The University of Minnesota-Duluth has identified five finalists for its vacant head coaching position, the school announced Tuesday.
The list, compiled by the university’s search committee, includes two current collegiate head coaches and two current assistants. All are expected to make visits to the Duluth campus during the next two weeks, with a successor to Mike Sertich, who resigned after 18 years behind the UMD bench, to be named by April 5.
The five finalists, listed in alphabetical order, are:
Tim Bothwell, head coach, University of Calgary. Bothwell was an All-American at Brown and played in the NHL for 11 seasons before accepting coaching positions in the AHL, IHL and the NHL. He has led Calgary for six seasons. He was a finalist for the coaching opening at Brown in 1997.
John Harrington, head coach, St. John’s University. A 1979 Duluth alum, Harrington skated for the U.S. in the 1980 and 1984 Olympics, and recently completed his seventh year guiding St. John’s after stints as an assistant at St. Cloud and Denver. During Harrington’s tenure, the Johnnies have won two MIAC championships.
Norm MacIver, assistant coach, Minnesota-Duluth. MacIver joined the Bulldog staff this season after a 12-year NHL career. A two-time All-American at UMD, MacIver holds the school’s career assist record, and is a member of the university’s athletic Hall of Fame.
Scott Sandelin, associate head coach, North Dakota. A 1996 graduate of North Dakota, where he was an All-American his senior year, Sandelin played six years of professional hockey before assuming head coaching positions in the AHL and the Minnesota Elite league. He rejoined North Dakota as an assistant coach at UND in 1994, and has been associate head coach of the Sioux for the past three seasons.
Troy Ward, former assistant coach, Pittsburgh Penguins. Ward played collegiately at Wisconsin-Eau Claire, where he remained as assistant coach, then as head coach until 1990, when he became an assistant at Denver. Ward has also been a head coach in the United States Hockey League and an assistant in the IHL.
