Coyotes Rising

A letter to Mr. Bettman...

2010-03-23T14:13:00.002-07:00

Dear Commissioner,

As you know, health care reform has passed in the United States, which means the world will be ending soon. We don't know when, but we know it's coming. Some of us in Phoenix have a request before that happens, and we know you are the only one to help make sure it happens.

We've been struggling for months, worried we're losing our beloved Phoenix Coyotes. Thanks to you and the league, you fought all summer and spring to see that it did not happen. Yet, as we sit here approaching end-times, there is still no resolution to the Coyotes saga.

We've heard from many who wish us ill and are railing for the Coyotes to leave and return to Canada, that you are behind the Coyotes on-ice success this season. That you've paid off the refs, or given us a favorable schedule, perhaps even getting other teams to lay down. All in an effort to help you sell the team to a local owner and to encourage local fans to return to the arena and begin spending money again on this franchise.

Normally we'd dismiss conspiracy theories like those "crazy," but with time running out we're not going to take any chances.

That said, if any of that is true we ask you do not stop now. Please make sure that at a minimum we take the Pacific Division. If we're all still around when the playoffs start we can at least hang our first "Pacific Division Champion" banner at Jobing.com.

Bettman-willing, we'll have the time to get all the way through the playoffs and hoist Lord Stanley's Cup for the first time in our history. What a beautiful moment that would be.

We thank you for your consideration on this matter and wish we didn't even have to ask. But because some are convinced you are the anti-Christ (you or Obama, it's kind of split depending if you talk to Americans or Canadians) we know it must be you who is behind our rapidly-approaching destruction. As we are going out and you'll have succeeded in destroying our world, we ask you to look deep into your black heart and do one good deed for humanity before it's over.

Regards,

All fans of the Phoenix Coyotes

Coyotes Go Guerilla Marketing: I Love It!

2009-12-01T23:25:00.002-07:00

COYOTES LAUNCH ‘AMBASSADORS CLUB’

FOR SEASON TICKET HOLDERS

GLENDALE, Ariz. --- Want to increase ticket sales to Phoenix Coyotes hockey games? Gather your season-ticket holders around, promise them discounts, credits on future purchases, freebies, drop a puck at Center Ice in a pre-game ceremony, or enjoy a free night in a luxury suite. And all you have to do is what you've been all year: working to get butts in the seats!

Guerilla marketing at its finest best describes the Ambassador Club, launched this week by the club. Coyotes President & Chief Operating Officer Douglas Moss said the incentive-based program allows Coyotes Season Ticket Holders to offer discounted tickets to their friends and colleagues by way of a unique Coyotes Web link.

“Our Season Ticket Holders are our most passionate fans and this is a way for us to have them play an even greater role in the success of our organization,” said Moss in a team press release Tuesday.

Each Season Ticket Holder that becomes a member of the Coyotes Ambassadors Club will be given personalized business cards with a unique Coyotes Web link printed on them. The link will allow friends, family members, colleagues and acquaintances of the member to purchase tickets at a discounted rate, the release said.

Members of the Ambassadors Club will then be rewarded for each ticket “sale” they make. Rewards range from credit to be used toward Playoff tickets for the 2009-10 season or toward a ticket package for the 2010-11 season, upgraded complimentary tickets to future games, a meet-and-greet with Coyotes players, or a night in a luxury suite. The Ambassador who sells the most tickets for the season will have the honor of dropping the ceremonial first puck prior to a Coyotes game.

The Ambassadors Club will also have monthly meetings with Coyotes executives to discuss issues related to the Club.

Coyotes blogs and message boards have been filled with ideas on ways to increase ticket sales as the team fights to stay in the Valley. And it looks like the team is listening. The Ambassador Club and the recently launched Coyotes Express, offering ticket and transportation to Coyotes games from select East Valley locations, were borne out of ideas first suggested by fans.

And this STH is already planning on cracking the Top 10 sellers list and shooting for top overall honors. I hope others will get behind this effort as well in the name of friendly competition. Perhaps, we can even get some side action going -- all legal, and above board, of course -- and kick those ideas around with executives when the Club meets.

We all hope this season has a happy ending after the pile crap we've been wading through all these years, and that the Yotes will be here for years to come. And what a great way for all of us to say we had the chance to get truly vested in that effort.

So, STH, time to throw down and get dirty. Come up with some creative ideas to sell some tickets. Have friends who own a business? Have them give you some coupons to hand out to your ticket buyers. I know that's what I'll be asking for from my friends who own a strip club. :-D

Restaurants, bars, retailers, cab companies, hotels, the list is endless. The economy sucks, everyone is hurting, and any business not smart enough to make even the smallest effort to try and get new customers through the door would be foolish.

Have kids in Hockey Leagues, the Scouts, Little League, Soccer? Partner with their leagues, sit their little butts down in front of Safeway, Fry's and Albertson's and offer the discount ticket cards for a $5 donation to raise money for the kids' cause, and you get credit for the ticket sales. Not everyone will buy tickets, but some will and your kids' organization gets a cash boost.

I could go on, but I'd like to hear other ideas. Go hit Twitter, Facebook, your favorite Coyotes or Hockey message boards, and spread the word. Make this a true grassroots effort. And when the season is over, and we've assured a future in Phoenix and, hopefully, enjoyed a playoff appearance, we'll storm the Coyotes offices and demand they throw us a big frickin party! And we invite everyone!

Makeitseven? Troll elsewhere for that 7th team. You're not getting the Coyotes, and we're vesting ourselves in that effort to make sure Doan, Hanzal, Z, Yandle, OEL, Turris, Boedker and Summers stay clad in Coyotes brick-red for years to come, playing home games in Glendale.

Amber Alert Cancelled; Mueller Boy Found

2009-11-05T22:27:00.002-07:00

Family, friends and fans of the Phoenix Coyotes received the wonderful news tonight that Peter Mueller, missing since early last winter, has safely returned to Jobing.com Arena.

