The Houston Huskies were a

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

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 ...

team based in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. Formerly known as the

Houston Skippers The Houston Skippers were a minor league ice hockey team based in Houston, Texas. They were a member of the United States Hockey League (1945-51), United States Hockey League, and played for only season, 1946. Houston was awarded a franchise from ...

, they were a member of the

United States Hockey League The United States Hockey League (USHL) is the top junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. The league consists of 16 active teams located in the midwestern United States, for players between the ages of 16 and 21. The USHL is strictly ...

, and were active from 1947 to 1949. They were affiliated with the

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen Fiel ...

. The Huskies continued with the same team as the Skippers, and also continued playing in

Sam Houston Coliseum Sam Houston Coliseum was an indoor arena located in Houston, Texas. Early years Located at 801 Bagby Street in Downtown Houston, the Coliseum and Music Hall complex replaced the Sam Houston Hall, which was a wooden structure that had been erected ...

. In 1948 former

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

player

Toe Blake Toes are the digits (fingers) of the foot of a tetrapod. Animal species such as cats that walk on their toes are described as being ''digitigrade''. Humans, and other animals that walk on the soles of their feet, are described as being ''plant ...

was named head coach. The Huskies went on to have a great season, eventually winning the 1948 USHL championship. In June 1949 the Huskies were dropped from the USHL. The Huskies, along with teams from

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

and

Fort Worth Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...

attempted to form a Texas Hockey League, but were unable to get firm commitments for dates. Because of this, the Sam Houston Coliseum canceled their contract with the team. Without a place to play, and no other city willing to host them, the Huskies were forced to cancel their 1949-50 season. The team ceased operations in late 1949. Bob Blake played one season with the Huskies and led the team to a championship trophy. He was inducted into the

United States Hockey Hall of Fame The United States Hockey Hall of Fame was established in 1973 with the goal of preserving the history of ice hockey in the United States while recognizing the extraordinary contributions of select players, coaches, administrators, officials and ...

in 1985.

References

External links

Hidden History of Houston HockeyHouston Huskies All-Time player list
Ice hockey teams in Houston Defunct ice hockey teams in Texas 1947 establishments in Texas 1949 disestablishments in Texas Ice hockey clubs established in 1947 Ice hockey clubs disestablished in 1949 {{Houston-stub