Hagerman said she would be unable to watch the opening ceremonies live because of her team’s game at Dartmouth tonight, but she would probably watch it on tape.

Ruggiero is one of five players with Harvard ties that will be playing women’s hockey in the Olympics. A.J. Mleczko ’97-’99, the 1999 national college player of the year; Julie Chu ’06, who deferred Harvard admission a year to play in the Olympics; and Ruggiero will play for Team USA. Jennifer Botterill ’02-’03, the 2001 women’s hockey World Championship MVP; and Tammy Shewchuk ’00-’01, Harvard’s all-time leading scorer, will play for Team Canada.

“I couldn’t be prouder of those kids,” said Harvard Coach Katey Stone earlier this season. “The kids are great. They have worked so hard to get where they are and I have so much respect for them. And whether they’re wearing a Harvard jersey or they’re wearing a USA or Canada jersey they’re probably the hardest-working kids on the ice because they were here.”

The U.S. plays its first game on Feb. 12 versus Germany. Canada opens on Feb. 11 against Kazakhstan. It is expected that U.S. and Canada will meet in the gold medal game on Feb. 21.

In the meantime, Ruggiero will focus on the task at hand, carrying the flag for an event that will be watched by an estimated three billion people.

“This is something I know I’ll live with for the rest of my life,” Ruggiero said.

—The Associated Press contributed to the reporting of this story.

—Staff writer David R. De Remer can be reached at remer@fas.harvard.edu.