Flint Generals (1993–2010)

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.
In June 2010, the team announced it would fold.http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20100617/SPORTS0601/306179971/1210/SPORTS06
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 Stajuhar, 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.
==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
==Flint hockey history==
* Flint Generals, International Hockey League (1969–85)
* Flint Spirits, International Hockey League (1985–90)
* Flint Bulldogs, Colonial Hockey League (1991–93)
* Flint Generals, Colonial Hockey League (1993–97), United Hockey League (1997–07), International Hockey League (2007–10)
==Season-by-season results==
Legend: OTL=Overtime loss, SOL=Shootout loss
Season 	League	Games	Won	Lost	Tied	OTL	SOL	Points	Goalsfor	Goalsagainst	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
1999–00	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==
* #1 — Bob Perani
* #5 — Stephan Brochu
* #16 — Doug Manchak
* #20 — Kevin Kerr
* #77 — Brett MacDonald
==References==
==External links==
* Flint Generals official site
Category:Defunct Teams
Category:American ice hockey teams
Category:International Hockey League (2007–2010) teams
Category:Disestablished in 2010
Category:Established in 1993