Durham Huskies (1996–2001)

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

The Durham Huskies were a Junior "A"

Senior/Intermediate team that existed from 1920 until 1992.

A Junior Hockey Revival

Preface

After the demise of the

.

Metro Junior "A"

In 1996 they were successful, and they joined a league spanning the entire

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 the

The OPJHL

Playing against a stronger calibre of teams like the

. The Huskies went into hiatus just before the start of the next season, all the players' rights were released, the Huskies were inert again.

Aftermath

Many former Huskies went on to prosper in other leagues. Anthony Donskov reached the

.

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 the United Hockey League's Kalamazoo Wings), and Will Hill recognition in the local hockey world.

The Huskies spawned one National Hockey League alumnus in Kurtis McLean who played briefly for the New York Islanders. His later career has been in Europe, including the Kontinental Hockey League. Former Huskie goalie Greg Blais also found success in Britain's Elite Ice Hockey League and France's Ligue Magnus.

The Huskies went on hiatus in 2001 to attempt to join the local

league 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 the

. 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

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

• 1997 Lost Preliminary

Aurora Tigers defeated Durham Huskies 4-games-to-none

• 1998 Lost quarter-final

Durham Huskies defeated Markham Waxers 3-games-to-1

Caledon Canadians defeated Durham Huskies 3-games-to-none

Uniforms

Notable alumni

• Kurtis McLean

References

External links

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