“That was just for fun,” Ruddock said. “I like to entertain the crowd.”

In a 2-1 win over Providence this December, Ruddock inadvertently directed a soft puck, cleared softly on net, behind herself. The game would have been tied had she not dived back on top of it.

“I tried to do two things at once, stop the puck and pass it, and I deflected it,” Ruddock said. “But I thought it was the save of the game—saving my own shot.”

Everything They Needed

As much as opponents would like to label Ruddock a weak link, her teammates feel her clutch play helped the Crimson reach and maintain its No. 1 ranking.

In the one game this season where Harvard has been outshot—a 2-1 win over two-time defending champion Minnesota-Duluth—Ruddock stopped 28 of 29 shots, including multiple breakaways.

“She came up huge in key situations,” said captain Angela Ruggiero. “She earned us our ‘W.’”

Harvard first earned its No. 1 ranking following a 3-2 win over Brown in December. The highlight of the game was when she stopped a half-ice breakaway from Brown captain Kim Insalaco.

“That was a pivotal point of the game for us,” Stone said.

During Harvard’s 27-game unbeaten streak, the only blemish came in a 3-3 tie at St. Lawrence in February. Ruddock stopped several 2-on-1’s in that game, including one with only a few seconds left.

“From my perspective, there’s no choice in a game that close,” Ruddock said. “You have to make that save.”

For much of the season, Ruddock has been untested. The Crimson has played great defense all over the ice, which can make it hard to focus. Harvard’s 9-2 win over Dartmouth in November was typical of much of the season. The Crimson allowed just nine shots on net. Both of the goals Ruddock allowed came on breakaways.

“We don’t have to rely on our goaltending as much as we have in the past, which is great,” Stone said.

When Harvard did need a boost in the net in the Duluth and Brown victories or the St. Lawrence tie, Ruddock did come through, causing Stone to say prior to the ECAC final that Ruddock had done everything they needed of her this season.

Seventh Hades