A native of Scarborough, Ontario, McAteer was a member of UMD teams that won national titles in 2001-2003, while also winning WCHA regular-season titles in 2000 and 2003, and WCHA playoff titles in 2000, 2001 and 2003. McAteer was named the team’s Most Valuable Player in the 2001-02 season, while also earning WCHA All-Academic Team and AWHCA All-American Scholar honors three times each. McAteer was the first Bulldog to earn a WCHA Postgraduate Scholarship, earning the award in 2003.