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TORONTO -- Its a secret Hayley Wickenheiser could no longer hide. The Canadian womens hockey star helped Canada win gold at the Sochi Olympics despite playing with a broken foot. The 35-year-old native of Shaunavon, Sask., was sporting a walking boot on her left foot at the Hockey Hall of Fame on Tuesday, where she was a guest speaker at the second annual Gatorade High Performance Hockey Summit. "Ive had a broken foot for about a year now so Im trying to fix it," Wickenheiser said. "Im wearing this boot so I can avoid having that surgery, hopefully. "I knew it was broken at the time (of Olympics), we just found out it was a little more serious break than we thought. It was just managing the pain." Wickenheiser did a masterful job of hiding the injury. There was never a hint or mention of it prior to the Sochi Games or even after Canadas dramatic come-from-behind 3-2 overtime victory over the U.S. in the gold medal game. But in an Olympic year Wickenheiser simply didnt have the luxury of time to rest her foot, so she worked around it. With the national teams season over, shes had her foot in the boot for the last two weeks, with six more to go. "After the Olympics . . . its kind of perfect timing to rest the foot and just be able to get healthy again," she said. "I spent a lot of time on the bike versus running and did some work around trying to stabilize the foot. "My medical team was really good with treatments to keep the swelling down. I just did a lot of things on one leg and tried to minimize the pounding on my foot in order to be able to get through the games. Now Ive had the chance to see where the damage is and with a couple of months rest I should be fine. I wasnt able to rest it before." This isnt the first time Wickenheiser has endured pain. She played in the 2006 Olympics with a broken wrist but was still the tournaments top scorer and MVP. In 2008, Sports Illustrated included Wickenheiser on its list of the 25 toughest athletes. Ironically, skating wasnt painful for Wickenheiser because of the support the skate boot provided her injured foot. "It wasnt too bad," she said. "But the running and training we had to adjust." Wickenheiser had two goals and three assists in five games at Sochi but played a huge role in Canadas overtime victory in the gold medal game. Wickenheiser had a breakaway in the extra session but was taken down by American Hilary Knight. Instead of granting Wickenheiser a penalty shot, British referee Joy Tottman gave Knight a minor penalty. Marie-Philip Poulin, who forced overtime by scoring with 55 seconds remaining in regulation, had the power-play winner to give Canada its stirring comeback victory and fourth straight Olympic womens hockey crown. "It was a dramatic finish, probably one for the ages and something Canadians will never forget," Wickenheiser said. "I wont forget. "It mightve been the defining moment of the Games this go-around from what everybody has been telling me. When you step back and hear the stories about how it impacted Canada, it really was one for the ages." The Olympic gold medal capped a tumultuous period for the Canadian team, which entered the Sochi Games with a new coach -- Kevin Dineen took over in December after Dan Church resigned -- and having lost four pre-tournament games to the rival Americans. "It was a lot of adversity," Wickenheiser said. "Our theme changed from, Dig a little deeper, to Unity and adversity. I think that sums it up. "We had a lot of things to overcome as a team and I think the reason behind our success was we had resiliency and we had a lot of preparation leading up to that which gave us the opportunity to come back in that final game. We were mentally tougher than our opponent." Three days later, the Canadian men capped a hockey sweep, downing Sweden 3-0 in a gold-medal game that had nowhere the drama or intrigue of the womens finale. "I think theres no doubt were the best in the world in mens and womens hockey," Wickenheiser said. "People say, The mens was boring, but it was boring (because) they were so good and so prepared and they played unselfishly unlike other countries with superstars so they found a way to do it. "I think thats really the defining mark of Canadian hockey." And call Wickenheiser, Canadas flag-bearer at the opening ceremony in Sochi, a fan of hockey being played on the larger international ice surface. "I love it," she said. "For me, Id love to see the NHL on the bigger surface. "I think it would be amazing, I think it would be better hockey. Theres the talk that the trap would be easier to play on the big surface but I dont think so. I think it allows skill and speed to flourish." Wickenheiser has won five Olympic medals over her illustrious career (the other being silver from the 98 Nagano Games). Shed like a shot at another while again shouldering the heavy weight of expectation Canadians have for their hockey players when on the international stage. "I think its fair," Wickenheiser said of Canadians expectations. "We always say pressure is a privilege and you have an opportunity to win a gold medal because people think you can. "Id rather have that expectation than someone not believing in you or the country not expecting the best. We view it that we go to win gold medals and we know Canada expects that. Its fun to have that, you dont want it any other way, really, as an athlete." However, Wickenheiser, who last month was elected to the International Olympic Committees athlete commission, added at this stage of her career shes taking it one year at a time. "Ill probably go year by year, starting with next years world championship," she said. "I still love to play, I think I can still play at a high level and be the player I want to be so until I cant do that anymore Ill keep playing. "I love what I do for a living. Being an athlete is definitely the greatest thing about what I do. I dont know if theres anything Ill find after sport that will mimic what being an athlete is so you have to enjoy it while it lasts and try to remember you may never have these times again in your life." Cheap Dillon Brooks Jersey . Mauer struck out to end the inning, with a runner on third base in the seventh on Wednesday and the Twins trailing 1-0. Everybody does this, of course, in a sport with a 30 per cent success rate at the plate long proven to be a benchmark of excellence. Cheap Chandler Parsons Jersey . The Cottagers last victory came in a 2-1 home win over West Ham when Rene Meulensteen was still in charge. 