Durham Huskies (1996–2001)

This article is about the Junior "A" Durham Huskies. For the Senior team, seeDurham Huskies.

TheDurham Huskieswere a Junior "A"ice hockeyteam from the town ofDurham, Ontario,Canada. The Huskies played in theMetro Junior A Hockey Leaguefor two seasons and theOntario Provincial Junior A Hockey Leaguefor three seasons. The Huskies were a continuance of the TraditionalDurham HuskiesSenior/Intermediate team that existed from 1920 until 1992.

Durham Huskies
City	Durham, Ontario,Canada
League	Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League Metro Junior A Hockey League
Operated	1996-2001
Home arena	Durham Community Centre
Colours	Blue,Red,Grey,andWhite
General manager	Dennis Graham
Head coach	Jon Antonopolis Brian Warrilow Jamie Petrie
Affiliates	Owen Sound Platers(OHL) Mount Forest Patriots(WOJCHL)

A Junior Hockey Revival

Durham Huskies versus rival Markham Waxers (1998)

Preface

After the demise of theSr. Huskies,Durham decided to pursue aJunior hockeyteam. From the early days the team was dubbed the Huskies as well, all they had to do was find a league to play in. The Huskies had no chance to play inJunior Developmentas it was a league that depended on close locale and the closest team to Durham wasSeaforth,over 80 kilometers away. They triedJr. "C"and were turned down for political reasons involving the player drawing availability of potential rival teams: theHanover BaronsandMount Forest Patriots.Midwestern Junior BandProvincial Jr. "A"did not work out either. As a last resort, the Huskies attempted to join the on-again off-again renegadeMetro Junior A Hockey League.

Metro Junior "A"

In 1996 they were successful, and they joined a league spanning the entireProvinceofOntariowith teams in the States ofNew YorkandPennsylvania.Although the Jr. "A" Huskies never did obtain a winning season, the highlight of their junior hockey stint may have been their 1998 playoff run. The Huskies entered the playoffs in second place in the Central Division and drew the always potentMarkham Waxers.The series was penalty and fight filled, but ultimately the Huskies walked away with a 3-games-to-1 series win. In the divisional final, the Huskies drew theCaledon Canadiansand were swept by one of the best Junior A teams of the 1990s 3-games-to-none. Although they did not advance further, the desire and skill shown by the Huskies directly resulted in 9 members of the team being drafted into theOntario Hockey Leaguethat summer. Sadly, as many made their respective OHL teams or moved on to college, from this point on the Huskie roster would never reach to those heights again. After 2 seasons in the "Metro", the league folded and the team was allowed into the super-competitiveOntario Provincial Junior A Hockey League.

On a sidenote, the Huskies, while in the Metro, notoriously became the first team in hockey history to have two goals scored on them by a goaltender in one hockey game. This event occurred in a game against theMuskoka Bearson February 21, 1997. Goaltender Ryan Venturelli scored the empty net goals at 8:55 and 10:34 of the third period. The Bears defeated the Huskies that night by a score of 11-6.

The OPJHL

Playing against a stronger calibre of teams like theCollingwood Blues,Newmarket Hurricanes,Brampton Capitals,and theGeorgetown Raiders,by the end of the Huskies three-year stint inProvincial Jr. "A"League it became obvious that the team could no longer competitively compete. In 2001, the Huskies officially left the OPJHL. Some of the reasons revolved around poor attendance, poor results at such a high level, and lack of resources to pay expensive league and travelling fees. The team also was developing a notoriety around the league for being a "bush league"team. Their last season in the OPJHL was not memorable to say the least. This assessment could easily reflected by their exhibition results before the season even started: a pair of losses to theOwen Sound Greysof theMidwestern Junior B Hockey Leagueand a loss to a Juvenile "AAA" team from theEastern AAA Hockey League.The Huskies went into hiatus just before the start of the next season, all the players' rights were released, the Huskies were inert again.

