The perception that hockey cannot succeed in the desert is absolutely false. It is based on so many erroneous perceptions that I hardly know where to begin.  In the past this assumption might have had a large ring of truth to it. In order for hockey to succeed ANYWHERE, there has to be interest from the population. That interest in non traditional markets has to be grown. It can be grown through a number of things.

Marketing – people need to be aware that the sport is out there. The commercials can’t just be shown during the games (anyone watching already knows the deal) it has to be shown during the local basketball, baseball and football games (they are already sports oriented… the trick is to get them interested in a new/different one)

Publicity – good coverage of the sport in the local media (a supportive, prominent and consistent coverage is absolutely paramount to growth of a new sport). Phoenix is still working on that. The majority of the writers and newsies here have no clue about the sport or the team and apparently have no desire to learn. It would be awesome to have a white knight in the local media who understood the game and poured 1/2 the enthusiasm to supporting the Yotes as the others who know zilch expend tearing the team down.

Grassroots fans – it is long noted that people tend to follow what they know and grew up with (unfortunately the people of Phoenix didn’t grow up playin games of shinny on the local pond so the kids didn’t grow up to be fans of the sport they played in childhood). Well that is no longer true. The rise of roller hockey and ice hockey rinks has grown and is growing all over the valley. The kids are playing it a falling in love with the sport. This yanks a whole new generation into hockey and it drags their parents in as well as they come to understand a foreign game through their children.

Guys like me-  is also another common reason for growth – as the levels of hockey played here in Aizona rise and familiar home town faces emerge into the spotlights fans begin to follow. Teams like PF Chang and others are growing players in non-traditional markets, who are now beginning to emerge into the upper echelons of hockey. Kids like Phoenix’s David Spina are making their debuts into the profssional ranks and locals are following ‘the kids they went to school with” or “the kids they knew from church” and the ssport with a more persoanl interest which often leads to a ‘branching’ effect of loving the game in general.

Transplant affect - Phoenix’s great weather and amenties draws transplants from many hockey entrenched cities. They already love the sport and many transferr old loyalties to their new home’s team. (oh, I realize many only show up when their first love is in town, but many simply buy season tickets for love of the sport too) A winning team in their new home can convert even the most devout.

Winning - everyone loves a winner and Phoenix is no exception. A winning product on the ice would do the most for the Phoenix market. But the hockey devout would  (and have) settled for a team that puts up a good fight every night.

Phoenix has been employing many of these strategies quite successfully. Sure they need work in some areas (most of those areas they have no control over…ie. the media) but on the whole, the 11 years in the desert have hardly been wasted efforts.

Yes the average attendance is pretty low on the league’s totem pole but when teams like Toronto, Montreal, Pittsburgh and New York (which have been hockey power houses for what seems like a billion years) are figured in, the averages are a bit skewed and not really fair to fledgling markets like Carolina/TampaBay/Nashville and Phoenix with less than a quarter of that time in service. Phoenix manages to sell and average of 14,000 plus tickets to every game despite all its perceived drawbacks. (i.e. distance, traffic, on ice product) Those aren’t bad numbers for a team that hasn’t won squat in a bandwaggon town.

The sport of hockey is growing in the desert and the Phoenix Coyotes are a major part of the formula. They are helping to generate new NHL fans and contributing to the growth of new ice rinks in the valley and children’s skating programs is a huge part of that contribution. (families are the primary source of new fans, kids that grow up playing the game are the fans of the future). We have a ways to go with our media coverage for sure. But our marketing has won several ADDy awards in the past 2 years (we do need to get them on regular local prime time more), we’ve got the grass roots thing covered and the guys like me too.  Winning would take care of some of the transplant conversion and sure as heck get more butts in seats regardless of the midweek commute.

It has taken some time but we’re finally getting it right. I hope we win the court battle and get enough time for all these things we’re finally doing right to pay off.

Don’t forget to write/email/call your legislators and let them know you want them to get behind the SavetheCoyotes mission. And of course sign the petition here.

Below are the links to the Arizona House and Senate. If you do not know the names of your legislators/senator there is a link above the listings located on the right side of the page entitled “how do I find my legislators.” Remember, you are represented by three people in the legislature – two representatives and one senator – be sure to contact each one of them.

