Veteran Ruggiero still loves women's hockey

Angela Ruggiero is fond of saying hockey is just her first career, and the defenseman always thought she would be on to her next big thing after Vancouver.

She's not so certain any more. Even if her fourth American Olympic team adds a second gold medal to the prize she first won as a teenager in Nagano, the most accomplished defenseman in the history of the women's game might not be ready to ditch her sport for the corporate world, the coaching ranks or anything else.

Although she still gets infuriated by bad officiating and frustrated by an amateur athlete's meager options for making a living, the 2007 contestant on "The Apprentice" still loves the discipline, camaraderie and competition of her first career.

Hockey is a hard habit to break, even when she has a Harvard degree to help her to the next challenge.

"I'm cautious right now," Ruggiero said. "I don't want to close any doors. I've enjoyed this immensely, and I still don't know when the second career is supposed to start. I don't know what it will be, and that's not a bad thing."

Ruggiero and forward Jenny Potter will be the only Americans to play in every Olympic women's hockey tournament. Ruggiero was the youngest player on the 1998 team, and the 30-year-old has evolved into a physical cornerstone.

"She's a presence," said U.S. coach Mark Johnson, who took over for three-time Olympic coach Ben Smith after the Turin Games. "You look at different players that have great leadership skills, and one common theme is that they have a presence on the ice and a presence in the locker room. You're going to respect them, and that's Angela all the way."

Ruggiero plays the toughest shifts and frequently matches up against the opponents' top lines. Always a solid offensive player, Ruggiero is most valuable as a defensive dynamo who's big and tough.

Ruggiero credits part of her evolution to watching seasoned NHL defensemen such as Chris Chelios, who anticipate a forechecker's moves before they're made.

"I was more like Bobby Orr in the last two Olympics: I rushed the puck, took chances, got way more involved," Ruggiero said. "I've recognized over the last four years that our team needs more steadiness on the blue line, so I've altered my game to give us what we need. I don't jump into the play as much. I'm way smarter."

Sometimes she's almost too smart: She's been a regular victim of flopping over the years during any physical contact. Ruggiero bemoans the inconsistent officiating of their game, which doesn't allow bodychecking but is highly subjective in deciding what contact is allowed.

"Literally, I have players that will fall in front of me if I get near them, and I have to go to the box," Ruggiero said. "It's frustrating."

Ruggiero graduated cum laude from Harvard in 2004 and is five credits shy of a master's degree in sports management from the University of Minnesota, planning to complete it from wherever she moves after the Olympics.

"For a while, I was putting pressure on myself to figure it out, to have a deadline, but now I'm trying to enjoy it," Ruggiero said. "We're a bunch of amateurs playing because we love the sport."