Maddie Rooney

Maddie Rooney was in net when the United States women's national team won gold at the 2018 Winter Olympics — a moment that remains one of the defining chapters of American women's hockey. Born and raised in Andover, Minnesota, Rooney came up through the state's youth hockey system, starting as a skater at age four before convincing her parents to let her play goal at nine. She went on to play high school hockey at Burnsville, including a return to boys varsity hockey in her senior year, before committing to the University of Minnesota Duluth at the end of her sophomore year.

At UMD, Rooney played four seasons and left as the program's all-time career saves leader with 3,449 — owning three of the top four single-season saves records in Bulldogs history. After college, she represented the United States on the international stage with consistency: two Olympic appearances (gold in 2018, silver in 2022), and three IIHF Women's World Championship appearances (gold in 2017 and 2019, silver in 2022). In 2018, she received the Bob Allen Women's Player of the Year Award, given annually to the outstanding American-born women's ice hockey player. During the PWHPA years, she also worked remotely as a volunteer goaltending consultant for UMD while coaching for Centennial Women's High School Hockey and preparing for the 2022 Olympic cycle.

Rooney joined PWHL Minnesota at the league's launch and wore number 35 for the Minnesota Frost. In an early home game against Montreal, Minnesota set a PWHL attendance record of just over 13,000 — a moment Rooney described on ^[1] as "definitely going to go down as one of the top top memories of my career."

On that episode of InGoal Radio ^[1], Rooney discussed the transition from college and PWHPA hockey to the fully professional PWHL structure — the daily access to facilities, structured video sessions with goaltending coach Brennan, and a schedule that fluctuates in ways college hockey never did. She described the PWHL setup as "a night and day difference" from her PWHPA experience, where Minnesota-based players trained separately and rarely practiced with their own rosters. She also opened up about the technical work she has focused on in recent years: managing lateral width in her shuffles, finding the right depth and momentum on rushes, and incorporating breathing techniques — specifically the square method — to manage the mental demands of the position. Growing up watching Marc-André Fleury and describing herself as a movement-oriented goaltender who has always prioritized skating and quickness, Rooney spoke candidly about the ongoing process of refining those foundations at the professional level.

InGoal Magazine has covered Maddie Rooney in one podcast appearance.