MADISON, Wis. — Alex Rigsby Cavallini has made her share of history on behalf of the Wisconsin women's hockey program, some of it obvious, some more obscure.

She's the winningest all-time goaltender with an even 100. She's also the only puck-stopper to be named captain.

Rigsby Cavallini owns school records for saves with 3,126, games played with 133, and minutes played with 7,881 minutes, 9 seconds. She's also the only true freshman to start in goal for the Badgers and win an NCAA championship.

Rigsby Cavallini is the first woman drafted by a U.S. Hockey League franchise in 2009, was a first-team All-American in 2014 and won an Olympic gold medal with Team USA in 2018. She's also a mom to 16-month-old Isabella, which puts all her hockey-playing feats in perspective.

"Being a mom is my proudest accomplishment,'' Rigsby Cavallini said. "She gives me my purpose every day.''



Rigsby Cavallini would still love to take a crack at playing the game she loves regardless of circumstances.

"It's a bummer that I'm not still playing hockey,'' she said, "but I absolutely wouldn't change anything about being a mom and have this little girl in our lives.

"I miss it. But, for the time being, I'm really happy being a mom.''

Rigsby Cavalleni married Aiden Cavallini, a former UW men's hockey player, and the couple currently resides in St. Louis, where she serves as an ambassador for the St. Louis Blues of the NHL, where she works with kids within the community and speaks at a variety of events.

"It gets me out of the house,'' she said.

UW women's coach Mark Johnson remembers getting a heads-up from Mark Greenhalgh, his long-time goaltending coach, regarding Rigsby Cavallini's talents. Johnson was especially intrigued by her time playing triple A hockey against boys' teams.

"She had great work habits,'' Johnson said. "She was mature coming in, probably more so than most kids we have come in.''

Of course, it helped that Rigsby Cavallini's freshman season coincided with the return of Johnson, who had taken a sabbatical to coach Team USA, and forwards Hilary Knight and Meghan Duggan from the silver-medal-winning U.S. squad at the 2010 Winter Olympics.

"We were very fortunate to have that leadership group my freshman year,'' Cavallini said.

"If I'm in net and those people are playing in front of me,'' Johnson said, "then I feel pretty good.''

Rigsby Cavallini was an assistant captain in 2012-13 and became the first UW goaltender to be named captain during the 2013-14 campaign.

"She's going to lead by example every single practice,'' said three-time U.S. Olympian Brianna Decker of her close friend.

"In the locker room from a vocal standpoint she wasn't afraid to stand up and say things just to get the team motivated and ready to go,'' Decker said of Rigsby Cavallini. "But, also, she was dialed in herself.

"You took responsibility when you're on the team to go and give your best effort because you knew she was doing that every night.''

Given all those credentials, it's no surprise then that Rigsby Cavallini is part of the 12-person class of inductees to the UW Athletic Hall of Fame.

BEST OF THREE

One: Childhood Friend in the Hall — It seems appropriate that Rigsby Cavallini is being inducted in the UW Hall of Fame a year after Decker, her childhood friend, the No. 2 all-time scorer in Wisconsin history and the Patty Kazmaier Award recipient in 2012.  

"I've grown up with Alex literally since we were 6 years old,'' Decker said. "She's a complete competitor. Anytime I had an opportunity to step on the ice with her, I knew our chances of winning went up a grand amount.''

Rigsby Cavallini and Decker were Wisconsin teammates in 2011 when the Badgers earned their fourth national title. They reprised those roles in 2018 when they helped the Americans knock off mega-rival Canada for the Olympic gold medal.

"Our parents carpooled all the time and our brothers played hockey together, too,'' Decker said. "Our families are well-rooted for sure.''

Two: Putting on the Pads
Decker was asked when she first got a hint that Rigsby Cavallini would be a quality goaltender.

"The day she started playing goalie,'' Decker said matter-of-factly. "I think we were squirts at the time.

"I played with her almost every other year because she was a year younger than me growing up, but then when I played Wisconsin triple A with her and the Madison Capitols – I think it was U14 or U12 – I'm like, 'Man, this girl is really good. We're going to play at Wisconsin one day and I can't wait for that.'''

Three: Hall of Fame Advice
Rigsby Cavallini referred to Decker as her "ultimate motivator,'' but she also looked up to fellow goaltender Jessie Vetter, who earned three NCAA title rings and the Patty Kazmaier Award in 2009 during her time with the Badgers from 2006 to '09. Vetter earned Olympic silver medals in 2010 and '14 and is an inducted into the UW Athletic Hall of Fame.

"I always looked up to her,'' Cavallini said. "I wanted to be like Vetter.''

Rigsby Cavallini said she got some sage advice from Vetter about enjoying the ride.

"Up to that point, my life had been hockey, hockey, hockey,'' Rigsby Cavallini said. "She was like, "You have to enjoy it, too.'''