Though co-captain Angela Ruggiero anchors the Harvard women’s hockey team’s game every time she takes the ice, Friday night with just a single shot she demonstrated why she’s also the wind behind the Crimson’s sails.

After a number of slap shots late in the game were snuffed by incredible save after incredible save by St. Lawrence goalie Rachel Barrie, Ruggiero finally put one through at 2:10 in overtime to give Harvard a dramatic 3-2 victory.

“We definitely expected a battle today,” Ruggiero said. “I don’t know [if we expected] an epic battle like this going into overtime, but a battle.”

Although it might not have seemed quite as good a scoring chance as a number of third-period and overtime breakaways, Ruggiero got it done in the clutch.

With just under three minutes left before the end of regulation, Ruggiero received the puck from freshman forward Katie Johnston in the right circle and after one fake, wristed it in for the game-winning score.

“I didn’t see if it went in,” sophomore forward Julie Chu said. “I just heard the post, and then everyone in back was [jumping up and screaming].”

The offensive surge late in the game was reminiscent of the Crimson’s earlier season battles against Dartmouth. In this game, unlike in the contest against Big Green goalie Christine Capuano, Barrie could not quite stop everything down the game’s stretch.

“We got tired in the third period, seemed like we were worn down,” Saints coach Paul Flanagan said. “The back-to-back penalty kills there tired us out, and then we went right back to penalty killers on the powerplay, and I think that tired out [Gina] Kingsbury and [Rebecca] Russell because they were killing and then right back up on the powerplay.”

Despite Harvard’s offensive dominance in the final two frames, the Crimson was playing catch-up for a bit, throwing the puck at the net every one of the few chances it had in the first period of play.

Ruggiero changed all that. After intercepting a pass in Harvard’s defensive zone, Ruggiero sent the puck airborne, flipping it forward in the air and down ice where Chu was skating towards the Saints’ zone.

“I’ve tried it a few times in practice, just playing around,” Ruggiero said. “It was sort of like a [punter], they kick it, and its in the air, and it gives your forwards time to get up in the play and the defensemen have to stand there waiting for it.”

When the puck hit the ice, Chu picked it up and pushed it forward with a two-on-one advantage with fellow second-year Jennifer Raimondi on the fast break.

“I have to be honest, I was thinking, ‘I’m going to get rocked here,’” Chu said. “If I keep watching it too far up, it blinds everything out. I’m not very good at that. I just close my eyes and hope it falls close by.”

After skating out to the left side in order to draw the defender, Chu sent the puck across to a wide open Raimondi, who shot it top shelf past Barrie with 35 seconds left in the opening period.

At 5:08 in the second period, following the second unassisted St. Lawrence goal—this time by its leading scorer Kingsbury—the Crimson was once again down a goal and still struggling to build much offensive pressure.