URL to the Arizona Senate:

http://www.azleg.gov/MemberRoster.asp?Body=S

URL to the Arizona House of Representatives:

http://www.azleg.gov/MemberRoster.asp?Body=H

That I officially begin mourning the passing of yet another season of great potential. Like many of you, I have questions. Grave and serious questions about the demise of this glorious and vibrant season. A season which appeared full of life and vigor and health only a few short weeks ago.

The 08 – 09 Coyotes were so very young. But despite the financial struggles they were born into, the diagnoses of cancer in their midst, the horrendous injuries they suffered and the loss of key components they not only persevered, they seemed to thrive.

Was it the ASG curse? Did some assclown enemy bury a piece of an Anaheim jersey somewhere at Westgate? Is there possibly a my-give-a-damn- is-busted, doomsday killswitch hidden in the locker room? I wish I could answer that for you, my fellow mourners.

I know we have taken great strides under GMDMs management but 3 steps forward and 2 steps back is not a whole lot of progress. All I know at this point, is that the team I saw last night appears to be irretrievably broken. I saw things that appear to signal the apocalypse. I saw Wayne Gretzky booed last night! during the opening announcements. Quelle horreur! you exclaim in shock and despair. Oh yes my friends, it seems that the people have discovered that the Great One, much like that famous naked emperor before him, has no clothes…errr coaching skills.

Come on, before you lambaste me (or call for the tar and feathers) take a look at the records. And I don’t mean the whole Coyotes record, just the last 4 years in which TGO and his assistants have held the reins of the team in their incompetent little paws. Any other coach AND staff would have been ridden out of town on a rail. In fact many have been with much less cause *Thierrien, Q, Torts, Renney, apparently the list was endless as I can’t keep naming them and still have room to finish this blog entry*

We have survived through Michael ‘Big Purple GM’ Barnett and the FOGs, a scouting staff who thought Brett Bennett was top goalie material, scandals, an ownership split, financial losses that would give Trump indigestion and a dearth of retirement home players. But apparently the death knell just may be our superstar owner-coach.

What makes a team with so much potential lay down and die? What causes skilled professionals to mail it in? Why do players leave the desert and immediately become all they can be in other locations? How does a team go from 5th in the conference to 15th in less than 8 weeks?

When you have changed the GM, changed the scouting team, changed the roster (multiple times), gotten so healthy that you have a press box over flowing with players and are close enough to new ownership that the ink may be drying as I type, what else is left to consider?

Do I want to consider it? Well no, of course not. Who the hell wants to think that Wayne Gretzky can fail at anything even remotely hockey related? Okay firstly, everyone cannot be great at everything. Where is the logic in thinking that any human being can do that? What we do need to begin thinking about is how to correct the issue before the kids are ruined, Shane Doan sticks his head in an oven, the fanbase completely melts away in despair and before the new season starts.

The team has fallen and it can’t get up… hell, it WON’T get up! There are still some players who don’t know how to quit. Who still give it everything they have but their numbers are dwindling every shift. And everytime it happens, it tears a little piece of my Coyotes loving heart out. Now, if this were the first time it had happpened, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. Last season was the same thing. We blamed fielding so many rookies who eventually pooped out (a novel summation of the situation… I think we’ve run out of reasons why we stink and latched onto that one as handy enough). This season we had even more rookies coming and going like shuttlecocks at a PCP riddled badminton tourney. Should we have done that? Probably not. I guess we can add that little decision to the staff’s oopsie column. But I refuse to play the tired rookies card yet again.

There is no shame in stepping down. Acknowledging that maybe a head coachs job in the NHL might not have been the right decision would be a great step from a self aware man. It is not announcing failure, it is simply setting aside pride for the good of the team, nay the game! you profess to love. I know I have a lot of nerve here to be making suggestions but…

1) Go buy interest in a struggling minors/juniors team with potential and take over the coaching reins. Everyone sees your rapport w/ the youngsters. Build a winner out of raw untapped talent, grab a Miron and then a Calder and then return with the chops to handle the highest level of the game.

