from Middlesex County, Massachusetts
University of New Hampshire alumni
American people of Portuguese descent
American people of Italian descent
Ice hockey players from Massachusetts