A dislocated knee has kept junior Liza Ryabkina on the bench since September, but she returned Wednesay to score a game winner.

With minutes left in the third period on Wednesday night, Harvard women’s hockey and its Dartmouth opponent were deadlocked at two and overtime seemed imminent. That is, until junior forward Liza Ryabkina got involved.

In her first game since dislocating her knee in September, Ryabkina pounced on a rebound from freshman Josephine Pucci’s shot and forced it over the goal line, earning a victory for the Crimson. Ryabkina, coming off the bench, also had an assist in the game.

“When everyone jumped on me after I scored that goal, I don’t think I’ve ever been happier in my life,” she said.

After spending the whole summer in Cambridge working out and preparing for the season, Ryabkina suffered an awkward fall while taking some shots during an unofficial captain’s practice. That fall, which her coach Katey Stone described as a “freak accident,” kept Ryabkina out of action for eight weeks and rehabilitating her knee while teammates were practicing maneuvers.

“She’s always been a big contributor on the team and is definitely an offensive threat on the ice,” co-captain Kathryn Farni said. “When she got injured at the beginning of the season, it was tough for us, especially on such a small team.”

Ryabkina did her best to stay involved during her recovery.

“It was really hard, but I came to all the meetings, I came to all the video sessions, I communicated with my teammates about what was going on,” she said.

Her dedication meant that the coaching staff felt comfortable putting her into the game against Dartmouth, only two weeks after she was first able to lace up skates again.

“She’s certainly learned a lot from watching,” Stone said. “Fortunately, when you have an injury you can make the most of it by learning and seeing things in a different way.”

Despite all the preparation, Ryabkina didn’t get doctor’s clearance to play until the night before the game. The short notice—and long layoff—meant nerves were inevitable.

“I was a bit nervous, just because I haven’t played a game since last year,” she said. “I did get caught in situations where I shouldn’t have been, but my teammates were always there to cover for me because they knew I wasn’t 100 percent.”

100 percent or not, Ryabkina came out strong against Dartmouth.

“She was really excited to come out and play on Wednesday, and that showed on the ice,” Farni said. “She played awesome, and she has the points to show for it.”

Ryabkina’s first game back was a tough one. Harvard didn’t get its first shot on goal until 15 minutes in, and the Big Green matched the Crimson goal for goal in the early stages, leaving the score tied at one at the end of the first period and 2-2 at the end of the second.

“Dartmouth’s always a strong opponent,” Stone said. “We’ve had some tremendous games with them.”

“I guess we came out a little slower than we had hoped to,” Farni admitted. “But we figured out what the problem was and fixed it.”

The change was evident in the third period, when the Crimson outshot its opponents, 18-4.

In the end, it was Ryabkina who made the difference, slotting home the winner and improving the Crimson’s record to 6-3-1 (6-3 ECAC). Her third-period heroics were a repeat of last season’s first matchup with Dartmouth, when Ryabkina scored the late-game winner in a contest that also ended 3-2.

Though she’s no stranger to making game-winning shots, after nearly two months on the sidelines, Ryabkina has a renewed appreciation for her team.

“The biggest thing that I realize after being injured is how much the sport and the team matters and how little time you have to play your sport,” she said. “I think the main thing that we’re going to tackle this year is to have fun. If we have fun, work hard, and play together, we’re going to have a pretty good season.”