Before the start of the second period, a CSTV camera in the players’ entrance to the ice caught Sweet bouncing around, firing up her teammates in the walkway in a colorful display.
Though it wasn’t captured on camera, the Gophers felt a similar passion, and from start to finish in the third period Minnesota proved the worth of its No. 1 ranking.
What began as an epic bout between Rocky Balboa and Apollo Creed in the first two periods soon turned into Apollo vs. Drago in the third, and the Crimson was not playing the role of the Russian.
It all started with the goal that quite possibly wasn’t. The rest is history. Three more Minnesota goals later, Harvard finished runner-up for the second straight season.
One consolation for some Crimson fans might be the fact that on two days after the championship, Minnesota’s Natalie Darwitz and Lindsey Wendell joined Ruggiero and sophomore Julie Chu to practice for the U.S. National team in its run for the World Championships. Aside from the duo’s explosive offense that will add to the talent of USA Hockey, they conducted themselves in complete class-act fashion in the post-game press conference, offering opposing fans a reason to embrace them.
It’d be a lie to say that Minnesota wanted it more than Harvard. But on this particular Sunday the Gophers came through when it counted most. It wasn’t exactly what went wrong for the Crimson in the third so much as what went so right for Minnesota.
It may very well have been written in the stars. The hockey gods just didn’t have Harvard finishing on top; it was the year of the Gopher.
It’s a shame, too. This season’s Harvard team was fun to watch, not only because they won so often, or because of the blue-collar work ethic the team proudly displayed on the ice. The individual characters on the team gave this year’s Crimson a certain personality, a charm, if you will, that was built around getting along. It was the perfect formula for success. It carried Harvard to the finals. And it can be credited in large part to McAuliffe and Ruggiero.
No one could have taken the loss harder than the captains, and it spelt finality for their Crimson hockey playing careers.
It won’t be the same without seeing McAuliffe’s jersey flutter as she flies down the ice, nor will things seem right without watching Ruggiero take control of the puck in the defensive zone and take over the game as she skates to the other end. Nor will it be the same without having their jokes and antics in post-game interviews.
But for a brief moment in time, fans had a chance to watch them in Crimson jerseys. For now, their names are fresh on our minds and will continue to hold firm places in Harvard hockey’s history books. One only hopes they continue to play a role in women’s hockey in one capacity or another.
Maybe one day they will be additions to Harvard media guides as prominent Harvard alumni, and, who knows, they may one day be a part of something bigger than we can now imagine. Until then, “Farewell! be thy destinies onward and bright!”
—Staff writer John R. Hein can be reached at hein@fas.harvard.edu.