I hope everyone had a great New Years and that 2009 brings everything you wish for.

12/26/08 Yotes VS Kings part 1

The first game on Friday night I expected a flat and sluggish group of pups to flat out get crapped on by the Kings. But I got a surprise visit from a team that (while not great) didn’t quit. We came out hot and high. The Kings tried to match us in intensity but couldn’t quite do it. On any night that Shane Doan and Ilya Bryzgalov are in high gear, my money is on the Yotes. And unfortunately for the Royals, they ran into not only the Doaner and Breezy but also into a Pistol Pete Mueller, trying to shake off the sophmore jinx. The game was a pretty routine bit of pong until Muels found a spot that Jonathan Quick just couldn’t cover. The Yotes did a fantastic job of keeping the dangerous Doughty out of the action (and on Doughty’s best run, the post assisted Breezy in spades). Sauer, Klee and Z made sure that Kopitar and Brown (despite lots of minutes) didn’t get much in the way of quality tries at Bryzzie.

Gotta give some props to the very young and very green Mister Quick, without him, the Kings would be in serious trouble while Ersberg recovers. We solidified our spot in the western top 8 and while I was hoping we could pull away from the pack… the second half of the home n home was a total ‘off with their heads’ kinda night.

12/27/08 Yotes VS Kings part 2

Going in to Saturday night I had expectations… apparently I wasn’t the only one, as the Job was pretty full and buzzin w/ anticipation. Unfortunately now I know how the King’s fans felt on Friday. “a defeat that deflated a rare full house” At least the Kingiefans only paid $11.50 to see their mess… trust me it hurt a LOT more at $60.00 bucks on Saturday. Not to mention that at least their team woke up and tried. My boys… not so much.And we had special guests that we brought to the game (Teal’s bro and sis-in-law) see how happy and anticipatory they look?

Soooo… Saturday night… The boys slept walked?…err sleep walked? oh hell, they oozed out onto the ice like a 3 toed sloth on extra strength Lunesta. Apparently it was some good shit too, cus they never woke up. lets walk thru the horror in a general looksee shall we?

0 - 9 PP *insert sounds of crickets here* ZERO for 9!… including some 5 on 3s… I do believe there just might be cause for alarm in those words don’t you? Am I the only one scanning last years stats and shaking her head? Doan and Jovo both had over 25 ppps last season… they are nowhere near on track for that this season. It hurts us preciousssss

Face offs - not quite dismal but close enough, Rhino had another off night in the circles along with everyone else, add this sorry statistic to the fact that we couldn’t pass, shoot nor hang onto a puck… ughhh

Puck possession battling was non existent. Kings were ditzing about in our zone all night long. I can’t recall more than a handful of times we came out of a puck challenge with the disk on our stick.

Sinbin parade. They musta been giving away free booze in that penalty box, there was no shame… just guys beboppin in and out of there like, no big deal… this also hurt more than I can say. Ah well, no use beating a dead horse over this stink bomb, luckily the loss hurt nothing but our pride and we had bigger fish to fry on Wednesday.

12/31/08 Yotes VS Avalanche

What is there to say about what we needed to do? We faced the Lanche on Wednesday and did everything right. Bi polar just doesn’t describe us some weeks.

Face offs - 57% Hanzal/Doan/Joker all over 50% and Rhino just barely under the .50 mark…just wish we could do this more often (and at least Marty has stopped being thrown out of the circles so often)

We did all the little things right. Like winning the battles for pucks…often just outright stealin them.

Matching hit for hit…we don’t play physical, we don’t do so well. OhHale gave Hejduk a slam he felt all over again on New Years day. (his hit and his assist kinda make up for his faux pas on the Avs goal)

Staying out of the friggin box! Only 2 PIM were assessed to our boys (IDK if the refs just wanted to get home to celebrate or if we really were that disciplined) but whatever… the defensemen were able to contribute a lot more since they weren’t dogass tired from PK’ing all night. Z on the point during the PP seemed to be making a difference too (not enough PPs to really gauge) but you gotta figure anything that helps prevent odd man rushes/short handed chances has to be good right?

Muels shook off another link in the sophmore jinx chain. Apparently Pistol Pete found a serious chink in Budaj’s armor and nailed him twice up top. Too bad he couldn’t put away the hattie point blank dead center. Ah well I’m sure he’ll take the 2 odd angle markers and hope that ’scoring in bunches’ thing is true.

