Ruggiero Sets Standard

LAKE PLACID, N.Y. -- Former Crimson standout defenseman Angela Ruggiero '02-04, the 2004 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award winner, established a new all-time games-played record for Team USA by playing in her 206th international contest. Ruggiero surpassed Cammi Granato in Thursday's 4-2 loss to Team Canada at the Four Nations Cup.

Ruggiero was the youngest member of the 1998 U.S. Olympic Team that won the first gold medal ever awarded in women's hockey at the Olympic Winter Games in Nagano, and later won the silver at Salt Lake City in 2002 and the bronze in Torino in 2006. She has participated in eight International Ice Hockey Federation World Women's Championships and was named the top defenseman at four of those championships. She also earned top defenseman honors at the 2002 and 2006 Olympics.

In her 206 total career games, the native of Harper Woods Mich., has accumulated 55 goals and 119 assists for 174 points. She is currently training with the 2008-09 U.S. Women's Select Team in hopes of making her fourth Olympic appearance in 2010. Ruggiero graduated cum laude from Harvard in 2004 with a bachelor's degree in government and was a four-time All-American and four-time finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Award. She concluded her collegiate career with 243 points (91 goals, 152 assists) in 127 contests and was named one of the top 16 female athletes in the world by ESPN.com in 2004.

In addition to her extraordinary athletic accomplishments, Ruggiero is the founder and president of a girl’s hockey school, the author of “Breaking the Ice,” her inspirational autobiography. She also previously served as the director of the New York Islanders’ Project Hope - an organization that provides young Chinese athletes with access to educational opportunities. In addition, Ruggiero appeared on the sixth season of NBC's 'The Apprentice' with Donald Trump and spent a week in January 2008 on an Olympic Heroes Tour visiting troops in Afghanistan and Qatar.

In last evening's contest between Canada and the United States, Canada led 1-0 and 2-1, but the United States came back to tie the game twice before the Canadians struck two more times in the third period for the victory. Harvard senior Sarah Vaillancourt '08-09 capped the scoring for Canada with a tally at 8:56 of the third, her second goal in two games during the tournament.

Team USA, which is coached by Katey Stone, the Landry Family Head Coach for Harvard Women's Ice Hockey, will play Finland Friday evening at 8 p.m., while Canada will face Sweden earlier in the day at 5 p.m.