Friday night the Yotes put on a hellofa show. Before a pretty decent crowd ( approx 11k ) they took it to the Stars. *I am not an attendance watcher but I love this article about attendance from our friend zyllyx)Running premiere goalie Marty Turco outta his net 2/3s of the way through the second period. The Coyotes had scored 4 by that point (Langer, Korpedo x2 and Aucoin). We told them boys about the slot goals and Uppy certainly agrees “ We were tough in those tough areas, and we got pucks out and battled around the net. That’s where we found our goals.” My baby boy Z would welcome TBA (he’s still tall, bald and Alex Auld to me) home with a ripper in the top of the 3rd period making it 5 (the most offensive output from the boys since we tore the Kings a new one at the beginning of the season). To say the Stars were a bit unhappy is probably an understatement and a half, Winnie had to have a few words with Robidas about gettin too pissy.

With about 15 minutes left in the tilt, we got a little lax, Schlemshady lost one and Dallas was able to capitalize on the error and of course our poor worn out PK couldn’t battle forever and the Stars managed a PP goal too. It would be too little too late for the Stars and the final outcome of 5 – 2 was certainly sweet over our division rival. Ott was losin his little mind all night but got nowhere (he almost earned himself a MamaZ  beatdown by going head to head with Z but of course my baby stood his ground without chuckin the knucks) With Biss and Vandy out for the night, I guess Otter figured he could push us around a bit. Doan had a few words with him as did Oakie.

Welcome home Boeds! That assist was perty. May I just say one thing about the reffing of this one? Way to suck major toilet water Zebras! okthnxbai. No matter, we took the W and all is well in the desert. Congratulations to the Korpedo for finally finding his offensive feet!

Mueller? Mueller? Well he’s hurt right now… again. But if that boy don’t light a fire under hisself he may not be a Coyotes much longer. It would be ugly for a guy with his potential to get sent to San Antonio and it would be sad to see him go to another team. Pistol Pete is a good guy but he’s gettin tagged with a very hard to shake lazy tag. You gotta shoot to score Pete. Move your feet and give your best effort, you’ll get rewarded. But most of the time there’s a price to pay called takin a hit to make a play. You need to step up to both ideas and embrace them. People other than me are starting to notice. Better hurry.

Teeks has landed in the Motherland apparently on loan. The KHL is tryin to figure out who he gets to play for. CSKA or his original team the Cherovpets. Apparently the fallout in San Antonio is more than just Ireland. The team has not been playing well to say the least and with Tiki’s offensive production in the toilet, our baby Russian has been ‘loaned’ out to Russia to try to get him back on track. He’s not ‘running away’ he’s done everything official and will set about gettin his poop in a group for a run at the NHL roster next season.

Remember how I was tellin ya’ll about the new local ownership group movin in on the Yotes? Well apparently the Ice Edge Group is feelin the heat a bit and is pushin for an early decision on ownership from the NHL. They are scheduled to meet with Gary and the gang on Monday.

The City of G is still perservering. Ellman ain’t paid his money and they got lots of IOUs from peeps to collect on. I sure hope this whole thing gets resolved soon. My city needs some cash people, pay up!

Hey folks! The Sandstorm sale only runs through Monday so grab those tickets while you can. Get online to Ticketmaster and order up a bunch, you can get any game you want no restrictions! Including those We win, You win games! (a chance to see a hot game cheap and get another one for free!)

We travel to the land of make believe to face the Quacks tonight at 6pm. With Jiggy gettin his first wins finally, I wonder who we will face. The Ducks have a 3 game streak rollin behind the veteran Giguere. He has only allowed 4 goals in his comeback tour de force. With each team taking 1 goal victories from each other, this should be a hell storm.

Facing a rejuvenated Jiggy and a scoring duo like Perry and Selanne will not be an easy task. Adding the ever pissy Getzlaf to the mix will make it a thankless one. These boys are riding high on their brutal spanking of the Blackhawks, especially Jiggy with a beautiful shutout, has to be feelin like God right about now. We have 2 more to add to the will not play list with Muels and Jovo taking various injuries against the Stars on Friday.

We’re back in 8th place in the West and 15th in the league. We really, really need to slap the fowl taste right off the Duck’s backs tonight. (2 points would leapfrog us over OTT and BUF to match points with 10th and 11th place BOS and DAL) Our best bet to snaggin a playoff berth is to hang about in the middle of the league pack and stay relentless.

Keys to this game?

Don’t forget that nasty elbow the Wizzer gave Doaner but don’t be all about the revenge factor. Takin the 2 points and leavin the Quacks in the Pacific cellar will be revenge aplenty. Play hard but play smart buckos. Every time you get wronged, put a goal in the net. There will be plenty of opportunities for PP goals… take advantage of them.