2) Get a new staff. Look around the league, there are some brilliant assistants out there, some brilliant displaced coachs out there (this is definitely a business of what-have-you-done-for-me-lately). People with years of experience who have trained with the best or led the best and could teach and guide you and the team better than what you have helping you currently. Defer to their knowledge and learn. Just a couple of thoughts below:

• Yanic Perreault face off coach, hell even settle for Mike Sillinger *2 of the best face off men in the biz during their careers*. (No Panic Yanic taught Zigomanis things without even tryin and lives right here in Phoenix) feel me?
• Ulf Dahlen assistant coach… check Dallas’ record when he was there. Maybe he could be lured back from Frolunda?
• Mike Ramsey defensive assistant coach (8 years w/ Lemaire and the most stultifying defensive strategies in the NHL) sounding good?
• Either Allaire brother *if Benoit will even consider returning*, proven track records, I don’t think I can name a goalie that trained with either of them on the main stage that actually got worse during their teaching. (Fuhr? do the names Lenevue, Morris, Bryzgalov speak to you as gettin better from his teaching?)

3) Step down, reclaim your status of figurehead, owner, fan draw on a different level. Use your fame and glory to draw investors and fans through a different aspect of organizational participation.

I’ve never called for anyone’s head before. This feels wrong on so many levels. But after calling out specific players to be accountable I would be guilty of the same blind loyalty to the legend that the Coyotes and the NHL are, if I didn’t at least point out that our emporer is down to his skivvies if not completely arse out at this juncture.

Am I wrong? Please show me where I’ve erred. I am extremely open to debate at this time… truly, I WANT to be wrong.

As always… Go Coyotes!

I’ve been a hockey fan for over 17 years. I’ve  never been called a puck bunny (to my knowledge) so I guess I just don’t get the whole affronted female fan thing.

I’m a fan and I’m female, big whoop. I don’t need a pink jersey, pink hat, a purse w/ my team’s logo on it ( I did fork over some bucks for the logo’d porch rug though and my car is soon to be adorned with Z4dfense plates) but none of that pink shit for this fan, not because its girly or insulting… I look like shit in pink, thank you for offering though. I understand the pink crap sells pretty well and the league does need to make money.

The Caps are offering an all female site called Scarlet Caps. YAY! Go Caps. But apparently not everyone is happy nor amused by the new site. Some say its sexist and insulting, well hell so is Don Imus and he’s still around. Some say it promotes the game wrong, like sex isn’t used to sell everything except baby wipes these days.

Is the new Caps site insulting? Not to me personally but I can understand that there may be some vitriol if its not done right. Explaining the game in basic language, terminology, slang can be a good thing. But then again, what hetro female in the world doesn’t like some eye candy? Hell, men have been appreciatin eye candy for centuries, I don’t object to having a site that doesn’t mind a lil drool, just don’t go overboard. Make sure we get the stats, the previews, announcements and the discussion board access as well as the fluff. Oh and Ted? Subtlety on the pics n backgrounds should be the watchword here big guy. Be sure that the design and content help sell the game as well as the names.

Is it neccessary? Maybe so, there are a lot of female fans out there that want to understand the game better without appearing stupid to the male fans in their lives, that want to interact with other fans that have interests beyond the stats and want to develop some relationships with other women who enjoy the sport but have more to give than just hockey. Thats just how women roll. We incorporate all the pieces of our lives together when we can.

Will it catch on with other teams? Damn I hope so. Most of the season ticket holding fans I hang with are women. Most admit to not knowing much beyond loving the game. The pace, the goals, the hits and oh hell yeah, these gals really get behind the fights. I often think they are more blood thirsty than my male fan friends (except Jimmy, no one is more blood thirsty than Jim). But having another venue/outlet to learn, discuss and access the game and the players can only be a good thing.

Team official sites created for female fans acknowledges that we are here to stay and that we are a force to be recognized. I like that. We have been complaining for years about a lack of official cred. Instead of bitchin about it we should embrace it and help make it work for us. We have enough voices out here in the blogoshpere to be heard and to be counted. So make that work for us, contribute constructive criticism don’t just condemn the whole concept out of hand.

