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Michael Smith (ice hockey)

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Michael Smith
Born (1971-01-17) January 17, 1971 (age 53)
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb)
Position Defenseman
Shot Left
Played for Lake Superior State
Rochester Americans
Roanoke Express
Minnesota Moose
Tulsa Oilers
Saint John Flames
Saginaw Lumber Kings
NHL draft 255th overall, 1991
Buffalo Sabres
Playing career 1989–1998

Michael Smith (born January 17, 1971) is a Canadian retired ice hockey defenseman who was an All-American for Lake Superior State.[1]

Career

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Smith was recruited to Lake Superior State in 1989 and played his freshman season under Frank Anzalone. Smith was an unheralded but effective player his first season, helping the Lakers tie the program record with 33 wins. The following season, with Anzalone leaving to coach in the professional ranks, Smith saw his ice time and production blossom under former assistant Jeff Jackson. Smith more than doubled his career totals and got LSSU to set a new program record with 36 wins to go with the Lakers' first conference championship.[2] Lake State received the top western seed, however, Clarkson arrived ready to play in the 1991 national quarterfinals and took two of three games to knock out the tournament favorites. Despite the bad end, Smith was selected by the Buffalo Sabres in the 12th round of the NHL Draft.

For his junior season, Smith's numbers declined slightly but that didn't stop the Lakers from having another dominant campaign. LSSU finished second in the CCHA but used their stellar defense to capture a second conference title and head back to the NCAA tournament. This time the team was a 3-seed and missed out on a bye, but the Lakers persevered and ran roughshod over their opponents in the first two rounds. They slowed down a bit in the national semifinal, but were still able to drop Michigan State 4–2. The championship game against Wisconsin turned into a bit of a debacle due to questionable penalty calls but the Lakers were the ones who were ahead when the dust settled. Smith scored lake Superior's third goal of the game to give his team its first lead and helped shut down the Badger's offense in the later half of the game to give LSSU its second national championship.[3]

Smith was named an alternate captain for his senior season and the Lakers were again one of the best teams in the country. Lake State won its third consecutive conference title while Smith was named an All-American. LSSU received the top western seed once more but this time the team used it to their advantage. Lake State marched all the way to the championship game and were faced with one of the most dominant teams in NCAA history, 1993 Maine. The Black Bears got off to a quick start with two goals before the first period was half over but Lake Superior's defense tightened up afterwards and allowed their offense to begin whittling down Maine's advantage. The Lakers scored 4 consecutive goals in just over 20 minutes to take a 2-goal lead into the third. Unfortunately for Smith, his team was facing down the nation's top offense, led by future Hall of Famer Paul Kariya, and Maine was able to get three goals in quick succession to snatch victory away from Lake Superior. With his college career now over, Smith finished out the year with a pair of games for the Rochester Americans.

Buffalo decided not to sign Smith to a rookie contract so he ended up joining his former coach, Frank Anzalone, with the Roanoke Express. Smith played the bulk of the next 5 seasons for Roanoke, leaving several times to play AAA hockey with several teams but he could never stick at the top level of the minor leagues. When Anzalone became the first head coach for the Lowell Lock Monsters in 1998, Smith decided to call it a career and retired as a player.

Statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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    Regular Season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1989–90 Lake Superior State CCHA 41 4 10 14 6 — — — — —
1990–91 Lake Superior State CCHA 43 5 29 34 30 — — — — —
1991–92 Lake Superior State CCHA 43 8 17 25 34 — — — — —
1992–93 Lake Superior State CCHA 42 5 25 30 42 — — — — —
1992–93 Rochester Americans AHL 2 0 1 1 0 — — — — —
1993–94 Roanoke Express ECHL 67 5 57 62 32 2 0 0 0 0
1994–95 Minnesota Moose IHL 13 0 2 2 0 — — — — —
1994–95 Roanoke Express ECHL 57 6 40 46 59 8 4 2 6 8
1995–96 Tulsa Oilers CHL 4 0 0 0 2 — — — — —
1995–96 Roanoke Express ECHL 69 10 38 48 41 3 0 0 0 4
1996–97 Saint John Flames AHL 12 0 5 5 12 — — — — —
1996–97 Roanoke Express ECHL 57 6 35 41 25 — — — — —
1997–98 Saginaw Lumber Kings UHL 6 0 2 2 2 — — — — —
1997–98 Roanoke Express ECHL 62 5 19 24 24 9 1 4 5 4
NCAA totals 169 22 81 103 112 — — — — —
AHL totals 14 0 6 6 12 — — — — —
ECHL totals 312 32 189 221 181 22 5 6 11 16

Awards and honors

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Award Year
All-CCHA Second Team 1992–93 [4]
AHCA West Second-Team All-American 1992–93 [1]
CCHA All-Tournament Team 1993 [5]
NCAA All-Tournament Team 1993 [6]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Men's Ice Hockey Award Winners" (PDF). NCAA.org. Retrieved June 11, 2013.
  2. ^ "Lake Superior Men's Hockey Team History". U.S. College Hockey Online. 1996–2010. Retrieved November 28, 2010.
  3. ^ "HOCKEY; Amid Fury, Lake Superior St. Prevails". The New York Times. April 6, 1992. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
  4. ^ "CCHA All-Teams". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  5. ^ "2012-13 CCHA Media Guide". ISSUU.com. Retrieved 2014-04-23.
  6. ^ "NCAA Frozen Four Records" (PDF). NCAA.org. Retrieved 2013-06-19.
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