The LOB line certainly lived up to its moniker. Lisin and Boedker cross the neutral at the speed of light and lob sweet passes to the high slot for Olli to slam home. Works for me and certainly worked for them in this game. I hope TGO can put the itchy trigger finger to rest for a lil while on this line. They look good together.

Ya’ll know how much I adore the Swedish Wolf. Telly Munster stepped up to the plate for this one. A little jittery to start (HEY! he’d been out a while) he quickly got into his rythm and spanked him some Yeti hind ends. Tellqvist and Mueller got the 2 stars they deserved at games end.

Both teams came into this game with 39 points…we came out with 41. We done real good to drop the Yetis and cement that 7th spot for a little while longer. The Quackers are only 1 point ahead of us and the Nuckleheads are only 4… wouldn’t it be sweet to sit in 5th place for awhile (even in a tie?) Its definitely doable with January being a really strong month for us. A game in hand on ANA and they face theose notorious Flyers next (which we should all hope that those boys hit the west coast errr flyin) and us facing a flaky yet still dangerous Isles team, Friday night could well be a big turning point for the season.

See you all at the Job! Friday night is gonna be a hellstorm with ex-Yotie Lil Mikey Comrie comin in on a hot streak.

For more of Teal’s gorgeous game day pics

Another win courtesy of the Swedish Wolf and another host of unlikely suspects. I guess they really were glad to be home. They sure gave us a great welcome back present.

Speaking of unlikely suspects… how damn fantastic has the lil BabyFaced Cossack been playin since he came back to the big club? Enver freakin Lisin has proven to be a real force out there. We all know speed kills but ever since Boedker got here I have been wantin to see both he and Lisin on the ice together. Land speed records obviously mean nothing to these 2. Both seem to own the neutral everytime they decide to cross it and both are seriously dangerous once they gain the opposition’s zone. Lisin was a HUGE factor in the last couple of games, drawing penalties seemingly at will and handing out assists like Halloween candy. Enough of a force that Party on Garth has been reassigned to SA (who can really use some veteran presence to get them back on track after 15 losses) Good luck Murray, see you again soon.

Are we missing Olli Coyote? Well sure, but his absence gives some other players room to step and prove they belong. KT, Teeks, Lisin and Porter are all steppin into the void. Now we need Doaner and Rhino to really catch fire and we just might be able to pull of another good streak.

Poor Sakic… back injuries really suck. The Yeti Captain barely hit the ice before his back forced him to leave the game. The Lanche played really well, Ryan dammitt! Smyth tried to carry this game on sheer will and determination. Luckily Tellqvist had a little more of both and kept the AVs from riding Smyth’s example to at least a tie up in the dying moments. Smyttie blew Telly’s goose egg off the board with a whoole lotta time left in the 3rd period but the AVs could not solve the Wolf.
Surprise! DMo is back! The Demolition man announced his return with a naaasty wrister in the first 5 minutes of the game and then proceeded to guard Telly’s flank like a Rottie on PCP. Welcome back Derek, we missed you.

Ports seems to really like being back at center. And he can actually take a pretty good face off.He capitalized on a healthy rebound from his linemates early in the second to give us a breathing room lead 2 - 0. But then again what player wouldn’t enjoy centering Carcillo and Lisin? Between the aggression and speed, the path across the neutral becomes a hell of a lot less of a minfield and lets the smart lil center pick and choose his setups.

Talk about stepping up… DHL’s goal seems to have energized him to no end. OhHale is really taking his DHL nickname to heart as he delivered 3 big hits and 3 blocked shots along with a couple of sogs that he really got into like he knew what he was doin. Yeah he still had a couple of bad patches but not bad enough to make anyone cringe.

Jovo’s TOI is creeping back up. The JV got a lil more PP time, had 2 sogs and a nice hit. I figure this period where the kids are pickin up the slack and we are accumulating Ws may relax the big guy enough to start the goals flowin. If not, as long as he isn’t actively screwin up the game, I’ll take it. ( no pic of shame for the next GDT) Go Jovo!

My baby boy had a couple of rough patches but hell, playin nearly half a game in each of the last 3 has got to be taxing. So far the lil IronCzech is holding up well, adding another 5! blocks, 3 hits and a couple of sogs. Go Z GO! Sig is right behind Z on the TOI wagon blockin shots and takin ooponents outta the mix in his usual intimidating style.

