Mike Dunham played goalie at the Canterbury School, a prep school in Connecticut, and then for the University of Maine, leading them to the NCAA title in his final year, 1993. He dropped out his senior season to play with the US National Team in 1993-94, and played in the American Hockey League with the Albany River Rats from 1994-97. Dunham played for 10 years in the NHL, from 1996-97 to 2006-07. He played with various teams, starting out with the New Jersey Devils, but also playing with the Nashville Predators, the Atlanta Thrashers, and the New York Rangers and Islanders. During the NHL lockout in 2004-05, Dunham played with Skelleftea AIK in Sweden. In 1995 Dunham was awarded the Jennings Trophy in 1997, for the fewest goals allowed in the NHL. He has since become the goaltending coach for the Islanders.