[media-credit name=’Jen Small / The Badger Herald’ align=’alignnone’ width=’648′][/media-credit]

Trading in the cardinal and white for the opportunity to compete in red, white and blue, two members of the Wisconsin women’s hockey team helped earn Team USA a gold medal at the International Ice Hockey Federation’s World Championship April 9.

Senior forward Brianna Decker and junior goaltender Alex Rigsby traveled to Ottawa, Ontario, to play the world’s best and came home world champions after defeating the home-ice Canadian squad 3-2 in the final game.

“It was a really cool experience. I think that is the biggest thing to take from it … the team was awesome every practice. The team came to work and during the games it was the same thing,” Rigsby said. “The fact we were able to come together in such a short period of time was awesome.”

Showing no signs of slowing down after her collegiate career ended with Wisconsin failing to qualify for the NCAA tournament, Decker found a way to the back of the net in all of Team USA’s five games. Working in sync with forward Amanda Kessel – known to Badger fans as WCHA arch-rival Minnesota’s star player – Decker took advantage of a two-on-one midway through the second period of the championship game to put the United States on the board first.

She finished the tournament with six goals, tied for most of the tournament and atop the charts for the U.S., earning her a place on the media all-tournament team.

Beyond returning to UW with a gold medal around her neck, the highlight of time spent in The Great White North through Decker’s eyes was the game-winning goal by Kessel to seal the victory.

“I think when Amanda Kessel scored that game-winning goal at the end of the Canada game, I couldn’t have been more happy for her,” Decker said of the 2013 Patty Kazmaier Award Winner. “She has had a heck of a season and deserved that goal.”

Joining Decker and Rigsby were three former Badger teammates – forward Meghan Duggan (2011), forward Hilary Knight (2012) and goaltender Jessie Vetter (2009). While Decker had a chance to play with all three Badger alumni in her now-completed four years at UW, Rigsby entered her freshman season at UW the year following Vetter’s senior season.

Although Rigsby did not see ice time – dressing as the back-up for Vetter in three of the five games, including the gold-medal game – the first-time World Championship team member gained experience both on and off the ice, working with the player she stepped in to replace at Wisconsin three years ago.

“It’s fun being her partner because she is so chill and relaxed, and you can really see how the team looks up to her and plays hard for her in front of the net,” Rigsby said.

For the Badger players and the rest of Team USA, the road to becoming world champions was no easy task. Opening play against a Canadian squad backed by nearly all 11,174 fans, the United States fell 3-2 in a shootout loss after owning a 2-0 lead. Following the border rivalry, the U.S. completed the preliminary round with a 4-2 triumph over Finland and downed Switzerland 5-0 to earn a quarterfinal round bye. 

Facing Finland again in the semifinals, Decker led Team USA to a spot in the gold-medal game with two goals in the 3-0 shutout win.

With Canada as their final opponent, the intense rivalry between the two dominating countries in women’s hockey would again take center stage. The two nations have monopolized the champion’s title in all 16 years the tournament has been played, with the United States winning five of the last seven titles.

Decker and the team had a vivid recollection of the 2012 tournament in which the United States lost the championship game to Canada after beating them in the preliminary round.

The curse of the first-game victory proved itself again with the U.S. walking away with golden medallions.

“[Former Team USA member] Angela Ruggiero, in one of her interviews, said that the players change but the rivalry is always there, and it is a tough environment to play in when you are playing in Canada,” Decker said. “There were about 13,000 fans there cheering against us, but it’s kind of a motivation.”

The World Championship tournament also serves to prepare both Decker and Rigsby for the 2014 United States Olympic team tryouts that will take place in June. Neither player has competed in the prestigious sporting event before. For Decker it would be the next step in her post-UW hockey career, and for Rigsby it would entail leaving the Badgers for the 2013-2014 season – something Duggan, Knight and UW head coach Mark Johnson did in 2010. 

Both hope to put every athlete’s dream into reality and plan on using this recent success as a launching point towards tryouts.

“It just makes you want it that much more. You go to camp and go to worlds and see what it’s like and it is like you are one step closer,” Rigsby said. “Tryouts in June are going to be a big step, and I’m ready to go and start training for that and be as prepared as I can.”