Mueller, who had reportedly been sighted many times in the last year, only to have those reports turn out to be incorrect, showed up at tonight's game between the Coyotes and Blackhawks.

While early on Mueller tended to get lost in the crowd of players on the ice, causing many to believe this was another false sighting, he suddenly reappeared in the front of the net, by himself, and beat Chicago goalie Christobal Huet, bringing the crowd to its feet. Mueller's goal put the Coyotes up 2-0, and they would go on to win, 3-1.

"We're so happy to have Petey back," a beaming Uncle Shane Doan said after the game. "We never gave up hope he'd be returned to us, and we'll do everything in our power to keep him with us and safe."

Cousin Radim Vrbata, who had his best NHL season in Phoenix in 2007 and who played with the then-rookie Mueller who broke into the league and recorded 54 points, shared Uncle Shane's excitement. "I missed Peter since my return this year and kept hoping he'd return. Watching him tonight was like a flashback to two years ago when he was an up-and-coming star in this league. It's all up from here"

Mueller had few words to say after the game, other than how happy he was to be home. The last year has been quite an ordeal, he said, but he has a sense of renewed hope after tonight that he'll be able to recapture the magic that was his rookie season.

Mueller will join his teammates for the short trip to Anaheim for a Saturday game with the Ducks.

Oops! Forgot to Follow the Script

2009-11-02T23:03:00.003-07:00

Tonight did not play out as it was scripted. The Phoenix Coyotes are out of bankruptcy as of today, the NHL is the team's new owner, local Phoenicians had that news in plenty of time to turn out for tonight's game and did not, and the Coyotes blew a 3-1 lead and lost to the LA Kings, 5-3. WTF?

The worst crowd of the season was in attendance -- World Series game 6, I know, but 5,855? (And it was not even close to that) -- and the team lays an egg after a great win Saturday against the Ducks. Granted, they were lucky to be in the game at all but still managed to sneak a 3-1 lead 39 minutes into the game, then couldn't hold on as they looked eerily similar to the Coyotes of years past.

Hard to look at this game and say anyone stood out from a positive standpoint, but there was plenty of sloppy play to go around. Give the Kings credit. They were well prepared for this game as they did a great job playing the Coyotes style of shutdown defense by clogging passing lanes and pressuring the puck, but you still can't blow a 3-1 lead as the 'Yotes did.

Best to put this one in the books, learn from it, and get ready for a trip to Colorado for a game Wednesday, then return home Thursday for a tilt with the Blackhawks. Hopefully the team will rebound. But will hockey fans who have been loud and clear that they'll stay away from the Job until Jerry Moyes was gone, wake the hell up and start making their way back to the arena? I sure as hell hope so. The summer's been tough enough but there is a small flicker of light at the end of the tunnel thanks to the NHL seeing that RIM co-CEO Jim Balsillie's effort to steal the team away to Canada was rejected in BK court.

Of course attendance isn't going to jump 20%, 30%, or 40% overnight, but come on people! Tickets are cheap, and season ticket holders and other faithfuls are doing everything in their power to encourage more fans to check out this team, so the time is now to show any potential local owners out there that investing in the Coyotes and Glendale is worth the shot. Time to step up! Forgo Sonic, Jack-in-the-Box and Burger King for a few weeks, cook some cheap, healthy meals at home for a change, and throw down $60 to take your family of four to a freaking hockey game. Yeah, it's that important!

STH have access to upper level seats priced at $10.25 - $21.25, and can also get you into lower bowl seats for $31.25. Reach out and tell them you're on a budget and cannot afford gate prices. They'll hook you up. Message me here if you don't know any other STH and I'll hook you up. None of us are looking to make a profit on this deal, we want butts in the seats and we want NHL hockey to remain in the Valley. And we're willing to share our discount pricing.

I know, we all know, things are tough financially for many families. But if you care about seeing the Coyotes stay here and can figure out a way to trim your household budget by $20, $30, $40, $50 or $60 at some point between now and the end of December, please get out to a game.

You can also visit phoenixcoyotes.com and check out some of the great deals they have there including student nights when a student ID gets you upstairs for $10 and downstairs for $20. All-you-can-eat packages for everyone upstairs are $30. Heck, bring some shopping bags and cart out the dogs, peanuts, popcorn and nachos on those all-you-can-eat nights to cover dinner for a few nights, and use that money you save to go to another game.

OK, maybe that's a little extreme, but we'll soon be approaching desperation time, folks. The opportunities are there to get hooked up with affordable tickets. All you need do is ask. It will be worth the effort.

Coyotes Find Another Way to Win

2009-10-31T23:28:00.003-07:00

On this Halloween night when it seemed everything was coming up "trick" instead of "treat," the Coyotes found a way to grab two more points and close out October with 9 wins and 18 points, a record for the franchise.

Despite some questionable calls that went against them, the Yotes killed off 6 of the 7 power plays the Ducks enjoyed, giving up the only goal with 4 seconds left on a 5-3 Ducks advantage. The Yotes were 0-2 on the power play.

After falling behind 2-1 halfway through the 3rd period, the Coyotes responded by tying the game just 18 seconds later when Sami Lepisto, looking like a forward more than a defenseman, hit Vernon Fiddler on the tape and Fiddler buried his 2nd of the season as he camped out in front of the net, just to the right of goaltender Jonas Hiller who never saw Fiddler's shot.

Tied at 2 heading into the shootout, Radim Vrbata scored on the first shot to get things going, and that would prove to be the game-winner. Bryzgalov stopped all three shots he faced with relative ease -- OK, maybe not with ease if you were on the ice, but from the stands he made it look easy -- while Shane Doan and Lauri Korpikoski both hit the posts on their SO attempts.

The Coyotes 3-2 shootout win over the Ducks puts the 'Yotes in 2nd in the Pacific Division, one point behind the Sharks, and 4th in the conference three weeks into the season. We all know it will take another month of playing like this before the doubters will wake up to the fact that this is a good, solid hockey team, but anyone who has watched every game already knows what the detractors soon will.

