Can you say holy shitezky Desert Faithful? Everybody screwed up something last night… except Winnie and Bizzy. It was a night of inane errors and working harder but definitely not smarter. I might as well start with the weirdest feature of this black comedy of errors. Yotes 4, Islanders 5 SO loss, ptooey!

I sincerely wanted to strangle the refs most of the night but it wasn’t exactly ALL the boys in stripes fault. Oh my bleeding eyes Mr. Tippett. Did you really decide NOT to put a man in the box? I know most coaches don’t but doode! this is the Phoenix Coyotes, if it weren’t for bad luck, we’d have no luck at all some nights. NEVER take any chances with fate. In case you all missed it, our coach finally showed that he is not perfect. When Jovo was called for the 5 minute major and subsequent game misconduct, Tip decided not to put a player in the sin bin for the 5 minutes. In his defense, rarely is there not some type of stoppage of play in that time span. Well, the wiley veteran, Rolie the goalie made the most of that miscalculation by keeping the puck in play despite our numerous attempts to at least get an icing for stoppage. Roloson said “I heard the crowd cheer so I knew the (penalty) was up, but I knew the longer I could keep it going, the more chances we had. It was a chance that they took.” (Thanks Rolie… damn, I hate smart goalies.) We played for around 10 minutes short handed. (Ughh… Hanzal finally just slashed some idiot Isles guy to stop the madness) if not for that, we mighta played the entire 2nd period on the shorts. So we were short again and then the capper… Aucoin was called for a penalty too. The Islanders took advantage of the whole debacle with 2 goals.

Shane Doan rallied his troops and apparently showed them his angry face. In the 2nd intermission the Captain gave a rousing speech, raised the battle flag and led the guys out for the period of the season so far.

Paul ‘Biznasty’ Bissonette – took the Captain’s call to arms to heart. His main talent wasn’t needed so Bizzy found another way to help his mates. He scored. It was an ugly goal but it was a turning point to the game. He gave the boys a jump start by grabbing that first rung of the comeback ladder. Kudos to you big guy!

Daniel ‘the Tazmanian Devil’ Winnick – it wasn’t the first time that don’t-call-me-Pooh has done this to a team but it might be the most crucial and exciting time. It felt like 10 minutes as Danny circled around in the Isle’s endzone. By the end, Big Bad Dan had nearly the entire Isle’s line chasing him. Even our guys seemed in awe as they hung back thinking the puck would be stolen and outletted. You really are Dan THE Man.

Can anyone name the date… and the year we last scored 3PP goals in 1 game? Well save this date because that is exactly what we did. Biz started us off and Pyatt and Mueller each saw his goal and raised him one. All in less than a 4 minute span. (It cost Lang a few ounces of blood from a high stick but I think he’d almost agree it was worth it) According to those sitting much closer than me, the faceoff after the highstick was delayed while Langer contained the mouth full of blood long enough to get the shift started. A doff of the hat to Peter Mueller for his second goal of the season, it was pretty and timely and much appreciated.

Jason Labarbera stepped into the net and played his ass off. He stopped the Isles in their offensive tracks. They couldn’t score again until the shootout. I really thought he’d pull the guy’s buns out of the fire but alas his mojo wore off and he got bit by a couple that he woulda normally stopped. S’okay AZBarbie, you were a rock for that comeback tour de force and we did grab a point.

We all wait with bated breath to see if Mr. JovoNasty will be suspended for the hit on the next, next one, John Tavares. The crease is always going to hold an element of danger and feces happen in there. Jovo has been playing hard but not dirty (he’s an unstoppable force when he plays like that and he’s definitely a danger to the opposition everynight) Desert Warfare Jovo doesn’t try to hurt people on purpose so I hope he doesn’t pay the full price for this hit. Yes there was an elbow. Was it an intentional attempt to injure? I don’t think so. But we shall see how this plays out. We have already proven we can survive without him but life sure is easier with him patroling the back end.

