Joe Houk Hockey History

Joe Houk went to and played for the Council Rock Golden Hawks, otherwise known as “South”. He was an impact player on defense with impressive skills both on the blueline and with the puck offensively. Joe’s nickname was “Chippy” for his chipped tooth, in his freshman year he won the “Freshman Award”. Houk began his hockey career as a forward, playing for both South and the Philadelphia Junior Flyers of the Atlantic Junior Hockey League. But one day his high school coach, Marc Rago, approached him about filling in on defense. “The coach came up to me and said: ‘We need a defenseman for the next game.’ I was a youngster, the only freshman on the team, just happy to be there,” Houk recalled. “I said: ‘I’ll try’. I went out there against the other team’s best forward and completely shut him down. “The coach said I might as well try it again the next game, too, and I guess it kind of stuck. I was still playing forward for the Junior Flyers at the same time, but as time went on I gradually became a defenseman.” In Houk’s junior year, he was awarded “Defensive Player of the Year.” He did not play for CRS in his senior year, he played juniors only. Houk was also a standout lacrosse player, he played lacrosse for four years. In his senior year, he won offensive MVP and team MVP. The varsity coach, Coach McGovern at the banquet said, “Joe picked the wrong sport and could play D1 lacrosse anywhere he wanted.

Joe began his college career at Hamilton College, NCAA Division lll under coach Norm Bazin, he totaled 52 points in 51 games, on 21 goals and 31 assists. Joe was named the New England Small College Athletic Conference Player of the Year in 2010-11 while scoring 17 goals and 16 assists, becoming the first sophomore in league history to win the award. As a defenseman, Joe led the team in goals and was second in assists. He tied for third in the NESCAC in points and goals and helped the Continentals rank second in the conference in scoring offense with 3.72 goals per game. He was also named a Division III First Team All-American and to the All-NESCAC First Team in 2010-11. Joe also ranked second in D3 points per game by a defenseman with 1.32 ppg. His 33 points in his final season were the most by any Hamilton ice hockey player since Gus Katsuras’s 38 points in 2006. “I profited from Coaches Norm Bazin and Graham Johnson giving me extended playing time throughout the season and as well as a great deal of support from my teammates who were “making my job as a defenseman as easy as possible …[and made it] easy to capitalize on the chances they gave me every game,” said Houk.

After Joe’s sophomore year, he transferred to Division l UMass-Lowell, following his head coach from Hamilton College. As a Junior, he made an immediate impact upon transfer. Joe played 33 games with 10 assists, four of which were on game-winning goals while maintaining a plus +14 rating. His highlights included two assists in a 5-4 overtime victory over Northeastern; and a 6-3 win at Massachusetts.

In his senior year, Houk scored the game-winning goal against UMass in the final second of regulation, and he notched an overtime game-winner at Vermont. Over two years at UMass-Lowell Houk registered 19 points (four goals, 15 assists) and 90 penalty minutes in 74 NCAA games, and helped lead UMass-Lowell to the 2013 Hockey East Championship. Houk signed his first contract with the Toledo Walleye of the East Coast Hockey League, (ECHL).

After beginning his professional career in 2014-15 with the Toledo Walleye the 6-foot 205-pound defenseman recorded seven points (one goal, six assists) and was a plus-13 rating in 25 games. The Walleye traded Houk to the Elmira Jackals on March 9, 2015, in exchange for center, Justin Daniels. On June 30, 2015, The Elmira Jackals resigned Houk to a new contract. On December 5, 2015, the Manchester Monarchs acquired Houk, and shortly thereafter on January 18, 2016 Monarchs coach Rick Seeley traded Joe to the Greenville Swamp Rabbits. Houk played for the Swamp Rabbits until 2018 and during that time he played one AHL game for the Texas Stars on a professional tryout agreement on April 9, 2018. At that time, Houk, 26, was one of the ECHL’s top-scoring defensemen with 47 points (16 goals and 31 assists for 47 points) in 69 games for Greenville. The 6-foot, 215-pound blueliner attended training camp with the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack before returning to the Swamp Rabbits.

Some highlights from UMass-Lowell, and Greenville Swamp Rabbits