Shannon Szabados ready to be big-game goalie for SPHL's Columbus Cottonmouths

Shannon Szabados has been in Columbus, Georgia for a season a half now as a member of the Southern Professional Hockey League’s Columbus Cottonmouths and she’s noticed one thing about being down south.

“There seems to be fried chicken everywhere we go,” she said during a Tuesday phone interview.

Getting used to new foods is just one of the adjustments the Edmonton-born Szabados has had to make since signing in March of 2014, following her backstopping of Canada to another Olympic gold medal.

One adjustment Szabados didn’t have to make once she entered the SPHL was getting used to playing against men, something she’s done since an early age.

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“People ask me all the time what it’s like to play with guys and honestly, it’s normal to me,” she said. “What [they] really should be asking is what it’s like to play with females because I’ve only done it in 2010 and 2014. To me, I’ve been playing with guys since I was five years old, so it’s a normal path for me.”

The options weren't there for Szabados to play professionally in North America until earlier this year when the NWHL was born. She was sent all the information about the league and instructions on how to register for the draft, but she stuck with what she’s known best.

“It’s really exciting for women’s hockey. It’s a huge step forward,” she said. “For me personally at this time the league only has four teams right now, not a ton of games. Playing in a professional league, our team plays 56 games a year. [I’m] more just happy with where I was at right now and obviously the league is something I’ll look into in the future, and potentially a place I’ll play in a few years.”

Szabados’ interest in the Cottonmouths was piqued when her old teammate from the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology, Kyle Johnson, told her of his experience in the SPHL. Following Sochi, Szabados was ready to take the rest of that season off after a “draining” year and the fact that her equipment got lost on her way back from Russia. When Columbus head coach Jerome Bechard first called, she thought he was looking to get her on a tryout for the next season.

A week later she was on a plane to Columbus and on March 15, 2014 she started her first game with the Cottonmouths.

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“I thought it was an opportunity I probably shouldn’t pass up if I wanted to continue in the men’s pro game and possibly go back the following season,” she said.

Long-time Cottonmouths netminder Andrew Loewen (a.k.a. Mr Wobble) retired after splitting duties with Szabados. Now with a full season under her belt, she’s ready to take the next step forward following a 15-9-1 year where she posted a .907 save percentage in 25 games.

Szabados didn’t prepare this summer any differently knowing Loewen wouldn’t be back and that the no. 1 job would be up for grabs. After spending last fall focusing on trying to make the team again, she’s sticking with that mindset heading into this season.

“‘[N]o matter who the other goalie is this year I think we’ll probably see close to equal playing time as long as we’re both playing well,” she said.

“Obviously, I want to be that goalie. That’s what we play for, to battle for that no. 1 job. I want to be the goalie in those big games.”

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