Beyond the Playbook: Maddie Rooney shares her thoughts ahead of second Olympic games

Representing your country at the Olympics just once is an honor, doing it twice however is a dream come true. For Universirty of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) women’s hockey veteran Maddie Rooney, she’s days away from her second winter games.

"It was just such a super special moment and even the way we were announced at the winter classic was an experience in itself. Just really happy to be back, and named to the team," said United States women’s hockey goalie Maddie Rooney.

Rooney was one of 27 players vying for a spot on the team. Fourteen of which, Including herself, where athletes who won gold at the 2018 winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

"I think the experience, speaking for the team to that we had in 2018 and you know winning the gold medal has really just motivated us and fuels us going into this next Olympics. We have tweaked some things and gotten better as a team overall, but we are feeling confident going into Beijing," added Rooney.

Rooney not only made a name for herself on the world stage, but also at UMD, where she holds the record for the most games played by a Bulldog net minder.

While this is her second Olympic games, joining her for his first Olympic trip will be current Bulldog Noah Cates. Making them the first UMD pair since Brett Hull, and Jenny Potter to be on team USA at the same time.

"Obviously she’s done a lot for the women’s side and that’s super cool. I’m looking forward to talking to her for a little bit and seeing what it’s like," said UMD men’s hockey captain Noah Cates.

"I’m really excited for him, he’s had such a good career at UMD. I am excited to see how he does at the world stage, it’s going to be cool to see another Bulldog face over there," concluded Rooney.

The action gets underway for the women’s team February third against Finland, and the men February 10th against China.