We take out the Yeti’s 2 - 1 and looked good doin it. I kinda dig the new unis. The leaping fox/ferret/Coyote thingy isn’t that bad in person and the colors and style are pretty sweet. I’m gettin me one. I still want to hire NPY to teach the boys to face off. Wonder if a petition would do any good?

We face the fish next. On glove night. I’ll be manning a gate and handing out the lil souvenirs. I want a Pierre plushy night! See you all there I hope (especially you, Bobbo the radio show whiner). Complainin that we, in attendance, weren’t loud enough, weren’t ‘into’ the game enough. Well WE were there… YOU were at home sittin on yer keister. Become part of the solution mister add your voice so that the TV watchers can really hear the crowd.

PS I have not been a very good hostess lately… not including pics and links and whatev… so if you missed the great pappazzi shots from Teal from the last home stand, please go on over and check them out. She’s had some beauties.

Stars

Sharks

Panthers

Wild

Penguins

Flames

Capitals

Hope you all had an absolutely maahvelous! turkey day. I probably don’t say this often enough but thank you to all who drop by and visit and much love to those of you who leave your comments or drop emails. You are much appreciated.

OUCH! Joker will be out for 2 weeks. (we’ll be taking on COL,SJS, LAK and TOR in that time frame) but the Yotes have no plans to bring anyone up from SA. Considering how poorly the Rampage are doin right now, I can’t say as I blame them. Plus we get the Beast back today!

So We get to see the AVs for the first time this season. I don’t want to be the meanie but they aren’t doin so hot right now. 2 for 5 in their last games and those 2 wins were the Kings and Blues…barely. Looks like both teams have been struggling nearly equally. Both 4th in our division, we’re 5-3-1 at home, they’re 5-6-0 away. Last 10 games played we’re 4-4-2 and they’re 5-5-0 and we’re both hangin onto 20 points (thanx to our recent grabbing of 2 loser points).

Looks like the Swedish Wolf has earned himself another start (what an understatement!). Along with Telly in the net out lines look like this:

Daniel Carcillo-Kevin Porter-Enver Lisin
Shane Doan-Steven Reinprecht-Peter Mueller
Daniel Winnik-Martin Hanzal-Mikkel Boedker
Todd Fedoruk-Kyle Turris-Viktor Tikhonov

We’re still showin DMo as DTD and only Olli is IR for us thank goodness.

The Avs have an injury list from hell again (these boys were not healthy last year either but still managed to scrap hard). Foote/Liles/Guite and Tucker are all on the medic minder right now. We’ll have to watch out for the other TQ (Daniel Tjarnqvist)who had the topper in the last game and with the suddenly, pretty solid Badaj in net, this is not going to be pretty. hey’ll have to watch out for their former compatriots Sauer/Klee and Rhino (who usually has a big game against these guys) *Dmo is also a former AV but is still out DTD* We’re sittin on a win brought to us by unlikely suspects so don’t scoff at the notion that Sauer or Klee could be offensive threats to the AVs. No word on what lines the Lanche will be rollin but count on the wicked Stasny and Sakic to play major roles.

http://www.nhl.com/ice/preview.htm?id=2008020326

This may very well come down to a goalie battle. Budaj is 6-1-3 with a 2.76 GAA in 10 career games versus the Coyotes, but has lost his last three outings and Telly is 1.97 GAA and a .928 save percentage in splitting two career starts against the Avalanche. Hopefully Gretz and co. will continue to monitor Jovo and if this game comes down to the shorties with a lead, we won’t have to worry about the last few minutes with JV on the ice. Lets all hope that the 1st line PP continues to hold some surprise performers (then maybe we’ll stop being on the bottom of the list for PP%s).

So come on out and join us for a great matinee, puck drops at 2PM. And if you can come out *from 11 - 1* and join us in Lot J for the tailgate and welcome home party for our very own military fan Sgt.V, who returns from the sandbox just in time for the debut of the new black jerseys. Sgt. V has been keepin up with the dawgs thru sporadic visits to the forum when he can and of course the reports from his awesome wife. Come by and say hi and talk hockey with one of our favorite vets.

!!!!!WELCOME HOME RICK!!!!!

!!!!!WELCOME HOME COYOTES!!!!!

