During a collegiate season, athletes spend their bye week catching up on their studies and some much-needed rest to prepare themselves for the grueling schedule remaining. That is not the case for two Wisconsin women’s hockey players.
Senior forward Brianna Decker and junior goaltender Alex Rigsby will partake in an unique opportunity this week, as they represent team USA in Finland at the Four Nations Cup, an annual round-robin tournament featuring the United States, Canada, Finland and Sweden.
The competition will mark the first time Rigsby laces up for the U.S. Senior Women’s National Team.
“Putting that jersey on for the first time is going to be an amazing feeling,” said after Saturday’s victory against Minnesota State.
Decker, on the other hand, has been a veteran in this realm, as this will be her fourth time being a member of the squad.
“It’s always a honor to put [the team USA jersey] on,” she said after Saturday’s contest. “I think it’s an opportunity that you can’t take for granted and it’s going to be quite an experience.”
Decker and Rigsby are not the only Badgers skating in the Cup. They are joined by former standouts Meghan Duggan, Hilary Knight and Jessie Vetter on the U.S. squad, while former Badgers Meaghan Mikkelson and Bobbi-Jo Slusar will skate with Team Canada.
In the first game of the round robin against Sweden, Rigsby got the start in the net and could not have performed any better in her debut, recording a shutout against the Swedes, 4-0. Decker was the first Badger to get on the board in the tournament, scoring the final goal of the contest. Duggan recorded two shots in the game and Hilary Knight recorded five.
In the second game, the Americans squared off against a powerful Canadian team. The United States drew first blood, courtesy of former All-American Hilary Knight in the second period, to take a 1-0 lead. However, Canada’s defense rose to the occasion as the game wore on and Canada defeated the Americans, 3-1.
All four squads had Thursday off and will resume play Friday.
