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Flint Generals (UHL, 2000-01)

2000-01 Regular Season: Generals vs. Rockford Ice Hogs
The Flint Generals were in their eighth season of existence in the United Hockey League. The team was was coming off its second Colonial Cup championship in 2000, having swept aside arch-rival Quad City in four straight games, the first sweep in Colonial Cup Finals history. Following the season, Head Coach/GM Doug Shedden left to take the coaching job with the ECHL's Memphis Riverkings. He was replaced in Flint by his assistant coach Billy Thurlow.

     Thurlow had some talent to work with. Returning to the Generals from the 2000 championship were long-time General Chad Grills, ex-Red Wing Mark Major, Dale Greenwood, Khalil Thomas and defensemen Gary Roach and Lorne Knauft. Returning to the Generals from the Madison Kodak was popular winger Jim Duhart, who turned into a prolific scorer since leaving Flint in 1997. Starting goaltender Mark Richards joined Shedden in Memphis, and was replaced by ex-Saginaw Wheels goaltender Steve Vezina. 

     The Generals stumbled out of the gate in 2000-01, as injuries and mediocre play hit the team hard throughout the season. Vezina struggled to a 9-10-1 record before being released, and Flint ended up using 4 goaltenders during the season, including ex-Thunder Bay net minder Patrick Charbonneau. Rookie Lou Mastromarino ended up playing the most games in net for the Gens that season, appearing in 35 games with an 11-11-4 record and a 4.28 GAA. Charbonneau was next, with 23 appearances and a 8-9-3 record to go with a team-best 3.58 GAA. Bobby DeCosta was the other net minder, appearing in 8 games (2-4-2, 3.62 GAA). As a team, Flint allowed 303 goals, most in the UHL that year and 50 more than 2000.

     Flint was led on offense by center Khalil Thomas, who scored 23 goals and 72 points in 72 games. Jim Duhart was the only other Generals that year to score over 20 goals, as he lit the lamp 32 times. Former star player Kevin Kerr returned at midseason, scoring 18 goals and 41 points in 30 games. As a group, the Generals scored 253 goals, ninth-most in the UHL and 146 fewer than in 2000.  

 

Roster Sheet

   In the standings, the Generals finished 30-34-10, third place in the Northwest Division and 13 points behind second-place Muskegon. Flint's 70 points in 2000-01 was a 41-point drop-off from 2000 and gave the Generals the third-worst record in the league (tied with Port Huron), if you count the Mohawk Valley Prowlers, who folded at midseason. What's worse, the Generals missed the postseason for the first time in franchise history, as they finished just three points behind the Elmira Jackals for the final playoff berth. Attendance, which had steadily been on the decline since 1996-97, slumped to 2,847, the lowest (at that point) in franchise history.  Quad City regained the Colonial Cup, defeating the Asheville Smoke in 5 games.

     The 2000-01 season was just one of two seasons in Generals history that I did not go to a game, the other being 2008-09. This was my first year at Central Michigan University, and I only went to a few hockey games that year. I remember going to a couple Detroit Vipers games (including the final game), and a Port Huron Border Cats game, but that was it. I was too busy at school that year, I guess. I did follow the Generals in the paper, and I remember what a disappointment this season was, especially after such a dominant year in 2000. It was unusual to see a mediocre Generals team after so many strong seasons.

     I bought this program on eBay recently, as it was the only season I did not have a program from. It's a great-looking program. It has 63 pages, mostly in black and white and on glossy paper. That night's opponent was the Rockford Ice Hogs, the former Thunder Bay Thunder Cats. The Ice Hogs were one of the few teams to have a worse record than the Generals, bringing up the rear in the Southwest Division with a 30-38-6 record. On this night, the Ice Hogs defeated the Generals in a shootout, 5-4. That's captain Nick Stajduhar on the cover, holding up the 2000 Colonial Cup after the Generals finished off Quad City in Game 4, 6-4, in front of a packed IMA Sports Arena. That was Stajduhar's only season in Flint, as he was one of several players to leave Flint for Memphis for 2000-01.

     Local advertisements include Sports Creek Raceway, Flint Iceland Arenas, "Flint's Continuous Country" B95, and Blue Lakes Charters and Tours.

Aftermath: Thurlow was fired after the 2000-01 season, and was replaced by Robb King as GM and Kirk "Gunner" Tomlinson as head coach. The Generals rebounded nicely from the forgettable 2001-02 season, going 42-26-6, good enough for fourth place in the Western Division. 


References:

United Hockey League Statistics: 2000-01, from hockeydb.com


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