You just can't ignore the facts. Thirteen games in and the Coyotes are:

-- 1st in the NHL for fewest goals allowed (only team giving up <2>

-- 1st (tied) for winning % when leading after 2 periods

-- 3rd in winning % when out-shooting their opponents

-- 4th in 5-on-5 goals for/against ratio

-- 4th in winning % when trailing after the first period

-- 5th overall in out-shooting its opponents

-- 10th overall in Power Play %

Those are some pretty solid numbers across-the-board. If this team can find some consistent offensive firepower, who knows? This might be the year the playoff drought ends.

Only one of the 13 games so far this year have the Coyotes been routed. That was last Monday in New York. Since then, the Coyotes have strung three straight wins together over Columbus, St. Louis and Anaheim, giving up a total of 3 goals in those 3 games.

Their 9 wins have come against teams with a combined 54-37-11 record so far in 2009, and seven of the eight teams they beat were in the playoffs last year. I call that a pattern, and one that appears to be taking shape for the whole season, if this team can stay healthy.

I think it's safe to say that other than Peter Mueller's disappointing play, there have been a lot of pleasant surprises so far. Did anyone think Sami Lepisto was this good? Anyone besides me thinking that when Kurt Sauer returns to the lineup, that Coach Dave Tippett will skate seven defenseman each night? With what Lepisto has shown so far, and highlighted by Saturday's performance against the Ducks, you sometimes forget Sami is a defenseman with his ability to skate, make the outlet pass, and maneuver through the offensive zone like a forward.

Vernon Fiddler is fast becoming a fan favorite, and deservedly so. He brings energy and tenacity to the 4th line he centers with Taylor Pyatt and Daniel Winnik that looks like it will be together for some time. He's been brilliant in the face-off circle, a beast on the fore-check and back-check, and is on pace to crank his amp up to 12 from 11!

Pyatt and Winnik are both looking like the solid two-way forwards they were always projected to be, and Adrian Aucoin and Jim Vandermeer are demonstrating that they must have been misused or miscast in Calgary, where each had reputations as poor defenders.

I'll save some of the other surprises for later.

Let's hope that as the season moves forward the Coyotes continue to establish themselves as a team no one likes to play, knowing that every contest will be physical, exhausting and frustrating for opponents as they try and solve a defensive system that doesn't seem to have many holes. And goaltenders who seem to be benefiting from a new coach who understands that when you're well over 6-feet tall, solid positioning and using your body is the key to success, rather than sliding and flopping while trying to make acrobatic saves. That might work for the little guys, but big bodies like Bryz and LaBarbera need to play a controlled game. And Goaltending Coach Sean Burke seems to be instilling that in both goalies so far.

Finally, I'd be remiss without mentioning Head Coach Dave Tippett. He has been nothing short of magnificent in leading this team so far. He preaches a pack mentality, praises good play, and calls out those who are under-performing. Peter Mueller got the call-out Saturday as a healthy scratch. The last two guys who were healthy scratches -- Scottie Upshall Thursday in St. Louis, and Lauri Korpikoski Wednesday in Columbus -- have played with great intensity since they returned. You might not have noticed it if you were strictly looking at the scoresheet, but if you watched the games you'd know what I am talking about.

It's your turn now, Petey. Time to wake up and show everyone the 54 points you recorded in your rookie season two years ago was the REAL Peter Mueller, and not the guy impersonating you since last year.

Yotes Win Again; And I'm Liking Ice Edge

2009-10-29T19:30:00.003-07:00

Maybe we found the secret for success for the Phoenix Coyotes: stay on the road; play every night; and alternate the goaltenders.

Thursday's solid 2-0 effort in St. Louis followed an equally impressive win Wednesday in Columbus as the Coyotes wrapped up a road trip that saw them win two-out-of-three in four days and now head home for games Saturday and Monday against Pacific Division rivals Anaheim and Los Angeles, respectively.

Ilya Bryzgalov bounced back in magnificent fashion from Monday's fiasco in New York to become the first NHL goalie to record three shutouts so far this season.

Bryz saved all 32 shots he faced and Dan Winnik provided all the offense the Coyotes would need in the 2nd period when he blistered a shot past St. Louis goalie Ty Conklin. Winnik took a perfect pass from Vernon Fiddler and skated in to the left of Conklin before blasting a shot over Conklin's right shoulder.

Taylor Pyatt chipped in his first of the season and Fiddler earned his second assist on the night when Fiddler hit a cutting Pyatt who looked like he was moving to the forehand before pulling the puck to his backhand and flipping past an out-of-position Conklin.

The Coyotes continued to dominate and frustrate their opponents with aggressive fore-checking, back-checking, and playing the boards, limiting the Blues from getting deep very often on Bryzgalov. But even when they did, Bryz was up to the task, making four great saves in the game including two back-to-back pad saves in the 2nd period, the first sliding to his left to kick out one shot, then to his right extending a right leg to turn away the rebound.

A lot of things went well for the Coyotes, obviously, but one thing really stuck out: just as in the Columbus game, it was obvious that 12 forwards and 6 defensemen all contributed to the wins. In New York Fiddler and Winnik were the only two guys you could come away from that game and say, "yeah, Vern and Danny played hard." Last night and in St. Louis, you can look back and recall a nice play, or two or three by every skater. I'm getting a little tired of hearing "Pack Mentality" as the team's new moniker, but damn was it evident again tonight.

The Coyotes return home with an 8-4 overall record, and 5-2 on the road. Seems reasonable back-to-back wins at home will elevate the home record to that same 5-2 before heading out on the road again.

There was a lot of good news coming out of Phoenix this week with word that there was an agreement in principle for the NHL to close on its acquisition of the team and the look to sell it without the court looming in the background.

It will still take some time to close the deal, but Darryl Jones of the Ice Edge group made a very interesting statement this week and one that Coyotes fans should take some comfort in. Asked about his reaction to it looking like, finally, the NHL would get the team and could move forward on a sale, Jones said this: "...What people (fans in Phoenix) need is to really believe definitively that the team is not leaving, to be able to open up their hearts again."

