The top women's intercollegiate ice hockey coaches in the country have been identified with the announcement of this year's Coach of the Year finalists in both the University Division (Division I) and the College Division (Division III).

The three University Division finalists are: Minnesota-Duluth's Shannon Miller, whose first-year Bulldogs finished second in the inaugural Western Collegiate Hockey association (league and tournament); Dartmouth's Judy Oberting, who took a team Chosen for fifth place in the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) and guided it to a tie for third place, as well as third in the national championships; and Wisconsin's Julie Sasner, who also led a first-year varsity program; her Badgers were third in the WCHA.

There are four College Division finalists: Dennis Miller, who guided the University of Vermont to a 10-3-4 ECAC League mark, good for third place after being picked for seventh; Augsburg College's Jill Pohtilla, who finished tied for first place (with St. Mary's) in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MlAC), before winning the MIAC Tournament and finishing second at the Inaugural Division III National Championships; Jeff Smith of the College of St. Catherine, who took a team that was 0-10 in the MIAC last year and 1-15-1 overall to marks of 5-8-1 and 15-8-1; and Ted Wisner of Colgate. whose Red Raiders were 16-1 in the ECAC, good for second place behind national champion Middlebury; Colgate had been picked for eighth in the ECAC.

The finalists in each division come from the top two vote-getters in each conference's Coach of the Year ballotting. As with their male counterparts, the voting takes place under the auspices of the American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA). This year marks the first time that a College Division Coach of the Year has been Chosen at the national level.

The winners will be announced at the NCAA Frozen Four in Providence, RI, next week and will receive their award at the annual AHCA Coach Of the Year Banquet, to be held this year on Saturday evening, April 29, at the Naples Beach Hotel and Golf Club.

FINALISTS FOR THE 1999-2000 WOMEN'S ICE HOCKEY UNIVERSITY DIVISION (Division I) COACH of the YEAR
Shannon Miller, University of Minnesota-Duluth
Judy Parish Oberting, Dartmouth College
Julie Sasner, University of Wisconsin

FINALISTS FOR THE 1999-2000 WOMEN'S ICE HOCKEY COLLEGE DIVISION (Division III) COACH of the YEAR
Dennis Miller, University of Vermont
Jill Pohtilla, Augsburg College
Jeff Smith, College of St. Catherine
Ted Wisner, Colgate University