Growing up in California, Angela Ruggiero had limited opportunities to play hockey. Moving to Michigan changed that, and as a result, Ruggiero had one of the most successful careers of all time.
"I grew up loving hockey and my family loves hockey," said Ruggiero, who was announced as a member of the 2015 United States Hockey Hall of Fame class Monday. "Fortunately, I found hockey at a very young age when I was 7 when there wasn't a lot of it in the state of California. … My family moved to Michigan in 1996 for my brother's hockey. My brother and I would train in the summertime. We'd go to different rinks, wherever we could find ice and join summer leagues. Because hockey was so popular in Detroit relative to California, I think I really benefitted."
Ruggiero, 35, was a key player on the United States women's team that won the gold medal at the 1998 Nagano Olympics. The defenseman was the youngest player on that team, at 18, a senior attending prep school in Connecticut.