Garry Henson was named as the head coach of the McKendree men's ice hockey program in March 2013, and holds an overall 134-65-9 record. Henson succeeded Bill Misiak, who guided the Bearcats for the first nine seasons of the program's existence.
Since becoming the head coach of the McKendree ice hockey squad, Henson and the Bearcats had gone toe-to-toe with some of the best programs among Division 3 of the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA). For the 2016-17 season, McKendree grew to two teams, with one moving up to compete at the ACHA Division 2 level with Henson behind the bench. During Henson's tenure, the Bearcats played just 23 of their 88 regular season games on home ice. Yet McKendree has posted 56Â victories during that span and has battled for a post-season spot at both the ACHAÂ D2 and D3 National Championships.
In the team's first season at Division 2, McKendree closed out the 2016-17 season with an overall record of 22-4, winning the Mid-America Collegiate Hockey Association (MACHA) Gold Division with an undefeated record of 16-0. After winning the MACHA Championship, the Bearcats moved on to compete at the ACHA Central Regionals winning their first contest against the University of Michigan.
The program continued to grow and moved to the Division I level at the start of the 2019-20 season. in the team’s first season at Division I, McKendree closed out the season with an overall record of 20-5-1, and 16-4 in conference. For the fourth consecutive season, the Bearcats captured the regular season conference title, but its first in the ACHA DI level. They also captured their first-ever Midwest Collegiate Hockey (MCH) Tournament Championship title. The Bearcats had a Most Outstanding Player, Most Valuable Player, four First Team MCH All-League honorees, two Second Team MCH All-League, one All-Rookie Team, and Henson was named Coach of the Year.
The Bearcats are prime tenants at the McKendree Metro Rec Plex, in nearby O’Fallon, Ill., which boasts two National Hockey League-sized sheets of ice along with a competitive swimming and diving area, locker room and office space, workout and training facilities, and other amenities. The facility opened in January 2017, which was just in time for McKendree to host games in the second half of the 2016-17 season.
Henson has expanded the Bearcats' recruiting base to take more of a national and international flavor. The 2016-17 McKendree rosters boast players from ten states as well as Canada, Latvia, Serbia, Sweden, Switzerland, and Ukraine.
