Flint Generals

This article is about the minor league hockey team that existed from 1993–2010. For the hockey team that existed from 1969–1985, see Flint Generals (1969–1985).

Ice hockey team in Flint, Michigan

Flint Generals

City| Flint, Michigan
League| International Hockey League
Founded| 1993
Folded| 2010
Home arena| Perani Arena
Colors| Navy blue, gold
Owner(s)| Franke Family
Head coach| Jason Muzzatti
Media| WFNT(1470 AM) Flint Journal
Franchise history
1993–2010| Flint Generals
Championships
Regular season titles| 2 (1996, 1997)
Colonial Cups| 2 (1996, 2000)

The Flint Generals were a minor professional ice hockey team based in Flint, Michigan. They were a member of the International Hockey League and played their home games at the Industrial Mutual Association (IMA) Sports Arena. The Generals won two league championships Colonial Cups in the Colonial Hockey League and United Hockey League.

## History

[edit]

Flint had been home to minor professional hockey in some incarnation since 1969, except for a one-year break in the 1990–91 season. This incarnation of the Flint Generals came about in the 1993–94 season after the Colonial Hockey League's (CoHL) 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 in the CoHL to play in Flint.

After a fan vote, "Generals" had been voted on by the fans to be the name of the new franchise after the original Generals' team that relocated to Saginaw in 1985. Flint won their first Colonial Cup against the Thunder Bay Senators in the 1995–96 season, in which the Generals claimed the championship in a six-game upset and 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;[citation needed] 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 rival, the Quad City Mallards, in 2000. The Generals were coached by former NHL player Doug Shedden. They included former NHL players Bobby Reynolds, Mark Major, and Nick Stajduhar, as well as two 100 point scorers in Ross Wilson and Don Parsons, UHL Defenseman of the Year Gary Roach, late-season additions Cory Cyrenne and Vladimir 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 season's final day. The Generals faced the Muskegon Lumberjacks in the first round of the Turner Cup playoffs, and after falling behind three games to one, came back to win the series in seven games. The Generals then fell to the Fort Wayne Komets in a five-game series; the Generals' only win in the series was a 7–6 overtime win in Game 3. Despite the 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 junior Michigan Warriors of the North American Hockey League.[1]

## Championships

[edit]

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

[edit]

Season | League | GP | W | L | T | OTL | SOL | Pts | GF | GA | 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 | Did not qualify
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 | Did not qualify
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 | Did not qualify
2005–06 | UHL | 76 | 31 | 35 | — | — | 10 | 72 | 236 | 294 | 4th, Central | Did not qualify
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 | Did not qualify
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

[edit]

* #1 — Bob Perani
* #5 — Stephan Brochu
* #16 — Doug Manchak
* #20 — Kevin Kerr
* #77 — Brett MacDonald

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Cohn, Justin A. (June 17, 2010). "Flint, Port Huron bow out of IHL". The Journal Gazette. Archived from the original on March 2, 2012. Retrieved June 19, 2010.

## External links

[edit]

* Flint Generals official site

* v
* t
* e

International/United/Colonial Hockey League

Colonial Hockey League teams
(1991–1997)|

* Brantford Smoke
* Chatham Wheels
* Dayton Ice Bandits
* Detroit Falcons
* Flint Bulldogs
* Flint Generals
* London Wildcats
* Madison Monsters
* Michigan Falcons
* Muskegon Fury
* Port Huron Border Cats
* Quad City Mallards
* Saginaw Lumber Kings
* Saginaw Wheels
* St. Thomas Wildcats
* Thunder Bay Senators
* Thunder Bay Thunder Cats
* Thunder Bay Thunder Hawks
* Utica Blizzard
* Utica Bulldogs

United Hockey League teams
(1997–2007)|

* Adirondack Frostbite
* Adirondack IceHawks
* Asheville Smoke
* B.C. Icemen
* Bloomington PrairieThunder
* Brantford Smoke
* Chicago Hounds
* Columbus Stars
* Danbury Trashers
* Elmira Jackals
* Flint Generals
* Fort Wayne Komets
* Kalamazoo Wings
* Kansas City Outlaws
* Knoxville Speed
* Madison Kodiaks
* Madison Monsters
* Missouri River Otters
* Mohawk Valley Prowlers
* Motor City Mechanics
* Muskegon Fury
* New Haven Knights
* Ohio Gears
* Port Huron Beacons
* Port Huron Border Cats
* Port Huron Flags
* Quad City Mallards
* Richmond RiverDogs
* Roanoke Valley Vipers
* Rockford IceHogs
* Saginaw Gears
* Saginaw Lumber Kings
* Thunder Bay Thunder Cats
* Winston-Salem IceHawks

International Hockey League teams
(2007–2010)|

* Bloomington PrairieThunder
* Dayton Gems
* Evansville IceMen
* Flint Generals
* Fort Wayne Komets
* Kalamazoo Wings
* Muskegon Lumberjacks
* Port Huron Icehawks
* Quad City Mallards

Related articles
Colonial Cup
Huber Trophy
Other professional hockey leagues
*[GP]: Games played
*[W]: Wins
*[L]: Losses
*[T]: Ties
*[OTL]: Overtime Losses
*[SOL]: Shoot-out Losses
*[Pts]: Points
*[GF]: Goals for
*[GA]: Goals against
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*[e]: Edit this template