Angela Ruggiero
Encyclopedia
Angela Marie Ruggiero (born January 3, 1980) is an American ice hockey
defenseman
. She is a member of the United States women's national ice hockey team. She is also the author of a memoir about her hockey experiences and a former contestant on the NBC reality show The Apprentice
. She is currently a member of the Boston Blades
in the Canadian Women's Hockey League
(CWHL).
, Ruggiero played on the gold medal-winning 1998 United States Olympic Hockey Team in Nagano, Japan. She was also a member of the silver medal-winning 2002 team in Salt Lake City, Utah, a member of the bronze winning 2006 team in Torino, Italy, and a member of the silver winning 2010 team in Vancouver, Canada.
In her senior year at Harvard University
, Ruggiero won the 2004 Patty Kazmaier Award
as the top player in U.S. women's collegiate hockey. She graduated from Harvard cum laude in 2004 with a degree in government
.
Ruggiero made several U.S. professional hockey "firsts" on January 28, 2005, when she played for the Tulsa Oilers
in a Central Hockey League
game against the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees
. She was the first woman to actively play in a regular season professional hockey game in the United States at a position other than goalie. In addition, since her brother Bill Ruggiero also played for the Oilers, they were the first brother-sister combination to play professionally at the same time.
Ruggiero was also credited with the game-winning goal in the shoot-out that won the 2005 Women's World Ice Hockey Championships
for the United States against the Canadian national women's hockey team
, winning the first gold medal ever for the United States at the world championship. At the 2005 Esso National Women’s Championships, she was named the Best Defenceman for Group A.
While representing the United States in the 2006 Winter Olympics
in Torino, Italy, Ruggiero was widely quoted for comments she made to the Sports Illustrated
website regarding the Canadian team
's behavior during the preliminary round of the women's hockey tournament:
"I'm upset that Canada has been running up the score, especially against the host nation... There was no need for that. They're trying to pad their stats... Canada is running up the score for whatever reasons — personal, short-term." Her remarks were criticized by people ranging from members of Team Canada to sports commentators, although others agreed with her statements. Her concern was that the one-sided results (Canada outscored their competitors 36-1) could jeopardize women's hockey Olympic status as it might be perceived as not competitive enough.
While with the Minnesota Whitecaps, Ruggiero had the opportunity to play with 1998 Canadian Olympic goalie Manon Rheaume
during the 2008-09 Whitecaps season. In December 2009, Ruggiero was named to her fourth Olympic hockey team. To prepare for the 2010 Olympics, she joined a group of NHL players in the summer of 2009 for workouts at Athletes’ Performance in Carson, California. Her preparation relied less on powering through workouts and paid more attention to detail. The training group included Chris Drury, Richard Park, and George Parros.
On January 14, 2010, she was named as an alternate captain for the United States Olympic hockey team. In addition, she was announced as one of nine current and former athletes standing for election to become members of the IOC in Vancouver. The announcement was made on January 20, 2010. Ruggiero is seeking to become the third IOC member from the U.S., joining Jim Easton and Anita DeFrantz. On November 10, 2010, Ruggiero was selected to serve on the evaluation commission that will inspect the three cities competing to host the 2018 Olympic Winter Games. She will be one of four Americans on the 11-member panel that will travel to potential host cities for on-site inspections from February 8-March 5, 2011. During the 2010–11 Boston Blades season, Ruggiero scored the game winning goal on December 19, 2010, which snapped the Montreal Stars
undefeated season.
She graduated Cum Laude from Harvard University
with a B.A. in Government. In May 2006, Ruggiero was selected from a field of twelve Olympians to be a candidate on the sixth season
of NBC's business-themed reality game show The Apprentice. The season debuted in January 2007. During Ruggiero's time on the show, many references were made to her Olympic and hockey experience. She was eliminated on the season's tenth episode, airing on March 25, 2007. At the conclusion of her stint on the television show, she was offered a job from Donald Trump.
Ruggiero was a member of a goodwill tour of Olympic athletes that traveled to Afghanistan. In addition, she traveled to Uganda with the Right to Play program. Angela is now enrolled at the University of Minnesota
and is pursuing a master's degree in sports management. The objective was to implement a sporting program for children. On October 6, 2011, it was announced that Ruggiero will be inducted into the National Italian Sports Hall of Fame. Ruggiero's induction will occur on October 22 in Chicago.
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
defenseman
Defenceman (ice hockey)
Defence in ice hockey is a player position whose primary responsibility is to prevent the opposing team from scoring...
. She is a member of the United States women's national ice hockey team. She is also the author of a memoir about her hockey experiences and a former contestant on the NBC reality show The Apprentice
The Apprentice 6
The Apprentice: Los Angeles is the sixth installment of the US version of The Apprentice reality television show. It was confirmed on November 30, 2005. Like the other Apprentice seasons, Donald Trump is the executive producer and host in his quest to hire a sixth apprentice...