Scott Hastings versus the Markham Waxers (1998)

Aftermath

Many former Huskies went on to prosper in other leagues. Anthony Donskov reached theNCAAwhere he played for theMiami Red Hawksof theCentral Collegiate Hockey Association.Bob Crummer went on to theGuelph Stormof theOntario Hockey Leagueand had a briefECHLsemi-pro career. Tyler Murray later played in theCentral Junior A Hockey Leaguefor theBrockville Bravesand theOttawa Jr. Senatorsbefore a brief semi-pro career. David Bilik, who came to the Huskies from the disbandedPittsburgh Jr. Penguins,went on to play for thePensacola Ice Pilotsof theECHL.Steve Howard eventually became a Semi-Pro journeyman, spending time in theECHLand theColonial Hockey League.Andy Peters spent four years playingNCAAwithBentley College.Enforcer Kevin Shanahan played a season of semi-pro with the Motor City Snipers of theInternational Independent Hockey League.Bradley Bartlett,who came to the Huskies in 2000 after his past team theThunder Bay Flyersfolded, moved on to play two seasons ofCanadian Interuniversity SportHockey withLakehead University.Andrej Blasko found his way up to the semi-pro ranks as well. Anthony Child, a player ofBritishdescent, was traded to theCollingwood Bluesafter two seasons with Durham. He spent hisChristmasseasons in his Husky years playing in Pool B of theWorld Junior Ice Hockey Championshipsas a member of theBritish national ice hockey team.He later moved on to play a brief professional career with theRomford Raidersof theEnglish Premier Ice Hockey League.Josh Ciocco played for the Huskies in 1999–2000, but moved on to theBritish Columbia Hockey Leaguethe next year. From 2003 until 2007, Ciocco played hockey for theUniversity of New Hampshire.He played his first professional hockey in the 2006–07 season with theWheeling Nailersof theECHL.Ryan Hoover moved on to play for the Hamilton Kilty B's and journeyed to Texas to play in CHL but was unable to continue due to concussions. Travis Clock ended up playing in both theOHLandQMJHL,then semi-pro with theOrlando Seals,and Senior AAA in 2006–07 with theWindsor St. Clair Saints.

Despite not winning any championships, what the team did do was provide a forum for local talent to compete at high levels, gaining the town and its hometown boys like Mike Nixon, Scott Baines, Jim MacGillvray, Dave Galbraith, Kyle Phillips, Andy Aitken, Paul Brown, Devan Mighton, Sandy Mackenzie, Jesse Rycroft (who played semi-pro for theUnited Hockey League'sKalamazoo Wings), and Will Hill recognition in the local hockey world.

The Huskies spawned oneNational Hockey Leaguealumnus inKurtis McLeanwho played briefly for theNew York Islanders.His later career has been in Europe, including theKontinental Hockey League.Former Huskie goalie Greg Blais also found success in Britain'sElite Ice Hockey Leagueand France'sLigue Magnus.

The Huskies went on hiatus in 2001 to attempt to join the localWestern Junior Cleague to better fit in with competition, but again the team was thwarted by the league's political landscape. Little is known about the future of the franchise, if there is to be one.

The End of the Huskies?

The Husky moniker has been adopted for the 2005-06 season by the town's local Juvenile Minor Hockey Team in theWOAA.As of right now, there is no known effort to return the Huskies back to a higher level of hockey. It is doubtful that this is the last the town ofDurhamwill see of the Husky franchise, but the team seems to be dead in the water for the time being. As of 2006-07, the OPJHL's Oshawa Legionnaires became theDurham Fury,which will play out of the Campus Ice Center inOshawa, Ontario.Although it was unlikely that the Huskies would have ever re-entered the OPJHL, as their recent efforts were to join the Western Junior "C" League, the creation of the Fury would definitely be a rumour-killer for an OPJHL comeback.

Season-by-season record

Husky Tyler Murray (1998)

Note:GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime Losses, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against

Season	GP	W	L	T	OTL	GF	GA	Points	Finish	Playoffs
1996-97	50	13	37	0	-	201	317	26	14th Metro A	Lost in First Round
1997-98	50	19	29	2	-	194	232	40	11th Metro A	Lost in Second Round
1998-99	51	9	35	3	4	156	292	25	11th OPJHL-C	Out of Playoffs
1999-00	49	5	39	3	2	132	338	15	8th OPJHL-N	Out of Playoffs
2000-01	49	7	35	5	2	137	288	21	8th OPJHL-N	Lost in First Round
Totals	249	53	175	13	8	820	1467	--	0.255	--

Playoffs

• 1997Lost Preliminary

Aurora Tigersdefeated Durham Huskies4-games-to-none

• 1998Lost quarter-final

Durham HuskiesdefeatedMarkham Waxers3-games-to-1

Caledon Canadiansdefeated Durham Huskies3-games-to-none

Uniforms

Notable alumni

• Kurtis McLean

External links

• MP Bill Murdoch announces expansion of 1996 Durham Huskies
• Ontario Provincial Jr. A Website
• OHA Website
• Internet Hockey Database