The Lacombe Generals were a Senior AAA

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

team from

Lacombe Lacombe may refer to: Places * Lacombe, Alberta, Canada * Lacombe County, Alberta, Canada * Lacombe, Louisiana, United States * Lacombe, Aude, France People * Albert Lacombe (1827–1916), oblate missionary to the Cree and Blackfoot * Bernard Lac ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

that played in the Chinook Hockey League. The Generals are four-time national champions, having won the

Allan Cup The Allan Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the national senior amateur men's ice hockey champions of Canada. It was donated by Sir Montagu Allan of Ravenscrag, Montreal, and has been competed for since 1909. The current champions are the ...

in 2009 and

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Steinbach, Manitoba Steinbach () ( Plautdietsch: /ˈʃte̞nbah/ or /ˈʃte̞nbax/) is a city located about south-east of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Steinbach is the third-largest city in Manitoba, with a population of 17,806, and the largest community in the Eas ...

, and in

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Red Deer, Alberta Red Deer is a city in Alberta, Canada, located midway on the Calgary–Edmonton Corridor. Red Deer serves central Alberta, and key industries include health care, retail trade, construction, oil and gas, hospitality, manufacturing and education ...

and in

Lacombe, Alberta Lacombe ( ) is a city in central Alberta, Canada. It is located approximately north of Red Deer, the nearest major city, and south of Edmonton, the nearest metropolitan area. The city is set in the rolling parkland of central Alberta, between t ...

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

. The club was formerly known as the Bentley Generals from 1999–2016, and played out of the Bentley Arena in

Bentley, Alberta Bentley is a town in central, Alberta, Canada within Lacombe County. It is located on Highway 12, approximately northwest of Red Deer. History The first settlers came from the U.S. in 1888-1890 and either walked or drove oxen from Lacombe, ...

, as well as the Red Deer Arena. The team folded in 2019 due to concerns with the organization of senior hockey in Canada.

History

The Bentley Generals hockey club was formed in 1999 and began play in the Chinook Hockey League. The team won its first provincial senior 'A' title in 2001. The following year, the Generals registered as an 'AAA' club and competed in the Allan Cup playdowns for the first time. Former NHLer

Kelly Buchberger Kelly Michael Buchberger (born December 2, 1966) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player. He played for several National Hockey League teams from 1986 to 2004. As a coach, he has been an assistant for the New York Islanders ...

was a member of the Generals in 2005, while the team also attempted to play

Ryan Smyth Ryan Alexander Borden Smyth (born February 21, 1976) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played most of his career for the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was especially known for playing in the sty ...

during the 2004–05 NHL lockout, though Smyth was ruled ineligible to play. The Generals, coached by former

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

player and coach

Brian Sutter Brian Louis Allen Sutter (born October 7, 1956) is a Canadian former ice hockey forward and former head coach in the National Hockey League (NHL). Brian is the second oldest of the famous Sutter brothers and the oldest of the six that played ...

, qualified for the

for the first time in 2007. In 2009, the Generals, once again coached by Sutter, won their first Allan Cup with a 4-3 win in double overtime over

Manitoba , image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg , map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada , Label_map = yes , coordinates = , capital = Winn ...

's Southeast Prairie Thunder. In 2013, the Generals hosted the Allan Cup in

and captured their second title by defeating Newfoundland's

Clarenville Caribous The Clarenville Caribous (also commonly known as the Clarenville Ford Caribous due to an ongoing sponsorship deal announced September 23, 2015) are a senior ice hockey team based in Clarenville, Newfoundland and Labrador and a member of the Centr ...

3-0 in the championship game. The Generals returned to Steinbach in 2016 and defeated the host Prairie Thunder again by a score of 4-3 in overtime to win their third Allan Cup. In 2019, the Generals won their fourth Allan Cup defeating the Innisfail Eagles 5-2 in the final game. The Generals have been Allan Cup finalist six other times:

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, 2010, 2011, 2015,

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, and 2018 Allan Cup, 2018. In December 2015 it was announced that the Generals were relocating to

for the 2016–17 season, citing a drop in attendance as a reason for the move. The partnership with the City of Lacombe was made official in the summer of 2016. The Generals played in the newly renovated Gary Moe Auto Group Sportsplex in the Can Pak Ice Complex, formerly known as the Barnett Arenas. The move wasn't the only change the Generals would make for the 2016–17 season. In July 2016 it was announced head coach Ryan Tobler would be stepping down to work as an assistant coach with the ECHL, ECHL's Colorado Eagles. In August 2016, it was announced longtime Generals player Curtis Austring would be Tobler's successor. After hosting, and winning, the Allan Cup in

, the Generals announced they would cease operations. The reasons given cited concerns with the organization of Allan Cup Hockey West, the league they belonged to: several teams had withdrawn recently making it difficult to sustain play.

Season-by-season record (Regular season)

''Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against Allan Cup Championships = 4 (2009, 2013, 2016, 2019)
Allan Cup Finals = 10 (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019)
Allan Cup Appearances = 13 (2004, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019)

NHL alumni

*Travis Brigley *Jeremy Colliton *Trent Hunter *

(Coach) *Peter Vandermeer *Darren Van Impe *Craig Weller *Ryan Tobler *Drew Bagnall *Brennan Evans *Evan Oberg *Terry Ryan (ice hockey, born 1977), Terry Ryan *Jeff Deslauriers *Kyle Greentree *Tyler Weiman

References

External links

Official websiteChinook Hockey LeagueTeam Profile at Eliteprospects.com
{{Chinook Hockey League 2019 disestablishments in Alberta Defunct ice hockey teams in Alberta Lacombe, Alberta Senior ice hockey teams Ice hockey clubs disestablished in 2019 1999 establishments in Alberta Ice hockey clubs established in 1999