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 . 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 Free Shipping . Bernier left Thursday nights game against the Kings with a lower-body injury and was replaced by James Reimer, who stopped every shot he faced to pick up the victory. Cheap Jerseys Authentic . Canucks assistant coach Mike Sullivan confirmed that Sedin will sit the game out and is considered day-to-day. The team packed for their flight to Edmonton on Monday but Sedins gear was left behind. WASHINGTON -- The 2018 Super Bowl could be headed back to a recent host city. Or to one that hasnt staged the game in more than two decades. New Orleans and Indianapolis, the sites of the past two Super Bowls, and Minneapolis are the three finalists to host the NFL championship game in 18. Those cities were selected from a pool of six at the owners meetings Tuesday. Should Lucas Oil Stadium get the game, it would be the first cold-weather stadium to host two Super Bowls. "It proves that Indianapolis is really a unique city, being a medium-sized market in a colder market, without 80 degrees and beaches," Colts owner Jim Irsay said. "I think we have the unique ability in Indianapolis to really deliver a Super Bowl that gets pulled off in a way thats special." New Orleans has hosted 10 Super Bowls, including last Februarys game that was interrupted by a blackout. That apparently didnt bother the owners during Tuesdays selection process. "The Super Bowl is a celebration of unparalleled magnitude. What better time for New Orleans to host its record 11th Super Bowl than during a party 300 years in the making?" Jay Cicero, Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation president and CEO, said of the citys 2018 tri-centennial. Minneapolis last hosted the title game in January 1992. A $975 million stadium is going to be built in downtown Minneapolis, with the projected opening coming in 2016. The NFL often rewards a city for building a new stadium with a Super Bowl, as was done in recent years for Detroit, the Phoenix area, the Dallas area, and Indianapolis. "The Vikings organization and our political leaders in Minnesota fought a long battle, spent more than 12 years to secure the new stadium for the team and the state," said Lester Bagley the vice-president for public affairs and stadium development for the Vikings, "and during that long and contentious debate the Vikings made a commitment to take the lead and advocate with the NFL to host the Super Bowl 2018 in Minneapolis. "Minnesota stepped up to deliver a great new stadium, and we will push hard to deliver the reward." The 2018 Super Bowl will be awarded next May. The next four Super Bowls are in New Jersey, Arizona, Santa Clara, Calif., and Houston. The NFL will play three regular-season games at Londons Wembley Stadium next year, hosted by the Jaguars, FFalcons and Raiders. Jerseys Cheap. It will be the most games the league has played abroad in one year. This season was the first one with two games: Minnesota beat Pittsburgh 34-27 in September, and Jacksonville will host San Francisco on Oct. 27 as part of a four-year commitment to move a home game to Wembley. Dates and opponents for the games will be announced when the schedule is compiled next year. "Our fans in the UK have continued to demonstrate that they love football and want more," said Commissioner Roger Goodell, who has championed overseas games for years and someday believes the NFL will have a franchise based in London. "Both of this years games in London sold out quickly. The fan enthusiasm for our sport continues to grow. By playing two games in the UK this year, we are creating more fans. We hope that with three games in London next year we will attract even more people to our game." Several owners said the subject of changing the Washington Redskins nickname was not discussed in any formal way during Tuesdays sessions. Goodell, who grew up in Washington as a fan of the team, said "by no means" was the name considered derogatory then. "But whenever you have a situation like this, you have to listen and recognize some people have different perspectives," Goodell said of protests by American Indian groups about the nickname. Also, the NFL: --Approved $27 million in funding for improvements at FedEx Field. The money will be diverted from Washingtons contributions to revenue sharing. --Approved $62.5 million in funding for the Cleveland Browns stadium. --Announced an agreement between USA Football and three organizations that will endorse the Heads Up Football initiative that already has been approved by more than 2,800 youth football organizations. The American College of Sports Medicine, National PTA and the National Athletic Trainers Association all said they are partnering with USA Football, which oversees youth football in the country. --Approved a measure that allows the league to choose which team will be the focus of HBOs "Hard Knocks" documentary-style show if no club volunteers. Exempt would be teams with new coaches, clubs that reached the playoffs in one of the previous two seasons, or those that appeared on "Hard Knocks" within the preceding 10 years. wholesale nfl jerseyscheap jerseys from china ' ' '
