EDMONTON -- The Edmonton Oilers returned to the ice Wednesday after 12 days off for the Olympic break, several of them with red faces either from sun tanning or the hard bike riding that was part of the mini training camp/conditioning session they were put through. "It feels a lot shorter than it was," said veteran defenceman Andrew Ference, who spent part of the break with his family in Canmore, Alta., visiting former Olympians Thomas Grandi and Sara Renner. "But its a really good chance to get rid of all the little aches and pains." Ference said it has to be remembered that with back-to-back condensed seasons - last year because of the lockout - players need the break both mentally and physically. "The last calendar year I think I played 110 or 120 games, so its a much welcomed break." It was a break that came with the Oilers suddenly having found their game in the midst of another disastrous, non-playoff season. They went into the Olympic break having won five of their previous seven games - one of the losses was in overtime - and outscoring their opponents 18-12. Their previous 10 games before the break - the statistic the NHL keeps - showed them at 5-3-2, a record that put them in the middle of the pack, unlike the 29th place they are in with their overall record of 20-33-7. "It is tough from that aspect," forward Jordan Eberle said of the untimely break. "Some of the GMs around the league have been complaining, some of the teams were going well and then you get this break. Its almost like a new season starting. "But, for me personally, I feel you get re-energized, with a little more jump and a little more excitement to play, like you did in camp. I feel really energized and ready to play." Like many of the players, Eberle took a vacation away from the game, away from Edmonton and away from winter. But not away from working out. "Yeah I went away but I definitely worked out," he added. "I knew today was going to be a tough day. It was just a bit of a skate but most of the stuff was in the gym and it was tough." Ference said the players were put through a tough physical that included a hard bike ride but said everybody looked fine. "Nobody was puking." Veteran Ryan Smyth said it would have been nice to be playing in the Olympics again, but he appreciated the great family time he had in Mexico. And as a player turning 38 on Friday, he said "any time you get some rest for the body to recuperate, it will really help." While players made sure they stayed physically active and in shape, they were able to mentally turn off the game and enjoy some rare family time. "Your mind is a little off on vacation so you give yourself a break there," said Eberle, second on the Oilers scoring with 45 points. "But as far as your body you have to make sure youre still able to come back and play 22 games. So everyone took their mind away from the game, which is a good thing. "I went on vacation somewhere hot and your mind is so out of it that you think, wow, I have to come back and play hockey? But as soon as you get to Edmonton, see the snow on the ground, it changes pretty quickly. I got on the ice, felt pretty excited to get back. Its almost like a new season here." The Oilers resume play Feb. 27 at home against the Minnesota Wild. 20:11ET 19-02-14 Fake Air Force 1 For Sale . 1 Caroline Wozniacki and three-time champion Serena Williams cruised into the semifinals, while last years runner-up Vera Zvonareva succumbed to Aussie Samantha Stosur in Thursdays womens quarterfinal action at the U. Fake Vans Shoes Cheap . Nikolaos Kounenakis has been hired as an assistant coach, the team announced on Monday. http://www.fakeyeezyscheap.com/wholesale-air-max-90.html. In Europe, top teams seem to be largely happy with their squads after spending nearly $1 billion in the off-season. And although English league clubs are unlikely to splash cash in January, Arsenal and Chelsea could be tempted to strengthen their squads with new strikers. Fake Balenciaga Cheap .Y. -- Sore nose and all, Sidney Crosby had a goal and three assists to help Pittsburgh beat Buffalo 5-3 on Friday night, snapping the Penguins mini-slump and slowing the Sabres late-season surge. Fake Yeezy Boost 700 Cheap . Griffin scored 13 of his 31 points in the final 7:05 and Dudley got 11 of his 20 points in the third quarter, leading the defending Pacific Division champions to a 112-85 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats on Wednesday night. "Dud is a shooter.BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Syracuse guard Trevor Cooney was mired in a shooting slump, and his woes coincided with a late-season swoon by the Orange. Say goodbye to both. Cooney scored 18 points, fellow guard Tyler Ennis of Brampton, Ont., had 16, and the Orange defence clamped down in a 77-53 victory over Western Michigan on Thursday in the second round of the NCAA tournament. Cooney hit 4 of 8 from beyond the arc and Ennis had six assists with one turnover to spark the Orange, who shot 28 of 57 (49.1 per cent) from the field and hit 7 of 17 from long range. "It was