Our status didn’t change a whole lot (still 4th and 6th .. kinda) but some other folks caught up to us (tied w/ CAL @57 points each) and some other folks are in striking distance if we don’t get our groove back. (VAN,COL,NSH breathin down our necks w/ 56/55 points) Tippett hockey and continuing where we left off last game will be the only thing that can stave off the slavering hoards that want our spot.

We play our uber nemesis, the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday night. We sit #2 behind these guys in the Pacific. They are a little out of reach at the moment (we all know how that can change in the blink of 2-3 games). These are huge points (aren’t they all in the 2nd half?) and taking 2 points here, closes the gap between us and the Fish. Even more importantly, those points put distance between us and the suddenly hot squads rising beneath us.

Get your tickets for the game early, we’re starting to be the hot ticket in town right behind the butt kicking Cardinals who managed to have the highest scoring playoff game in NFL history on Sunday night. Go Cards Go! The game on 1/16 is not only Shane Doan Bobblehead night, its a we win, you win night! The seats are almost gone so grab them quick. The Ambassador’s Club promo will be gone soon as will the Circle K Pepsi deal. Both are still available for the games in January so I’d hit them up now in order to reserve your place.

As always… GO COYOTES!

So give up the 2 points and getout. Yep, that’s what we need to tell NYI when they hit the ice. The Jobarena is OUR house! We need a new winning streak anyway so why not start with these tards.

We went on the road and survived EDM by a Doaner prayer in OT (losing not 1 but 2! two goal advantages in the process) and then got spanked by VAN and that little punk Burrows for a .500 performance. It does not bode well for the next big road trip. We’ll have to make this home stand count. Our home record (26-15-4) has been keeping us in the NHL’s upper echelon and is providing a cushion against our mediocre performances in other barns. It is time to up the ante.

NYI has been making a bit of a push. Behind the hot start of rookie John Tavares, the Isles have been hanging about the fringes of the Eastern Conference. While Tavares may have cooled off a bit, the unexpected secret weapons of Kyle Okposo, Josh Bailey and Matt Moulson have gotten hot and have been making big noise for the beleagured franchise. For some reason, we always have trouble with Rolie the goalie. Dwayne Roloson is like 6-1-0 against us and it sucks. Time to find a solution for him as well.

Keys to this game?

Open a can of whup ass. Hit Rolie high and often. He’s deadly on the ground. Gotta make him move and move often. Although he’s no spring chicken, he’s still fast laterally and always plays so damn low to the ice. I’m targetting Rolie as the net minder to beat since DP is recently rehabbed, recently started and probably won’t start since they’ll be bringing him back slowly (they won’t want to risk another injury for the fragile lil guy from pushing him too hard so fast) and of the pair of backups, Rolie has the best record against us compared to Biron.

Find a damn power play! This is getting ridiculous. 0 for like 5 in the last game and we don’t even want to look at the cumulative numbers. We’ve gotta be like 28th in the league or real close to it by now.

Z and Jovo! wtf? you were -3 last game! Minus friggin 3! Don’t let it happen again mmkay? The defense has to get solid again because there will be 4 youngins gunnin for some goals.

Speaking of getting solid again.. forwards? Forwards? I know Scottie leaves a big hole but c’mon, someone needs to step up. Doan is bizzy hittin everything that moves, somebody needs to put some quality shots on the net. And please don’t forget your defensive duties. For cryin out loud, our success has been predicated on owning the neutral zone and if you guys don’t step it up the defense can’t hold the line.

IDK who gets this start since Breezy looked a lil worn and pissy last game and I’m too lazy to go look. But whoever it is better be sharp. This is home territory and we can’t afford any headcase crap tonight. All eyes will be watching carefully to see if the 2nd half jinx is alive and well. Don’t give them any fodder.

