A Legacy on Ice: A History of New Hampshire Wildcats Hockey Coaches
The New Hampshire Wildcats men's ice hockey team represents the University of New Hampshire in NCAA Division I college ice hockey, as a member of Hockey East. The program boasts a rich history, marked by periods of struggle and triumph, shaped by the dedicated coaches who have led the team.
Early Years and the Birth of a Program
Efforts to organize an ice hockey team at New Hampshire College of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts date back to the early 1910s. By January 1914, a college team was playing "a short schedule of games" against local teams. A summary of the 1914 hockey season-the team had a record of two wins and two losses-appeared in the college's 1916 yearbook. However, games from this era are not considered part of varsity history.
The first UNH ice hockey team considered part of varsity history played in January and February 1925, winning its first two games in away matches against Bates College and Colby College in Maine. A year later, under the stewardship of Ernest Christensen, UNH played its first home game on a local rink, an outdoor facility dependent on cold weather for its surface.
Building a Foundation: Christensen, Dougal, and Petroski
In 1938, Christensen retired, and the team eventually came under the tutelage of Anthony Dougal. His tenure was suspended in 1943 due to World War II. The team returned to the ice in January 1947, with Dougal remaining for one year before handing the program over to Joseph Petroski. After four seasons, Horace "Pepper" Martin took over, marking a turning point for New Hampshire's hockey fortunes.
The "Pepper" Martin Era: A Change in Fortune
By the mid-1950s, the Wildcats started to play and win more games than ever before. In 1961, New Hampshire was one of 28 schools that were founding members of ECAC Hockey. Martin turned the team over to A. Barr Snively, and plans were underway to replace the Harry C. Batchelder Rink with an indoor ice rink.
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Tragedy and Transition: The Snively and Bjorkman Years
In the offseason of 1964, tragedy struck when head coach Snively died. With the school searching for a replacement, the ECAC announced its division into two tiers. Due to the lack of a completed indoor facility, New Hampshire was forced out of the top tier. Rube Bjorkman was eventually named head coach and led the team for four years.
The Holt Era: Putting UNH on the Hockey Map
It was Bjorkman's successor, Charlie Holt, who truly put New Hampshire on the college hockey map. In Holt's first season, UNH played its first postseason game, earning Holt his first of three Spencer Penrose Awards. In his first five seasons, the Wildcats finished with a winning record and then won the ECAC regular season championship in his sixth year. The Wildcats made their first NCAA appearance in 1977 and captured their first Conference championship two years later. Under Holt the Wildcats went 0-6 in the frozen four and 2-8 in the tournament overall.
Holt, who had a dual major in physical education and history, coached the team from 1968-86. He died from cancer on March 17, 2000.
The Kullen and Umile Era: Triumph and Tragedy
Holt stepped down in 1986 and was replaced by long-time assistant Bob Kullen. In his first year, the team saw marginal improvement, but that summer, Kullen was diagnosed with a rare form of heart disease that necessitated a transplant and his missing an entire season to recuperate. Dave O'Connor served as the interim head coach for 1987-88, allowing Kullen to return in the fall of '88. By 1990, Kullen started rejecting his new heart and was forced to resign. Another UNH assistant, Dick Umile, was named as his replacement, and unfortunately, Kullen died in November 1990 at the age of 41.
In Umile's second season, New Hampshire made the NCAA tournament for the first time in almost a decade and retroactively finished first in the conference after Maine was forced to forfeit 13 games. After a disappointing season in 1996, the team won its first Hockey East Championship and set a new program record with 28 wins. The following year, the Wildcats made the Frozen Four for the first time in 16 years and then reached even higher in 1999. In the penultimate year of the millennium, the Wildcats won 30 games for the first time, establishing a still-record of 31 victories, winning their second conference title (first outright) and were led by sophomore goaltender Ty Conklin and senior center Jason Krog. Krog won the NCAA scoring title by 16 points and captured the Hobey Baker Award (UNH's only recipient). Despite losing in the Hockey East tournament finale, the team received the #2 overall seed and a bye into the second round.
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Continued Success and Recent Challenges
UNH would continue to be a power in Hockey East, winning back to back conference championships in 2002 and 2003 and reached their second NCAA title game in '03 where they lost to Minnesota, 5-1. UNH would make the NCAA tournament every year from 2002 through 2011 but the team could not make it out of the Regionals after 2003. Starting in 2012 the program began a slow decline, ending up dead-last in the conference in 2017-18.
Mike Souza: A New Chapter
Mike Souza, born in Wakefield, Massachusetts, attended the University of New Hampshire from 1996 to 2000. 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. 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.
After leaving UNH he played in the AHL for three seasons with the Norfolk Admirals and the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. 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. 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.
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