Interview Ecke » the ice dancers put themselves on autopilot

KELOWNA, B.C. - When Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier didnt make Canadas team for the Sochi Olympics, the ice dancers put themselves on autopilot.It was the low point on a roller-coaster season of crazy highs and heartbreaking lows.We really had to keep moving forward, so we had to go home, take it one day at a time really, because we couldnt really dwell on: Well, that was it, Gilles said. We had to turn our minds off for a little bit.Gilles, from Toronto, and Poirier, from Unionville, Ont., captured a silver medal in ice dance at Skate Canada International on Saturday night, and reflected on how far theyve come from last season.Its so nice to be prepared coming into the Grand Prix season this year, I think there are so many positives coming out of this competition, Poirier said.Their Sochi Olympic campaign got off to a nightmare start when Poirier broke his ankle in May of 2013, a break so severe it took three plates and 13 screws to repair it. He wasnt back on the ice until August, and the two werent able to do full run-throughs of their programs until about three weeks before their Grand Prix debut last November.All the while, the American-born Gilles was nervously waiting for her Canadian citizenship, which she was finally awarded a few weeks before the Olympic trials, making her eligible to compete for Canada in Sochi.It wasnt to be — they would finish fourth at the trials, narrowly missing the team.The first couple days (of Sochi) were hard for me, Gilles said. I couldnt watch the first couple of days. But then once your competitors and your friends are all there, youre like, OK, I have to, because you want to cheer them on. And as hard as it is for you, it still gives you the motivation for the next four years.Gilles and Poirier, who are both 22, didnt have much time to dwell on their disappointment. They were named to the Four Continents team, where they finished second, and then were replacements for Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir on Canadas team for the world championships, where they finished eighth.I think more at the end of the season, it was like: Aw man!, Gilles said on not making the Sochi team. But we did worlds and we had a positive worlds, so that kind of helped the negative part of it.It gave us a lot of momentum going into this season and we saw what we could achieve with training behind us, and weve tried to really embrace that this season, Poirier added.Gilles and Poirier say they already have more training under their belts this season than they did all of last year, and with the changing landscape of ice dancing post-Olympics — both Virtue and Moir and U.S. Olympic champions Meryl Davis and Charlie White are taking the season off to contemplate their futures — are keen to position themselves among the worlds best.We really want to make a big statement this year, said Poirier, who was 14th at the Vancouver Olympics with former partner Vanessa Crone. We really want to show were contenders in this quadrennial, and I think it has to start now. Weve really been pushing ourselves because now is the time where we can really break into the ranks.Looking back on the stresses of last season, especially the nerve-wracking wait for citizenship, Gilles said, I wouldnt change it.Were still hoping for our goal, a medal, for the next one, so were still pushing, she added.The end goal is still the same, Poirier said. And were still hoping to get there three and a half years from now. Derek Grant Jersey . However, after review it became clear Kadri kicked the puck in. Corey Perry Jersey . The Nevada Athletic Commission voted unanimously in Las Vegas to quit granting therapeutic use exemptions for fighters undergoing the so-called TRT. http://www.cheapducksjerseyschina.com/antoine-vermette-jersey/ . "Opinion: Womens World Cup is the best Soccer of the year," Hanks tweeted to his 8.73 million followers on Friday. "Hey FIFA, they deserve real grass. Put in sod. 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Theyre going to be there." A list of the 200-plus players was not made available when requested. More than 200 players have joined the effort, which began with 10 players: Gary Leeman, Bradley Aitken, Darren Banks, Curt Bennett, Richard Dunn, Warren Holmes, Robert Manno, Blair James Stewart, Morris Titanic and Rick Vaive. Former New York Islanders centre Bob Bourne announced he joined the suit shortly after it was filed. Leeman and Vaive in recent days have politely declined comment about their involvement, deferring to Silverman and Owens, who said he did not know how many players would wind up being a part of it. "I dont know how many liiving alumni there are in the NHL that have these significant problems," Owens said.dddddddddddd"I dont know that. But like in the NFL, it just matured over time. Once the players find out that, Oh, there may be hope for me. I might be able to get some help and some treatment to address my quality of life issues, Im sure theyll be in contact." More than 4,500 former NFL players sued that league in a case that Owens said has "parallels" to this one. That settlement was worth US$765 million. Owens said there wasnt any recruiting being done to get more players to join the cause. He sent tweets to several former players informing them of the case beginning Monday. "All of our business that weve ever done has all been by word of mouth. The players are the ones that talk amongst themselves," he said. "Once I have knowledge as a player, like you have knowledge and like everybody else has knowledge, the word spreads. Back in the 60s and the 70s and the 80s the person with all the knowledge and the power were the owners. They controlled the message." In a statement released Monday evening, NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly called the subject matter "very serious" and said the league intended to defend the case "vigorously." 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