Dartmouth Spotlight on Senior Captain Nicole Ruta

February 11, 2008

For senior captain Nicole Ruta, it is all about family and because of that family influence, Dartmouth College and the women's hockey team should in some way be thanking New England College.

Her brother, Paul, has played five years of hockey at New England College and just like his little sister is the team captain this year in his final season. She says that her brother being about 40 minutes away from Dartmouth influenced her decision to play for the Big Green.

“We are a close-knit family,” said Ruta, “and when I found out that he would be close to Hanover, that kind of influenced me to come to Dartmouth. With us both in New Hampshire our parents can come down and see us on one trip.”

A sense of family has been a huge aspect that has helped Ruta, not only in hockey, but getting her through the transitions of living in a new country and college life from living at home.

“The shift from Canada to the United States was hard at first,” said Ruta. “A lot of us had a hard time at first, but that year I felt we were all like a family and it has been like that ever since.”

“You are so close to everyone here that sometimes you don't even think about your family back home,” mentioned Ruta. “My parents came down a bunch of times, which is great, but it was hard to be homesick when I had something going on every minute.”

She definitely doesn't mind something going on all the time because that is the way she grew up. It first started in high school and has continued here at Dartmouth. Ruta was a multi-sport junkie in high school and unlike most scholar-athletes in the United States, played two or even three sports during the same season.

“I played pretty much any sport that my high school would offer,” said Ruta. “I participated on our tennis and badminton teams. I enjoy a lot of random sports, like cross country and track, and teams that would help me get through school.”

Here at Dartmouth, she enjoys wallyball with her teammates in the racquetball courts at the Berry Sports Center and sometimes ventures into the squash courts to play squash, which she did not try in high school.

Ruta, a Toronto native, began playing organized hockey at age nine, which she said was a little later than most in Canada. “I was involved in a lot of sports growing up and I really didn't start getting into hockey until a little later,” said Ruta.

She says it was her family that first got her interested in hockey. “My two older brothers both started skating and playing at age three,” said Ruta, “and my parents are really athletic and my father played hockey previously.”

In high school, Ruta was a two-year captain of her hockey team at St. Mary High School and was twice named athlete of the year. In addition to her high school career, she also played four years with the Toronto Aeros Intermediate team where she was an assistant captain for three seasons.

Ruta was recruited by many other schools in the Ivy League, including Princeton and Cornell, but Dartmouth had something that none of the others had that caught her eye. “For me, it was Dartmouth's small town atmosphere that drew me in,” said Ruta.

Since her first season for the Big Green, she has played 121 career games with 14 goals and 27 assists for 41 points. Ruta has been a member of some special teams in her three-plus seasons. She was a member of the 2005 Frozen Four team. Last season she was an assistant captain of the first team to win the ECACHL regular season championship, ECACHL tournament championship and Ivy League championship in same season since 2001-02.

This season she was chosen to be captain by her teammates, which means a lot to her. “It's an honor to be named captain by your teammates,” said Ruta. “For me, personally, it means more because I have been able to follow in the footsteps of many other great captains that have come through this school. I always looked up to the captains in the past and being able to share that with them is a great honor.”

Hockey isn't always the main focus for her. She enjoys hanging out with her teammates, but also likes to mingle with the Dartmouth crowd. “I love to hang out with my teammates and I try to meet people outside of hockey because there are a lot of interesting people here at Dartmouth,” said Ruta.

While with friends, Ruta says she loves to eat at Murphy's on the Green on Main Street in Hanover and likes a certain appetizer. “I love Murphy's nachos,” said Ruta. “They are a big plus on my list of favorite foods. I try not to go often, but they're great. Unfortunately, my roommates and I have had to back down from the nachos for a while.”

Ruta is a Toronto Maple Leafs fan and she tries to watch as many games as she can, but in Hanover the availability of Maple Leafs games and any NHL games other than the Bruins are scarce. If she does not get a pro game she tries to head south to catch a game at New England College.

“Watching hockey is very important to me.” said Ruta. ”Versus is not enough for me. A couple of our guy friends have the NHL package and we try to watch some games once in a while, but anytime I get the chance to go down and watch my brother, I do.”

She can't believe she is going to be graduating this year, but she couldn't have chosen a better place to further her career. When asked if she made the right choice in attending Dartmouth she said “100 percent.” And when she graduates she will be following in past player's footsteps. “I have talked to a lot girls after they left and they say that they bleed green,” said Ruta. “I think that I have already started bleeding green and I can't believe that I am going to be graduating this year because I could probably live here forever.”

The family influence has been a big part of Ruta's four-year career here for the Big Green and it will continue once she graduates. She is planning on taking the LSAT this spring and she would like to follow her oldest brother, Rocky, and begin her new career in Toronto.

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