An insincere statement to curry favor to close a business deal? Maybe. But I don't think so. Jones has said several things over the past couple of weeks that makes me think he and Ice Edge are sincere in wanting to make things work in Phoenix. Instead of putting a time limit on the front end of how long the group will commit to staying in the Valley, or what concessions it will demand from the City of Glendale or the NHL, Jones and Ice Edge talk about what Coyotes fans have been howling about all summer: the importance of repairing the damage done to the franchise over the years; some creative and cooperative marketing with the City and Westgate to "sell" not just hockey, but the Glendale-Westgate-Coyotes experience.

Ice Edge seems to recognize that success on the ice is crucial to the plan, but they also understand it's not fair to expect the fans to come flocking back until we are all convinced these guys mean business and their goal truly is to see hockey succeed in Phoenix.

I'd love it if the team continues to play well and the fans start to trickle back even if it's just to see some exciting and competitive NHL hockey getting played in Phoenix for a change. No one expects attendance to make a huge upswing this year no matter how well the team plays. But to hear Jones and Ice Edge telling us it will be up to to them or whomever ends up buying the team to put all those the pieces in place first in order to make the fans want to come back, and not the other way around, tells me they get it. And I'm really starting to warm to these guys.

New Line Combos Pay Off

2009-10-28T20:48:00.002-07:00

Not sure if Coach Dave Tippett will continue to shake up the lines, but his moves tonight looked brilliant for all 60 minutes of play.

While it would still be nice to see more scoring from the forwards, the puck movement was outstanding, the forechecking, backchecking and pinching was reminiscent of the Pens game, and Peter Mueller showed some real signs of life out there tonight. I have a sense that once he gets his first he'll go on a tear, and pairing him with Doan is the key. The Captain's style of play seemed to inspire Mueller tonight, and he was hitting, chasing, passing and even shooting with a lot more confidence.

Daniel Winnik is approaching that point after 11 games where you can no longer say his play is a "surprise." He has been rock solid virtually every night and his skating looks so improved over last year. And with Fiddler and Winnik going hard in the corners, cycling the puck behind the net, and Pyatt beginning to show he loves to hang out in front of the net, that is a physical 4th line that can do some damage as the season progresses.

Yandle certainly shined tonight and is beginning to look like the power play quarterback we all expected him to become. The puck movement was tremendous by all the PP lines tonight and it was great to see the defensemen jumping in to the dots and not sitting passively at the blueline to make sure the puck was held in or they didn't get beat going the other way. There is enough speed on this team and physical, aggressive checking to slow down any rushed going the other way. Those plays will certainly happen, but more aggressive play and 5 players focused on getting the puck to the net will result in more goals than we'll give up. Absolutely loved the PP tonight.

The penalty kill also looked much better tonight, but LaBarbera deserves a lot of that credit. He was stellar all night long but looked particularly focused on the PK. Played a very controlled game, and seems to be learning well from Sean Burke to better use his size and positioning to block shots. He looks nothing like the disaster he was with the Kings. I'm sure it's a combination of maturity, getting the opportunity to come in to a team where he can legitimately challenge for 20-30 starts in a season, and to finally have a coach who understands what JL can and cannot do, and focus on making him better in those specific areas of his game. Safe to say Sean Burke is coaching like he played, and has been able to impart that knowledge both to Bryz and LaBarbera.

As well as all played tonight I think the bigger takeaway from this game is that it comes on the heels of Monday's disaster. Columbus is a very good team that plays a very similar style to the Coyotes. Same is true of the Rangers though they have more firepower than either the Yotes or Jackets. But to be able to put together an effort like tonight after Monday, and do it on the road has to be a huge boost of confidence for everyone. And not just because they won, but how they won.

Shaking up the lines reinforces the importance that this team needs to play 60 minutes of solid hockey every night and it can be in every game. Being able to develop chemistry between players who can then be interchanged to take advantage of the nightly matchups is a huge advantage, and one that is key to most successful teams in the league. We're not going to have scoring lines like Ovechkin, Crosby, Heatley, Kovalchuk, Datsyuk, Nash, and Kopitar night-in-and-night out. But we can certainly roll out lines that match-up to slow those scoring lines down as much as possible, and allow our speed and physical play on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th lines to take advantage of those scoring opportunities when they present themselves.

Doan will likely get his 70 points, but I won't be shocked if we have 6-8 guys scoring in the 30-50 points range. It's not flashy, but it's enough to win games if the goaltending continues to shine, the defense continues to improve, and the PK and PP develop more consistency.

The playoffs are certainly still an outside shot in a very tough Western Conference, but after 11 games in which we've had the chance to earn points well into the 3rd period in all but one of those games, the pattern is one to breed optimism.

Knock on wood we don't get clobbered by injuries going forward, but there is a difference between this year and last if the happens. Turris, Porter, MacLean, Boedker and Tikhonov and logging tons of ice time in San Antonio and responding well by putting up points and learning to be more effective two-way players. When they're called up they'll be better prepared than last year and should be oozing with confidence and determination to prove they deserve to stay with the big club. That wasn't even on our radar last year. With the versatility of Winnik, Fiddler, Mueller, and Lombardi to rotate effectively between the forward positions, we'll be able to call up the best forward available from SA, and not have to be limited by calling up a center if a center goes down.

I'm still not getting too high or too low on this team yet, but you have to like 14 points of 22; 8 of 12 on the road; and only 2 out of 22 points you never had a shot at.

I say roll out Labarbera again tomorrow, and roll with the same lines. Oh, and I loved that Lang goal to close it out. It was one of those moments when it hit you that, "Oh, yeah, I forgot he can do shit like that. That was sweet." Found the open spot, knew exactly where he was going with the shot, and had his stick ready and waiting for the feed. Did you see that effortless lift and flick? I did, but I know Steve Mason didn't.

