 As one school year closes, we turn our eyes to next year. The Bemidji girls hockey team was still looking for a head coach and today the school announced that they found their guy. Michael Johnson will be taking over the program. He played for the Lumber Jackson High School, graduating in 1984. After one year of juniors, he went to North Dakota State, playing on the team from 85 to 87. He has experienced coaching girls varsity, leading the Cap City Cougars of Madison, Wisconsin for eight years until 2015 when he moved back to Bemidji. He says he's fired up to be back home and leading his alma mater. I'm just really, really looking forward to again working with the high school kids here in Bemidji and again giving back to the area that I owe so much to and I think it's going to be a really good fit and we'll see if we can build some success. While he was a forward during his playing days, as a coach, he focuses on the defensive side, saying the offense will come naturally from there. If we play really good team defense, we'll create offensive opportunities by getting turnovers on the blue line in the neutral zone. So I'm a little bit more defensive oriented. Having said that, I do like to get some speed through the neutral zone and maybe open up the ice and have a fast transition game as well. If you enjoyed this segment of Lakeland news, please consider making a tax deductible contribution to Lakeland PBS.