The forecheck was back, shaky and inconsistent but it made some key appearances. Both goalies made tremendous and valiant efforts all night long. A 12 man shoot out has to be the most stunning and grueling game a goalie can face. It was a spectacular end to this game. Unfortunately it shouldn’t have come to that kind of an ending.

My personal opinion is that TGO made his first faux pas in what has been a sterling coaching effort this season. Gettin our big Czech back should have amounted to no more than a few adjustments in TOI for a few players. Instead WG juggled. Kinda like zigging when you shoulda zag and getting hit by a bus.

Kapanen (you already know I love the Mighty Finn) should NEVER have been place between Donor and Mueller. Just ughh. Like asking a dachsund to keep up with racing boishoi’s. He looked out of place and they looked lost. The line produced bupkis. Most of the other lines looked like regurgitated borscht too. WHY? Weller, Hanzal and York? just ewwww. Wellie barely had 3+ minutes in this game, is the press box calling his name next? Dwin, Hanzal and…TQ? York, Weller and Perrault? what the hell are these combinations supposed to be doin? Oh wait… must be losing, cuz thats what they did.

We turned it over, we fumbled it, we lost our advantage in getting Hanzal back. We did actually get a PP goal from the Rhino Vrbata Doan line at the 10 minute mark of the 1st but we bumbled 4 minutes later and let the newly returned Stasny score on an ugly rush (how does he come in without bein molested and grab his own rebound and score w/ 3 Yote dmen right there?). 1 -1 game for the rest of the first and well into the second. Zbynek! woo hoo! gettin a few shots off with authority(nice to see the team use Z at point instead of constantly goin to Jovo) … what the hell was Laperriere talkin to my baby boy about? I don’t like him after the game he tried to beat on the boy but it didn’t look ugly so I’m just wondering what was said. Leave my boy alone Ian, you really don’t want me to show you my angry face!

What is it about the 10 minute mark? The Avs find their way past Telly on the stick of the very hot Svatos to make it 2 - 1 and despite some fairly good battles it stays that way until the third. Our line changes sucked mightily.

The third period we saw some familiar faces playing together again and we looked better! ahem… resting my case on that. The battle heated up significantly and both teams look great. The Yotes finally get some sense of desperation and in the last 2 minutes we dominate the Avs and DMo saves our bacon and grabs us a point at 19:57! We’re going to OT 

The OT was ugly, our line change nightmares continue. We end up shorthanded at the 4 minute mark for too many men on the ice. We barely manage to pull this off. We’re goin to the SO… Telly hasn’t had one in awhile but he is a feisty one in these suckers.

A 12 man shootout! who woulda thought Theodore could last that long? We saw award winning tending for the whole thing. We saw shooters who are stellar made to look like snot and shooters who have rarely even thought about a shooting move get a chance. Perks finally nails one, York actually grabs one too. But 3 unlikelies from the Avs score too, Arnason, Liles and Mcleod all find their way past Telly and the Avs avoid the sweep and gain 9th position over us.

sigghhhh *one last ref bitch…when are these guys gonna take look at calling picks at the blue? After the Flames got away with so many of them I been lookin for it… and damned if it doesn’t happen a LOT*

So we just made the hole a wee bit deeper and the fight a wee bit more desperate. We gotta get our poop in a group against the Blues on Sunday. We need the points more than I can say. We may see Telly again since Breezy has been sick and Telly has been playing phenominally.

Lets Go Coyotes!!!

!photos from BTinAZ~ when link is ready.

onyxstarr@coyoteshipcheck.com

Well at least for this I can be positive maybe even upbeat.

So far we have the team from Colorado on the rocks. 3 times we have managed to take the 2 points and run. But Friday night will be a test. Smyttie, Small Paul and maybe even Joltin Joe may be back in the line ups for the AVs. The team has managed to hang tough despite having Smyth, Sakic and Stasny out of the line up at the same time. Key games from stalwart secondary players has kept them in the hunt. The middle of February has not been kind to the Avs (they are on a nasty 5 game slide). Look for the renewed vigor that having Stas back will bring and if Sakic decides he’s ready it will be a real dogfight.

Both teams are very evenly matched. Sitting 9th and 10th in the conference and 4th in their respective divisions. While the Avs struggle on the road the Yotes are struggling about the same at home so no clear advantage for either team in this tilt. GF% are Yotes=17th and AVs=18th but the Yotes have a slight advantage w/ better %’s in GA, PP and PK numbers.