Ah, That's Why They Were Sent to SA

2009-10-18T19:59:00.002-07:00

A lot of people were very surprised before the season started that Kyle Turris and Viktor Tikhonov were sent to San Antonio. And Mikkel Boedker joined them less than a week ago.

Many speculated it was huge a mistake -- outside Coyotes Land -- and would further hinder the development of those players who saw plenty of time with the big club last season. Turris, Tikh and Boedker were regulars all season.

The fear was it would destroy any shred of confidence that remained among the three 2nd-year players, the oldest of whom celebrated his 21st birthday in May.

We're eight games into the Rampage season, the team is 6-2, and Turris, Tikhonov and Boedker rank 2nd, 6th and 9th, respectively, in total points. Boedker has 5 in 3 games, Turris 9 in 8, and Tikh 7 in 8.

Two other youngsters that got a long look at camp this year and were among the last cuts were Kevin Porter and Brett MacLean. They currently rank 3rd and 4th, respectively, in scoring.

With all the problems this organization has had over the years, especially this off-season, it's rewarding to see the 'Yotes and Rampage both off to great starts, with the organization's top 5 offensive prospects in the AHL combining for 16-24-40, or 1.25 PPG per player.

I think we can lay the confidence fear to rest. When the injury bug hits in Phoenix, and it will, how refreshing it will be to reach down into the talent-laden pool in San Antonio that has been racking up minutes and making significant contributions. And whose significant TOI appears to be building confidence among the Baby Yotes, not diminishing it.

A Pattern is Developing

2009-10-18T11:20:00.003-07:00

If you get your Coyotes news from the Bruins, Blues, Sharks, Pens and Kings sites, you know all five of those teams played the worst hockey in the history of their organization the night they played the Coyotes.

Reading all the posts you'll learn that their teams could get nothing going offensively, continually turned over the puck, played the entire game on the perimeter in the offensive zone, and in general played with a malaise expecting to roll over the Coyotes.

Never mind the Coyotes are off to a 5-2 start, the five wins are against teams with a combined 21-14-2 record, and their two losses were to teams off to a combined 9-2-1 start.

And never mind the Coyotes are averaging 2.57 GPG while holding their opponents to 1.43 GPG. Or they have yet to lose when leading after either the 1st or 2nd period. Or they are 2nd in the league in even strength goals for/against ratio.

Some other key early season indicators: 1st in fewest goals allowed (24th last year); 5th in fewest shots allowed (23rd last year); 6th in face-offs won % (30th last year); 10th on the PK (28th last year); 14th in shots per game (28th last year); and 17th on the PP (28th last year).

Seven games is hardly an accurate barometer in an 82-game season, but there's enough of a pattern to start the season that tells us General Manager Don Maloney was bang on at the end of last season when he talked about his off-season plans and the teams needs.

1) Less reliant on youth. Kyle Turris, Mikkel Boedker, Kevin Porter, and Viktor Tikhonov, all starters to begin last season, were sent to San Antonio before the season started.

2) Better veteran depth at key positions: Fiddler, Pyatt, Vandermeer, Aucoin, and Lang.

3) Forwards who could play a solid two-way game: Fiddler, Pyatt, Korpikoski.

4) Improving in the face-off circle. Say hello to Vern Fiddler, Robert Lang, an improving Martin Hanzal, and Matt Lombardi for a full season.

5) Improving on the penalty kill and power play. Better success in the face-off circle is a huge component of special teams, and it's paying off.

6) Challenging Bryzgalov by bringing a veteran goaltender. Some scoffed when it turned out to be Jason LaBarbera, but he had a phenomenal first start.

So far, so good. And of course you can't do an analysis of the 1st two weeks without recognizing the contribution of a revamped coaching staff.

For four years Coyotes fans have sat in the stands and watched an ineffective dump-and-chase offense that spent more time chasing the opponent down to the other end than setting up any semblance of an offensive system. On the PP and PK, couldn't win a face-off to save our souls, leading to too many clears on the PP, and 2 solid minutes of pressure in our zone trying to kill a penalty.

New Head Coach Dave Tippett, new Assistant Coach Dave King, and holdovers Associate Coach Ulf Samuelson, Assistant Coach Doug Sulliman, and recently promoted Goalie Coach Sean Burke have a history together from their past playing and coaching days, and it shows.

To say it is obvious the Coyotes indeed have a "system" for every facet of the game is an understatement. They've been criticized for playing a "boring" trap-style game, but not sure what's boring about shutting out Pittsburgh and San Jose, and giving up one goal to the Bruins.

Seven games does not equal 82. But it's a good start to sampling data. So, if this pattern of virtually every game being a close affair continues, feel free to go ahead and trash your teams and blame it on their poor play and/or taking the Coyotes too lightly. We'll happily continue to take the Ws, even if you don't give us any credit.

It is kind of funny that all we heard this off-season was what a horrible hockey market Phoenix was, that no fans here knew anything about the game, and the sooner the team moved to Canada the better. Yet after seven games I can safely say our take on this team is far more accurate than those who simply cannot understand how professional athletes, playing for a supposed crap team, in a crap market, before crap crowds, and not being sure if their next paycheck will clear, can go out on the ice and perform as they have.

The players and the organization are doing their parts, and it's up to us fans to start doing ours. It would be a shame to have a phenomenal season in Phoenix, finally, only to have it be the last year here.

Whiteout, priceless; shutout, sucked; but Phoenix Hockey Alive and Well!

2009-10-10T23:26:00.003-07:00

I'll be brief. Jobing.com was a sea of white tonight. And despite some thinking it was mostly curious, non-hockey locals taking advantage of cheap seats, you had to be there to know how wrong you are.

For every person in attendance dressed in white, one wore the shirt given out when they entered the arena. And 9 wore vintage Coyotes jerseys, assorted white Coyotes long-sleeved shirts, and newly purchased Coyotes attire for the occasion.

The game result was a disappointment, yes. But for all of us who have been insisting all summer that a successful team on the ice will bring people back to the Job, we saw it tonight. They did return. And many I spoke to will return again.

