Dick Rodenhiser was from Malden, Massachusetts,and played collegiately for the Boston University Terriers, where he was a first-team All-American in the 1952/53 season. He led BU to victory in the first Beanpot Tournament in 1952. In addition to winning medals at both the 1956 and 1960 Olympics, he represented the United States on the 1955 and 1957 National teams, playing at the 1955 World Championships.
Rodenhiser played a few games in 1954/55 with the Worcester Warriors of the Eastern Hockey League. In the 1960s he played in several senior hockey leagues in Massachusetts with the Brockten Wetzells, Bates Fabric, and the Framingham Pics (short for Olympics) from 1965-71. He later became the manager of a large ice rink, Loring Arena, in Framingham in the suburban Boston area and served in that capacity for 33 years.