Kathleen "Katie" Fitzgerald (born April 13, 1994) is an American

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

player who currently plays for the

Professional Women's Hockey Players Association The Professional Women's Hockey Players Association (PWHPA) is a nonprofit 501(c)(6) organization dedicated to advocating for the promotion of professional women's ice hockey. It was founded in May 2019 following the dissolution of the Canadian W ...

(PWHPA). She previously played for the

Metropolitan Riveters The Metropolitan Riveters (originally the New York Riveters) are a professional women's ice hockey team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, with home games at the American Dream Meadowlands ice rink. They were one of the four charter franchi ...

in the

Premier Hockey Federation The Premier Hockey Federation (PHF), formerly the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL), is a women's professional ice hockey league located in the United States and Canada. The league was established in 2015 with four league-owned teams and h ...

(PHF). Having played NCAA hockey with the St. Cloud State Huskies, she was the first Husky to sign a contract in the PHF. In 2018, she helped the Riveters win the

Isobel Cup The Lady Isobel Gathorne-Hardy Cup, often shortened to Isobel Cup, is the championship trophy awarded annually to the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) playoff winner. It is named after Lady Isobel Gathorne-Hardy, one of the first known women to p ...

and was named Isobel Cup Most Valuable Player. She was selected to play in the

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

and 2018 All-Star Games.

Early life

Fitgerald was raised in the Chicago suburb of

Des Plaines, Illinois Des Plaines is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 60,675. The city is a suburb of Chicago and is located just north of O'Hare International Airport. It is situated on and is named after the ...

, where she attended

Maine West High School Maine West High School, also known as Maine West or MWHS, is a public four-year high school located in Des Plaines, Illinois, a northwest suburb of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. It is part of Maine Township High School District 207, w ...

and lettered in volleyball and softball. She played for the Chicago Mission AAA hockey club from 2007 to 2012 winning five state championships in Illinois. and won a Silver Medal at the US U16 Nationals in 2011 and a Bronze Medal at the USA U12 Nationals. Fitzgerald was named to and participated in the AHAI/USA Hockey Development-Central Region camp in 2011. An honor roll student, Fitzgerald helped the softball team win a conference title and was named to the All-Conference team. She earned All-Area and All-Conference awards for volleyball and was named the team's Most Valuable Player (MVP) four times.

Playing career

NCAA

During her freshman season in 2012-13, Fitzgerald played in 15 games as goalie and posted a .912 save percentage (424 saves). She made her debut on October 6. On December 8, she notched an assist against the

Minnesota State Mavericks The Minnesota State Mavericks are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Minnesota State University, Mankato. The school's athletic program includes 21 varsity sports teams. More than 600 students participate each year in athletics ...

. Fitzgerald was named the team's Rookie of the Year. During the 2013-14 season, Fitzgerald was the starting goalie in 11 of the 13 games that she played. She tallied 381 saves for a .907 save percentage in 712:06 minutes of play. She made over 30 saves in 7 games and made a season-high 44 saves against Minnesota. She was named Women’s Defensive Player of the Week by the WCHA Conference for games played December 12-13, 2014. Fitzgerald started in 14 of the 16 games that she played during her junior season and notched a .907 save percentage (428 saves) in 873:30 minutes of play. She recorded her first career shutout on November 8 against Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and another on December 13 in a 3-0 win against the Bemidji Beavers. She made a season-high 47 saves against the Minnesota Gophers on January 24, 2015. After splitting some of her time as starting goaltender her first three seasons, Fitzgerald was the starting goaltender in 34 of 35 games her senior year. She tallied a .906 save percentage (976 saves) and led all goaltenders in the WCHA in shots faced while playing in 34 games. Her final win on home ice at St. Cloud took place on February 12, as she made 39 saves in a win against North Dakota.

Premier Hockey Federation

Fitzgerald signed with the

of the

(PHF, then called the National Women's Hockey League) in August 2016 for the

2016–17 NWHL season The 2016–17 NWHL season is the second season of operation of the National Women's Hockey League. All four teams from the inaugural season returned for this season: the Boston Pride, Buffalo Beauts, Connecticut Whale, and New York Riveters. L ...

. She made her regular season debut on October 8, 2016, against defending

champion,

Boston Pride The Boston Pride are a professional women's ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They are one of the four charter franchises of the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF), formerly the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL; 2015–2021). The ...

. On October 16, she made her first PHF start, logging 34 saves in a 4-2 loss to the Connecticut Whale. On November 20, 2016, Fitzgerald recorded a shutout in a 4-0 victory against the Connecticut Whale, logging the first shutout in her team's history. She was subsequently named NWHL Player of the Week. Following the 2016 season, Fitzgerald was named Goaltender of the Year by the media after notching a record with a 3.01 goals-against-average and a .901 save percentage. Fitzgerald participated in the

3rd NWHL All-Star Game The 3rd NWHL All-Star Game took place on February 11, 2018 at TRIA Rink in Saint Paul, Minnesota. A skills competition was held the day prior on February 10, 2018. Brittany Ott of the Boston Pride and Amanda Leveille of the Buffalo Beauts serve ...

. Later in the 2017–18 NWHL season, she backstopped the

to win the Isobel Cup in a 1-0 victory. This was the first cup for the franchise and a milestone night for Fitzgerald as she logged a shutout.

Coaching career

Fitzgerald has coached youth players for the Midwest Goalie School, Chicago Blackhawks Youth, and Ironbound Hockey.

Awards and honors

*NWHL Player of the Week, November 23, 2016 * NWHL Best Goaltender Award: 2017 * NWHL Player of the Week, Awarded January 22, 2018 *

Champion: 2018 * Isobel Cup Most Valuable Player (MVP): 2018 * NWHL All-Star:

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...

References

External links

PWHPA player profile

St. Cloud Huskies player profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fitzgerald, Katie Living people 1994 births American women's ice hockey goaltenders Ice hockey players from Illinois St. Cloud State Huskies women's ice hockey players Metropolitan Riveters players New York Riveters players Professional Women's Hockey Players Association players Isobel Cup champions