While I’m feeling pissy might I add, if anyone takes liberties feel free to drive them through the boards. You guys are supposed to be so damn close, defend each other dammitt! Fiddler had no business taking on Glass while he was still injured and hurting and Burows received zero payback for doin the nasty on Vrbata (instead you let the little rat faced puke get a hattie) NO MORE MR. NICE GUYS  play like you mean it… for all 60 minutes. Injuries be damned, if you really are a team, play like it. (COL, DET and a host of other teams can play through the key injuries, you better learn how.. and learn fast) We get beat up every night and pretty soon there won’t be much left of the pack to work with if you don’t make it clear to teams that they can’t away with that crap. Now I don’t mean go out and just do stupid, meaningless retaliation but you really need defend yourselves and your mates (Vandy! Taypye! Jovo! Biznasty! yeah I’m looking at you guys) *much love to the equally pissed off about it DTG!

Thank you to the peeps who took advantage of the Ambassador’s Club discounts! Glad to have you onboard. And remember the Circle K Pepsi deal runs til the end of January (buy pepsi and get Yotes tickets free… gotta have your voucher AND the receipt to redeem them at the box office)

So tailgating as usual in Lot J from 2 – 5pm. (peeps are bringing their Yotes memorabilia to trade if you need to fill in the gaps in your collection)Doors open at 5pm and puck drops at 6pm. Ambassador’s club meeting at 3:30pm (go in at gate 5). See you all there.

As always… GO COYOTES!

We pulled into Buffalo flush and on a bit of a high. Beating the Bruins was pretty sweet. We caught them at the perfect time.

I hate the second game of a back to back, with our boys you just never know what you’re gonna get. But this particular one was especially hairy. Facing a team high off the massacre of the Habs, a goalie (Lalime) who not only engineered that drubbing but has also just been challenged (acquisition of Tellqvist) for his #1 spot (while Miller is out) and has previously punked the Coyotes in his Hawk incarnation. OUCH all the way around. And by the way to all the Tim”walking concussion” Connolly haters out there (bitchin that he was resigned)… umm  he’s still BADASS!

It was too much to expect that the boys could pull off 2 miracles in a row. But I expected a good performance from them and they did try to deliver. There was a lot of hustle but very little result. It didn’t seem to matter what they threw at Limey, all they got was posts, stoned, blocked and robbed. Except Lombo who was able to convert a Pruuu! feed down low in front of Limey. So all of the new kids on the block have registered a point in their 2 game road debut (except Prust who hasn’t hit the ice yet due to injury).

Color me impressed with their effort and the surprising juice they’ve given the downtrodden desert dawgs. 16+ mins for Pruuu! seem to agree with him, as does workin the top line w/ Doaner. Lombo also looks good w/ the Doaner and just might be able to reprise some WC magic as they get further reacquainted. Uppy is a firestarter, I’ve been a fan of his for a lil while anyway so his performances so far have done nuthin to change my opinion of this hard workin energy guy. Speaking of energy guys…. our very own DC had his own lil debut, showing the Flyers fans his best Wild Thang side w/ a fight and an assist (check out our friends at Flyerflies to keep up with Danny).

So anyway, tempers flared hot (including mine) during this Buffalo game… thought Doan was gonna committ murder a couple of times and of course you saw TGO freak completely… oh Gretz… when you gonna learn? (talk about letttin your temper hurt the team…) Speakin of when you gonna learn? Penalties, penalties, penalties… we gotta get some discipline on this squad…and JV? the last 3 minutes of a game is not exactly a good time to get them, again. We lost, but there was definitely a lot of effort and passion out there. What was glaringly missing was that net presence from the Bruins game. It seemed like there was a new guy in front of the net (w/ his stick down n ready) every single shift. We gotta keep that goin guys and please! teach the rooks to do it too.

So tonight there will be a new face or 2 back in the lineup (possibly Fridge… why?) and the debut of Tater! Josh Tordjman is supposed to own the net today against the Islanders. We wish him much success, after tearin it up in the AHL, he really deserves a shot.

