The Houston Huskies were a minor league

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. This term is used in North America with regard to several organizations competing in...

 ice hockey

Ice hockey

Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...

 team based in Houston, Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

. Formerly known as the Houston Skippers

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, and played for only season, 1946....

, they were a member of the United States Hockey League

United States Hockey League (1945-51)

The United States Hockey League was a minor professional ice hockey league that operated from 1945 to 1951. It was a post-World War II revival of the American Hockey Association, which shut down in the fall of 1942 . The league playoff champion was awarded the Paul W...

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

Buffalo Bisons (AHL)

The Buffalo Bisons were an American Hockey League ice hockey franchise that played from 1940 to 1970 in Buffalo, New York. They replaced the original Buffalo Bisons hockey team, which left the area in 1936 after its arena collapsed...

.

The Huskies continued with the same team as the Skippers, and also continued playing in Sam Houston Coliseum

Sam Houston Coliseum

Sam Houston Coliseum was an indoor arena, located in Houston, Texas. It was located at 801 Bagby Street near downtown. The arena was opened in November 1937 and had a capacity of 9,200. It was built in conjunction with the Houston Music Hall, which was adjacent to the Coliseum...

. In 1948 former Montreal Canadiens

Montreal Canadiens

The Montreal Canadiens are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The club is officially known as ...

 player Toe Blake

Toe Blake

Hector "Toe" Blake, CM was a Canadian ice hockey player and coach in the National Hockey League .-Nickname:His nickname came out of his childhood for his younger sister was unable to pronounce his name...

 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 and Fort Worth attempted to form a Texas Hockey League, but were uanble 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.