The 2022 Winter Olympics was stacked current and future University of Wisconsin women’s hockey players.
Alex (Rigsby) Cavallini, Brianna Decker, Caroline Harvey, Hilary Knight and Abby Roque all played for Team USA in the Olympics in February. Team USA entered the 2022 games as the defending champions, but took silver to Canada in a 3–2 final game.
Alex (Rigsby) Cavallini
Cavallini, the only goalkeeper to be named captain in school history, still holds the school record for career saves. She graduated from UW-Madison in 2014.
For Cavallini, the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics marked her second time on the U.S. Olympic team, as she was part of the gold champion team in 2018. But this time around, she almost didn’t play.
“I actually tore my MCL (in mid-January) and didn’t even know if I was going to make it on the flight here,” Cavallini told KSBY news.
But Cavallini persevered. She made it to the Olympics and played often in the games. Cavallini, one of three goalkeepers on the team, started four games and left with a 0.923 save percentage, according to KSBY news.
Decker
Brianna Decker was also a returning Olympian. In 2014, she won silver Team USA, then gold in 2018. She graduated the University of Wisconsin in 2013 and now competes with the Professional Women’s Hockey Association.
Decker was the associate captain for the Olympic team, but left the Olympics entirely during a preliminary match against Finland, according to a report from ESPN. Her departure was caused by an injury, where her leg was caught under a Finland defender. Decker had to leave the ice on a stretcher. USA still won that game, but Decker didn’t get to finish.
Instead, Roque stepped in for her.
Abby Roque
Roque’s 170 career points put her in the top 10 in Badgers history for points. She graduated from UW in 2020. That year, she was the United States College Hockey Online and USA Hockey Bob Allen Player of the Year.
The 2022 Olympics had several firsts for Roque. It was her first time in the Olympics, and she was the first indigenous player on the USA women’s hockey team.
Harvey was supposed to join the Badgers in 2021, but waited until fall 2022 so she could compete in the Olympics. She was the youngest member of Team USA that year. Plus, she was the youngest person at the 2020 USA Hockey evaluation camp.
Harvey had significant hockey experience before the Olympics, according to USA Hockey. She played in two International Ice Hockey Federation Women’s World Championships in 2021 and 2022. She also was in two Under-18 Women’s World Championships, winning gold in 2020.
Harvey scored second highest out of all the defenders on the team.
Hilary Knight
Knight entered the Olympics for the fourth time in 2022, holding two silver medals and one gold. She graduated from UW in 2012, with two national titles during her time here. Knight also has seven gold medals from IIHF Women’s Hockey Championships, according to NBC sports.
Knight played excellently in the Olympics, scoring six goals and four assists. She had the most points of anyone on the team, according to The Hockey Writers. Knight holds many records at the Olympics. She is tied for most Olympic appearances and tied for most Olympic games for American women. Her scoring total of 27 puts her in second place for most points.
