The Flint Generals were a
minor
Minor may refer to:
Common meanings
* Minor (law), a person not under the age of certain legal activities.
* Academic minor, a secondary field of study in undergraduate education
Mathematics
* Minor (graph theory), a relation of one graph to an ...
professional
ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...
team based in
Flint, Michigan
Flint is the largest city in Genesee County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. Located along the Flint River (Michigan), Flint River northwest of Detroit, it is a principal city within the Central Michigan, Mid Michigan region. Flin ...
. 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
Colonial or The Colonial may refer to:
* Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology)
Architecture
* American colonial architecture
* French colonial architecture
* Spanish colonial architecture
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* Col ...
and
United Hockey League
The United Hockey League (UHL), originally known as the Colonial Hockey League from 1991 to 1997 and last known as the International Hockey League from 2007 to 2010, was a low-level minor professional ice hockey league, with teams in the Unite ...
.
History
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
Colonial or The Colonial may refer to:
* Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology)
Architecture
* American colonial architecture
* French colonial architecture
* Spanish colonial architecture
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* Col ...
's (CoHL)
Flint Bulldogs owner Skip Probst moved the Bulldogs from Flint to
Utica, New York
Utica () is the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The tenth-most populous city in New York, its population was 65,283 in the 2020 census. It is located on the Mohawk River in the Mohawk Valley at the foot of the Adiro ...
. 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
Saginaw () is a city in Saginaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. It had a population of 44,202 at the 2020 census. Located along the Saginaw River, Saginaw is adjacent to Saginaw Charter Township and considered part of ...
in 1985. Flint won their first
Colonial Cup against the
Thunder Bay Senators
Thunder is the sound caused by lightning. Depending upon the distance from and nature of the lightning, it can range from a long, low rumble to a sudden, loud crack. The sudden increase in temperature and hence pressure caused by the lightning pr ...
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;
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
Erin Hamlen (born October 26, 1971) is an American former ice hockey goaltender and the current head coach of the Merrimack Warriors women's ice hockey program in the Hockey East (HEA) conference of the NCAA Division I. She was among the first ...
.
The second Colonial Cup came in a 4–0 sweep of the Generals rival, the
Quad City Mallards
The Quad City Mallards were a minor league professional ice hockey team based in the Quad Cities area of Illinois and Iowa that competed in the United Hockey League, International Hockey League, Central Hockey League and ECHL. They were named aft ...
, in 2000. The Generals were coached by former NHL player
Doug Shedden
Douglas Arthur Shedden (born April 29, 1961) is a Canadian ice hockey coach and former player. He played in the National Hockey League between 1981 and 1991. After his playing career he became a coach, and worked in the minor leagues for severa ...
. 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
Cory Cyrenne (born August 25, 1977) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He was named the Canadian Junior A Hockey Player of the Year in 1995 and received a hockey scholarship to Colorado College. He was also named the CHL's Spo ...
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
The Muskegon Lumberjacks are a Tier I junior ice hockey team in the Eastern Conference of the United States Hockey League. They play in Muskegon, Michigan, at Trinity Health Arena. The Lumberjacks replaced the International Hockey League fr ...
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
The Fort Wayne Komets are a minor league ice hockey team, which currently plays in the ECHL. They play their home games at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Indiana. In all of North American professional hockey, only the Orig ...
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
The North American Hockey League (NAHL) is one of the top junior hockey leagues in the United States and is in its 50th season of operation in 2024–25. It is the only Tier II junior league sanctioned by USA Hockey, and acts as an alternati ...
.
Championships
Season-by-season results
Retired numbers
* #1 —
Bob Perani
* #5 — Stephan Brochu
* #16 — Doug Manchak
* #20 —
Kevin Kerr
* #77 —
Brett MacDonald
References
External links
Flint Generals official site
{{IHL
Defunct United Hockey League teams
Ice hockey teams in Flint, Michigan
International Hockey League (2007–2010) teams
Defunct ice hockey teams in Michigan
Ice hockey clubs established in 1993
Ice hockey clubs disestablished in 2010
Chicago Blackhawks minor league affiliates
New Jersey Devils minor league affiliates
1993 establishments in Michigan
2010 disestablishments in Michigan