Bismarck, ND. After the departure of the Bobcats’ all time leading scorer and my close personal friend, Garrett Roth, who has been jettisoned to Wichita Falls, Texas to become the head coach and GM of the Wichita Falls Warriors, that unfortunately left Layne Sedevie with a vacancy. He went to Minnesota to hire a familiar name. Gone with one Garrett, and say hello to Garrett Henderson. Henderson has been in the player’s shoes before, having been a player himself for the Coulee Region Chill, who are now defunct. There is no more Chill coming from Wisconsin. He also laced up the skates for Concordia College in Morehead, Minnesota. Henderson is one of the most down to earth guys, like his predecessor. Having met him, I feel like I know what’s going on with the Capitol City Kitties. He laid out how he felt about the Bobcats from the coach’s side, and then later on in the interview, he gave us a glimpse into the players’ side, too. The Bobcats were less than enamored with their performance against the team from the cloudy city, the St. Cloud Hitmen. The Hitmen had only one win until they came to the VFW Sports Center on Tuesday night. The Bobcats couldn’t score, and according to the head bench boss, Layne Sedevie, “If you don’t score, you can’t win many hockey games,” he told Bobcat play by play man Andrew Weiss, after the Hitmen stole what should have been a Bobcat win. Garrett told the Sheriff’s Patrol that they were happy with the way the team battled in the third period. “At least we got a point out of the deal,” said a dejected Henderson. As for Friday’s opponent, the Minot Minotauros, Henderson expects the Bobcats to come out and work extra hard, given the setback on Tuesday. Henderson had a little meeting with the boys who wear black and gold, and told them they are very lucky to play hockey, and they never know if tomorrow will be granted or not. Even though he has been away from the ice as a player for five years, he still knows what the players are going through. The Bismarck Bobcats are working on their less than satisfactory power play, which leaves a lot to be desired. Garrett said if the Bobcats come in to Minot with focus and intensity, they should have better puck luck around the greasy area. To know Garrett Henderson is to get a better understanding of things from the assistant coach’s perspective. I think Garrett and Layne can get the boys to the promised land, winning the division and their second NAHL title.