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STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- James Franklin grew up in the Philadelphia suburbs, a strong-willed if not exactly strong-armed high school quarterback who believed he was good enough to play at Penn State. Joe Paternos coaching staff didnt exactly agree, and while Franklins arm led to him a decorated career at Division II East Stroudsburg (Pa.), his will led him to the place he wanted to be all along. Home. More than two decades after a futile attempt to draw Penn States attention as a player, the university hired the charismatic 41-year-old as its next head coach on Saturday. "Im a Pennsylvania boy," Franklin said, "with a Penn State heart." One charged with continuing the painstaking and sometimes painful rebuilding process started by Bill OBrien, who took over in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal more than two years ago. But OBrien bolted for the NFLs Houston Texans on New Years Eve, opening the door for Franklin, who breathed life into a moribund program at Vanderbilt, winning 24 games over three seasons and leading the Commodores to three straight bowl games. More will be expected here -- eventually. Thats fine by Franklin, who insists he didnt sign the six-year contract reportedly worth around $4.5 million a season to use the Nittany Lions as a stepping stone. Franklin littered his hour-long introduction with all the right touches. Wearing a blue suit with a blue-and-white tie, he called Penn State his "dream job" and dubbed Saturday "the best day of my life" before quickly amending it to the "third best" after his wedding day to his wife Fumi and the birth of their twin daughters Addy and Shola. Pointing to his family as they watched from the front row, Franklin described himself as having "two daughters and 95 new sons." Yet he knows the branches of the family tree run far deeper. He promised to reconnect the glorious past with what he believes is an ambitious future and vowed to have lunch with every provost and dean while pledging not to turn down any speaking engagement. "Well do everything we can to bring this community back together," he said, "and really take pride in this program." A pride still in the process of healing following the shocking revelations about Sanduskys criminal behaviour and the subsequent fallout that included Paternos unceremonious firing after 45 years at the helm. Then, there were the near-fatal NCAA sanctions that stripped the program of dozens of scholarships and barred the school from post-season competition for four years. As far as OBrien brought Penn State in two years, leading Penn State to a 15-9 record and ushering the Nittany Lions fully into the 21st century, much work remains to be done. The standard isnt to merely be competitive. Scanning a throng that dwarfed anything Franklin ever saw at Vanderbilt in a facility that in many ways rivals the jewels found in places like Alabama and Oregon, Franklin left little doubt as to his intentions. "Our plan is to go out and win a bunch of games," he said, "so we can stay here a long time." Its something Franklin insists he planned on doing at Vanderbilt, where he produced one of the more stirring turnarounds in recent college football history. The Commodores went 16-4 over his final 20 games, second only to Alabama over that span in the SEC. Vanderbilt won the final seven games of 2012 and the final five of 2013. And, Franklin led Vanderbilt into the fiinal Associated Press poll each of the past two seasons, including No.dddddddddddd 24 in the rankings released Tuesday. As impressive as Franklins credentials may be, Penn State athletic director Dave Joyner believes they put Franklin through the "most thorough vetting process of any search perhaps of any position at this university." One that included delving into rape accusations against four Vanderbilt players last June. Franklin dismissed all four players and a fifth Commodore who pleaded guilty to a misdemeanour charge of attempting to cover up the crime. Authorities have not implicated Franklin in any way and Joyner praised Franklin for his decisive action in what Franklin called "the most challenging thing Ive ever been through personally." Other challenges await. Theres the initial scramble to cobble together a recruiting class over the next month before National Signing Day and the assembling of a staff that will help the Nittany Lions take on Big Ten powers Ohio State and Michigan State in a new-look league that will add Maryland and Rutgers. Theres also finding a way to move forward while paying homage to the past. Franklin mentioned Paterno three times by name and recalled crossing paths with the college football Hall of Famer while out on the recruiting trail as an assistant at Maryland. "I walked in and had to show my I.D. and do everything I possibly could to get into the school," Franklin said. "Joe walked in and shut the entire school down. They had an in-school assembly, and I realized I had no chance. I really had no chance." Now Franklin finds himself in Paternos position, as the face of a program that has ceded some fertile recruiting ground to places like Pittsburgh and West Virginia. Franklin believes its time for the Nittany Lions to reclaim their territory. "When I say Penn State, that is the whole state," he said. "That is the whole state. We will recruit every corner of this state, every school of this state, every neighbourhood of this state." Theyre neighbourhoods Franklin knows well. While his path through the coaching ranks included stops at Washington State, Idaho State and Kansas State, Franklin always seemed to find his way back to Pennsylvania. Its the place he knows best, a place where he watched his mother work multiple jobs to raise a family. He inherited her work ethic when the coaching bug hit after six months trying to play in Europe. His career began by living in the basement of a friend, realizing the same mental toughness that helped him set records as a quarterback at East Stroudsburg would serve him well on the sideline and in the living rooms of the young men he wanted to lead. Franklins role at Penn State, however, will extend far beyond wearing a headset on Saturdays. Its a role the business-like OBrien did with a determined professionalism. Where OBrien was taciturn, Franklin is decidedly more energetic, a coach who has no problem getting by on five hours of sleep or glad-handing boosters, alumni, students and faculty alike. He pledged to "dominate" the state, but do it "the right way." A way that he thinks will provide a blend of Paternos scholarly paternalism with a brash new mindset that produces enthralling football on the field and graduates off it. "Were going to unite the coaches, were going to unite the community," Franklin said "and build this program where everybody wants it to be." 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