Red Deer’s Mark Bolding has received a high accolade in just his second year as the head coach of the women’s hockey team at Yale University.
Bolding was recently named the 2021-22 ECAC Coach of the Year.
He started coaching the NCAA Division I varsity hockey team in April 2019. The 2019-20 team set a program record for wins with 17, including a school-best six consecutive, while the team totals for assists (2nd), points (3rd) and goals (4th) all made the record book.
His 2021-22 squad was even better, breaking the school record for wins (25), ECAC wins (16), shutouts (10), goals (120), shorthanded goals (9) and more, while finishing second in the standings.
The Yale Bulldogs have been ranked among the top 10 most of the season in both the Pairwise and national polls. His second Yale team won the program’s first conference semifinal, hosted the ECAC Championship Weekend for the first time and its first NCAA appearance.
Bolding took over as the 11th head coach in Bulldogs history after building a Division III national powerhouse at his alma mater, Norwich University, which captured national championships in 2011 and 2018.
During his tenure at Norwich, he experienced record-setting success and compiled a 266-68-22 overall record. He guided the Cadets to the NCAA Division III national semifinals seven times and won nine New England Hockey Conference titles.
Bolding became the seventh coach in NCAA Division III history to reach the 200-win milestone. He was named the American Hockey Coaches’ Association National Coach of the Year from 2010-12 and again in 2018.
Bolding also served two stints as an assistant coach for the Norwich men’s hockey team under Mike McShane. During the 1999-2000 season, Bolding helped the Norwich men win their first national championship with a dramatic 2-1 win over Wisconsin-Superior.
A native of Red Deer, Bolding was a standout defenceman during his collegiate playing days at Norwich, serving as the team captain for three of his four seasons. Bolding finished his NU career with 94 points. His 73 assists put him alongside the all-time career assist leaders at the school. In 2005, Bolding was inducted into the Norwich University Athletic Hall of Fame.
sean.mcintosh@reddeeradvocate.com
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