Vbrat and Rhino (both former AVs) have led the battle in the previous outings and hopefully the Avalanche won’t be able to contain da Brat again in this joust. Talk about former players coming back to bite you in the keister! DMo was also an AV and has been plenty destructive to their top line. Vbrat has five goals, an assist and a shootout point in our 3 wins AND even scored in overtime during the last contest. While Rhino has 4 goals and 2 assists on the series so far including a hattie night.

We are about 5-for-14 on the power play against these guys and that may very well be the difference in this game. This is the last contest between the two for 07-08 and in order NOT to jinx us I will simply say… there is a possibility that brooms may be needed after this game, which has not been done since the 90-91 season, when both teams were still Canadian based.

Do I really need to say this? Discipline! Special teams! FORECHECKING!!!  C’mon we all know the drill… no forecheck = no win! Major shelling no matter which widget they stick in goal! Scoring committe, wake up, stretch, sniff the ammonia tubes repeatedly if neccessary, but be ready to go from the giddyup! Both of our goalies have had good success against these guys and they are really going to have to bear down to keep these guys contained… can you say rebound control Yotie fans? I hope our net minders can not only say it but DO it.

With Parker, McLeod, Hanan and Laperriere on the ice (all pretty good at pissin ya off and all will chuck the nucks) DC AND Boynk are going to have to stay cool and save the passion for puttin pucks on net…. well unless severely provoked… and look for that to happen for sure. These guys are going to be desperate, we need to want this game really badly in order to take another 2 from them. So let’s go out there and send them home empty handed… we can even let them keep the brooms if they like.

LET’S GO COYOTES!!!!

See all you faithful at the Job… PS… Hanzal if back in the line up! The BigKids line has had the Mighty Finn in the middle and has been holding their own… thanx to Kapi’s opportunistic lil heart and Dwin’s unrelenting play at wing. So look for TGO to have more flexibility and craftiness in the rotations.

onyxstarr@coyoteshipcheck.com

Up to see the Avs about another point or two.  Okay to continue the good cop bad cop… I mean good news, bad news theme. The good news is the Avs have been our whippin boy for a wee while and this trip is no exception. We end the night straddling 8th place play off fencing again. Woo hoo! The joy of that little feat was probably felt in several AZ counties. *oh yeah I was dancin in my seat* The bad news is that they made us work for this one majorly and we let them let them get a point off us as well. The horrible news is that we lost Hanzal with a shoulder injury very early in the game and the Czech will be out due to a shoulder injury for approx 5 weeks.

And the Walls Come Tumbling Down - Avalanche

It looked very much like a pushme pullyou in the last seconds of OT but the Yotes prevailed. This was a… you score (PPG - T.J. Hensick,  Wrist Shot -  Assists:  Tyler Arnason  and  John-Michael Liles ) then we score (PPG - Peter Mueller,  Slap Shot -  Assists:  Ed Jovanovski  and  Shane Doan)

Then we score (Daniel Winnik,  Tip-In -  Assists:  Matt Murley  and  Niko Kapanen ) then you score (Ian Laperriere,  Wrist Shot -  Assists:  Brad Richardson)

Then you score (PPG - T.J. Hensick,  Tip-In -  Assists:  Jaroslav Hlinka  and  Tyler Arnason) then we score (Radim Vrbata,  Wrist Shot -  Assists:  Steven Reinprecht)….

Then we score again (Radim Vrbata,  Backhand -  Assists:  Shane Doan  and  Zbynek Michalek)…… hey wait a dam minute! it was our turn! kind of game.

But the whole thing was a scrum from start to finish. We lost Martin to a shoulder injury (he did not return and was flown home to Phoenix for medical attention) and we lost Vbrat for a huge chunk of this one too (Jovo rocket pass hits V in the ankle). But that shortened bench couldn’t stop a very determined Gretzky and he threw Murley onto the BigKids line with much success. He threw some line combos out there that I had never thought of when Vbrat also went down.

But the play of the game goes to Da Brat and his trusty wingman Rhino. Rhino faked the entire Avs team out of their jocks on a face off move that leaves da Brat all alone and almost as stunned in the kitchen. Vbrat actually fumbles the puck a second b4 pushing it across the line past a too-stricken-to-do-more-than-look Budaj. Tied up and ready for the OT madness.