The Caps site is still evolving, hopefully it will eventually have a look and feel that works well for the hardcore and the novice female fans… they should probably throttle back on the eye candy parts though… not sayin completely, cuz I admit that even I like to drool occasionally.

Be sure to read the great comments as well as the insightful posts themselves.

HLOG

Wrap Around n Curl

Puck Huffers (scroll down, its in there somewhere to the middle)

BarryMelrose Rocks

Sorry I been gone for a bit…  Between bronchitis and dental surgery I have not been feelin the hunched over the keyboard thang but you’ll probably get sick of me over the next few weeks as I have now joined the ranks of the unemployed. Outsourcing sux, if you are the outsourcee. (anyone looking for an IT/desktop support manager? I’m available) LOL

Our boys should never be allowed to take ASG week off ever again. They lose their ever-lovin minds… and apparently the ability to win a damn game.

It has been painful to watch. Goin over 180 minutes without a goal (well, except the ones we’ve managed to score on our own goalie). And the really sad part is that a couple of these losses we haven’t played badly.

We’re hittin, we’re shootin, we’re passing (ok, we call it passing but it often looks like bad attempts at pong) and we’re playin defense too.  But ever since the Wings victory its as if we can’t buy a goal. Like we blew our wad on that season high 6 goals.

Untimely injuries not withstanding, we should be better than this. But it seems like there is something missing. We have Doan, Jokinen, Jovanovski and Bryzgalov for cryin out loud. Why can’t we seem to pull off a damn win? Maybe we’ve lost our fire? You know that burnin in the belly resolution to win at any cost? That do whatever it takes thing that makes ordinary players great and makes good players brilliant. It’s still there… feeble though it seems right now, there is still a spark and we have to find a way to bring it back to life. Not one of our guys has stepped up past his limits in the last few games.

I am starting to worry that TGO and current staff just can’t get it done. I know I’m not the only one (hell, I’m probably the last one to begin to wonder). We’ve seen major roster changes over the last 5 years with the coaching staff remaining in place and still not gettin the boys motivated beyond the ASG break. What is it going to take?

There are still like 29 games to be played and we can’t afford to go on an extended L streak at this critical juncture. I still believe it can be done but not with the current mindset.

Joker, if you truly want to finally make the post season you better find a way to help Doan lead this team and dude! stop imitating the stay puff marshmallow centerman! And Jovo, you had your best defensive run in the last few games but buddy, we need some points, 2 to 3 shots per game isn’t going to do it. Something will fall for you big guy but you gotta shoot! If Haler can get a goal from the blue, there’s no way you shouldn’t be able to. Hanzal, darlin I know you are doin way more than any 21 yr old should be asked to do, but sweetie, we need about 17 games like the 1/20/ded things game outta you. Seriously you WERE that game.

Z… baby boy… dig honey… way down deep (no… deeper) something is off and you gotta get back on track (if you survived 2 seasons of injured/recovering Jovo, you can survive musical defensemen and Haler too) Shane? I know you can’t do it all but lose Mr. Nice Guy and kick a lil ass in that locker room will ya… apparently these guys don’t understand the term urgency even when you start bangin heads thru glass and shootin like its your last moment on Earth… you’re gonna have to get nasty behind closed doors, methinks, to get your point across. Haler, I’m not blamin you for anything anymore, its not your fault that the coaching staff is expecting things from you that you just can’t quite deliver. I get that you are givin it all you got (and occasionally, you actually look like an NHL caliber blueliner) but you’ll please forgive me when I pray for DMo/Sauer/anyone-not-named-Hale to shore up the D pairings.

Coyotes coaching staff… pull your collective heads out of your arses and recognise, 90% of this game is mental when the tools are all there. We got the tools, what is happening to the boy’s heads? This is on you, to find a way for them to be ready to face each game as confident and prepped as needed. Next season there may not be a club in Phoenix if we don’t make the post season.

