Madeline S. "Maddie" Rooney (born July 7, 1997) is an American professional ice hockey goaltender currently playing for the Minnesota Frost of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). She was the starting goaltender for the United States women's national ice hockey team when they won the gold medal at the 2018 Winter Olympics.

Maddie Rooney
Rooney playing for the United States during the 2017 IIHF Women's World Championship
Born (1997-07-07) July 7, 1997 (age 27)
Duluth, Minnesota, U.S.
Height 5 ft 5 in (165 cm)
Weight 146 lb (66 kg; 10 st 6 lb)
Position Goaltender
Catches Left
PWHL team Minnesota Frost
Played for PWHPA
Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs
National team  United States
Playing career 2015–present
Medal record
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2018 Pyeongchang Team
Silver medal – second place 2022 Beijing Team
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2017 United States
Gold medal – first place 2019 Finland
Silver medal – second place 2022 Denmark

Early life and education

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Rooney was born on July 7, 1997, in Duluth, Minnesota.[1] She attended Andover High School.[1] In her senior year of high school, Rooney switched from the girls to the boys varsity team and finished the season with a .910 save percentage.[2][3]

Rooney has a degree in business marketing from the University of Minnesota Duluth.[3]

Playing career

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College

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Rooney played for the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs women's ice hockey program in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) conference as part of the NCAA Division I ice hockey league. In her second year, she compiled a save percentage of .942 and a goals against average of 1.65, good for fourth-best and tenth-best in the NCAA, respectively.[1] She was awarded the 2018 Bob Allen Women's Player of the Year Award.

Professional

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After graduating, Rooney joined the PWHPA for the 2020–21 season.[4][5] After two seasons with the PWHPA, Rooney would sign a two-year contract with PWHL Minnesota after going undrafted in the 2023 PWHL Draft.[6]

International play

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At the age of 19, Rooney won a gold medal at the 2017 IIHF Women's World Championship as a backup goaltender. She recorded a shutout in her only game of the tournament, which came against Russia in the preliminary round. In 2018, she was again selected to play for the U.S. women's national ice hockey team at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.[7] Rooney started all but one of the games in the competition, losing only one game to Canada during the round robin. She helped lead Team USA to the gold medal by winning the shootout in the final against Canada by a score of 3–2, stopping Meghan Agosta in the sixth and last round to end the game.[8] It was the United States' first gold medal at the Olympics since 1998, ending the Canadians' streak of four consecutive Olympic championships.[9]

On January 2, 2022, Rooney was named to Team USA's roster to represent the United States at the 2022 Winter Olympics.[10]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "USA Hockey Athletes: Maddie Rooney". United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee. Archived from the original on February 22, 2018. Retrieved February 22, 2018.
  2. ^ Borzi, Pat (February 9, 2018). "An American Goalie's Hot Hand Takes Her All The Way to the Olympics". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 22, 2018. Retrieved February 22, 2018.
  3. ^ a b "Athletes: Maddie Rooney". NBC Olympics. Archived from the original on March 28, 2018. Retrieved February 22, 2018.
  4. ^ Zaccardi, Nick (June 15, 2020). "Maddie Rooney, Olympic hockey star, moves to Centennial High School". NBC Olympics. Archived from the original on November 3, 2021. Retrieved November 11, 2021.
  5. ^ Hinseth, Kelly (May 21, 2020). "Sydney Brodt, Maddie Rooney join PWHPA". CBS 3 Duluth. Archived from the original on July 14, 2020. Retrieved November 11, 2021.
  6. ^ Tipcke, Alicia (December 19, 2023). "UMD goalie great Maddie Rooney inks deal with PWHL Minnesota". WDIO. Retrieved December 20, 2023.
  7. ^ "MADDIE ROONEY". Peyongchang 2018. International Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on March 18, 2018. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
  8. ^ Wyshynski, Greg (February 22, 2018). "USA goaltender Maddie Rooney made 'next time' into this time". ESPN. Archived from the original on March 18, 2018. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
  9. ^ Futterman, Matthew (February 22, 2018). "U.S. Beats Canada for First Women's Hockey Gold Since 1998". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 27, 2018. Retrieved February 22, 2018.
  10. ^ "U.S. women with 13 returnees". International Ice Hockey Federation. January 2, 2022. Archived from the original on January 17, 2022. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
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