Angela Ruggiero Angela Marie Ruggiero ( born January 3 , 1980 in Panorama City , California ) is an American ice hockey defenseman . 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 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 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 . Administrative . On February 18 , 2012 , Ruggiero was named president - elect of the Women ’ s Sports Foundation . Ruggiero has committed to serve as a member of the IIHF Athletes Committee from 2013 - 16 . Of note , she is the only female that is part of the group . 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 .