Lindenwood announced the addition of assistant coach Mike Venezia to the women’s hockey coaching staff for the 2020-21 season.
Venezia spent the previous two seasons as the women’s head coach at Castleton.
“We are very excited to have Mike join the Lindenwood hockey family,” said Lindenwood head coach Shelley Looney in a news release. “He is a great person who brings a ton of positive energy and years of valuable experience growing and rebuilding programs at multiple levels of collegiate hockey. Mike is very passionate about making an impact and earning his mane.”
During his two-year stint at Castleton, Venezia posted a 24-24-6 record, including a 19-9-4 mark against NEHC teams. Venezia guided the Spartans to consecutive trips to the NEHC tournament, making a run to NEHC tournament championship game in 2018-19.
Following the 2018-19 season, Venezia earned NEHC Coach of the Year honors.
“I want to thank Coach Looney for this opportunity to join Lindenwood University and the women’s hockey program,” said Venezia. “The amount of passion and energy that this program and this coaching staff possess is unparalleled and I am excited to be a part of what they are building. I am extremely grateful for this new chapter in my career, and I look forward to working with these elite student-athletes, coaches, and community members to build a championship program here at Lindenwood.”
Prior to his time at Castleton, Venezia spent one year (2017-18) as a volunteer assistant coach for the Union women’s hockey team. Venezia also had coaching stops at Morrisville, West Chester University, and with the Philadelphia Junior Flyers 19U and 16U teams.
