Flint Generals

Flint Generals
Founded 1993
Operated 1993–2010
Owner(s) Franke Family
Head coach Jason Muzzatti
Media WFNT(1470 AM) Flint Journal
Championships
Regular season titles 2 (1996, 1997)
Colonial Cups 2 (1996, 2000)

The Flint Generals were a professional ice hockey team based in Flint, Michigan.

They were a member of the International Hockey League and played their home games at Perani Arena and Event Center in Flint, Michigan.

History

Flint has been home to minor pro hockey in some incarnation since 1969, except a one-year break in the 1990–91 season. The modern Flint Generals came about in the 1993–94 season after Flint Bulldogs owner Skip Probst moved the Bulldogs from Flint to Utica, New York. The following summer, Dr. Khaled M. Shukairy was granted an expansion franchise to play in Flint.

After a fan vote, "Generals" had been voted on by the fans to be the name of the current franchise. Since their inception in 1993, Flint has won two Colonial Cup championships, the first against the Thunder Bay Senators in the 1995–96 season, in which the Generals claimed the Colonial Cup in a six-game upset where the Generals won the final game by a score of 9–0. This team included such players as Kevin Kerr, who would later break the all time minor league hockey scoring record and coach the Generals, Robin Bouchard, who was traded early the next season in a lopsided trade that did not favor the Generals, Andrei Mezin, the goalie who would go on to play for his native Belarus in the olympics and upset Sweden, and female goaltender, Erin Whitten.

The second Colonial Cup came in a 4–0 sweep of the Generals arch rival, the Quad City Mallards in 2000. The 2000 Flint Generals were coached by former NHLer Doug Shedden and included former Toronto Maple Leaf Bobby Reynolds, former Detroit Red Wing Mark Major, former Edmonton Oiler Nick Stajduhar, two 100 point scorers in Ross Wilson and Don Parsons, UHL Defenseman of the Year Gary Roach, high flying late season additions Cory Cyrenne and Vladmir Serov, and goalie Mark Richards. Serov and Cyrenne totaled 60 points in 37 regular season games, and in the 2000 finals, Serov scored the game-winning goal with 50 seconds left in game three, and the game-winning goal with 3:52 left in game four to preserve the victories for the Generals.

After several years of mediocre hockey and questionable ownership, the Generals finished the 2009-10 season on a hot streak, clinching the final Turner Cup playoff berth on the final day of the season. The Generals faced the Muskegon Lumberjacks in Round One of the Turner Cup Playoffs, and after falling behind 3-1, came back to win the series in seven. The Generals then fell to the Fort Wayne Komets in a competitive five-game series. The Generals only win in the series was a thrilling 7-6 overtime win in Game 3.

Despite the surprising turnaround in 2009-10 and rumors of more stable ownership taking over, the Generals folded when Perani Arena management decided to give the arena lease to the Michigan Warriors of the North American Hockey League.[1]

Championships

Year League Trophy
1995–96 Colonial Hockey League Tarry Cup
1995–96 Colonial Hockey League Colonial Cup
1996–97 Colonial Hockey League Tarry Cup
1999–00 United Hockey League Colonial Cup

Season-by-season results

Legend: OTL=Overtime loss, SOL=Shootout loss

Season League Games Won Lost Tied OTL SOL Points Goals
for 		Goals
against 		Standing Playoffs
1993–94 CoHL 64 32 23 9 – – 73 328 314 4th, West Lost in round 2
1994–95 CoHL 74 34 34 6 – – 74 350 353 4th, West Lost in round 1
1995–96 CoHL 74 51 18 5 – – 107 347 248 1st, East Won Colonial Cup
1996–97 CoHL 74 55 18 1 – – 111 371 232 1st, East Lost in Finals
1997–98 UHL 74 46 22 – 6 – 98 371 278 1st, East Lost in Finals
1998–99 UHL 74 37 32 – 5 – 79 318 299 3rd, Central Lost in round 2
1999–2000 UHL 74 51 14 – 9 – 111 379 250 1st, Central Won Colonial Cup
2000–01 UHL 74 30 34 – 10 – 70 253 303 4th, West Out of playoffs
2001–02 UHL 74 42 26 – 6 – 90 294 245 4th, West Lost in round 1
2002–03 UHL 76 32 36 – 8 – 72 257 298 5th, East Out of playoffs
2003–04 UHL 76 39 27 – 10 – 88 253 244 2nd, East Lost in round 1
2004–05 UHL 80 33 33 – 14 – 80 237 236 4th, Central Out of playoffs
2005–06 UHL 76 31 35 – – 10 72 236 294 4th, Central Out of playoffs
2006–07 UHL 76 33 34 – – 9 75 250 286 3rd, Eastern Lost in round 1
2007–08 IHL 76 34 28 – 5 9 82 271 276 3rd, League Lost in round 1
2008–09 IHL 76 22 47 – 2 5 51 241 359 6th, League Out of playoffs
2009–10 IHL 76 33 36 - 3 4 73 234 257 4th, League Lost in Finals
TOTALS   1268 635 497 21 78 37 1406 4990 4772    

Retired numbers

References

  1. ↑ http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20100617/SPORTS0601/306179971/1210/SPORTS06
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