Rooney is a proud alumnus of the USA Hockey Development Program. He was hired under a minor league referee contract with the National Hockey League in the summer of 1999 at the age of 24. He would go on and spend three seasons in the minors before being promoted to a full time NHL referee status in the summer of 2002. He worked his first NHL Regular Season Game on November 22nd 2000 at the Philips Arena in Atlanta when the Tampa Bay Lightning were in town to play the now defunct Trashers. Rooney who wore sweater number 21 in his early years as a full time NHL referee agreed later on to switch to number 5 when former NHL referee and now NHLOA Alumni Don Van Massenhoven asked him to swap their numbers. His early success as an NHL referee was rewarded in the spring of 2003 when he was selected to work the 2003 Stanley Cup Playoffs. His NHL Playoffs debut came on April 14th 2003 in Uniondale NY when the Ottawa Senators visited the New York Islanders at the Nassau Coliseum. Rooney also had the privilege to be selected twice to work the prestigious Stanley Cup Finals; in 2012 (Kings vs Devils) & in 2013 (Blackhawks vs Bruins). Some of his career highlights include working the 2010 Winter Classic at Fenway Park in Boston (Flyers vs Bruins), the 2010 Vancouver Olympics and the 2015 NHL All-Star Game in Columbus OH. The Massachusetts native was also selected to work the 2016 World Cup of Hockey in Toronto but an injury sustained during his fitness tests (torn Achilles tendon) at the NHL Officials Training Camp a couple of weeks before the start of the tournament had him sidelined for the competition and half of the following season. Chris is married to his wife Lisa and has two beautiful twin boys named Cole and Logan. He still calls Boston MA his hometown.