EDMONTON -- Dallas Eakins brings an emphasis on fitness, accountability and frankness to his new job as head coach of the Edmonton Oilers. His arrival also creates a new beginning for a team that has missed the playoffs seven straight years. Forward Jordan Eberle said its time the Oilers forgot about their potential and started proving their ability. "Its a new slate, new coach, new mandate," Eberle said Wednesday. "Theres a point, probably a couple years ago, when you get sick and tired of hearing how good youre going to be and just want to get to that point." Fellow veteran forward Sam Gagner said the expectation for the team has to be nothing less than the playoffs. "Weve been through a lot of losing," he said after the teams camp opened with medicals and fitness testing. "It helps you grow as a person but its never fun. Our core is pretty much intact and we have a lot to prove. "Its important for us to realize that the time is now to turn things around." To that end Eakins, hired in the off-season to replace the fired Ralph Krueger, made it clear to the players its time to shed the "young team" label and show they belong in the NHL. "Its a cop-out to be labelled young," said Gagner, whos heading into his seventh season with the Oilers. "It allows you to go through some growing periods but thats done now. Weve been through a lot as a core and its time for us to move forward. "We have a mix of veterans, young guys and everything in between and its important for us to reach that next level." Theyll try to do that without veteran captain Shawn Horcoff (traded to Dallas), minus an established backup to goaltender Devan Dubnyk and with No. 1 centre Ryan Nugent-Hopkins -- the first pick in the 2011 draft -- on the sidelines. Nugent-Hopkins underwent off-season shoulder surgery and is expected to miss the first few weeks of the regular season. Eakins, who was hired last June after will experiment with winger Taylor Hall, the teams leading scorer last season, moving into the vacant centre spot. "Dont make too much of that," Eakins cautioned. "Its not like Ive asked this guy to go play right defence. Hes played centre before. It may be an option for us a I want as many options as I can. "This is my experiment. If it works, great, if it doesnt I was crazy and well move him back to left wing where hes a pretty good player." For his part, Eakins said one of his immediate tasks is to learn the personalities of each of his players. "Its absolutely No. 1 for me," he said. "I dont know how you motivate a guy or push him in the right direction if you dont know what makes him tick. I just dont know how to do it. You really have to get to know the individuals." The former Toronto Marlies coach assured his players there would be no surprises. Hell be frank and upfront with them on all issues. "Its common sense to me," he said. "I dont like surprises a and I dont think players need surprises either. Theyll know exactly where they stand with me." In return he expects full accountability from his players, and that, said Gagner and Eberle, is how it should be. "He demands a lot of us, which is great," said Eberle. "Accountability is one of the most important things in the dressing room and with Dallas, if theres a problem hes going to address it. Thats how a team should function. If a guys not working hard someone should say something." The Oilers have 62 players in camp. They will open the pre-season Saturday with split-squad games against the Flames in Edmonton and Calgary. Adidas NMD R1 Triple Black . The International Ice Hockey Federation says Pavlovs avoided a two-year sanction because he acted "without significant negligence in failing to verify the safety of the supplements he was taking. Pharrell NMD Hu China . He made another correct read. 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Never gets old," Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. "Its obviously something we start talking about it and prepare for way back in the summer. For these guys to step up and make it happen, not only in the regular season but to win here and not share, is just an awesome, awesome accomplishment." Gonzaga (28-6) raced out to a 21-point lead in the first half, taking advantage of the Cougars late overtime game the night before. Once the Cougars got their legs and started chipping away at the lead, the Bulldogs had an answer, leaving no doubt about the NCAA tournament by earning the conferences automatic bid. Gary Bell Jr. had 14 points and David Stockton dished out seven assists to send the Bulldogs to the NCAA tournament for the 16th straight year. "We came in with the mindset and us controlling being in the tournament," Stockton said. "We didnt try to think about that, just winning the next game." BYU (23-11) rallied after a dismal first half, pulling within eight with 3 minutes left. The Cougars couldnt finish off the comeback and now have a long five-day wait until Selection Sunday. Tyler Haws had 24 points and Kyle Collinsworth added 13 before leaving with a right leg injury in the second half. "They really went after us at the start," coach Dave Rose said. "But our guys battled. We battled the whole game, got it to single digits, but couldnt get over the hump." Gonzaga and BYU split two meetings during the regular season. The Zags won the first one by 15 after hitting 10 of 22 3-pointers in Spokane. The Cougars were much better guarding the perimeter in Provo, limiting the Bulldogs to 4 of 18 shootting from 3-point range.dddddddddddd Playing in its 17th straight WCC final, Gonzaga dominated early in the rubber match with a nearly perfect first half. Offensively, the Bulldogs built a quick nine-point lead and kept pouring it on behind Dower, who had 14 points on 7-of-11 shooting in the first half. Gonzaga was just as good defensively, contesting shots inside and getting out to BYUs shooters on the perimeter. The Cougars struggled against the Bulldogs pressure, missing 11 of their first 15 shots on their way to a 9-for-27 half. Gonzaga led by as much as 21 in the first half and was up 44-27 at the break. "From a coaching standpoint, thats how you want your guys this time of year," Few said. "Its the biggest stage thus far and we were in attack mode, we were playing great defence." Dower kept it rolling early in the second half, scoring on a hard drive with a foul, then throwing down a pair of dunks to put the Bulldogs up 53-33. BYU suffered another blow when Collinsworth had to be helped off the court midway through the second half, unable to put any weight on his right leg after going down under Gonzagas basket. Playing without its facilitator and second-leading scorer, the Cougars found a way to claw their way back. Haws has had trouble getting shots to fall in the WCC tournament and had a so-so first half, scoring nine points on 2-of-7 shooting. When his shots started to fall in the second half, so did Gonzagas lead. Haws hit a 3-pointer in rhythm to cut Gonzagas lead to 13 and the Cougars kept chipping away at the lead, getting it down to eight on two free throws by Haws with 2:56 left. That was it for BYU, though, leaving the Cougars to wait to see if the selection committee believes their resume is good enough for an NCAA tournament bid. "I think we should find ourselves in that tournament," said Haws, who made all 11 of his free throws after hitting all 14 in the semifinals against San Francisco. "This has been a challenging season, but I feel like our guys have come together and done enough to get in." ' ' '