Ruggiero, National Team Defeat ECAC East

BOSTON—Defenseman Angela Ruggiero ’02-’04 returned yesterday afternoon to Northeastern’s Matthews Arena for the U.S.Women’s National Team’s pre-Olympic tour matchup against a team of ECAC Eastern Division All-Stars.

Still possessing the same skills that helped lead Harvard to a national title in 1999, Ruggiero has now complemented her skills with speed that takes her game to a higher level.

When Ruggiero’s teammate and former Princeton rival Andrea Kilbourne broke free on an odd-man rush late in the game, it was the 5’9, 190-pound Ruggiero who rushed down the right wing and provided the finish, one of several impressive displays in the U.S. National Team’s 16-0 rout of the ECAC East.

“My skating game has improved,” Ruggiero said. “Overall, when you get the chance to play with the 25 best athletes in the United States you’re going to improve and they’re going to push you.”

Ruggiero, who expects to return to Harvard for her junior year in 2002, is one of three players with Harvard ties playing on the U.S. Women’s National Team. The other two are defenseman A.J. Mleczko ’97-’99 and forward Julie Chu, an incoming freshman to the class of 2006. All three figured in the scoring yesterday. Chu’s goal came on a one-to-one as she beat ECAC goaltender Jen Huggon with a nifty forehand-to-backhand move.

The U.S. National Team outshot the ECAC East 74-15. The All-Stars didn’t come close to scoring and rarely possessed the puck past the neutral zone. U.S. Coach Ben Smith instructed his team to play as if they always had a one-goal lead, so the U.S. never let down.

The brightest spot of the game for the ECAC was Huggon, a New Hampshire junior, who impressively stopped 34 of 39 shots and did not allow a soft goal all afternoon.

The darkest moment of the game came in the third period, when ECAC forward Brooke Bradburn, a senior from Niagara, was taken down on a face-off. The game was delayed for over 15 minutes as she was carried off the ice. ECAC Coach Karen Kay of New Hampshire said that she suspects that Bradburn has suffered a stress fracture.

The game’s final score bore deep contrast to the results of the games against the WCHA All-Stars, which lost by the more respectable scores of 3-0 and 6-1. The ECAC East, unlike the ECAC North which includes Harvard, does not have any team ranked higher than eighth.

The ECAC North will get a chance to prove itself in two weeks at Cornell’s Lynah Rink. Three current Harvard players have been named to that team—junior Kalen Ingram, junior captain Jaime Hagerman and sophomore goalkeeper Jessica Ruddock.

Looking Ahead

Ruggiero and Chu are already excited about playing together at Harvard in 2002-03.

“Everyone’s excited that she’s coming,” Ruggiero said. “She’s kind of following my footsteps. We both went to Choate, now she’s coming to Harvard. She’s one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet.”

Ruggiero will have to make adjustments of her own. The world of college hockey and Harvard will have changed in two years.

“[College hockey] is so much more competitive,” Ruggiero said. “I’m really excited. I’ve kept my eligibility. I think it’ll hard adjusting since a lot of my friends will have graduated—that will be the hardest part. But that will give me the opportunity to focus more on academics and hockey.”

Chu can also look forward to playing alongside Jennifer Botterill ’02-’03, college hockey’s national player of the year last season. Botterill is taking the year off to play with the rival Canadian National Team.

“I play against her right now,” Chu said. “It will be a little bit different atmosphere. At the same time you make the best out of every team you’re on, and I know there are a lot of great teammates on the Harvard team as well as the rest of the schools, so everyone’s gotta be going out and working hard. That’s the beauty of hockey.”