Both teams have been sinners extraordinaire in the eyes of the refs. The Ducks use that to their advantage most of the time. Its about time we do the same. We get no respect nor leeway and we’ll end up in the bin unfairly a time or 5 this game too. The PK HAS to be sharp.

Every game hinges on the goalkeeper as usual. Hang in there Bryzzie! Z is back and your life just got a hell of  a lot easier but remember, them other blueliners are still out there so be careful to stay on your toes. This is the ultimate showdown Bryzgalov VS Giguere. You got this maaan!

Its time for some MIA members of the scoring committee to step up their game, especially those who get all that beautiful PP time. Hey Doaner, I see that you have your slapper back, we could really get a kick outta seeing that a few more times per game and Vrby? you been workin so hard for so little lately… this could really be your game my little Czech sniper. Pruuu! No more robberies son, get you some points baby, MamaZ could really use one of your belly slider goals tonight.

Thats all I got for now. BTinAZ has some great pics up from the last few home games go check ‘em out.

As always… GO COYOTES!

Talk about a hellofa ride! We have been in the upper middle of the chase all season. The highs have been great but damn if it don’t make the lows that much more painful. We started off seriously hot. If you didn’t enjoy shuttin the haters up with our jumpstart out of the gate, you just don’t have a heartbeat.

Consistency is really going to be an issue for us no matter who is in the lineup. Getting hit with the injury bug right where it hurt us most is par for the Coyotes course. We turn into defensive juggernauts and of course lose our 3 best blueliners just as we’re gettin the hang of it. But the noobs have been valiant in handling their bizness. (Both Schlemshady and Hushpuppy have scored their NHL goals) … umm where are the other big guns? When Keith Yandle is your best player on the ice besides Bryzzie…something is very wrong with your veterans.

So we still got cojones to spare most nights. When we’re playin Tippett’s system we are a force to be reckoned with… When we fall back on the dump n chase, scared of our own shadow crap, we give the haters so much joy. (No one said it was gonna be a cakewalk to turn this barge around) I’m not expecting miracles here buckos but I am expecting the 09 Yotes (u know..those guys who are battling against the world for their very survival?) to win games against the teams they ’should’ beat and to at least make a good showing against the rest. And wtf? is up with this piss poor home thang? Performance anxiety my ass. We’re your extra man advantage dudes… but not if you can’t be bothered to show up.

Anyway… we play the Stars at 7pm it should be interesting again. The boys showed the Dallas bigwigs what a good coach can pull out of his butt. We need to do it again. If we can keep our conference rivals from getting points we just might be able to pull this season into focus for the remaining fence sitters. With Z and Jovo back we should be in good shape for this one. JV didn’t look 100% against Calgary but he and Z were both loggin decent minutes.

Keys to the game?

Stay out of the damn box as always. Giving Dallas a power play is tantamount to poking yourself in the eye with a sharp stick. Stupid and senseless way to lose an eye a game.

Remember where the best goals are scored… in the middle of the slot (Don’t get all dependent on Yandle to pull your asses out of the fire with a suprise cannonball at the blue). Ummm especially remember the opponent scores best from there too and don’t let ratty Riberio in yours.

Keep a lid on Modano, that old dog still has plenty of teeth. Dallas has just as many dangerous no name players as we do, Brad Richards cough* cough*… and watch that damn Neal too. (Sorry Jimmy, I know I have you on like 12 fantasy rosters but I’d rather lose a few points than this game)

Don’t play Jason Labarbra even if Bryz has the Hinny Flu. Call up Monty and let him deal. (Sorry AZBarbie, the way you been floppin around swingin yer stick and break dancin like a headless chicken on crack makes me ill)

Come on out! Can’t be a cheaper entertainment package in all of Arizona… speaking of cheap…

Operation Sandstorm kicked off today. “Phoenix Coyotes President & Chief Operating Officer Douglas Moss announced today that the Coyotes will hold a “Sandstorm Sale,” offering select lower level tickets for just $25. The sale will begin at 10 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 27 and will end on Monday, Nov. 30 at 10 p.m.

This offer includes all of the available lower level seats in sections 102, 103, 109, 110, 113, 114, 120 and 121 at Jobing.com Arena. During this brief four-day sale, fans will be able to purchase tickets in any of these sections for any remaining Coyotes home game during the 2009-10 regular season (December-April) for just $25 while supplies last. The tickets for the Sandstorm Sale can only be purchased at ticketmaster.com.

While the Sandstorm Sale pertains to all Coyotes regular season home games from December through April, there are several notable games during the upcoming holiday season.

