Alex Cavallini

Alexandria Cavallini[1] (née Rigsby born January 3, 1992)[2] is an American ice hockey goaltender, currently a member of the PWHPA.

Alex Cavallini
Alex Cavallini playing for Team USA in 2017
Born (1992-01-03) January 3, 1992
Delafield, Wisconsin, U.S.
Height 5 ft 7 in (170 cm)
Weight 154 lb (70 kg; 11 st 0 lb)
Position Goaltender
Catches Left
Played for Wisconsin Badgers
Minnesota Whitecaps
Calgary Inferno
National team  United States
Playing career 2010–present
Medal record
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place2018 PyeongchangTeam
Silver medal – second place2022 BeijingTeam
World Championships
Gold medal – first place2013 Canada
Gold medal – first place2015 Sweden
Gold medal – first place2016 Canada
Gold medal – first place2017 United States
Gold medal – first place2019 Finland
Silver medal – second place2021 Canada
World U18 Championships
Gold medal – first place2009 Germany

She has competed in numerous tournaments for the United States women's national ice hockey team. She is the first goaltender in USA Hockey history to have competed with the US National Under-18, Under-22, and Senior women's teams.[3] She competed for the Wisconsin Badgers women's ice hockey program 2010–2014,[4] and was on the roster of the Minnesota Whitecaps.[5] She is also the first American-born goaltender to have won an Olympic Gold Medal, an IIHF World Championship, and the Clarkson Cup, having played with the victorious Calgary Inferno in the 2019 Clarkson Cup Finals.

Playing career

Cavallini played boys hockey from age six, including AAA boys hockey from age 10. As a freshman in high school, she played for the Chicago Mission AAA Boys Bantam Majors. That team won state and regional championships and participated in the USA Hockey National Championships. In addition to hockey, Cavallini also played varsity girls lacrosse for Arrowhead Head School, in which she won two state titles in 2007 and 2008

Alex Cavallini became the first woman ever to be drafted in the United States Hockey League when she was selected in the 16th round, 199th overall by the Chicago Steel.[6] Of note, the Steel also drafted Jake Chelios, son of Red Wings defenceman Chris Chelios in the 4th round, 49th overall and David Bondra, son of sniper Peter Bondra in the 7th round, 82nd overall. Cavallini played the previous two seasons with the Milwaukee Admirals Midget Minor boys team.

NCAA

On December 10, 2010 Alex Cavallini earned her third collegiate shutout in a conference road victory at St. Cloud State. She improved her won-loss record to 11–1–0. At 11–1–0, Cavallini's .917 winning percentage tops the WCHA and is fourth in the nation. She also ranks third in the WCHA with a 1.86 goals-against average and is fifth in the league with a .919 save percentage.[7]

At the midway point of her rookie season, she played in 10 games with an 8–1–0 record. Statistically, she has made 194 total saves and allowed 18 goals for a .915 save percentage and a 1.93 goals against average. In her collegiate debut, she earned her first career shutout (a 6–0 win over RPI on October 2). On October 8, Cavallini earned her first WCHA victory with a 7–1 victory over Bemidji State. She made a season-high 37 saves in a 3–2 overtime win against Minnesota Duluth on November 26.

On January 28–29, 2011 she made a combined 50 saves and allowed three goals as the top-ranked Badgers earned a tie and victory against Minnesota. She made 23 saves on January 28 in a 2–2 overtime tie. The following day, she made 27 saves while earning her 17th victory of the season. The match was played before a women's college hockey record crowd of 10,668. Over the two-game period, she had a .943 saves percentage and had four shutout periods, including the one 5:00 overtime segment. She is now unbeaten in her last 11 games, and her .900 winning percentage leads the WCHA. Her 1.95 GAA is first in the WCHA.

In her first appearance in the NCAA Tournament on March 12, 2011, she made 29 saves against the defending NCAA champion Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs. With the victory, Cavallini improved her record to 25–1–2.[8]

She played in the 2011 NCAA Women's Division I Ice hockey Tournament championship game and made 15 saves to help the Badgers win their fourth Frozen Four title in six years. She finished her rookie season with a record of 27–1–1.[9]

She graduated from the Badgers as the program's all-time leader in wins with 100, minutes played with 7,881:09, and saves with 3,126. Her .941 save percentage is tied for first in program history. A 3–1 victory over Bemidji State helped Cavallini surpass Jessie Vetter for the Badgers mark in career wins.

Team USA

She participated in the 2009 IIHF Under 18 Women's World Championship and won a gold medal. Statistically, she had a .947 saves percentage with a 1.28 goals against average. In addition, she participated in the 2008 and 2009 USA Hockey Women's National Festival. From 2006 to 2009, she participated in USA Hockey National Development Camps.

