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42 // VARSITY February 13, 2014 T he winningest goaltender in the history of the Wisconsin women's hockey program had a unique defining moment as a freshman. Alex Rigsby was removed from a game by coach Mark Johnson. "I totally deserved to be pulled," recalled Rigsby, who gave up three goals on 10 shots in the first pe- riod before getting the hook. "He made the right call, that's for sure." In her defense, she was making the first road ap- pearance of her UW career at Ridder Arena in Min- neapolis against a Minne- sota team that included Amanda Kessel, a budding star back then. Refusing to make any excuses, Rigsby said, "I didn't make the saves I needed. I caught an edge and they scored off that (on one goal). When I came out, I thought, 'I can do so much better than this."' The No. 1-ranked Bad- gers lost, 7-5; their first defeat in nine games at the start of the 2010-11 season. In retrospect, Johnson lamented, "I should have put her back in at the start of the third period." But he didn't. The fol- lowing morning, he did get back on the ice with Rigsby and spent about 20 minutes shooting pucks at her from different angles. "I was just getting her refocused," he explained. The tutoring session paid immediate dividends. Rigsby bounced back, defining her, to toss a 5-0 shutout against the Gophers. She had 25 saves, Hil- ary Knight had two goals and Meghan Duggan had three points. It was a turning point in Rigsby's career. Not that anyone knew at the time, including Johnson, that she would go on to break Jessie Vetter's record and be- come the school leader in wins (96). "I don't think any of us were going to dream then that it might happen," Johnson said. "But she has had some good teams in front of her and she has pre- pared herself. She's very competitive and focused. She came into our program trying to fill some big shoes and she has done a great job." On Friday night, Rigsby will be one of six seniors recognized before the series opener against Minne- sota at LaBahn Arena. Eight months ago, she fully expected to be spending this weekend in Sochi, Rus- sia, with Knight, Duggan, Vetter and Brianna Decker, another former Badgers teammate. But she was forced to refocus again after get- ting cut in late June from the U.S. Olympic team. Vetter, who led the Ameri- cans to the silver medal at the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver, was a lock. Head coach Katey Stone named Molly Schaus and Brianne McLaughlin as the backups. After all the players gath- ered in a room, Stone an- nounced the roster in al- phabetical order. "As soon as I heard McLaughlin, I knew I wasn't on the team," Rigsby said. "When I came out of the room, I saw Brian- na (Decker) and she was cry- ing and I gave her a hug, and I was crying. It was tough. "It's the game of hockey, it's what happens," she ratio- nalized this week. "Even with some of the girls who made the team, some of their best friends were getting cut as well. The toughest thing for me was never ever hearing why I got cut. I was never given a reason. "So, yes, it was definitely a disappointment. I worked so hard to get to the point where I was. I went to the trials with the mentality, 'I'm going to do everything I can to not get cut and prove to them that I should be on this team' and I did just that. I had a great tryout and then I got cut." It was not the first time that she had to refocus after getting cut. JANA CHYTILOVA