I heard a lot of stories of why people have drifted away. Location of the arena never came up. For most, it was tiring of watching an inferior product.

What struck me, though, was many said they now regret having taken this franchise for granted. The Suns, Cardinals and Dbacks have suffered and survived through attendance turmoil, and they assumed the Coyotes would, too. But after the events of this summer, they realized just how close we came to losing the Coyotes.

We'll see if that translates into better attendance. Talk is cheap. A lot of us brought some newbies to the game tonight, and everyone I've talked to said at least one they brought plans on attending more games. I can claim two, starting Thursday against the Blues.

One game is not going to turn things around. But if this team can play the rest of the season more like it did in LA and Pittsburgh, people will find their way into those Jobing seats more frequently. And the organization has put together some good future promotions to make it more affordable.

Our Canadian friends can scoff at that concept if they wish. But, for now, Phoenix has an NHL team that played before a sellout crowd tonight. And those of us who are and have been there through it all will continue to work our butts off to make sure we keep bringing new folks back, and reminding those who lost their way that they cannot take an NHL team in Phoenix for granted. They, too, must show their dedication once again.

We love the Roenick, Numminen, Tkachuk, Tocchet, and Khabibulin jerseys we all saw tonight. It's our history. And we want to see more of them. And we want them to tell their friends. As a community we have to do our part to make sure the Coyotes are here to stay. In return, the organization must do its part by putting a product on the ice that people want to see.

Tonight was a difficult game to watch. Building was full, the fans were ready to explode, yet that chance never presented itself. Well, other than for the non-call when Fiddler took a high-stick to the face and of the >17,000 in the building, the only two people who didn't notice were the guys in the striped shirts with the orange arm bands.

Funny, for a building full of folks supposedly ignorant when it comes to the game of hockey and its rules, they sure knew a high-sticking non-call when they saw it. And they didn't even need a replay on the jumbotron to know what they saw in real-time.

A disappointing game, indeed. But it was just one of 82. We have 78 more this season (and 40 at home). We have some work to do, as fans and as an organization. And speaking for the fans my family and I spent this Saturday night with, we're ready to do our part.

So, to our neighbors to the north, fire away at how undeserving we are and how entitled you are. We'll see that and raise you.

Rough Night For Coyotes, On and Off Ice

2009-10-08T22:35:00.005-07:00

It's tough enough to have to look back on a game when more went wrong than right, but to then read that you are returning home to an "uncertain welcome" for your home opener before a sellout crowd, you've got to start thinking, "Who writes this stuff and who's peddling this BS to reporters?"

The Coyotes lost for the first time this year on Thursday, dropping a 2-1 affair in Buffalo to the Sabres. They were outplayed, out-hustled, and showed a lack of discipline for the first time this year, yet they still managed to hang around for 60 minutes and nearly stole a point. It certainly had to be a disappointing performance for everyone involved but, as Coach Dave Tippett noted 24 hours earlier after beating the Pens in Pittsburgh, it's one game so learn from it and focus on the next one. If only it was that easy.

As I wrote last night I was perplexed by the media recaps of the Pens game that explained the loss as a horrible Pittsburgh performance that had nothing whatsoever to do with what their opponents were doing on the ice. But tonight, AP hit a new height, or more appropriately a new low. Three paragraphs on the game's three goal scorers, save numbers for both goaltenders, then this:

"Phoenix (2-1), embroiled in off-ice controversy since filing for bankruptcy in May and nearly winding up in nearby Hamilton, Ontario, then enduring a coaching change just before the season, lost for the first time and was denied its best start since 2003. The Coyotes return home on Saturday to an uncertain welcome to play their first regular season game in Glendale since entering bankruptcy protection."

I haven't yet decided what the reporter was thinking when he filed his report. Maybe he buried the paragraph deep in his story and an editor somewhere felt the unattributed claim deserved higher prominence in the game report. All I know is I have followed the Coyotes saga closely -- even attending court sessions and reading virtually every page of the 1,000+ documents filed in the case -- and never did I get a sense they were even remotely close to, "winding up in nearby (to Buffalo) Hamilton." More shocking is the idea that some significant portion of the 18,000 who will be at Jobing.Com Arena for the opener in Glendale Saturday may be planning some type of unwelcome welcome for the team.

Is it an effort to keep the Hamilton dream alive? Or to keep harping on the fact the team is still in bankruptcy? Maybe it's just another effort to demean the local fans and blame solely them for the Coyotes plight. You know, kind of like the Pens were to blame for their loss to the Coyotes Wednesday night.

It's been a summer of agony for hockey fans in the desert, and Oct. 1st could not have come soon enough. But it did, and we're more than a week into the season. I get why we're still talking about this crap, but in a game recap? Before talking about the brilliant play of Sabres goaltender Ryan Miller and the Coyotes Jason LaBarbera, who were the reasons the game was as close as it was? Or the undisciplined penalties that eventually caught up with the Coyotes late in the 3rd when the Sabres scored the winning goal? Or that the Sabres were masterful in their preparation to turn this game into a track meet?

I know that information was out there, because I heard it. But damn if I can find a source for the "uncertain welcome" claim, or why it was judged more important than the performance everyone witnessed, or the comments of everyone involved in the game -- players, coaches, commentators -- both on and off the ice.

Maybe I've become a bit too sensitive on this whole bankruptcy subject. Maybe it is what matters most to the millions of hockey fans in North America and around the world. Maybe the on-ice game is secondary to the juicy controversy and continual conspiracy theories that flow from the Coyotes BK case.

As to my above thoughts, I suppose it's yes, no, and are you freaking kidding me?

The Coyotes will play the 2009-10 season in Glendale. The home opener is sold out. Fans in Phoenix are excited about this team. And they are working very hard to tell their friends and neighbors we have some great entertainment available here, and if we don't support it we may lose it.

There is a lot of competition for entertainment dollars in every market. But in one of the largest US metropolitan areas most-affected by the recession, it goes much deeper than that. We know it, and we get it. We read and hear it every day on the news and in the business section. But on the sports page? The sports page? Every single day?