THE scrum of the season with nearly every AV and nearly every Yote on the ice in a dawg pile in the Avs paint. Donor’s stick breaks somewhere under all the bodies, they look like a basket of puppies sans basket. The whistle blows et voila! the puck is in the net! SAY WHAT! 4 - 3 Yotes. The controversy continues even as I type. (anyone remember the Ducks game from last season? Cosmic karma… puts us on the other end of the hand pass situation. Karma is a bitch ain’t she?)

We got 2 points! Woot woot! and we hated to dine n dash but we ran the hell out of there and caught a plane to Calgary. Where we hoped to prevail over a struggling Flames team.

Damn! We Need a Bigger Fire Extinguisher! - Flames

We’re tired. We’re beat up. We’re down a couple of key elements in our arsenal. So we threw everything we had at the Flames early, hoping to get what we could and then hold on til the end. (it almost worked). The Flames outplayed us all game as we got slower and slower and our passes got uglier and uglier for them to pick off at will. Breezy took the brunt of it with 38 Flame’s sogs on the night compared to our 23 on Kipper.

In the battle for 6th place… up by 3… and we manage to lose in a shootout. *insert sounds of crickets here*

Yep you heard it. (cause you sure didn’t get to SEE it…@#$%!^&&*#(@(#* and just dammitalltohell) TV blackout caused us to miss one heck of a game. Jovo fought Iginla! whoa! Nellie and thank goodness for all the Youtubers and hockeyfights.com. Both guys get down seriously although Iggy did manage to put JV down in the last moments of the fight.

The big PM struck like a pissed off rattler. HATTIE! from the big rookie!

(Donor, Z and Perky all assisted the baby Yote on his most excellent effort) but unfortunately it wouldn’t be enuff.

Iggy and Frankenhead Phaneuf would rally the Flames in the 3rd to take the game into OT. (Phanny’s off speed stick breaker sounded crazy, poor Bryz! was all set up for the arm breaker and got the off speed slider instead…ughh) And Breezy stood on his head to keep the Flames off the board and into the shoot out. There were 2 exceptional plays in there with Jovo saving our bacon after a puck slid thru Breezy and almost across the line, Jovo then outlets that puppy to a streaking Rhino. Kipper barely manages to stop the close in blast.

The last seconds of the OT were barn burners as the Donor took exception to Phanuef’s antics and went to war… everyone jumped in but Phanny and Donor would be credited with the minor penalties.

Iggy saves the day. The big PM was out of missiles and the Donor apparently couldn’t make it due to a hand issue. I woulda loved for Fast Freddie to be able to pot one in the SO but much like the 2 points I wanted… I didn’t get that either. 3 -2 Flames final.

We stagger out of Calgary with a point and our butts firmly planted in 9th place… again. So, that was the road trip from purgatory… not quite hell, because we have 6 more points clutched in our grubby lil fists and still have a place at the table… close enough to get those mitts on a play spot if we just keep pluggin away.

GO YOTES!!!!

Onyxstarr@coyoteshipcheck.com

 I just had to compare Reinprecht to Tundro from the Herculoids! Its just too perfect!

Sorry, I digressed…Former Av’s Strut Their Stuff

Wayne Gretzky is certainly showin that he knows how to handle his players. After being the goat in the Ded Thing’s game Steven Reinprecht was not benched, he was demoted…kinda. Being on the third line has allowed Rhino to step out of the spotlight of playing against the opponents toughest lines. Our Rhino is usin the time wisely. While Doaner continues to draw the heavy fire Rhino and Vrbata are quietly sneakin up on the opponents and slammin goals home. “It’s fine,” Reinprecht said. “You will play with a lot of people. You have to mesh with the people you play with. The guys I’m playing with are easy to play with. The adjustment has been easy.” How’s that for class and professionalism?

The first period was an exercise in determination. The dawgs were determined to start hot and Buddaj was determined to redeem himself after a shoot out loss (not to mention not wanting to get tagged w/ being the guy who let the Avs get a 4 game losin streak).

Everybody gets in on the action but Rhino gets his crazy on at the 7 minute mark and in a minute and change he scores 2 goals. Hard work, determination and no quit, kinda goals. Now we know why he’s called rhino, it ain’t just a nickname… its a style of play apparently, as Rhino barged in to the play and kept chargin til he got what he came for. We kept the Avs on their heels for most of the first period but Cody Mcleod decided to liven things up a bit with a challenge to our young Dwin. (Who knew a guy named Winnie could be so tough?) Daniel Winnick stepped up to the challenge and beat the kilt off of Mcleod. But the real intent of the fight was accomplished as Marek Svatos got recharged and refused to quit. In the last few minutes of the period he finally gets one past Bryz! 2 - 1 Yotes leavin the ice at the buzzer.