. She is currently a member of the Boston Blades
Boston Blades
The Boston Blades are a professional women's ice hockey team that plays in Boston, Massachusetts. Boston Blades are a new franchise in the Canadian Women's Hockey League....
in the Canadian Women's Hockey League
Canadian Women's Hockey League
The Canadian Women's Hockey League is one of two major women's ice hockey leagues in Canada. The league was founded in 2007. The league currently has six ice hockey teams: three in Ontario, one in Quebec, one in Alberta and one in Boston, Massachusetts....
(CWHL).
Playing career
Ruggiero played high school hockey at private school, Choate Rosemary Hall in Wallingford, Connecticut. Other alumni included U.S. president John F. Kennedy, Ivanka Trump and Amanda Hearst. While still a high school senior at Choate Rosemary HallChoate Rosemary Hall
Choate Rosemary Hall is a private, college-preparatory, coeducational boarding school located in Wallingford, Connecticut...
, Ruggiero played on the gold medal-winning 1998 United States Olympic Hockey Team in Nagano, Japan. She was also a member of the silver medal-winning 2002 team in Salt Lake City, Utah, a member of the bronze winning 2006 team in Torino, Italy, and a member of the silver winning 2010 team in Vancouver, Canada.
In her senior year at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, Ruggiero won the 2004 Patty Kazmaier Award
Patty Kazmaier Award
The Patty Kazmaier Award is given to the top woman college ice hockey player in the United States. The award is presented during the women's annual ice hockey championship, the Frozen Four...
as the top player in U.S. women's collegiate hockey. She graduated from Harvard cum laude in 2004 with a degree in government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
.
Ruggiero made several U.S. professional hockey "firsts" on January 28, 2005, when she played for the Tulsa Oilers
Tulsa Oilers (hockey team)
The Tulsa Oilers are a professional ice hockey team in the Central Hockey League. The Oilers played their home games at the Maxwell Center until 2008, when they moved into the new BOK Center. For many years, the Tulsa Oilers name was shared with Tulsa's former minor-league baseball team that...
in a Central Hockey League
Central Hockey League
The Central Hockey League is a mid-level professional hockey league, owned by Global Entertainment Corporation. Its current champions are the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs, which defeated the Colorado Eagles four games to three in the 2011 playoffs....
game against the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees
Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees
The Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees are a professional ice hockey team based in Hidalgo, Texas, and play their home games at State Farm Arena. They are a member of the Central Hockey League, and two time Central Hockey League franchise of the year...
. She was the first woman to actively play in a regular season professional hockey game in the United States at a position other than goalie. In addition, since her brother Bill Ruggiero also played for the Oilers, they were the first brother-sister combination to play professionally at the same time.
Ruggiero was also credited with the game-winning goal in the shoot-out that won the 2005 Women's World Ice Hockey Championships
2005 Women's World Ice Hockey Championships
The 2005 IIHF World Women's Championships was held April 2–9, 2005, in Linköping, at Cloetta Center, and Norrköping, at Himmelstalundshallen, in Sweden. USA won their first ever gold medal at the World Championships, defeating the defending champions Canada in a penalty shootout...
for the United States against the Canadian national women's hockey team
Canadian national women's hockey team
The Canadian women's national ice hockey team is controlled by Hockey Canada. Canada has been by far one of the two most dominant teams in international competition. They have won the majority of major ice hockey tournaments, while their losses have only been against the United States and Sweden...
, winning the first gold medal ever for the United States at the world championship. At the 2005 Esso National Women’s Championships, she was named the Best Defenceman for Group A.
While representing the United States in the 2006 Winter Olympics
2006 Winter Olympics
The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XX Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in Turin, Italy from February 10, 2006, through February 26, 2006. This marked the second time Italy hosted the Olympic Winter Games, the first being the VII Olympic Winter...
in Torino, Italy, Ruggiero was widely quoted for comments she made to the Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
website regarding the Canadian team
Canadian national women's hockey team
The Canadian women's national ice hockey team is controlled by Hockey Canada. Canada has been by far one of the two most dominant teams in international competition. They have won the majority of major ice hockey tournaments, while their losses have only been against the United States and Sweden...
's behavior during the preliminary round of the women's hockey tournament:
"I'm upset that Canada has been running up the score, especially against the host nation... There was no need for that. They're trying to pad their stats... Canada is running up the score for whatever reasons — personal, short-term." Her remarks were criticized by people ranging from members of Team Canada to sports commentators, although others agreed with her statements. Her concern was that the one-sided results (Canada outscored their competitors 36-1) could jeopardize women's hockey Olympic status as it might be perceived as not competitive enough.
