st major soccer tournament.ddddddddddddDrawing on that experie

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. Wilbert Montgomery Youth Jersey . Like a magic trick, the puck popped out behind Stalock in the San Jose net. While Sharks coach Todd McLellan decried the legality of the tiebreaking goal, the Los Angeles Kings celebrated their latest, greatest escape yet. Custom Eagles Jerseys . Jacobs scored two in the first end, but Jahr briefly took charge with two in the second end and two more in the third. Jacobs, from Sault. 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Ortiz hit a pair of two-run homers, including his 400th shot in a Red Sox uniform, and drove in a career high-tying six runs to power Boston past the Houston Astros 10-7 on Saturday night.MOSCOW - Security at the 2018 World Cup must be effective but not intrusive, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday.Russian security was tight at the Sochi Olympics this year, though it was not immediately clear whether Putins comments would signal a different approach for the soccer tournament.I emphasize that security measures must be effective but not intrusive or extraneous, and not creating discomfort for sportsmen or for fans, said Putin, met with FIFA president Sepp Blatter on Tuesday.Security concerns for the World Cup will likely centre on possible terrorist attacks by insurgents from Russias North Caucasus, and perhaps incidents linked to the Ukraine crisis.The head of Russias Federal Security Service (FSB), Alexander Bortnikov, said his organization, which typically fights terrorism and organized crime, had made tackling football hooliganism a priority in World Cup preparations.The phenomenon of radical hooligan groups very much worries the FSB, Bortnikov said, pointing to clashes between German hooligans and police in Cologne on Sunday that injured 49 officers.Soccer-related violence and racism are also comparatively commonplace at games in Russia.Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko said Putin would sign off on a final security plan early next year.Putin cited the Olympics as a major influence in preparing for the World Cup, RRussias first major soccer tournament.ddddddddddddDrawing on that experience, all World Cup preparations will be completed on schedule and to the very highest standards, Putin said.He also warned Russias struggling national football team, which has won only one of its last seven competitive matches and was eliminated in the first round at the World Cup, that its performance must be better than we saw in Brazil.However, there was a warning from Mutko, who said the country was in danger of falling behind schedule on plans to expand the number of hotels needed for fans.Most of Russias 11 host cities have never before hosted major international events and would currently struggle to accommodate thousands of football supporters. Russia plans to build 64 new hotels to compensate.In most of the host cities there is still a serious deficit