The second period we kinda lost focus. Altitude sickness? I was sure playin with a lead was going to lead us astray especially when Svatos struck again with his trusty side kick Hlinka. 2  - 2 game at about the 1/2 way mark. Not good. The battle was fierce as both goalies came up with robberies and slamming doors on good chances. No penalties to give either team a sliver of opportunity. 10 sogs apiece but only Svatos was able to bury his. We leave the ice tied but not bowed and those pesky Avs still had life in them.

The third period was a different zoo. 2 penalties each but only Doan was able to cash in as Breezy buckled down and turned away all comers with a bit of help from his trusty blueline buddies.

The often underrated but always stalwart Z kept the rocks from fallin on Bryz! and the rest of the Bluecrew shut down tighter than a fat lady’s girdle.

Only 6 sogs in this period by us and 3 of them went in! You ask how thats possible? Well sit down children and let Onyx tell you all about desperation strategies that fail. Coach Q pulled Buddaj around the 2 minute mark and prayed to the hockey gods. The answer he got was no. (Even with Fast Freddie in the box and an extra man for the 6 on 4). First Vbrat (former Av’s rookie) then Rhino (former Av’s cup winner, with the hattie) stalked that empty net and blasted it. 23 seconds between blasts. 5 - 2 Yotes sweep the home n home battle. Rhino shows his mettle, Vbrat continues his hot streak, Bryz continues to own the Avs and the Donor as usual shows his leadership and unselfish nature. tHE eND

Tundro - created by Alex Toth

~photos from  David Zalubowski/Associated Press ~

HAPPY NEW YEAR ONE AND ALL!!!

Well this is a fine howdy do. We start the new year with a bada boom. The first part of a home n home against the Colorado Avalanche is survived intact (Vbrat and Bryz! absolutely REFUSE to lose this game).

Rhino apparently had lost his place to JoelP (Rhino was demoted to play w/ York and TQ!) so we saw a bit of a different look to the top line. The VHS line is still together (surprised? with so many players contributing offensively TGO prolly doesn’t feel the pressure to jump start anyone right now). The Avs  really came to play in the beginning. I guess they were still fuming from the back to back home losses. Lots of banging straight off the hop. Lots of pressure through the neutral too. (we really need that ice doctor guy to come help our rink… pucks bouncin and skippin early in the game and it just kept gettin worse). Neither team establishes clear dominance although McLeod is a beast, and then Wojo draws first blood on a feed from Handy AndyB. So we get serious finally and although neither team gets any thing else on the board there are plenty of chances. Only one penalty each as the refs let the minor love taps and grabs sort themselves out. Yandle and TQ have two of the best chances at Budaj. They get 13 sogs, we only have 6.

But the second period is a whooole nother animal. 3 and a half minutes in, the VHS line comes off of the prolonged pause they seemed be on.

Svatos gets the hook and after the Avs almost short sheet us Sjo gets his crazy on, driving to the net, he fans but Handz pokes the puck outta troble and straight to Vbrat. Vdaddy plays a little soccer with it then beats Buudaj to even up the game (on the PP no less!) Color me impressed. Then Rhino! (no doubt lookin to get the hell off the third line) comes right in on a face off miscue by the Avs. 11 seconds later he shootz! he scorzes! 2 - 1 Yotes!

The Avs get some momentum goin but can’t beat the Bryz!. VHS get goin again as Sjo draws a penalty off Hlinka (Svatos gets away with a horrible slash on Bally on the delayed call… really shoulda been a 5 on 3 opportunity). We get nuthin on the PP but after we kill a penalty on Bally (TQ gives Donor a perfect shorty try but the Donor misses by a hair), McCormick gives us another shot at the powerplay by takin Rhino down on his drive to the net. The PP is finally back from its prolonged vacation! Vbrat plays a little now you see it, now its in the net (Mueller to Vbrat and the sniper doesn’t one time it, he jigs it on his stick to get Buddaj to bite, then he buries it, through the defender’s legs! and over top of the Buddah). 3 - 1 Yoties. 2 for 3 on the PP!

