BY ERIK GAFFRON | The Statesman Freshman goalie Maddie Rooney played on the boy’s varsity team her senior year of high school. She was just trying to compete in the “ultimate challenge.”
Now she’s ready to take on her next ultimate challenge: facing the No. 1 ranked, undefeated Wisconsin Badgers this weekend.
Maddie has made her presence known in her first year at UMD, starting in six of UMD’s first 10 games. In seven total games played, she has a 2.52 goals against average. In her second collegiate start, she earned her first collegiate shutout.
“She gives us a good chance to win every night she plays,” head coach Maura Crowell said, after her shutout.
A 2015 graduate of Andover High School where she played softball and hockey, Rooney has never lacked a competitive spirit. After spending three years backstopping the girl’s varsity team, Rooney decided to face what she described as the “ultimate challenge” her senior year: playing for the boy’s team.
No matter where she’s playing hockey, Rooney’s goaltending turns heads--even against her teammates in practice.
“She’s such a tenacious competitor,” freshman forward Reagan Haley said. ”You should see some of the things she does in practice.”
Haley was caught off guard in practice when Rooney made an acrobatic save in which she stacked her leg pads on top of one another--a desperation move for most goalies.
“It was so random. I was going upper corner and she just rolled over and stopped me. It is one thing to stack the pads, but in practice during your freshman year, no one would normally do that, that’s insane. But then again, that’s just Maddie,” Haley said.
UMD’s defense and goaltending coach, Laura Bellamy, is more than happy with the level of insanity she’s seeing from the freshman starter.
“Her competitiveness is what makes her such a great goaltender,” Bellamy said. ”She’s always after it, always working hard. She knows how to battle. She’s so fierce in net.”
Off of the ice, the budding goaltender is far from tenacious, according to Haley, Rooney’s close friend and roommate.
“She’s really quiet and can be really goofy. She won’t say it but she’s a great dancer,” Haley said, laughing. “I’ve known her for a long time before we were teammates here. She gets along with everyone great.”
Bellamy notices the closeness of those two and understands how important the freshmen are in developing team chemistry.
“Maddie and Reagan are like two peas in a pod. Neither is ever far from each other. But on top of that, Maddie gets along with everyone very well. The upperclassman like her and she’s a huge part of this team,” Bellamy said.
From playing on boys’ and girls’ high school varsity hockey teams to playing for a Division I program with Olympic athletes, Rooney sees the game as more or less the same across the board.
“It’s not that different of a change,” Rooney said of transitioning to college hockey. “I’m excited for the opportunity (to start). I’m always trying to push myself. Obviously the new ultimate goal is to win a National Championship. Hopefully we can accomplish that in the next four years.”