Can we just play the damn game, please?

Coyotes Deserve Credit for Poor Pens Play

2009-10-07T23:20:00.006-07:00

Sami Lepisto (18) says "hello" to Sidney Crosby (87) in 3rd period.

It's been a few hours since the Phoenix Coyotes' 3-0 shutout of defending Stanley Cup champions the Pittsburgh Penguins, and I'm still looking for a game recap that gives the Coyotes at least some above-the-fold credit for taking it to the Pens for 60 minutes.

Instead, paragraph after paragraph drones on and on about the Pens horrible play. How maybe they took the Coyotes too lightly; or were looking ahead to the Philly game and a five-game road trip; or how they just simply could not get untracked. No mention of the aggressive play of the Coyotes. The energy and team-effort you couldn't miss if you watched the game.

Ilya Bryzgalov's shutout was dismissed, as he didn't have to make many "difficult" saves. Wonder why that might have been? Certainly not because anything the Coyotes did to disrupt the Pens play. The checking, the hitting, the poke checks, filling the passing lanes. None of that was relevant. The Pens simply played a bad game.

It's probably still going to take a few weeks of the Coyotes playing this way before the corner will be turned and the hockey world might finally stand up and say, "Damn, these guys aren't too bad." It's only been two games and of course that does not a season make. But this is the second straight game where we've seen a total team effort. Everyone is doing all the little things you need to do to be a successful hockey team. There's certainly no Iginla, Getzlaf, Thornton, Nash, Datsyuk, Zetterberg, or the Sedins on this team, but if the first two games are indicative of the season to come, those superstars may have their work cut out for them when facing the Coyotes.

I've been sitting in seats at AWA and Jobing for years, and never have I seen a Coyotes team that is so team-focused, playing aggressively in all three zones, and looking like they're coming out intending to win and doing it on their terms, rather than hoping to play well enough to not lose and maybe steal a win.

There's a different energy about this team. Some may dismiss it as a "high" coming from knowing they will be playing in Phoenix this year. But those of us who watched the team go 8-4-1 down the stretch, which gave us hope if we could keep the core together.

Not only did General Manager Don Maloney keep the core together -- Doan, Mueller, Upshall, Lombardi, Prucha, Boedker and Hanzal -- he brought in Robert Lang to make it easier for Kyle Turris to mature in the AHL; Radim Vrbata (3G in 2 games) to replace Todd Fedoruk; two-way forwards Lauri Korpikoski and Vernon Fiddler to improve the defense, kill penalties ('Yotes last in the NHL 2008-09), and win some faceoffs (last in that stat, too); and Daniel Winnick, coming off a disappointing past season, came to camp knowing he was not entitled to a job. And since taking the ice in September has shown anyone paying attention that he has no intention of sitting anytime soon. Add Taylor Pyatt to the mix and you have a roster full of forwards, several who are former 1st-round picks, and all still young enough to just start coming into their own.

On defense, Adrian Aucoin, Jim Vandermeer and Sami Lepisto replace Dmitri Kalinin (in the KHL), Ken Klee (retired) and David Hale (Tampa). That's a pretty significant upgrade and one that looks like it is already paying dividends. When Kurt Sauer went out injured last year the Coyotes went on losing streak and could not stop anyone. Again, it's only one game, but with Sauer out tonight Lepisto stepped into his job and you saw the result. And Crosby felt Lepisto's presence, too. By the way, did I mention it was a 3-0 shutout? And that Coyotes have now played 120 minutes of hockey and have not been scored upon when skating at even-strength?

So, it's a 2-0 start and time to start giving some credit where credit is due. The team may be bankrupt, its future in Phoenix in doubt, and a less-than-filled arena is likely until local ownership is found. But it's playing a very exciting brand of hockey, and it's a style we've waited to see for a very long time. I think in hockey parlance it's called playing with a "system." I know I've said that before, and I'll say it many more times as it simply is not something we are familiar with out here.

Game 3 Thursday night in Buffalo, then home for the sold-out season opener on Saturday. If these next two games are played like the first two, maybe people will start noticing that these guys are better than they were given credit for all off-season. And that in the wacky Western Conference, where Detroit, San Jose, Chicago, Calgary and Vancouver are already inked in to the top five spots, the other three are up for grabs. Why not the Coyotes?

A "Live" Report from LA

2009-10-05T22:28:00.002-07:00

Some thoughts after the Coyotes season-opening 6-3 win over the Los Angeles Kings in LA. I was fortunate enough to attend the game with some other Coyotes fans and, I must say, other than the first three or four minutes of the game, there was little not to like. What we saw was the continued maturing of a team that, when the rest of the league wasn't looking at the end of last season, went 8-4-1 down the stretch. But before going into Saturday's game with LA, a brief recap of how we got here.

Anyone who followed last year's team knows the post-All-Star Game disaster that saw the Coyotes fall from 5th in the Conference to out of the playoff race within a month. We watched the moves made at the trade deadline and saw what GM Don Maloney was attempting to do: add speed and depth to a young core that, when faced with injuries in January, could not shoulder the load and collapsed under the weight. And after a few rocky games with the new faces in town things started to come together. Players like Matty Lombardi, Scottie Upshall and Petr Prucha brought energy and feistiness, and began putting up points. Lombardi even showed us it is possible for the Coyotes to have a center who can win more face-offs than he loses.

We played out the season, disappointed the Edmonton Oilers by knocking them out of the playoff race, and reminded teams like San Jose and Anaheim there are 82 games in a season, no matter where you sit in the standings.

The season ended with a lot of optimism for the 2009-10 campaign, only we got gut-punched a month later when our owner who, as it turned out, walked away from the team at the beginning of the season, was now walking out on us. He lost a boatload of money, no question, but it would have been nice of him to share his intentions with us in April before he asked all of us to fork over our money for this year's seats. No coincidence, I'm sure, that shortly after the renewal deadline passed he filed for bankruptcy protection, and we became unsecured creditors in a court battle.

