| Coulee Region Chill | |
 | |
| City: | La Crosse, Wisconsin |
|---|---|
| League: | NA3HL |
| Division: | Central |
| Founded: | 1998 |
| Home Arena: | Green Island Ice Arena |
| Colors: | Black, Ice Blue, White |
| Owner(s): | Michelle Bryant[1] |
| Affiliates: | Chippewa Steel |
| Franchise history | |
| 1998-2014: | Flint Jr. Generals |
| 2014-2018: | La Crosse Freeze |
| 2018-2020: | Coulee Region Chill |
| 2020-Present: | Oklahoma City Blazers |
The Coulee Region Chill were a Junior A Tier III ice hockey team based at the Green Island Ice Arena in La Crosse, Wisconsin
. The team plays in the North American 3 Hockey League's Central Division.
The franchise was previously known as the Flint Jr. Generals based in Flint, Michigan and as the La Crosse Freeze based out of La Crosse, Wisconsin.
In early April 2020 the team announced that it would be suspending operations as the Green Island Ice Arena would no longer be operated by the city of La Crosse. On May 19th it was announced that the team would be relocating to the Arctic Edge Ice Arena in Edmond, Oklahoma and be renamed the Oklahoma City Blazers (NA3HL).
History[]
Flint Junior Generals[]
In 1998, Gale and Kelly Cronk, a father and son, purchased the team placing it in the Flint area. The team played at the Iceland Arena in Clayton Township.[2]
Despite on-ice success and their age, the Jr. Generals attendance dwindled, causing long-time owners Kelly and Gale Gronk to pursue selling the team. In 2013, the Cronks told a buyer in Ft. Wayne, Indiana no as they wanted the team to stay in Michigan and handed over operations to Fairland Management, managing company of the Michigan Warriors and Perani Arena. That season the General were NA3HL playoff runner-up and won the East Division. With no Michigan-based interest, the Gronks sold the franchise to the owners of the Coulee Region Chill of the North American Hockey League.[2]
La Crosse Freeze[]
With the sale's league approval on Tuesday, May 6, 2014, Flint Junior Generals became the La Crosse Freeze with a move to the Green Island Ice Arena in La Crosse.[2]
On April 30, 2018 the North American Hockey League announced that the Coulee Region Chill of the NAHL were sold and would be relocated about 90 miles (145km) north to Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin playing out of the Chippewa Area Ice Arena. The team is being renamed to the Chippewa Steel. In a related move the La Crosse Freeze of the North American 3 Hockey League will have their membership transferred to nearby Onalaska, Wisconsin and would become the Coulee Region Chill to replace the NAHL team in that city.[3]
Season records[]
| Season | GP | W | L | OL | SL | GF | GA | Pts | PIM | Regular Season Finish | Playoffs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flint Jr. Generals | |||||||||||
| 2006–07 | 45 | 31 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 180 | 129 | 62 | 1132 | 1st of 7, East 3rd of 14, CSHL |
Won Hurster Cup Qualifier series, 2-0 vs. Michigan Ice Dogs 1-2-0 in Hurster Cup Round Robin (W, 4-2 vs. Cherokee; L, 0-4 vs. Thunderbirds; L, 2-4 vs. Jr. Blues) |
| 2007–08 | 48 | 34 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 209 | 133 | 68 | 1123 | 2nd of 13, CSHL | 1-2-0 in Hurster Cup Round Robin (W, 3-2 vs. Steam; OTL, 2-3 vs. Mustangs; L, 2-8 vs. Cherokee) |
| 2008–09 | 45 | 17 | 27 | 1 | 0 | 177 | 228 | 35 | 1359 | 9th of 12, CSHL | Did not qualify |
| 2009–10 | 48 | 16 | 31 | 1 | 0 | 188 | 235 | 33 | 1264 | 9th of 13, CSHL | Did not qualify |
| 2010–11 | 45 | 21 | 21 | 1 | 2 | 175 | 180 | 45 | 1034 | 9th of 12, NA3HL | Did not qualify |
| 2011–12 | 48 | 35 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 207 | 127 | 73 | 1526 | 1st of 4, East 1st of 16, NA3HL |
Won Div. Semifinals, 2-0 vs. Pittsburgh Jr. Penguins Won Div. Finals, 2-0 vs. Cleveland Jr. Lumberjacks 1-2-0 in Silver Cup Round Robin (W, 2-1 vs. Cherokee; L, 3-4 vs. Jr. Blues; L, 2-3 vs. Lumberjacks) |
| 2012–13 | 48 | 27 | 17 | 2 | 2 | 168 | 141 | 58 | 1426 | 3rd of 6, East 7th of 17, NA3HL |
Won Div. Semifinals, 3-0 vs. Three Rivers Vengeance 0-2-0 in Silver Cup Round Robin (L, 0-5 vs. Bulls; L, 2-5 vs. Lumberjacks) |
| 2013–14 | 48 | 42 | 4 | 2 | — | 216 | 80 | 86 | 1080 | 1st of 6, East 2nd of 21, NA3HL |
Won Div. Semifinals, 2-0 vs. Metro Jets Won Div. Finals, 2-0 vs. Cleveland Jr. Lumberjacks 2-1-0 in Silver Cup Round Robin (W, 3-1 vs. Jr. Blues; W, 5-2 vs. Jr. Stars; L, 3-7 vs. Bulls) Lost Championship game, 0-3 vs. North Iowa Bulls |
| La Crosse Freeze | |||||||||||
| 2014–15 | 47 | 28 | 14 | 5 | — | 160 | 155 | 61 | 913 | 3rd of 6, Central 11th of 31, NA3HL |
Lost Div. Semifinals, 0-2 vs. Wisconsin Whalers |
| 2015–16 | 47 | 32 | 15 | 0 | — | 200 | 125 | 64 | 1161 | 2nd of 5, Central 13th of 34, NA3HL |
Won Div. Semifinals, 2-0 vs. Wisconsin Whalers Lost Div. Finals, 0-2 vs. North Iowa Bulls |
| 2016–17 | 47 | 23 | 22 | 2 | 0 | 199 | 169 | 48 | - | 5th of 5 Central | Won Div. Semifinals, 2-1 vs. Wisconsin Whalers Lost Div. Finals, 0-2 vs. North Iowa Bulls |
| 2017–18 | 47 | 34 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 240 | 124 | 69 | - | 2nd of 5 Central | Won Div. Semifinals, 2-0 vs. Wisconsin Whalers Won Div. Finals, 2-0 vs. North Iowa Bulls Finish 2nd in Round Robin (2-1-0-0) Lost semifinal 0-5 vs (St. Louis Jr. Blues) |
| 2018-19 | 47 | 36 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 340 | 98 | 74 | - | 1st of 7 Central | Won Div. Semifinals, 2-1 vs Peoria Mustangs Lost Div. Final, 0-2 vsSt. Louis Jr. Blues |
| 2019-20 | 47 | 29 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 192 | 159 | 58 | - | 3rd of 6 Central | |
External links[]
References[]
- ↑ Brown, Jeff. "JUNIOR POWER PLAY, Chill owners add another franchise; move it to La Crosse", La Crosse Tribune, May 5, 2014. Retrieved on June 3, 2014.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 McMann, Aaron. "Flint Junior Generals hockey team sold, moving to La Crosse, Wis.", The Flint Journal, May 9, 2014. Retrieved on June 3, 2014.
- ↑ http://nahl.com/news/story.cfm?id=24017
| This page uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at Coulee Region Chill (NA3HL). The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with Ice Hockey Wiki, the text of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License 3.0 (Unported) (CC-BY-SA). |