Joy Dunne

Joy Dunne
Born (2005-06-13) June 13, 2005
St. Louis, Missouri, United States
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Position Forward
Shoots Left
NCAA team Ohio State University
National team  United States

Joy Virginia Dunne[1] (born June 13, 2005) is an American college ice hockey player who is a forward for Ohio State University and the United States national team.

With the United States, she was part of the 2026 U.S. Olympic women's hockey team that won the gold medal. She has also won gold (2025) and silver (2024) at the World Championships. In 2024, she was named the National Rookie of the Year.

Early life

Born in O'Fallon, Missouri,[2] Joy is the daughter of Tammy and Tom Dunne and is the youngest of six siblings.[3] All six Dunne children—Jessica, Jincy, Josh, Josey, James, and Joy—play hockey at elite levels.[4]

External videos
The Dunnes create hockey family dynasty in O'Fallon, MO, 5 On Your Side

Dunne played both boys' and girls' youth hockey for the St. Louis 'AAA' Blues and the St. Louis Lady Blues for 13 years.[5][6] She attended The Fulton School and Fort Zumwalt South High School.[7][8]

Playing career

As her sisters Jincy and Jessica did before her, Joy attended and played for Ohio State University. Her first collegiate goal came on November 3, 2023, recording a hat-trick against Bemidji State University.[9] Dunne finished her rookie season with 42 points in 39 games and led the Buckeyes with 24 goals, including the game-winning goal in the finals of the national championship that propelled Ohio State to their second national title in three years.[10][8] She was named WCHA Rookie of the Year and National Rookie of the Year, as well as to the NCAA All-Tournament team.[5]

International play

Medal record
Representing  United States
Women's ice hockey
Olympic Games
2026 Milano Cortina Team
World Championships
2025 Czechia
2024 United States
World U18 Championships
2023 Sweden

Junior

Captaining Team USA at the 2023 IIHF World Women's U18 Championship, Dunne scored six points in five games en route to a bronze medal.[5][11]

Senior

Dunne made her senior level international debut for the United States at the 2024 IIHF Women's World Championship where she scored one goal and one assist in seven games and won a silver medal.[12] She returned for the 2025 IIHF Women's World Championship, where the Americans defeated Canada 4–3 in overtime to win the gold medal, their first world championship since 2023.[13][14][8]

On January 2, 2026, Dunne was named to Team USA's roster to compete at the 2026 Winter Olympics.[15] She was Team USA's youngest player.[16] Making her Olympic debut in a 5–1 win versus Czechia, Dunne logged 11:06 of ice time and scored her first Olympic goal, with the assist credited to Tessa Janecke.[17][18]

Personal life

Joy is the youngest of six siblings, all ice hockey players. Her sister Jincy plays for the New York Sirens of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL), and her brother Josh plays in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Buffalo Sabres.[11][19][20]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2023–24 Ohio State University WCHA 39 24 18 42 22
2024–25 Ohio State University WCHA 40 29 33 62 55
NCAA totals 79 53 51 104 77

International

Year Team Event Result   GP G A Pts PIM
2023 United States U18 5 3 3 6 6
2024 United States WC 7 1 1 2 2
2025 United States WC 6 0 1 1 2
2026 United States OG 7 2 3 5 2
Junior totals 5 3 3 6 6
Senior totals 20 3 5 8 6

Awards and honors

Honors Year Ref
College
Third Team All-WCHA 2024 [21]
WCHA All-Rookie Team 2024
National Rookie of the Year 2024 [5]
WCHA Rookie of the Year 2024
NCAA All-Tournament Team 2024 [8]

References

  1. ^ Team USA [@teamusa]; (November 14, 2025). "Middle of the month means it's time for @usahockey middle names 🇺🇸 #WinterOlympics". Retrieved November 14, 2025 – via Instagram.
  2. ^ "Joy Dunne". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved January 18, 2026.
  3. ^ Yates, Hanna (June 7, 2021). "The Dunnes create hockey family dynasty in O'Fallon, MO". ksdk.com. Retrieved January 18, 2026.
  4. ^ Timmermann, Tom (April 14, 2024). "Hockey is a family affair for the Dunnes". stltoday.com. Retrieved January 18, 2026.
  5. ^ a b c d Kennedy, Ian (March 22, 2024). "Ohio State's Joy Dunne Named NCAA Rookie of the Year". thehockeynews.com. The Hockey News. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
  6. ^ Moone, Cameron (January 16, 2024). "Women's Ice Hockey: The legacy isn't 'Dunne' for this hockey family". The Lantern. Retrieved January 18, 2026.
  7. ^ Hayes, Pete (January 11, 2024). "Hockey Dunne right: Road to U-18 Worlds went through East Alton". The Telegraph. The Alton Telegraph. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
  8. ^ a b c d "Ohio State Wins Second NCAA Championship". ohiostatebuckeyes.com. March 24, 2024. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
  9. ^ Gay, Colin (February 21, 2024). "'I'm supposed to be a Buckeye': Joy Dunne makes name for herself with Ohio State women's hockey". dispatch.com. The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
  10. ^ Kennedy, Ian (March 25, 2024). "Pure "Joy" For Ohio State". thehockeynews.com. The Hockey News. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
  11. ^ a b Miller, Corey (January 28, 2023). "Joy Dunne carries on family's St. Louis hockey legacy as Team USA U18 captain". ksdk.com. KSDK. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
  12. ^ Kennedy, Ian (March 31, 2024). "USA Names 2024 World Championship Roster, Plenty of New Faces". thehockeynews.com. The Hockey News. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
  13. ^ "2025 U.S. Women's National Team Roster Unveiled". USA Hockey. March 5, 2025. Retrieved January 17, 2026.
  14. ^ Aykroyd, Lucas (April 20, 2025). "U.S. wins gold in overtime classic". International Ice Hockey Federation. Retrieved January 17, 2026.
  15. ^ "U.S. women's hockey roster reworked; Knight set for 5th Games". ESPN.com. January 2, 2026. Retrieved January 2, 2026.
  16. ^ Kennedy, Ian (February 3, 2026). "Meet Women's Hockey's Teenage Olympians". The Hockey News. Retrieved February 15, 2026.
  17. ^ Podnieks, Andrew (February 5, 2026). "Knight's grm highlights US win". IIHF. Retrieved February 15, 2026.
  18. ^ "USA 5 Czech 1 February 5 Statistics". IIHF. February 5, 2026. Retrieved February 15, 2026.
  19. ^ "Jincy Roese". eliteprospects.com. Elite Prospects. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
  20. ^ "Josh Dunne". eliteprospects.com. Elite Prospects. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
  21. ^ "All-WCHA award recipients announced for 2023-24". whca.com. Western Collegiate Hockey Association. February 29, 2024. Retrieved March 23, 2024.