Maddie Rooney doesn’t flinch as PWHL Minnesota outlasts Toronto in two OTs in Game 4

PWHL Minnesota coach Ken Klee doesn’t fret about goaltender Maddie Rooney, who comes to practice with a smile plastered to her face.

“She’s a calm, confident kid who doesn’t get too rattled,” Klee said before offering a telling anecdote.

“The other day, her car broke down on the way to the game,” Klee said. Rooney called a teammate, downplaying a source of stress for most people. But then, most people don’t make their living staring down a chunk of vulcanized rubber and refusing to flinch. “I would have been like, ‘Oh, [expletive],’” Klee said. “I was worried that might have rattled her.”

On Wednesday night, facing elimination in Game 4 of the PWHL best-of-five Walter Cup semifinal series against Toronto, Rooney endured and got the better of a goaltender duel as her team won 1-0 in double overtime at Xcel Energy Center. Toronto’s Kristen Campbell stopped 28 shots — 14 in the third period alone. Campbell’s teammates broke through to challenge Rooney with some great chances among their 19 shots on goal.

Rooney didn’t flinch.

With the victory before an announced crowd of 2,766, Minnesota prolonged the series to a fifth and deciding game, set for 6 p.m. Friday in Toronto.

“Both goalies were good,” said Minnesota forward Claire Butorac, who scored the game-winning goal at 4:27 of the second extra session. She and Rooney were Andover High School teammates. “Maddie has been really good for us the past couple games, so I am happy to have her on our side. She has kept us in games that we need to be in. She’s done more than her job, for sure.”

BOXSCORE: Minnesota 1, Toronto 0

Troy Ryan, Toronto’s coach, called out the “good goaltending on both sides” and praised Campbell’s resiliency. “We’ve grown to expect that from Soupy. I thought she had a great game and made the saves she needed to early on to keep us in the game.”

Minnesota fired five shots on goal in the first period, none more potent than a booming slapshot from Grace Zumwinkle that sent the puck under Campbell’s leg pads but trickled through the blue paint without incident.

“She can bomb it,” Klee said. “She’s got the green light to hammer pucks whenever she can.”

Minnesota later made the play in the blue paint that saved its season.

“I got in on that good line change and picked up the rebound in front of the net,” Butorac said. “We knew it would be a dirty goal, and I was happy to finish.”

Toronto’s lack of offense owed in large part to scrambling to press on without Natalie Spooner. The 33-year-old forward from Scarborough, Ontario, suffered a knee injury during the third period of Game 3 and was put on long-term injured reserve, which makes her unavailable for the rest of the season. Spooner led the PWHL with 20 goals and 27 points in 24 games during the regular season and had one goal and one assist in three playoff games, both in the first game of the series against Minnesota.

“The is no replacing Natalie Spooner,” Klee said. “She’s a heck of a player. But they are a resilient team. They know if they play their system, their structure, they are going to give themselves a chance to win. We expect another tight battle.”