Holiday Season Highlights:

• Black Friday: Friday, Nov. 27 @ 7 p.m. – Dallas Stars at Phoenix Coyotes
• Calgary Flames: Thursday, Dec. 3 @ 7 p.m. – Calgary Flames at Phoenix Coyotes
• We Win, You Win: Saturday, Dec. 5 @ 8 p.m. – Ottawa Senators at Phoenix Coyotes (If the Coyotes win, redeem your voucher – received upon entry – and game ticket for a free ticket to a future game)
• Christmas Weekend: Wednesday, Dec. 23 @ 7 p.m. – Anaheim Ducks at Phoenix Coyotes
• Blanket Giveaway: Saturday, Dec. 26 @ 7 p.m. – Los Angeles Kings at Phoenix Coyotes (First 10,000 fans in attendance receive a Coyotes blanket courtesy of AT&T)
• New Year’s Eve: Thursday, Dec. 31 @ 5 p.m. – San Jose at Phoenix Coyotes”

** we said we’d be behind anything that got butts in the seats (and I know this feels like a slap in the face with a dead fish) I wish they’d make it a little more palatable by offering the STHs a lil somethin somethin (if not now… maybe next season all STHs get a discount? ummm assuming we are around for next year). But it is what it is and I hope it works to galvanize some ticket sales. Its only a few days firesale but again… I hope a lot of people buy a lot of games. We are going to take soo much flak over it so it better work. Soo speaking of sticking around for 2010…

New suitors challenging the Ice Edge group for the team… am I the only one thinkin the NHL is gonna HAVE to figure out a compromise with the CoG to really get the team sold? Getting the lease revamped would raise the value of the team more than any 10 other actions the league could take. But I think over the next month we will see the serious local groups throw their hats on the ice. Bettman says there are 6 suitors for the team (in one form or another) hopefully by season’s end a local bidder prevails.

The City of G has its collective ass in a sling. They can’t just sit on the lease as is and they can’t be seen handing out any money in this economy and with every watchdog group and its brother locked on their every thought. When it comes right down to it, they are going to have to modify or lose it all. Better to make lemonade with the lemons Moyes left them and fight any legal challenges later than to be left with a very empty and pitiful arena and legal battles anyway.

Rampage coach Greg Ireland was shown the door. No reason was given for the sudden dump. But taking a look at their record (with all the freakin firepower they’ve got) might be a clue. 6 – 10 – 2 is not pretty. But then again their goal tending has taken a turn for the worse it seems since Burkie moved up in the world. Monty seems unable to slow his game down for the minors and Tater is always a slow starter. This is not good… the main reason for the high end kids to go to the AHL was to get some exerience and learn to win? Treliving had a little to say about the change HERE

Its time for a win! We lost 2 biggies in the great frozen north… lets not make it an official slide with a third one.

As always … GO COYOTES!

Trying to find a work life balance is a real biyatch. My life lately has been a lot like the Coyotes season, up, down, up, down, up. It seems we both prefer that elevator effect… fast highs and unfortunately, even quicker lows. But like my beloved Dawgs I am finding my feet and balance a little more every day.

I want to take this day to say thank you to all my beloved readers. You guys are absolutely THE BEST EVER!  We have weathered one of the worst sports debacles in history (not that its completely over yet) we’ve hung together and supported our boys and each other through the worst of it and now we just have to gather our more skeptical bretheren back into the fold and add to our numbers as well as we can, so the team can continue to progress off the ice. (New ownership groups are coming out of the woodwork every day)

I also want to shout out to my friend GoldenBear who prodded me back into blogging high gear. I love you man! Life is harsh but he never stops giving of himself to others. (Damn I’m incredibly lucky to have such great extended family.)

I am thankful for so much this year and I hope all of you have had at least a shining moment or 3 to reflect back on and realize just how wonderful this life thang is. I have health, loves of my life, a beautiful new grand daughter (who received her first Coyotes gear from dedicated fan MissConduct) I have a new job (whew! boy is my mortgage company glad about THAT) and best of all I have friends and family who stuck by me and contributed to my shining moments this year.

I wish all of you; family, friends, moments of joy, health and financial stability! And of course, a whole lot more Coyotes wins for 2009.

I’m back to stay for awhile, I think I’ve found a balance and I am looking forward to kickin my Yotiedom back into high gear. Odie and I will be producing Barking at the Moon podcasts every Sunday and I hope you’ll join us to chat and discuss our beloved team. I’m hoping to have another little talk with GMDM soon (with some audio footage) hopefully we can get a little insight into how the team has performed in his eyes and where he wants to improve etc.