just good to see one go in," Cooney said. "It adds to your confidence a little bit, and I was able to get into a good rhythm and guys found me in good spots. The ball just went in today." Since matching a school record with nine 3-pointers that keyed a six-point win over Notre Dame last month, Cooney had hit just 10 of 51 (19.6 per cent) from beyond the arc. That abysmal shooting came during Syracuses swoon, which included a three-point loss to North Carolina State in the ACC tournament last week. Thats all forgotten now. "Same guy," Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said. "Hes just got to get his looks and take them. Hes definitely stayed up the whole time. Hes played the other parts of the game. Its a big difference when he makes shots." Syracuse (28-5), the third seed in the South Regional, will play 11th-seeded Dayton (24-10) on Saturday. Dayton beat Ohio State 60-59 on Thursday. The Orange won their first 25 games and were ranked No. 1 for three weeks before losing five of seven in that late-season skid. Western Michigan (23-10), the Mid-American Conference champion, had won 14 of 16 games and was in the NCAA tournament for the first time in a decade. The Orange forced 11 turnovers in the opening half and scored 13 points off them in running out to a double-digit lead before the midpoint of the period. Syracuse used an 18-4 spurt over 10 minutes to take control and led 40-21 at halftime. The Broncos took care of the ball in the second half, losing it only twice, but the deficit was much too daunting to overcome as Syracuse dominated the glass 41-25 and scored 15 second-chance points. "We ran into a buzz saw today," WMU coach Steve Hawkins said. "We made too many mistakes in the first half. We had 11 turnovers in the first half and thats what staked them out to that lead. I felt like after we started taking care of the ball in the second half, we got a few better looks." Jerami Grant finished with 16 points, while C.J. Fair, double- and triple-teamed nearly every time he touched the ball, finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Shayne Whittington and Tucker Haymond led Western Michigan with 11 points apiece. David Brown, the MAC scoring champion, finished with a season-low nine points on 2-of-12 shooting, 2 of 100 from long range.dddddddddddd Syracuse rode its defence to the Final Four a year ago and the zone was stellar from the opening tip against the Broncos. The Broncos split two games with Eastern Michigan during the season, learning the nuances of the zone defence employed by Eagles coach Rob Murphy, an assistant at Syracuse for eight years before taking over at EMU. "We hope its a help," Hawkins said. It wasnt. Same system, maybe, but different personnel. "Theyre long and athletic, and they make you second-guess where you want to throw the ball," Brown said. "I feel that we were hesitant. We turned the ball over way too much." The Syracuse defence had to focus on WMUs fifth-year seniors Whittington and Brown and did the job. Whittington was hounded in the lane, unable to generate much, taking just seven shots. And while Brown was his usual self at the free throw line, he had only four chances, hitting three. "We came out playing pressure defence," Fair said. "We werent going to let them get comfortable." They didnt. The Broncos committed four quick turnovers as Syracuse took a 7-2 lead on a 3-pointer by Cooney just over 3 minutes in. Brown led the MAC at 19.4 points per game and earned MVP of the conference tournament after scoring a career-high 32 points that included five 3-pointers in the final against Toledo, and he makes a good living at the free throw line. Brown was 196 of 254 (77.2 per cent) from the line, most of the fouls coming while he was attempting one of the 237 shots he took from behind the arc. He found no room to roam against the Orange, missing three times from well beyond the 3-point line before finally hitting near the midpoint of the opening half. Whittington is a hulking figure in the lane at 6-foot-11 and 250 pounds, but Grant easily spun around him and slammed home a ferocious two-handed dunk to boost the Syracuse lead to 12-4. Cooneys second 3 and a layup by Ennis had the Broncos 13 points behind and reeling. Fairs three-point play and a 3-pointer from the wing by Ennis off a feed from Grant inside gave Syracuse a 31-13 lead with 4:08 to go in the half. Whittington shook off a foul by Grant and hit a pretty hook in the lane that he turned into a three-point play and Brown followed with two free throws and his first 3 to give the Broncos a glimmer of hope. Syracuse responded with a slam dunk by senior centre Baye Moussa Keita, another 3 from Cooney, and a putback by Fair off a miss by Ennis to gain the 19-point halftime lead. If the Broncos hoped to make a comeback in the second half, that idea was quickly squashed. After a layup by Connar Tava -- Grant was called for goaltending on the play -- and a free throw by Haymond closed the gap to 16 points, Syracuse responded with an 8-2 spurt that Cooney started with a four-point play. ' ' '