skip navigation

The Old Hounds League in Houston Keeps Things Mixed Up

12/17/2014, 1:15pm MST
By Greg Bates - Special to USAHockey.org

Each season the adult league shuffles up its rosters and starts from scratch

For any adult hockey player seeking a little variety on the ice, head to Houston and skate in the Old Hounds League (OHL).

Each season — the league has four seasons per calendar year — teams are started from scratch and shuffled via a draft. Players are rated on a 1-10 scale, and teams are selected on ability by captains to keep the OHL as even as possible.

Noel Chang has been playing in the league, which is conducted through the Bay Area Houston Hockey Association, for 15 years and loves the format.

“What I like about our league is everyone knows how wide the spectrum of ability is, and that’s why we go to such great lengths to balance the teams and make it competitive,” Chang said. “No one likes to go in a get shelled every week.”

The OHL, which started playing at the Sharpstown Ice Center in October after the Space City Ice Station shut down, is comprised of six teams in the fall season. The league has a nine- to 10-game regular-season schedule along with playoffs each season. The teams generally don’t get to make up their team nicknames; they are instead assigned a color.

“I think what we’ve got works really well,” Chang said. “I’m surprised more people wouldn’t do something like this.”

Chang plays on the Green team with Ken Bollweg, another longtime OHL skater. Even though both Chang and Bollweg — who are forwards — have played in the OHL for over a decade each, the two haven’t played on the same team too many times.

Bollweg, who has played hockey for 12 years, also likes playing in the OHL since games are competitive and scores for the most part aren’t lopsided.

“You mix them up every season, which is great,” Bollweg said. “Everybody gets a chance to play with everybody. If there’s any sort of building animosity over a season, you shuffle everybody. In fact, if there’s two people that really have a problem with one another, we usually make it a point to put them on the same team. Then they’ve got to work together.”

There are a broad range of ages and abilities in the OHL, which is considered a middle-of-the-road tier for skill level.

“It’s great bunch of guys, great corps group and it’s also very accepting of new guys wanting to try it out,” Chang said.

Since Houston is a town full of transplants, there’s a turnover rate of around 10 percent every season. Combine that with forming new teams four times per season, and it makes it a little difficult for players to create on-ice chemistry with one another.

“That’s one of the downsides is that the chemistry that develops between linemates is hard to foster because you’re changing the rosters constantly,” Chang said.

Bollweg doesn’t see that as a major issue.

“After doing it for 30, 40, 50 seasons, you’ve played with everybody one time or another,” Bollweg said. “It doesn’t take long. We’ve all played with or against each other, and we know everybody else’s tendencies for or against.”

With the Johnson Space Center located in Houston, several OHL players are either NASA employees or contactors. Bollweg, who is a deputy project manager at NASA, figures about 20 percent of the league players have NASA connections. There is also an astronaut who competes in the OHL.

Chang, who is a high school teacher, plays hockey as a release from his day job. Growing up in New York City, Chang, 47, plays a lot more hockey now than he did when he first laced up his skates at 10 years old.

“I’ve never given up playing OHL, that’s my ‘me time,’” Chang said. “That’s the one thing I do every week that’s for me. Go play that one hockey game a week because I love it.”

A Chicago native, Bollweg has been a huge Blackhawks fan since he attended his first Hawks game in 1959. Bollweg, 58, however, didn’t start playing hockey until he was 46.

“Since doing that, I’ve become an addict,” said Bollweg, who is also a Level 4 coach and Level 3 referee. “I’ve always loved watching it, I’d just never played it.”

Story from Red Line Editorial, Inc.

Recent News

Michigan Womens's Ice Hockey Team - by Nolan Bona
  • The Game Lives On

  • 03/13/2024, 10:15am MDT , By Clara Boudette
  • The University of Michigan Women’s Ice Hockey Team Embraces Domestic & Global Opportunities American College Hockey Association Provides
  • Read More
The Lady Duck "We Play Her Way" program smiles for a photograph on the ice.
Group Picture of the adaptive hockey on-ice event. They are wearing Victory Green Dallas Stars jerseys and black and orange jerseys as they pose for a picture on the ice.
A young boy, in a black Bauer helmet and a navy USA Hockey/NHL jersey sits on the ice and smiles during Try Hockey For Free Day
The Grow Colorado Goalies clinic takes a group photo, with coaches and young goaltenders on the ice.
The Irish Youth Hockey League hosting a Try Hockey For Free Event. Young girls on the ice pose for a photograph after the event.
The Over-80 USA Hockey Team, comprised of players from eight different states (New Hampshire, Minnesota, Alaska, Massachusetts, Colorado, Illinois, Florida and California), came together in the Fall of 2023 to compete in the Canada 150 Cup tournament in B

Most Popular Articles

The American Truth About Labatt Blue

02/04/2014, 8:00am MST
By USAH

Former CEO Steps Out of Comfort Zone and Onto the Ice

09/23/2016, 10:30am MDT
By Elizabeth Boger

Hockey keeps Rhody Oldies feeling 59 again

05/22/2013, 4:15pm MDT
By Mike Scandura - Special to USAHockey.com

The requirements to play for the Rhody Oldies include the ability to skate, stick handle, pass and shoot the puck. But there’s one more: Each player must be 60 years of age or older.

Tag(s): Home