BREAKING THE ICE; RUGGIERO, 18, YOUNGEST ON FIRST WOMEN'S TEAM.

Byline: Jarre Fees Daily News Staff Writer

Angela Ruggiero will take you down to the rink.

If you try to score against her team, she'll take you down to the ice.

And if you grab her hockey stick and hold on tight, she'll take you all the way to Nagano.

Ruggiero, a defenseman who turned 18 on Jan. 3, is the youngest member of the first U.S. women's Olympic ice hockey team, and the youngest woman to play on the U.S. women's national team, making her debut in 1996 at the age of 15. She was born and reared in Simi Valley, skating wherever she found a rink and whenever she found a team.

``When I first started, there were hardly any teams,'' Ruggiero said this week from Team USA headquarters in Colorado Springs, Colo. ``But then (Wayne) Gretzky came (to the Kings) and teams started cropping up everywhere.''

Ruggiero played on boys' teams until she was 13 because there were no girls' teams. She played full body contact because she had to survive.

``She was pretty tough,'' said Scott Plummer, her coach from Squirt to Bantam hockey, ages 10-14. ``She was the only girl I coached, and she was one of our top players.''

Women have been playing hockey since 1890, when Lord Stanley's daughter was photographed playing at Rideau Hall in Ottawa, Ontario. Lord Stanley gave hockey the Cup that bears his name, but it was another 100 years before the International Ice Hockey Federation would establish a women's world championship.

This year, women's ice hockey becomes a full-medal sport for the first time in Olympic history, showcasing teams from the U.S., Canada, Finland, China, Sweden and host nation Japan beginning on Feb. 5. The U.S. team includes Ruggiero, goaltender Erin Whitten - who was the first woman to record a win in a professional men's league, posting a 6-5 victory with the East Coast Hockey League's Toledo Storm on Oct. 30, 1993 - and forward Cammi Granato, sister of former King Tony Granato, who is widely considered one of the top female players in the world.

At 5-foot-9 and 175 pounds, Ruggiero (pronounced Roo-JEER-oh) is bigger than most female Olympic hockey players. Ben Smith, head coach of the U.S. women's national and Olympic teams, says her size is an asset but it's her ability that matters.

``She's such a skilled athlete,'' Smith said. ``She's trying to play a more defensive game. When she provides scoring it's a nice addition, but her value to the team is her ability to control play in our end of the ice. She's such an intuitive, smart player, wise beyond her years.''

Team USA has been carrying seven defensemen, although only six are dressed for games. Is Ruggiero the odd man out?

``Never,'' said Smith. ``We just cut one defenseman, so we're down to six. She was never the odd man out. She's definitely the odd man in.''

Ruggiero, alias the Terminator (her nickname from Bantam hockey), began playing at age 7 when her dad, who grew up playing goaltender in Connecticut, took her younger brother to enroll in a Pasadena league. The registrar said there would be a discount if he signed up more than one child. The larger the family, the larger the discount.

Bill Ruggiero enrolled his son and both of his daughters.

``When I first stepped out on the ice, I started to cry,'' said Ruggiero. ``Then somebody told me to hold onto the boards and push my feet forward, and by the time I left (practice) I knew how to skate.''

When her parents moved from Simi Valley to Harrison Township, Mich., in 1994, Ruggiero enrolled at Choate Rosemary Hall, a private college preparatory in Wallingford, Conn. That year, as the only freshman on the varsity team, she established the school record for assists (30) and was selected team co-MVP. The following year, she set single-season school records for goals (42) and points (63) and was named to the New England Prep All-Scholastic League All-Star team. She served as class president for three years at Choate and also played soccer, track and lacrosse.

Kristin Moomaw Harder, head girls' hockey coach at Choate, says Ruggiero is ``a top-notch athlete, most effective scoring goals between the blue line and the top of the circle. She still holds the scoring record at Choate and she's a good student with good leadership skills. She's very highly regarded by the faculty and students here, and has had to carry a lot of responsibility as a high school student.''

She is well enough regarded that the faculty at Choate is sending Harder to Nagano.

``I'm not coaching her,'' Harder said. ``I'm going strictly for moral support.''

Harder will be joined by Ruggiero's parents, Bill and Karen, who have raised money in Michigan to cover their expenses.

In the six years since women began competing internationally, Canada has placed first in all international competitions, with the U.S. finishing second, followed by Finland.

``You can't assume it'll be the U.S. and Canada in the final round,'' said Smith. ``Finland has a strong team. We can't assume anything.''

Ruggiero is excited about the Olympics but not nervous about the change of scenery. She's already been to China and Finland with the U.S. women's national team in January 1997.

``We were just south of Siberia,'' she said. ``We had to wear surgical masks, the air was so bad. And the water came out brown. Olympic Village will be fine after that.''

Supremely confident and more polite than her nickname suggests, Ruggiero is now in her senior year at Choate. She has met most of her graduation requirements and will finish the last few courses this spring. She is looking at three Ivy League schools (Brown, Dartmouth and Harvard) and the University of Minnesota, which offers hockey scholarships for women.

She once felt she might want to play professional hockey. There are women's leagues in Europe, but none yet in the U.S.

``I haven't looked that far ahead. I'll probably graduate (from college) five years down the line. And in four years I'll be doing this same thing,'' Ruggiero said, ``playing in the (2002) Olympics.''

RUGGIERO PROFILE

Name: Angela Ruggiero

Height: 5-9

Weight: 175

Position: Defenseman, U.S. Women's National Olympic Team

Born: Jan. 3, 1980, Simi Valley

Home: Harrison Township, Mich.

Shoots: Right

Event: Women's Ice Hockey

Family: Parents Bill and Karen, sister Pam, brother Billy.

U.S. National Team Stats: Two years, 10 games, 2 goals, 2 assists.

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos, Box

PHOTO (1--2--Color) Angela Ruggiero, who was born in Simi Valley, is preparing to play on the first U.S. women's Olympic ice hockey team in February.

Daily News File Photo

BOX: RUGGIERO PROFILE (see text)