U.S. goalie delivers a gold-medal performance
GANGNEUNG, South Korea — Maddie Rooney couldn’t stop smiling. She was on top of her game, and it didn’t seem to matter that it was a shootout against the powerhouse Canadians.
The first shootout in an Olympic women’s final.
With a gold medal on the line.
Her coach, Robb Stauber, made sure not to say a word to the 20-year-old goaltender.
“I know she has ice in her veins,” Stauber said.
It sure looked like it. Rooney made 29 saves through overtime, then turned away shots from four Canadians in the six-round shootout, smiling along the way at her jubilant teammates on the bench. The last save came against fourtime Olympian Meghan Agosta to clinch a 3-2 victory that gave the Americans their first gold medal since 1998.
The U.S. got its break when Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson, with a great deke move, beat three-time Olympic goalie Shannon Szabados to put the U.S. ahead in the shootout.
“I knew when that went in that Maddie was going to stop the next one,” LamoureuxDavidson said.
Rooney did.
“Right before (Agosta) came down, I just looked over at the bench and saw my teammates like pointing at me, just one more,” Rooney said. “And to have their support made it a whole lot easier. I just reacted to her, and then everything kind of went into a blur.”
The Americans piled over the boards, throwing gloves in the air before piling on top of Rooney on the ice — 20 years after their last gold medal in women’s hockey and 38 years to the day after the men’s famous “Miracle on Ice” victory over the Soviet team in group play at Lake Placid, N.Y.
This victory capped a year that started with the Americans threatening a boycott of the world championships to secure more money and the same type of treatment that USA Hockey gives to the men’s team.
“They should make a movie on it,” said forward Hilary Knight, who gave the U.S. a 1-0 lead by redirecting a shot from Sidney Morin through Szabados’ pads with 25.4 seconds left in the opening period. “We had all the drama and everything. It’s sort of a storybook ending to an incredible series of accomplishments.”
The U.S. had to replace not one or two, but all three of its goalies after losing gold in 2014 at Sochi. Rooney, who played her senior year of high school in Andover, Minn., on the boys’ varsity team, was the goalie in net for each of the three U.S. victories over Canada in preOlympic play. She bounced back from a 2-1 loss last week to Canada and then some Thursday.
Rooney said she has been told it’s important to stay calm under pressure. She is sure she has been nervous at times.
“Pressure is power,” said the goalie whose job title on Wikipedia entry briefly was changed to U.S. “Secretary of Defense.”
Her teammates said they had complete confidence in Rooney, who has been with the national team only since the 2017 world championships. Gigi Marvin, the oldest on the roster at 30, has been rooming with Rooney. She called Rooney unbelievable in net, so strong that the players had complete trust in her.
“She’s a gem, talk about poise,” Marvin said. “We all knew she had it. She has been around all year and she just owns it.”
Stauber, a former goalie, knows exactly what a goaltender who doesn’t get rattled means for a team. He didn’t worry about Rooney even after Haley Irwin and captain MariePhilip Poulin scored in the second period to give Canada a 2-1 lead.
“Then she bounces back tall, after a goal or two,” Stauber said. “It sends a lot of confidence. It really is a classic example of a great goaltender.”
Monique Lamoureux-Morando scored on a breakaway late in the third period to force overtime. Rooney stopped all seven shots in the 20-minute overtime, which ended with a Canadian power play. In the shootout, Agosta beat her stickside and Melodie Daoust scored, too.
That was it. Rooney stopped Natalie Spooner, Poulin and lastly Brianne Jenner and Agosta taking a second turn as Canada’s final shooters.
“Then it all came down to Maddie Rooney, and she had a gold-medal-winning performance,” Knight said.