While with the Minnesota Whitecaps, Ruggiero had the opportunity to play with 1998 Canadian Olympic goalie Manon Rheaume
Manon Rhéaume
Manon Rhéaume is a Canadian ice hockey goaltender. An Olympic silver medalist, she achieved a number of historic firsts during her career, including becoming the first and only woman ever to play in a National Hockey League exhibition game.In 1992 Rhéaume signed a contract with the Tampa Bay...
during the 2008-09 Whitecaps season. In December 2009, Ruggiero was named to her fourth Olympic hockey team. To prepare for the 2010 Olympics, she joined a group of NHL players in the summer of 2009 for workouts at Athletes’ Performance in Carson, California. Her preparation relied less on powering through workouts and paid more attention to detail. The training group included Chris Drury, Richard Park, and George Parros.
On January 14, 2010, she was named as an alternate captain for the United States Olympic hockey team. In addition, she was announced as one of nine current and former athletes standing for election to become members of the IOC in Vancouver. The announcement was made on January 20, 2010. Ruggiero is seeking to become the third IOC member from the U.S., joining Jim Easton and Anita DeFrantz. On November 10, 2010, Ruggiero was selected to serve on the evaluation commission that will inspect the three cities competing to host the 2018 Olympic Winter Games. She will be one of four Americans on the 11-member panel that will travel to potential host cities for on-site inspections from February 8-March 5, 2011. During the 2010–11 Boston Blades season, Ruggiero scored the game winning goal on December 19, 2010, which snapped the Montreal Stars
Montreal Stars
The Montreal Stars are a professional women's ice hockey team that plays in Montreal, Quebec. The team was awarded the Clarkson Cup in 2009 and 2011 for winning the highest honour in North American women's hockey. . The team has played in the Canadian Women's Hockey League since 2007 its...
undefeated season.
Personal
Ruggiero is the author of a memoir, Breaking the Ice: My Journey to Olympic Hockey, the Ivy League & Beyond, published by Drummond Publishing Group in 2005. The book details her hockey career, including her experiences with misconceptions about women's hockey and the challenges of being a female player in a male-dominated sport. She was the former Director of the New York Islanders’ Project Hope, as well as the New York Islanders Children’s Foundation.She graduated Cum Laude from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
with a B.A. in Government. In May 2006, Ruggiero was selected from a field of twelve Olympians to be a candidate on the sixth season
The Apprentice 6
The Apprentice: Los Angeles is the sixth installment of the US version of The Apprentice reality television show. It was confirmed on November 30, 2005. Like the other Apprentice seasons, Donald Trump is the executive producer and host in his quest to hire a sixth apprentice...
of NBC's business-themed reality game show The Apprentice. The season debuted in January 2007. During Ruggiero's time on the show, many references were made to her Olympic and hockey experience. She was eliminated on the season's tenth episode, airing on March 25, 2007. At the conclusion of her stint on the television show, she was offered a job from Donald Trump.
Ruggiero was a member of a goodwill tour of Olympic athletes that traveled to Afghanistan. In addition, she traveled to Uganda with the Right to Play program. Angela is now enrolled at the University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
and is pursuing a master's degree in sports management. The objective was to implement a sporting program for children. On October 6, 2011, it was announced that Ruggiero will be inducted into the National Italian Sports Hall of Fame. Ruggiero's induction will occur on October 22 in Chicago.
Awards and honors
- American Women's College Hockey Alliance All-Americans, First Team (1999)
- Beanpot MVP (2004)
- Best Female Hockey Player in the World by The Hockey News (2003)
- Directorate Award as the Top Defenseman at the Winter Olympics, Salt Lake City (2002)
- ECAC Player of the Year(2004)
- 2004 ECAC Tournament Most Valuable Player,
- ECAC All-Academic Team (2003–2004)
- Four-time NCAA All-American
- Four-time NCAA All-ECAC
- Harvard Crimson Female Athlete of the Year (2004)
- Harvard MVP (2004, 2003, 2001)
- Ivy League Player of the Year(2004)
- NCAA First Team Academic All-American (2004)
- NCAA Top VIII award as one of the top 8 student-athletes in the entire NCAA (2004)
- NCAA National Strength and Conditioning Association Athlete of the Year(2004)
- New England Sports Writer’s Player of the Year (2004)
- Patty Kazmaier Memorial Trophy winner (2004)
- Patty Kazmaier Memorial Trophy, Top 3 Finalist (2003)
- Ranked one of Top 16 Female Athletes in the World by ESPN.com (2004)
- Ranked #94 on The Hockey NewsThe Hockey NewsThe Hockey News, commonly abbreviated to THN, is a North American ice hockey magazine published by Transcontinental. The Hockey News was founded in 1947 by Ken McKenzie and Bill Côté, and has since been the most recognized hockey publication in North America...
2011 List of the 100 Most Powerful People in Hockey - Top Defenseman Award at the Winter Olympics (2006, 2002)
- Top Defenseman Award at the ESSO Canadian Provincials (2005)
- Top Defenseman in the World by Globe and Mail (2003)