EDMONTON -- Fresh off her second Olympic gold medal and a practice with the NHLs Edmonton Oilers, goaltender Shannon Szabados will join the Columbus Cottonmouths of the Southern Professional Hockey League next week. cheap jerseys from china . The Cottonmouths announced Friday the team intended to sign the Edmonton goalie. Szabados would be the first female to play in the 10-team SPHL since its formation 10 years ago, the team said. Its been an eventful two weeks for Szabados, who backstopped the Canadian womens hockey team to Olympic gold Feb. 20 in Sochi. "When I got home from Sochi, I thought Id be hanging my stuff up for the summer, but definitely excited to get over there," Szabados told The Canadian Press. "Theres three guys that I played college with that play on this team in Columbus and theyve been bugging me for a couple of years to go there." "I had never talked to their head coach and he called me yesterday. Honestly, I thought he was calling to ask me if I would want to go there next year. It happened a little fast, but Im excited." Szabados made 27 saves in Canadas 3-2 thrilling overtime win over the U.S. to defend the gold in Sochi. She posted a 28-save shutout over the Americans in the womens Olympic hockey final in 2010. But the 27-year-old has spent the majority of her hockey career in mens leagues. She played for Sherwood Park, Bonneyville and Fort Saskatchewan during her four years in the Alberta Junior Hockey League. Szabados was named the AJHLs top goaltender in 2006-07 after helping Fort Saskatchewan to a league-best record of 45-11-0-4. She then spent five years in Alberta mens college hockey with Grant MacEwen and then NAIT. She set a league record in 2012-13 for the lowest goals-against average (1.58) and her NAIT Ooks won their first championship in 16 years. Szabados stopped 30 of 31 shots in the final game. Cottonmouths captain Kyle Johnson, forward Jordan Draper and defenceman Andy Willigar are her former NAIT teammates. She suspects they paved her road to her first pro tryout. "Probably the guys had a lot to do with it," Szabados said. "It probably made the coach feel a little more at ease with the situation." Szabados will head to Columbus on Wednesday and will be introduced at a news conference the following day prior to a game at home against the Pensacola Ice Flyers. Winnipegs Andrew Loewen is the starting goaltender for the Cottonmouths "I am very excited to get a world-class athlete that has competed and has faced, high-pressured situations," Cottonmouths head coach Jerome Bechard said in a statement. "She won a championship with NAIT last year alongside Andy Willigar and Jordan Draper so I know she can compete at this level," Bechard said. "We are working on her immigration, and we are looking to sign her officially Thursday, where she will be backing up Loewen. "She will play when she feels comfortable and situated." The Cottonmouths are 23-22-3 and rank seventh in the league. Szabados participated in an Edmonton Oilers practice Wednesday. The Oilers were short a goalie on trade deadline day awaiting the arrival of Viktor Fasth from Anaheim. Szabados is grateful for that practice now because its the only time shes been on the ice since winning Olympic gold Feb. 20. "I havent been in the gym, I havent been on the ice, I havent been sleeping well," Szabados confessed. "Its been a whirlwind. I told (the coach) Im not going to rush into anything. If I dont feel comfortable I might not even play at all this year. "I want to go there and get on the ice and see how I feel. I still have to unpack from Sochi and pack for this. Im not too worried. Its only been two weeks." No woman has ever played in an NHL regular-season game. Goaltender Manon Rheaume became the first to play in an exhibition game with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 1992. Canadian womens star Hayley Wickenheiser has played as a forward in mens leagues in Finland and Sweden. The SPHL also includes the Bloomington Thunder, Fayetteville FireAntz, Huntsville Havoc, Knoxville IceBears, Louisiana IceGators, Mississippi RiverKings, Mississippi Surge and Peoria Rivermen. Szabados is accustomed to joining male teams. She believes her former Ook teammates will help her settle into the Cottonmouths locker room. "With having those three guys that Ive played with and since this has happened, at least a handful have tweeted at me and reached out to me," she said. "The older Ive gotten, the easier the transition has been to a new team. Im honestly not worried at all. They seem like a good group of guys." cheap jerseys . -- The new starting quarterback of the Kansas City Chiefs is a former