On January 2, 2022, Cavallini was named to Team USA's roster to represent the United States at the 2022 Winter Olympics.[10]

CWHL

Claimed by the Calgary Inferno in the fourth round of the 2018 CWHL Draft, Cavallini became their starting goaltender for the 2018–19 season. In her first season of professional hockey, she earned All-Star recognition, playing with Emerance Maschmeyer for Team Purple in the 4th Canadian Women's Hockey League All-Star Game. Coincidentally, the two played against each other in the 2019 Clarkson Cup Finals, with Maschmeyer starting for Montreal. Of note, Calgary emerged victorious, defeating Maschmeyer and Montreal by a 5–2 count.

PWHPA

Skating for Team New Hampshire during the 2020–21 PWHPA season, Decker participated in a PWHPA Dream Gap Tour event at New York's Madison Square Garden on February 28, 2021, the first women's ice hockey event at the venue.[11] Playing for a team sponsored by the Women's Sports Foundation, Cavallini stopped 32 of 35 shots in a 4-3 win.[12]

Personal life

In July 2019, she married her longtime boyfriend, Aidan Cavallini, who played hockey at the University of Wisconsin. Her father-in-law is Gino Cavallini, who played 593 NHL games.

Awards and honors
  • Directorate Award, Best Goaltender, 2009 IIHF Under 18 Women's World Championships
  • Directorate Award, Best Goaltender, 2010 IIHF Under 18 Women's World Championships[13]
  • Runner-up: 2010 WCHA Pre-Season Rookie of the Year[14]
  • WCHA Defensive Player of the Week (Week of December 15, 2010)[7]
  • WCHA Rookie of the Week (Week of February 2, 2011)[15]
  • 2011 NCAA Frozen Four All-Tournament Team[9]
  • WCHA Defensive Player of the Week, (Week of October 18, 2011)[16]
  • WCHA Defensive Player of the Week (Week of October 25, 2011)[17]
  • WCHA Defensive Player of the Week (Week of February 1, 2012)[18]
  • 2012–13 Second Team All-America selection[19]
  • 2014 Wisconsin Badgers Female Athlete of the Year[20]
  • 2014 AHCA first-team All-American
  • 2014 WCHA Scholar-Athlete
  • 2014 All-WCHA Academic team
  • 2014 first-team All-WCHA
  • 2014 All-USCHO first team.

References
  1. "Alex Cavallini".
  2. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on April 14, 2010. Retrieved October 29, 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. "American goaltender Alex Rigsby first to play at U18, U22 and senior levels". hockeycanada.ca.
  4. "Women's". Team USA Hockey.
  5. "Whitecaps – 2015–16 Regular Season – Roster". mnwhitecaps.com.
  6. "USHL Entry Draft Results". ushr.com. May 13, 2009. Retrieved May 25, 2021.
  7. "WCHA.com – WCHA Press Releases". wcha.com. Archived from the original on August 11, 2011. Retrieved October 29, 2011.
  8. "Wisconsin tops UMD 2-1 to advance to fifth Frozen Four - UWBadgers.com - the Official Web Site of the Wisconsin Badgers Athletics". Archived from the original on June 28, 2011. Retrieved October 29, 2011.
  9. "Archived item". Archived from the original on June 9, 2012. Retrieved March 20, 2011.
  10. "U.S. women with 13 returnees". International Ice Hockey Federation. January 2, 2022. Archived from the original on January 17, 2022. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  11. Analis Bailey (February 28, 2021). "PWHPA Dream Gap Tour hits Madison Square Garden ice for historic women's game". USA Today. Archived from the original on March 2, 2021. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
  12. "2021 Secret Dream Gap Tour recap: New York City". SB Nation. March 1, 2021. Archived from the original on September 16, 2021. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
  13. "Hockey Canada - IIHF DIRECTORATE AWARDS AND MOST VALUABLE PLAYER - IIHF WORLD WOMen's UNDER-18 CHAMPIONSHIP". www.hockeycanada.ca. Archived from the original on July 6, 2011.
  14. "WCHA.com – WCHA Press Releases". wcha.com. Archived from the original on November 30, 2010. Retrieved October 29, 2011.
  15. "WCHA.com – WCHA Press Releases". wcha.com. Archived from the original on August 11, 2011. Retrieved October 29, 2011.
  16. "WCHA.com – WCHA Press Releases". wcha.com. Archived from the original on June 11, 2012. Retrieved October 29, 2011.
  17. Archived copy Archived June 11, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  18. Archived copy Archived October 12, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
  19. "AHCA News – American Hockey Coaches Association". ahcahockey.com. Archived from the original on December 23, 2017. Retrieved March 28, 2013.
  20. "Lihrman, Rigsby named UW's Athletes of the Year - UWBadgers.com - the Official Athletic Site of the Wisconsin Badgers". Archived from the original on July 23, 2014. Retrieved June 23, 2014.
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