"My heart jumps when someone from the third line scores a goal," Ruddock said. "It's those little things that get me fired up."
The Crimson players have remained tight throughout the season, despite the wide range of talents on the team.
"No one gets to see how close-knit this team is," Ruddock said. "It's the most incredible experience. I've never been on a team where everyone is so supportive."
As the season has progressed, Ruddock has earned the respect of her teammates as she climbed into the role of starting goaltender and emerged as one of the nation's top freshman goaltenders.
"She has greatly improved over the season," Suurkask said.
In this weekend's Frozen Four at Minneapolis, the Crimson will be facing tough competition including No. 2 Minnesota-Duluth, who swept Harvard in December, and potentially Dartmouth, who has beaten the Crimson in five of their last six meetings. Despite this, Ruddock enters the Frozen Four with high expectations for Harvard..
"The team dynamic could be no better," Ruddock said. "That's why we've been successful in the past and why we will be successful this weekend."