So Happy Thanksgiving to all and keep your heads held high, you guys are simply the best.

As always… GO COYOTES!

3 D down really sucks. But the crazy Coyotes refuse to let anything derail their hot start. (Is it still a ’start’, 16 games in?) Sporting a 10-6-0 record that is good enough for 8th in the league, the Coyotes are still finding ways to get ‘er done.

We gave away a couple points to LAK (only explanation is that we lost our damn minds) and then again in Colorado. *The 2 teams least expected to do a damn thing in 2009, battling for the top of the Western conference…go figure*  But we quickly got back to pack against Chicago.

The Blackhawks were so far into our poor Breezy’s head last season I worried for their sanity and his. But not this year. The Hawks played well and had a couple days rest with their dads, while we came in off the road on a back to back. Not the best of ways to play a game against that rough n tumble gang of miscreants. (you know I really wanna use a 20cent reference here dontcha?) The boys fought hard and got an early jump on the boys from Chi-town. We were already one blueliner down (Z was spotted in a walking boot and Sweets is still about 10 days out) the real Schlem-shady stepped in for my baby boy without missing a stride. Then we lost Jovo in the 3rd… Man are we gettin bit by the injury bug here lately. But we held onto our 2 goal lead *thank god the war room actually saw that friggin kick in by Fraser*. The most important lesson learned in these few games are 1. the ‘new’ Coyotes can hang with anyone when they stick to the system 2. Bryzzie means biznizz this season so all you doubters can bite me and him 3. We have depth, sustainable, professional level depth this season and that all adds up to winning over the long haul.

Must give shout outs to our very own KidCaster Carson who was in the booth on Saturday with Strades n Nasher. WAY TO GO CARSON!

So we’re rollin into Anaheim tonight. Beaten up but not broken. We’ll get our first look at young Mr. Heshka tonight, hopefully he can fill Jovo’s big ol skates with authority. If our paw print holds true, we’ll take these 2 points from the Quacks and rest up for the Habs next week. Maybe everyone will be well by then. But no matter, we will perservere and continue to prove that we are contenders for that big silver cup.

The Yotes are hosting a viewing party at 8. Alltel Ice Den – at the new 18 Degrees restaurant. See you there.

As always… Go Coyotes!

Its been a hellofa week. The new job is fantastico! One of my new team members is a STH Yotes fanatic! whoo hoo!  The new grandbaby is beautiful and healthy! My hockey team is kickin ass and not bothering with names! The site got a facelift and is absolutely awesome! (thank you Hat Trick Hound, every season you manage to make the Check exciting)

Soooo since I last talked to you peeps the courts and Moyes and the NHL have reached an agreement. Probably as early as tomorrow but no later than Friday, the NHL will be the official owners of the Coyotes. The last Monday’s court session turned from a status update to a deal making session. Everyone (while not exactly happy) came to a consensus and since WG decided not to oppose the agreements reached by Friday’s deadline, it is all but in the can. The NHL isn’t going to jump into bed with just any old owner either. They are letting potential buyers kick the tires a bit. The Argonaut guys have decided not to throw their lot in with Ice Edge Holdings and to throw theirs hats in the ring solo. Ice Edge has been diligently working to get their tentative agreement with the CoG solidified and appear ready to rock n roll. No one has ‘officially’ heard from Glendale Hockey, LLC but its those quiet ones that sneak up on ya so be prepared to be surprised by Jerry Reinsdorf and perhaps one other undisclosed local buyer.

We faced the Kings last Saturday before heading out on the road. It wasn’t pretty. We lost focus and there were some guys who forgot that they had to do their part for the pack to be successful in their hunt for 2 points. We trade wins with the Kings way too often. Its not to say that the Kings aren’t a good team but we know them well enough to take 2 points from them every joust. They are also a team on the rise and are nipping at our heels waay to closely to let them grab ANY points, especially in our own barn. The 3 -5 loss hurt but taught a few guys a couple of valuable lessons. Coach Tippett doesn’t allow anybody to stay on his ice without producing their best game. Take too many penalties or miss too many defensive assignments and find your ass parked for real.

We hit the road to the big apple and got our hats handed to us by the NYRangers. We wandered around the ice lookin like rubes from the sticks and the Rangers took advantage of our hick behavior with 2 goals in the first and 2 more in the second. We managed to find our feet a little bit in the second and fought back with our own 2 goals. We got in range but couldn’t completely fight our way out of the hole we dug. Even our own former pocket rocket Enver Lisin put the boots to us with one of his pretty goals (thankfully not one of those highlight markers). The 2 – 5 loss cemented the coaching staff’s apparent philosophy in the minds of the players ‘We don’t need the heroics of one member, nor extraordinary measures every night, what we need consistently is YOUR best, each and every time you step on the ice. No excuses, no exceptions.’