The Isles stuck it to New Jersey BIGTIME! chasing Brodeur outta the net! Holeee Jumpin! 7 – 3 Islanders on the strength of Bergenheim’s hattie. C’mon! Islanders? Oh maaan… hopefully they blew their scoring wad and are ready to lay down and honor their contract to be our bishes again. We better find a way cuz Mama Z will be verrrry displeased to lose this game. FOCUS! DISCIPLINE! NET PRESENCE! PLAY FRIGGIN SMARTER not chicken w/ its head cut off efforts!

Today’s game is EARLY folks, noon AZ time … 3PM EST start, so be ready. Check the usual suspects for feeds (FSN for u locals, IDK if Justin.tv or atdhe.net will be streaming but it can’t hurt to check) if not go for xtra910 online and listen to Heeter.

News n Notes…

Offers rain errr pour…errr… ok we got 2 offers so far to buy in to the team…keep yer digits crossed!

Tocchet news – extention probable for former Yotes asst coach

As always….GO COYOTES!!!

We got to sit on the glass on Z’s side of the rink. What a freakin rush! This game had a lil bit of everything. Fast paced non stop action and a chalupa at the end! The 5 – 4 score doesn’t tell the tale at all in this win.

The Islanders came to visit and I practically chewed my nails to the quick worrying about Dipietro’s ability to give his team that big edge with his puck handling. Dip is one of the best in the league at providing that outlet jump from the net.

I settled down pretty quickly when we jumped out to the 1 – 0 lead on the stick of Tiki’s sick goal. Walk in low, deke, slither, backhand, score! Very sweet! We have good numbers when drawing first blood (11-6-1 when scoring the first goal of the game). Then it took the Isles almost 8 minutes to answer it on Bergheim’s wrister. But by that point we couldn’t seem to get the hang of fighting off the NYI’s triangular zone entry. Some big hits were bein thrown but the boys weren’t limiting the Isles chances very well (13 – 10 sogs in favor of NYI) OhHale took a borderline interference penalty (ok he interfered but he didn’t inhale) but Campoli dorked out with a hold to give us a break and a 4 on 4 situation. We took serious advantage and in the waning seconds drew a delayed call. Guess the proof is in the pudding… Z is hella dangerous back on the blue if the boys will just fraggin look up and pass. My baby boy grabbed the lead back for us with that new slap shot of his. 2 – 1 Yotes into the first intermission. (yes that was me wobblin the glass almost off its moorings in section 113… I’ll probably be banned from glass seats now, but I don’t care)

The second period was pretty good too. The captain scored one of those odd angle shots that have been making regular appearances for us lately. Rhino got his 200th point on the assist. Of course the second period was also the start of a very rough night for Tim Jackman who took a deliberate swing (apparently trying for Jovo) and hit Telly in the head, knocking him over and tweaking his helmet. The entire crowd began to religiously boo everytime Jackass touched the puck. The team should have drawn straws and decided who was gonna take that asshat behind the woodshed. He deserved it. And the refs who missed it? Should be sentenced to watch that clip over and over and over, maybe next time they see a goalie gettin roughed up they’ll call something.

The third period started out fantastic as the Joker put away a classic rebound goal in the first 5 minutes. But Josh Bailey answered it in less than a minute with his first NHL goal. But still, 4 – 2 in our favor was quite impressive. Lucky Lindy stole a puck and went down to on the breakaway to give Dip a lil 5 hole misery and get us our 3 goal lead back. Apparently we then went into a coma. (they really gotta stop indulging in these rest periods) Z made a rare miscue in challenging Richard Park on his entry into our zone, Park was flat out flying and got by Z to pop Telly and get back within striking distance. 5 – 3 Yotes. The entire crowd and the teams take a moment to celebrate Doug Weight’s 1000th NHL point (Weight joins a short but illustrious list of American born players to hit that bench mark). Apparently we still don’t take Richard Park seriously… Park pretty much ‘parked’ his ass off of Telly’s weak side and slammed home a snap shot that could’ve cost us the game with a little more time left in the period.

