Mixing It Up, Making History with the Big Boys

Angela Ruggiero ’02-’04 was supposed to have a fleeting symbolic moment on the ice as a woman playing professional men’s hockey.

She was going to make history by being the first female skater to play a position other than goalie by playing defense for the Tulsa Oilers. She was going to get to skate with her brother, and the two were to be the first such sibling pair to take the ice in a North American professional game.

And then, after one regular shift with the Oilers, it was going to be over—CHL rules restrict the amount of time on the ice that the 19th member of a roster can play.

After that first shift though, the Tulsa team and its coach, Butch Kaebel, discussed the situation with Commissioner M. Thomas Berry, Jr. With the agreement of Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees—Tulsa’s opponent for the night—Ruggiero was allowed to return to the ice in the third period.

Wearing her customary number four that she donned for Harvard, Ruggiero played for 6:33 in total, finishing plus two and registering a late-game assist.

“Towards the end of the game, the guys were pushing me to get into the action and be aggressive,” Ruggiero said. “I jumped into the play, and ended up with an assist.”

In women’s collegiate hockey—unlike in men’s—checking in any form is illegal and the rules, in general, emphasize skill over physical strength. Before Ruggiero’s appearance in the CHL, old Crimson teammates and her ex-coach knew that she could compete on a professional level with men, but they were nervous about the physical intensity of the game.

“I was worried about [Ruggiero] getting injured,” said Harvard coach Katey Stone, who recruited Ruggiero and has coached her for the last six years. “Nothing happened and she didn’t get hurt, but I was a little worried about, that as any coach would be. But by the same token, I knew she’d hold her own.”

Former teammate and current tri-captain Nicole Corriero said the question of whether Ruggiero could play with the men has been always topic of discussion.

“I always felt that if there was anyone who could do it, it would be her,” Corriero said. “But, I was unsure about how the CHL game would turn out. While I was excited, I was also nervous and worried because I was afraid she would get hurt, especially upon hearing how much rougher the CHL is compared to collegiate hockey.

“Angela is smart, she’s tough, she’s strong, and I trusted that she would be able to take care of herself.”

On the ice with the men, Ruggiero did more than take care of herself. Besides getting the assist on Jason Bermingham’s goal to help the Oilers win 7-2, she took checks and slammed opposing players into the board.

This adjustment to the physicality and pace of play in the men’s game was made easier for Ruggiero by the presence of her younger brother, Bill, on the ice. The latter Ruggiero has been Tulsa’s starting goalie for the majority of the season and has a 23-12-2 record in net.

“The hockey was physical, but not cheap,” Ruggiero said. “And it was definitely comforting to see Billy back in net.”

The Harvard Grad

After graduating from Harvard last spring, Ruggiero did not go straight to post-collegiate hockey, but decided instead to enter the working sector. After accepting a job with the commercial real estate firm Meredith and Grew, Inc., Ruggiero kept her hockey skills sharp by occasionally practicing with the Crimson.

In January, however, Ruggiero had a change of heart and decided to start her training for the 2006 Winter Olympics a little early.

“The biggest challenge after graduating is finding hockey that’s competitive enough to push you,” Ruggiero said. “At Harvard, you’re almost spoiled because you have all the facilities, a trainer, and are in the gym and on the ice like six days a week.”

In order to play every day on a competitive level, Ruggiero took a leave of absence from her job—to which she will return after the Olympics—and moved north to Montreal to play in the National Women’s Hockey League.

The Canadian professional league already boasted Jennifer Botterhill ’02-’03 and Lauren McAuliffe ’04, both former Harvard standouts and ex-teammates of Ruggiero, as well as a number of other college graduates who went to Canada to continue their careers in hockey.

Ruggiero will further hone her skills by practicing and playing up north until August, the start of the U.S. Olympic training that will then become her main focus.

After adding the history-making skate with the Oilers to her impressive resume, another gold medal at the Olympics—the most competitive level of women’s hockey—would cement Ruggiero’s role as one of the most accomplished athletes in her sport.

“She’s tough and she can do anything,” Stone said. “The sky’s the limit for Angela Ruggiero in hockey and post hockey.”

The Wisdom of Age

After skating with this year’s Harvard team during its practices, Ruggiero thinks the Crimson has a bright future as the season develops and reaches its climax.

The team has added four freshmen and lost three seniors—including Ruggiero—since last March, when it lost in the NCAA Championship to Minnesota. Nevertheless, Harvard’s ex-captain sees promise in this year’s squad, and it has earned her respect.

“They are skating more than ever and have amazing endurance,” Ruggiero said. “After beating Dartmouth, they are right up there at the top. They are playing with more experience than they have and taking chances.”

The feeling of respect is obviously mutual, as her former teammates continue to be impressed by all that Ruggiero has been able to accomplish in the hockey world.

“I think that this has certainly been awesome for [Ruggiero] to experience, and it’s certainly great for others to be able to appreciate just how awesome of a player she is,” Corriero said. “I always felt that as amazing as Angela was while playing with her, there was a whole new level that she could take her game to, but she never really could or needed to while playing in college.”

—Staff writer Gabriel M. Velez can be reached at gmvelez@fas.harvard.edu.