University of Minnesota Duluth sophomore goaltender Maddie Rooney is having one heck of a week.

Just two days removed from officially becoming an NCAA tournament participant, as well as setting an Western Collegiate Hockey Association Final Face-Off record for saves (112 in two games, to be exact), the native of Andover, Minn. was named to her first U.S. Hockey Women's National Team Tuesday.  Rooney will compete in the upcoming International Ice Hockey Federation Women's World Championship in Plymouth, Mich. from March 31-April 7, and it will be the first time the goaltender will suit up for the senior national team.  Rooney's debut also  marks the first time a current Bulldog player will suit up for the U.S. senior national team since Julianne Vasichek did in 2004.

Ranked fifth in the NCAA with a .942 saves percentage and the nation's third most saves, Rooney owns the seventh best winning percentage of .764, as well as the seventh-most shutouts with six.  Rooney's 2191:10 minutes over 36 games is the second minutes and games played by a goaltender in UMD single-season history.  With 985 saves, Rooney also now has the second most saves made in a season by a UMD netminder.

Rooney will join a U.S. side that has won the last three IIHF Women's World Championships and has played Canada in the gold medal game in all 17 of the previous events, capturing the top prize a total of seven times (2005, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2016), including six of the last seven tournaments.  The U.S. squad will be lead by former UMD women's hockey goaltender coach Robb Stauber.   Stauber served as the Bulldogs goaltender coach from 2004-08, during which time UMD earned a national title in 2008.

Two other current Bulldogs are already rostered on 2017 IIHF World Championship rosters -- Lara Stalder with Switzerland, and Katerina Mrázová with the Czech Republic.