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| - Angela Marie Ruggiero (born January 3, 1980 in Panorama City, California) is an American ice hockey defenseman. She is also the author of a memoir about her hockey experiences and a former contestant on the NBC reality show The Apprentice.
While still a high school senior at Choate Rosemary Hall, 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.
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. (Erin Whitten skated ceremoniously for 18 seconds with the Flint Generals in 1996, and Manon Rheaume tended goal for the Tampa Bay Lightning in a pre-season game in 1992.) 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.
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." [http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/olympics/2006/writers/02/13/ruggiero/]
Her remarks were criticized by people ranging from members of Team Canada to sports commentators, although others agreed with her statements.
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.
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. (en)
- Angela Ruggiero è cresciuta tra Los Angeles (Panorama City è un suo sobborgo) ed Harper Woods.
Ha cominciato a giocare in nazionale molto giovane: ha partecipato già ai mondiali del 1997 (argento finale) e faceva parte della spedizione olimpica di Nagano 1998 che portò a casa la medaglia d'oro. Con la nazionale a stelle e strisce ha vinto altre 5 medaglie d'argento (1999, 2000, 2001, 2004 e 2007) ed una d'oro (2005, ed in quella occasione mise a segno il golden gol che decise la finale) ai mondiali, ed un argento (Salt Lake City 2002) e un bronzo (Torino 2006) alle olimpiadi.
Nel 2002 e nel 2006 è stata votata come migliore difensore del torneo olimpico, mentre nel 2001, 2004 e 2005 lo è stata ai mondiali.
Nel 2003 la rivista Globe and Mail l'ha giudicata la migliore al mondo nel suo ruolo, mentre The Hockey News l'ha giudicata la migliore giocatrice in assoluto.
Detiene alcuni curiosi primati: è stata la prima donna non portiere a disputare un incontro della regular season con una squadra maschile professionistica (il 28 gennaio 2005 con i Tulsa Oilers, nella CHL). Prima di allora solo altre due donne non portiere avevano giocato incontri con squadre professionistiche: Erin Whitten era scesa sul ghiaccio per 18 secondi con i Flint Generals nel 1996, ma solo come ospite d'onore, mentre Manon Rheaume ha addirittura segnato una rete con la maglia dei Tampa Bay Lightning, ma nella pre-season del 1992.
Inoltre nella stessa squadra della Ruggiero giocava pure il fratello minore Bill, portiere: è stata la prima coppia fratello-sorella a giocare assieme.
Nel 2005 ha pubblicato un'autobiografia: Breaking the Ice: My Journey to Olympic Hockey, the Ivy League & Beyond (ISBN 1597630098). (it)
- Angela Ruggiero (född 3 januari, 1980 in Panorama City, Kalifornien, USA) är en kvinnlig amerikansk ishockeyspelare. Hon vann OS-guld 1998 och vann OS-silver 2002. Angela Ruggiero har en bror som också är ishockeyspelare som heter Bill Ruggiero.
Hon sköt USA till USA:s första VM-guld i straffläggningen mot Kanada i VM 2005. (sv)
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