But hey, landmark game for the Isles with lil Josh Bailey’s first marker and Doug Weight’s entry onto the list of elite American born offensemen.Landmark game for us as well since we moved into a serious tie with ANA for 6th spot in the conference and a secondary tie for 2nd in the Pacific division!And Z celebrated his 300th NHL game with a goal, an assist and 2 blocked shots.

Stars of the game…Telly, Tiki and my baby boy with the 1st STAR!!! Go Z!!!

We face the Quackers tomorrow. Probably one of the most important games of the season. We win… we strut home in 2nd place for the Pacific and 6th place in the conference… not too shabby for the underdawgs. If we lose… we don’t fall, but rather, we hang about in neutral since the closest team to us can’t gain enough points to screw up our 7th place strangle hold.

See more of Teal’s pics

Well…after playin the sweaters off the Kings we hit Long Island with a disctinctly flat thud. Our sense of urgency ran off with our power play. (I think they are really enjoying their vacation off the coast of Fiji or something) Anyway, we played a fairly solid 30 minutes.

That Bergenheim was a monster…super hits! We had our hands full but were managing to keep the Isles contained while still getting some good shots ourselves. The posts were definately not our friend. DMO! with an awesome mid air save, Bryz with a couple fo key robberies and Mules with a buzzer busting try to end the first. The game was scoreless through the whole first and the mid point of the second.

Then stupid (that would be me) turns the game on the radio. This will now count as my superstition for the season…. no more radio! Listen on internet at work… no radio all the way home… watch when I get home from now on. Not even 1 minute after I turned the game on the Isles scored. And it had to be Bill Guerin! the poor guy hasn’t scored in more games than years Mules has been alive… But of course the Onyx curse gives that old work horse some life. I dunno if anyone else is payin attention to our record when the other team scores first? But it really stinks. When we draw first blood we are like second in the league for winning. (the Isles are 10- 0 – 0 when leading in the second!) So I immediately turn off the radio… but the damage is done. Bryz! (always give Bryz! his exclamation point…he deserves it for his play so far) saved our bacon time after time. We got sloppy and frustrated trying to solve DP.

Our third period has not been pretty and we were down by 1 despite all the chances we had, I was losin hope fast. Then our PK brain farts and its suddenly 2 – 0 Isles. Carci is a bit of a bad boy , givin DP a lil tacky tap after the puck is caught. Bergheim and Sutton take exception and the teams mix it up behind the net (this is a sign of the ugly to come). Another PK dammmit! But oh boy! Vbrat w/ the steal, Vbrat and Donor on the shortie rush! BOYNK! playin trailer pots Vbrats rebound. 2 – 1 Isles. We’re finally in it.

Just as I’m gearing up to play to tie… Comrie and Guerin cause a ruckus and Geurin strikes again. 3 – 1 Isles. But there is time 7 minutes left but we look a little funked as DP keeps us off the board. But the lil terrier Niiikooo! Kaaapanennn! spots a loose puck in a crease scrum and darts in to poke it home. 3 – 2 Isles. We get legs and attitude! But so do the Isles! Its an ugly scramble in which liberties are taken repeatedly by both sides.

1 minute left and we’re on the PP! (yeah I’m practically vibrating at this point) We battle like hell and then the refs brain fart (DP holds a catch….and holds acatch….and holds acatch….no whistle and then DP skates out and bats it out to the blue) what a crock…and it sets up the ugly crap that follows.

