University of Minnesota Duluth women's hockey coach Maura Crowell was named a finalists for the CCM/AHCA University Division Women's Ice Hockey Coach of the Year Award Tuesday.

One of of eight coaches who were named finalists, Crowell is also one of three total Western Collegiate Hockey Association coaches on the list -- Brad Frost of the University of Minnesota and Mark Johnson of the University of Wisconsin.  To be a finalist, a coach must either be voted Coach of the Year in their conference or earn a trip to the NCAA Frozen Four semifinals. The winner will be announced on Thursday at the student-athlete banquet of this year's championship in St. Charles, Missouri.

Crowell helped the Bulldogs engineer the biggest overall record turnaround in UMD program history with a final record of 25-7-5.  She also led the Bulldogs back to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2011 and the program's first NCAA quarterfinal hosting charge since 2010.