With two days off between Games 3 and 4 of their Stanley Cup playoff series in Edmonton, the Anaheim Ducks looked west to the Okanagan this week for a little downtime.
The NHL club held a brief practise on Monday in Kelowna and has ice time scheduled again for Tuesday, prior to returning to the Alberta capital Wednesday for Game 4 against the Oilers.
With Prospera Place available to the Ducks and a relaxing Kelowna setting serving as the backdrop, head coach Randy Carlyle said it was a great opportunity for his team to recharge away from the epicentre of the playoff hype in Edmonton.
乌鸦传媒淔irst off, we decided to come here because it was the rest factor,乌鸦传媒� said Carlyle. 乌鸦传媒淪econdly, we just felt coming here would give us an opportunity just to say 乌鸦传媒榳hoa乌鸦传媒� with our group and sit back, kick back.
乌鸦传媒淭he ice was available to us乌鸦传媒he environment here, staying in a hotel that乌鸦传媒檚 right on the water, a lot of guys have been here before and found it relaxing,乌鸦传媒� Carlyle added. 乌鸦传媒淲e thought it would be an opportunity to bring our players to relax and not focus on what乌鸦传媒檚 going on in Edmonton.乌鸦传媒�
Ducks乌鸦传媒� defenceman Shea Theodore knows Kelowna well, having played at Prospera Place many times over four seasons as a member of the WHL乌鸦传媒檚 Seattle Thunderbirds. The Aldergrove native said a trip to the Okanagan serves a nice diversion from the demands of a long season and intense playoff run.
乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 definitely nice to be back here, I played quite a few games here, and it kind of brings back memories for sure,乌鸦传媒� said Theodore, a product of Aldergrove. 乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 a beautiful area, I乌鸦传媒檓 around here in the summer time quite a bit, so yeah it乌鸦传媒檚 always good to be back.乌鸦传媒�
As was the case on Monday, Tuesday乌鸦传媒檚 practise session at Propera Place is closed to the public.
