NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Mark Bolding, the Susan Cavanagh Head Coach of Yale Women's Ice Hockey team, has been named as a finalist for the Division I Women's Ice Hockey Coach of the Year Award by the American Hockey Coaches Association.

In addition to Bolding, Dave Flint (Northeastern), Mark Johnson (Wisconsin), Jeff Kampersal (Penn State), Katie Lapachelle (Holy Cross), Nadine Muzerall (Ohio State), and David Stockdale (Franklin Pierce) were announced as finalists for the award.

Bolding previously won the Coach of the Year award in 2022 with Yale. He was also chosen as the AHCA Division III Coach of the Year four times while at Norwich University prior to his tenure with the Bulldogs.

In 2025-26, Bolding led Yale to one of its best seasons in program history. The Bulldogs captured the program's second-ever ECAC regular-season title and the No. 1 overall seed in the ECAC Tournament. Yale reached the finals of the conference tournament and earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament. In the NCAA Regionals Semifinals, Yale defeated Minnesota Duluth 1-0 for the team's third-ever NCAA Tournament victory. Ultimately, the Bulldogs were defeated by No. 1 Ohio State in the Regional Finals.

Yale finished the season with an overall record of 26-10, tied for the second-most wins in program history. The Bulldogs ranked fifth in the country in both scoring offense and power play percentage, and sixth in penalty killing percentage.

Bolding earned his third ECAC Hockey Coach of the Year award after achieving the honor in back-to-back seasons in 2022 and 2023. Through six seasons at Yale, Bolding has recorded a 129-66-6 record with two ECAC Hockey championships, three NCAA Tournament berths, and a Frozen Four appearance.

The award will be announced on Thursday, March 19, at the NCAA Frozen Four at Penn State University.