Unfortunately the Avs just don’t have any quit in them and with 48 seconds left in the period they get one past Bryz! on a fake shot/pass from Laperrier to a jumpin Dman Clark. 3 -2 in the last minute of the period… ughhh 9 sogs each, this time but man! ours are really good ones.

The Avs come out crankin! in the third. Z can barely keep em off Bryz! We have trouble clearing it and the Avs keep the heat on for nearly 5 minutes. Vbrat draws the penalty going in low, backhand after stealin the pucks. Apparently the power play is tired and declines to let us get through Buddaj (Stasny actually gets a shorty chance). The desperate Avs get really frisky (shots by Hejduk, Stasny and Smith are turned away with authority by the Bryz!) The D is kept busy establishing discipline on the Avs encroaching on Bryz! a bit too much in their eagerness to get the equalizer. We get yet another chance on the PP but that train has left the station. We kill a TQ penalty and then open the door with 5 minutes left and the first period pest McLeod bulls his way in to tie it up (oh Yorkie ya can’t just watch the play in the slot… ya gotta keep your eye on the guys out at point). McLeod gets in behind Bryz! and the Yotes nearly go to war.  the hits get harder, the play gets chippier and the ice gets funkier but we’re goin to OT. We got a point!

OT - Smith gets jammed hard by Bally behind the net (Apparently Ryan sprained his ankle in the Bally blitz). We both get plenty of chances, the crowd got loud and Bryz! keeps the OT honest. Quen calls the timeout to get the 1st line ready to charge (shoulda used the 3rd line Guite/Macleod and Lapierre did better than Hejduk,Stasny and Smith all night). The ice is shite! and keeps Handz from gettin a last minute run at Buddaj. We’re goin to a shootout!

 Shoot out is our friend! Both Wolski and Svatos have Bryz! beat (Breezy forces them to shoot out of synch) and they both miss their chances. So our resident snipers go to work. Peter (Shootout Money) Mueller puts it to bed with a sick lil snap shot.

And Vbrat tacks on the insurance with his favorite upstairs, back hand move (unofficial hat trick for VBrat)

Thats all she wrote. We walk away with the points and Bryz! continues to own the Avs.

~photos by BTinAZ~ http://www.flickr.com/photos/9302501@N02/sets/72157603598984984/

Rosen’s guest was Daniel Winnick. It was a fast single segment talk and a fast pass through the autograph seekers and well wishers. (I forgot the camera so you will be spared my wretched attempts at photography) I will post up Fran’s pics when she gets them to me (I love my friends! They always make up for me shortcomings) The dogs don’t get to celebrate much of the new year since they have to leave for Colorado to complete the home n home on Wednesday.

Hopefully we can end 2007 on a high note with a win against Colorado.

Missing Joe Sakic may be causing a bit of an emotional toll on the Avs. They lost to the Kings in their last outing and are 6-10-2 whan away from their home ice. Hopefully we can add to their loss column with some feisty play.

We absolutely need to find a PP tonight. The Avs are fair to middlin on the PK (I think we can take ‘em!) Budaj should be in net but he has been having an on again off again season (unlike last year when he was way hot).

The VHS line needs to pick it up (Vbrat came thru last night, lets hope Handz and Sjo can get their groove on tonight). At least 2 other committee members need to step up. If the blue can put it on net with a bit more authority I think this should turn our way. Its time for the blue to start contributing, we been riding Bryz!’s back too long with sporadic contributions from various suspects and no ‘real’ 1st line dependable money guys.

I think this game comes down to our blueliners leading the charge and some brave souls paying the price in the slot to get the garbage. Ever since Weller has been out we haven’t gotten that big screening presence in front and it has hurt.

Watch out for Small Paul Stasny and the ever dangerous Hejduk as usual and Handy Andy Brunette is no slouch at chippin ‘em in either. Smith and Wolski should be fairly easy to set up against, we got guys with the same tools who can match them. Screen the hell out of Budaj and shell him til he staggers.

Let’s Go Coyotes!

Some Avs Stuff: http://blogs.denverpost.com/avs/2007/12/30/ebayblood-feud-alert-and-other-musings-from-a-chain-hotel-in-phoenix/

Oooh they really don’t have good luck w/ Bryz! : http://www.denverpost.com/avalanche/ci_7845555