Ryabkina Featured in Sports Illustrated’s Faced in the Crowd

Pictured: Joe Bertagna '73, Hockey East Commissioner, presents Liza Ryabkina with the Beanpot Most Valuable Player Award Feb. 9.
Photo courtesy: Kevin Burns Photography

Sports Illustrated's "Faced in the Crowd"

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. –Junior forward Liza Ryabkina of the fifth-ranked Harvard women’s hockey team is among six athletes across the country to be featured in the Feb. 22 edition of Sports Illustrated’s “Faces in the Crowd.”

Ryabkina, a native of Kharkiv, Ukraine, is a nominee for this season’s Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, given to the nation’s top collegiate women’s hockey player. She ranks second on Harvard with 11 goals and is third with 17 points this year. Ryabkina also ranks first on the Crimson and eighth in the nation with four game-winning goals to her credit.

Ryabkina was the unanimous selection as the Beanpot Most Valuable Player after scoring five goals in the tournament. She scored the game-winner in Harvard’s 1-0 win over Northeastern in the Beanpot championship game Feb. 9 and scored four times, including three in the third period alone, in the Crimson’s 5-0 victory against Boston College in the opening round Feb. 2.