first-round draft pick on a one-year deal whose career thus far has been a disappointment. wholesale jerseys .com) - There was clearly no looking ahead for the U.DUNEDIN, Florida – Brandon Morrow arrived to camp healthy and with a noticeably heavier upper body, but when pressed to reflect upon a miserable 2013 season, he lightened his load by getting some pent-up emotions off his chest. "Really, we pitched like garbage," said Morrow. "Starting pitchers were awful the first month, myself included. None of us were pitching like we wanted to, whether it was just bad luck we were going through at that time or just putting pressure on ourselves." Manager John Gibbons and pitching coach Pete Walker are counting on this year to be different. The club needs R.A. Dickey and Mark Buehrle to pitch like they did post-All Star Break. J.A. Happ appears a favourite to secure either the fourth or fifth starters spot and must be more consistent. Theres a void at the back end of the rotation which will be sorted out this spring. Morrow is a lock, provided he doesnt get hurt. Staying healthy would mean bucking a troubling trend of the last two seasons. After making 30 starts and throwing almost 180 innings in 2011, arguably his best as a starter in the big leagues, Morrows been limited to just 31 starts over the last two seasons. A strained oblique cost him almost three months in 2012; an entrapped nerve in Morrows pitching forearm ultimately shut him down at the end of May last year. Coaches and players alike lamented Morrows latest injury, feeling bad for a fallen comrade but also disappointed because they viewed the flamethrower as the backbone of the rotation. In fact, last September, Mark DeRosa opined that losing Morrow "killed us." There are questions Morrow, who turns 30 on July 26, can answer only with time. Can he pitch 180 innings? How about 200? While pitchers dont enjoy sole control over their win totals, can Morrow pitch effectively, deep enough into games to blow past his single-season career-high win total of 11? "Theres no question, its important," said Walker of Morrow pitching healthy and pitching well. "Hes definitely someone were counting on to give us quality innings, to give us a good opportunity to win ball games. We need him out there every fifth day. We want him to be a workhorse for us. Thats what we envision for the season." Pitchers completed their medicals on Sundayy and Morrow weighed in at 219 pounds, a full 30 pounds heavier than a year ago. cheap nfl jerseys. The change is noticeable. His shoulders are broader. His chest is bigger. "He looks like hes supposed to look," said Gibbons. "Last year, he didnt look like that. He looks like a good, strong, durable pitcher. But the fact that hes out there and he feels good is big for us." Filling out the Rotation As of today, Dickey, Morrow and Buehrle are the Jays top three starters. Working off the assumption that Happ also has a spot, as many as seven pitchers will battle for the fifth job. They are Esmil Rogers, Todd Redmond, Drew Hutchison, Sean Nolin, Marcus Stroman, Kyle Drabek and Ricky Romero. "Somebody is going to rise to the top and somebody is going to, obviously, pitch well enough to take that (spot,)" said Morrow. "Theres like eight guys vying for that position and I couldnt tell you who its going to be but I know all the guys are capable of stepping into that spot." While they both admit there are favourites, Gibbons and Walker wont say who has the inside track. Rogers and Redmond each enjoyed periodic success in the rotation last summer, filling in when the likes of Morrow, Johnson and Happ were hurt. Kratz Catches Dickey Catcher Erik Kratz, acquired in the deal that sent reliever Brad Lincoln to the Phillies, is back with the organization that drafted him. He caught R.A. Dickeys bullpen session on Monday and with the coaching staff leaning against having Dioner Navarro catch Dickeys knuckleball, the honour will go to the man who wins the second catchers job. "Its really all about the reps," said Kratz. "If you step in and catch him perfectly right off the bat, youre probably not trying that hard. Thats really, for me, just a matter of not pushing it too much, not trying to be too perfect. Just trying to sit and wait for it to come to me." Kratz travelled to Nashville during the offseason and spent about a week with Dickey, catching a couple of bullpen sessions. Kratz, 33, is a 64", 255-pound, righthanded hitting catcher. The Jays selected Kratz in the 29th round of the 2002 draft. He made his major league debut with the Pirates in 2010 before moving on to Philadelphia. cheap jerseys cheap jerseys from china ' ' '
