After coming off a career high of winning an Olympic gold medal in women’s hockey at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, Shannon Szabados is back between the posts for the Grant MacEwan men’s hockey team.
Going from the world’s best women’s team back to last year’s worst team in the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference, Szabados is still happy to be back.
“It is not always about winning but getting better and having fun while you play,” said Szabados.
Szabados is in her third year at Grant MacEwan working towards a combined degree in Physical Education and Education.
Before the women’s Olympic team, Szabados had only played men’s hockey.
“It is really all I have ever known,” said Szabados.
She took a year off her studies to train full-time with the Olympic team last year, but is back stronger than ever to help the Griffin’s come back from last season’s 4-23 record.
The superstar goaltender choose Grant MacEwan and their men’s hockey team because she was a fan of coach Jaime Langley and had already played with many of the players on the team.
“She is just one of the guys,” said Langley, head coach of the Griffins.
“She forces the guys around her to do better.”
Catch Szabados in action Oct. 16 when the Griffins face-off against Portage College at MacEwan University.
