Ten minutes after the conclusion of Friday night’s showdown between the Harvard women’s hockey team and St. Lawrence, Crimson coach Katey Stone stood gripping a cup of blue Powerade and grinning like a proud parent.

“That’s why she’s the best,” Stone said.

She summed up what was on everyone’s mind as every pair of eyes in Bright Hockey Center watched Crimson skaters pile on top of Angela Ruggiero after she scored the game-winning goal in overtime, giving No. 2 Harvard a dramatic 3-2 victory over No. 4 St. Lawrence.

In what turned out to be an epic battle between the Crimson and the Saints, Ruggiero rose to the occasion and became the game’s hero when she put a wrister past St. Lawrence goalie Rachel Barrie at 2:10 in overtime.

What’s more, Ruggiero wasn’t playing completely healthy.

“She didn’t feel great today—she’s a little sick, banged up, under the weather,” Stone said.

“Great players find a way to get it done.”

That’s exactly what she did Friday night. Her presence was felt on the ice and showed on paper. Along with sophomores Julie Chu and Jennifer Raimondi, Ruggiero was on the ice for all three Harvard goals scored and had a hand in two.

“That’s what great players can do—I the think the other kids on that team elevate their play. When you’re out there with a Ruggiero or Chu…it makes you play better,” said Saints coach Paul Flanagan.

“[Raimondi’s] been stepping up these past couple of weeks and really putting the puck away for us. That’s the key—having her be a threat also,” said Chu.

The winning sequence started on a face-off on the left side of St. Lawrence’s own zone. Chu squared off against he Saints’ Gina Kingsbury.

“The play was for [Chu] to win it back, so I was sort of cheating in a little bit,” Ruggiero said.

But after the puck was dropped, no one immediately gained possession.

“[The puck] just kind of sat there a little bit. Then Katie Johnston knocked it back towards the goal,” Chu said. “Whoever was supposed to play [Ruggiero] had kind of gone out [of the play] and she crept in.”

Without any defenders in her path, Ruggiero made her move towards the puck.