By the time we hit Columbus, the message had hit home. The Pack was back. Marty, Vandy and Z all brought a lil offense to the party. (all 3 notched their first markers of 09)  Jovocop appears to be stayin, consistently bringing a solid offense as well as being able to cover his own end without the Yotes fanbase breaking out into hives when he does make a mistake. (Now if Yands will stop crossin his crease on his breakouts, we might all breath a lil easier all the way around). Scottie Upshall learned the hard way that the new Yotes just don’t do the penalty thang. Gettin your minutes taken away does a lot more than sting, stupid penalties will get you some serious splinters in your breezers. The 4 – 1 routing of the Jackets proved the point… the consistent whole is the only thing that counts, pull your weight!

I don’t think St. Louis was ready to entertain the Pack. They sure as hell weren’t ready for the return of Bryzgalov. The big Russian cemented his team’s belief in him with his 3rd shutout of the season. The 2 – 0 win was the very definition of not having to score a lot when you don’t let the other guys in your kitchen. Guys not noted for their offensive prowess stepped up to take this one for the team. Winnik has been the story of the season for underdogs making a comeback (c’mon, you all thought he was waiver bait after last year) and Pyatt is certainly making up for lost time after being injured for most of the season’s start. Our checking line has turned into a monster with 3 big forwards who can hit you and make you remember it the next day or put a game to bed with a GWG (which you also remember the next day). Either way, you know when you’ve played against the WTF line.

I hope the players were as excited as we were for Halloween. The barn was a bit empty due to all the family oriented outside activities on the night. But those of us who were there certainly made our presence known. We were loud and proud and did not leave disappointed. This 3 – 2 performance was possibly one of the best performances of this young 2009 season. The dirty Ducks were up to their old tricks. Less than 4 minutes into this donnybrook, elder statesman Lang sent a message to Hiller with a beautiful PP wrist shot to start the festivities off. The Ducks didn’t get the message, they just kept coming, scoring a PPG in the second and an even strength goal in the 3rd. It only took 18 seconds for the WTF line to even it back up though and we went into what would be a scoreless OT. The first game back from a road trip is traditionally a pisser to win. But when Wizzer dumped our captain, the Ducks pretty much sealed their own fate. There was no way this side of hell we were puttin up with that shit. Young Yands went after Wisniewski (Kudos to Keith for stickin up for his Apha pack mate) then the rest of the pack went buckwild the rest of the night. There were 3 fights and a whooole lotta jawin, shovin and general mayhem. The Captain decided to send his own message when he got back on the ice goin after Wizzer and showin him the ugly side of Shane Doan. *the shoulder to the head was followed by a nasty forearm and left our Captain woozy as a drunk on a bender* Doan is one of those guys who is hard to knock off their feet much less knock out, Doan responded with lethal force and I don’t think Wiz or any other Duck will take the chance from here on out. The game ended up in a shootout and Vrbie’s sweet backhander would stand as the GWG after 2 posts from Doaner and the Korpedo for our side and a complete stoning of all 3 Ducks by Bryzzie. The win was great and it was also great seeing boxing great Muhommed Ali up in the suites last night.

I don’t know what it will take to get you people to get off your wallets and out to the arena. No more excuses. The NHL has done its part to save your team. The players are doing their part to make the team worth your entertainment dollars. (The Coyotes are 9 – 4 -0 on the hot start, 2nd in the division, 4th in the conference and 5th in the league)You have no excuse if you are any kind of fan of the sport or even a true citizen of Arizona. This is OUR team! But if you don’t get out there and support it, there will be no more hockey in Arizona. I hate to be a bitch about it but seriously? You absentee fans are starting to piss me off. If you just can’t afford it because of the economic times, I can certainly feel your pain, but I see enough of you on the boards and sites spouting off about not wanting to support a team that may be gone in a year or other such nonsense… if you won’t come out to do your part, it is a self fufilling prophecy. Don’t be part of the problem folks… be part of the solution. Tippett says it all the time, be part of the pack, do your best and the rest will fall into place. If you can only make 1 or 2 games so be it, if you can afford a package do it. The team needs you and they need you NOW! Hope to see you all on Monday night for the battle royal against the Kings. Game starts at 7pm.

Welcome to Coyotes Rising … a new member of the Coyotes blogging family! Great reads every week.

Bleedin Teal in AZ has some really great photos up from the home stand!

Remember to check out our featured blogger on the bottom of the front page.

As always… GO COYOTES!