The next time DP catches the puck Donor taps his glove to make sure the refs blow the frickin whistle and everyone goes to war. Donor, Jovo are gettin blasted by Isles players. (the refs grab Donor and leave Jovo to disappear under the punching and kicking of 3 Isles) Hanzal is pulling Isles off Jovo and gets grabbed by 2 of them like a piece of taffy (Witt has his fist coked and gloves off) but Hanzal gives him no resistance (smart boy) and the refs eventually get Witless to go away. In the mean time there is a gang style jump in goin on behind the net still, with DP and his partners beatin the hell out of Jovo still. Finally all culprits are broken apart. Total and complete bullshat follows as penalties are assessed (mostly to Yotes) You have to see the whole 1:30 to be as pissed as I am right now.

We lose 3 – 2 but not cuz we didn’t give it everything we had. I’ve seen bad calls and I’ve seen refs lose control of the game before…this was a stinker for sure. I’d like another shot at these boyos and I’m not normally the blood thirsty type. But next season…I hope the taste of this game is still in their mouth and we get some revenge.

1 – 1 on the road… we face the Devils next.

The Kings need better guards or better locks. The Yotes keep gettin in and makin off with the points.

Tonight was no exception to the rule. We can’t solve the Sharks but we pretty much have owned the royals so far this season. We’re in their heads at this point and they can’t seem to shake us. Some pundits (I hesitate to use the word journalists for these twits) have made a big deal out of Blake being punted out of the game (like he coulda stopped the Yotes all on his lonesome). C’mon people even with Blake in we have spanked the Kings, game after game. (And yes I am still pissed about Blake roughin up my boy Z) so this post may be a wee bit more critical than usual.

Plain and simple facts: Bryz >>> all the King’s goalies combined. Yotes scoring committee >>> all the King’s talent combined. Game over, Yotes win… again.

Stopping the big gun (Kopitar) and the mini automatic (Cammelleri) seems to do the trick. Everyone else just seems to cover up and hand over the crown jewels. But gotta give props to Dustin and JS, they did give their all.

This was a big one for us. The win helps put us on good footing when we start our long Eastern road trip. We’ll need every bit of confidence we can muster goin out to play places like the MSG (scary place for a buncha of noobies). But first we got a stop on the Island to face Nolan and his shaky gang of mutts.

The Isles have play off aspirations…those are dreams with legs. They will be looking to take advantage of us to get their heads in the right space. Their coach seems to be ready to take off the kid gloves and go medieval on them if they don’t start living up to expectations. ( “I’ve given guys plenty of opportunities, but patience can only go so long,” Nolan said. “We’re in a business. You have to produce and you have to play hard.” ~ Ted Nolan)  http://scores.espn.go.com/nhl/recap?gameId=271212002

Comrie needs to be looked after too. (I know he was one of ours once but still…) whup him like he stole somethin! Ex Yotes have a way of doin a lot of damage (errr Nagy exepted).

Do NOT let Suitcase Sillinger eat all the face offs! FOs = possession and we need to get that momentum on our side so we can shell the hell out of DP.

Shoot early, shoot often (worked for us last time and worked for the Sabres the other night), DP is no slouch between the pipes this season (yeah I made fun of his overpaid patoot last season) but never under estimate a desperate goalie. ( Rick DiPietro, making his fifth consecutive start, finished with 36 saves. “They put a lot of traffic in front,” DiPietro said of the Sabres. “That was effective.”)

We really need to get rollin quick on this road trip. Facin all the News (Isles, Rangers, Devils) is gonna wring us dry before headin in to face the Flyers, Briere is one of the keys there. Shutting him down will require our quickest and most creative boys to be on their toes.(heads up and shields high boys! the Broadstreet Bullies can be had, but there will most likely be bloodshed) then all the way back to face the team that has owned us all season (nuthin like fending off a Shark attack after an Atlantic swim marathon with a buncha parahnas). This is gonna be the most important test of our new goalie and the fortitude and stamina of the kidlets. Lets go get ‘em Yotes!

EDIT: thanx to T and Kir for catchin my weird crossover (and for those who read it early… Briere still plays for the Flyers ) roflmao