No need to rehash anymore of that than I already have. You all know the Coyotes are in Phoenix for this season and many of us hope for years to come. The core we finished the season with returns. And new additions that added even more speed and depth, along with some special teams players who would improve our woeful power-play and PK, along with strong two-way forward play. The dump-and-change lines style that Gretzky preached would be gone, replaced by a pesky pressure game that will look to cause turnovers, make it difficult for teams to rush end-to-end as they did so effortlessly in years past and, instead of dump-and-change, I like to call it dump-and-chase with a purpose of being the first to the puck.

The pre-season practices, scrimmages and games gave us a taste of what to expect. Interim Coach Ulf Samuelson's version of the Coyotes looked nothing like the Gretzky-version. Privately, even the players talked about the increased intensity of camp. So, when Dave Tippett was named coach a week before the season started, no one was too surprised. We were elated, but I don't think surprised. And as we learned of the long-time playing and coaching connections between Tippett, Ulf, Assistant Doug Sulliman, new Assistant Dave King, and newly-promoted Goaltending Coach Sean Burke, it wasn't hard to figure out this had been in the works for awhile.

In fairness to Gretzky, as much as I disliked his coaching and believe he was the one most responsible for the Coyotes failings on the ice post-lockout, every Coyotes fan still owes him a tremendous debt of gratitude. We're in a dark place still, yes, but if Gretzky had not stepped up in 2000 and 2001 the Coyotes would be playing in Portland. He saved this franchise then and, as history may show, he may have done it again.

If new ownership emerges committed to staying in Phoenix, and the team responds by excelling on the ice, maybe even playing some games this season in March that truly matter, the fans will begin to come back. And hockey in Phoenix will be reborn. And if that happens, we better not forget to give a shout-out to The Great One, once again.

Now, to the opener in Los Angeles. Despite all the pre-season previews most of you read on the Coyotes, predicting our on-ice version would resemble the Mighty Ducks before Coach Gordon Bombay had arrived, followers of this team bit our tongues, itching for the season to start. We hoped to come out of the gate fast, display the new style that Ulf initiated and Tippett continues to develop. And fast we did.

Kings fans on the message boards are still whining and complaining about losing to the lowly Coyotes. They blast their young team for making too many turnovers, failing to initiate enough hits, and looking pathetic when trying to get anything going 5-on-5. Yet as I sat amongst all the Kings fans in Section 119, next to the Coyotes bench, it didn't take them long to see they were getting beat, at least on this night, by a far better team.

Were there turnovers? A bunch. But most were forced by aggressive play from the Coyotes. Were hits missed? Again, yes they were. But it's difficult to hit a constantly moving target. Even defenseman like Jim Vandermeer and Adrian Aucoin, after going into a corner to snap up a loose puck, showed an intuitive on-ice awareness that always saw their feet moving, and they'd slide just enough so the onrushing player lining up a hit got more board than body. And it happened over, and over.

And when it came to 5-on-5 play, it's pretty hard to set something up when you can't clear your own zone because your being checked and battled everywhere on the ice. And if you do manage to find a passing lane, that pass is met either with a stick deflection or a body to say "hello" to the recipient of that pass. It was kind of reminiscent of a full-court press in basketball. You need speed, quickness and instinct to run an effective FCP. And all those elements seem very evident with this year's version of the Coyotes.

The 2nd and 3rd periods were much like the first. The Coyotes dominated everywhere on the ice. The only complaint was glaringly obvious, and that was the inability to kill a penalty. A lot of work still needs to be done there. A lot of work. But with proven PK'ers like Fiddler and Korpikoski, as well as Radim Vrbata and Matt Lombardi, things will improve. Even having Lombo for a full season who is now joined by another face-off beast in Fiddler has to make the PK better. Last year, we were ~40% in the FO circle on the PK and the PP. Having two guys that will improve that % by more than 25% means more chances to clear the puck on the PK, and more chances to set up in the zone on the PP. It was very tiring these past few years watching a team live in our zone with a man advantage, while we spent most of our time on the PP chasing down cleared pucks.

There is no way you could watch that game and honestly say, "The Kings sucked, and it was just an off night. No way the Coyotes are any good." Everyone there saw the Coyotes are good and, other than power play, the Kings have a lot of work to do, especially in the defensive end.

When it came to 5-on-5 play, the score was 5-0 Coyotes. Ask a Coyotes fan the last time that happened. They'll have to go look it up. Same with dominating in the face-off circle. It just hasn't happened here, and it's such an important part of controlling a game. And turnovers, the Coyotes had few. We'll see how they look against the top-tier teams, but no way this team is not better in many key fundamental areas than in years past.

Am I looking at this game through such rose-colored glasses that what I saw was a fluke? A great effort by a below average team against a team that will finish even lower in the standings than the Coyotes? Perhaps. But I've followed this game long enough to know what I saw, and when a team can perform at the level the Coyotes did for 60 minutes last Saturday, it will be a very competitive NHL team. And plenty of Kings fans I spoke with agreed. This wasn't a game you could look back on and say, "If only Doughty didn't turn that puck over," or, "If Frolov's shot had just caught the inside of the post instead of the outside, the result would have been different." Uh-uh. The Coyotes did too many things right that caused the Kings to do too many things wrong.

It's only one game, I know. And I'm certainly not ready to say start printing the playoff tickets now. But this is a new brand of play the Valley of the Sun hasn't seen before. Not flashy, and no big names, but a group of players who look like they'll play their hearts out 60 minutes of every game. No one played liked their jobs are safe, not even Doan or Jovanovski. Too many times over the years it seemed Coyotes players were simply going through the motions. Not this pre-season, and not last Saturday.

I'll come back to this blog in December for a check-up and see how I did. I feel pretty good about the diagnosis. And I feel even better knowing that no matter what happens this year we still have hockey in the desert, and if we want to keep it here we have to fight or it. Looks like we have a team ready to do its part, I just hope we fans are ready to do ours. And filling the Job on Saturday against Columbus will be a great start.