Some fans are already starting to look ahead to the draft… god , how pathetic is that? There is still a chance, the West is so damn tight that it squeaks when you look at the standings. The back end of the season is strafed with teams that are neck and neck with us, we play the majority against Pacific rivals and even more importantly Western Conference teams. We were dominant against these same groups in the first half of the year, many of them have found their extra gear (Dallas) and have turned on the afterburners. The sprint portion of the NHL marathon has apparently started early this year… somebody please tell our boys.

If they are really serious about makin the post season, every single player is going to have to play kamikaze style, beginning tonight at the Joe. There should be no excuses for not throwing everything including the kitchen sink at the Ded Thing’s net. If it takes gettin thrown 1/2 way across the ice or through the glass to make a play… do it! If it means becoming a bullseye in their crease and takin the cheapest shots imaginable… do it! Thats what Stanley Cup Champions do… sacrifice until there is no more to give, then dig down deeper and finding that lastexhausted ounce. That last ounce is the difference between winners and wannabes.

News and stuff… Tiki has been reactivated and sent to SA w/ StevieG and Nikulin. Porter and Hoggan are comin back the other way. Bettman will be giving a state-of-the-Yotes interview during the intermission tonight.  (It won’t stop all the bullshit but maybe we can glean a little more hope for our continued existence)Rhino may be back tonight (prolly Sat to make sure he’s 100% but maybe tonight) Zetterberg and Holmstrom are questionable for tonight… look for the crazy Ivan maneuvers from Datsyuk to reappear.

As always… GO COYOTES!!!

Okaaayyy, blood pressure is back down, or at least within normal ranges. Srsly, talk about almost strokin out at a game! Maybe its true that I take my hockey a lil too seriously…. naaaah, no such thing.

So I guess its time to talk about the second game that shall not be mentioned ever again after this posting. hmmm where to begin…

I guess the fact that we never bothered to show up might be a good place. Remember folks, when we’re good, I am overly enthusiastic and give superior praise… if you expect me to let my innate homerism temper this entry, you’ll be sadly disappointed. So what you read below may sound mean… but just dammitt, well deserved.

The Wolf and his craptastic rebounds. OMG! If Telly could take last night back I think he’d pay just about any price to do it. The Telly monster doesn’t have the best rebound smothering ability on a good day. But on a good day he is able to steer those babies outta harms way. Tuesday night he couldn’t steer his way out of a paper bag. I mean short of catching the puck and throwing it in the net himself, there was no way he coulda screwed himself up more than those ugly, heart shattering rebounds.

Hey Doan! you think YOU were embarrassed by this game? Not even close bud, not even close. There were people leaving by the end of the 1st period. The ability to believe is heartily tested by performances like this. I know the first thing the announcers will say is ‘we’re still in 7th place, nothing was lost in this game‘. But dammitt there WAS a big loss. We played gutless, heartless and balless, there was no pride out there Tuesday night. All the effort in the world meant nothing in the face of letting (an admittedly good) Hawk team run us a big fat goose egg in our own home arena.

Leadership? Is it time for another player’s only meeting? I should think so. Back-to-back goose eggs? C’mon guys, step up and be counted or heard or whatever. I know you had to feel bad after the ANA chunk blowing. But sweet gorgonzola! who the hell is leading this mess? Veteran presence was more like veteran absence. What needs to be said? What needs to be shown? Somebody… anybody! Step up!

WTF? Carcillo shoulda been up in the press box with an ice pack and some really good drugs. The kid looked like Angelina Jolie about the lips. He gave it a fair shot and I have to give him props for tryin, but he really shouldn’t have been in this game. How the hell was he supposed to do what he does best without a) full faculties (due to at least a minimum of pain relieving medication) b) the balance and coordination it takes to particpate in any danny duel(which would have been affected even by that minimum medication) and c) one nasty punch woulda been all it took to lose the kid for at least a few days, maybe even longer (which any Hawk worthy of the name woulda took full advantage of, given the opportunity).

Fridgie, Fridgie, Fridgie… man oh man. You are a very bad boy. But thank you for at least doing something. I’da rather you had taken on Buffy though. Goalies are off limits my friend. No matter how pissed you are and no matter how stupid the goalie may be for dithering about behind the net, plastering them to the back wall is sooo not nice. *and no, I am not going to lambaste the Fridgidaire too severely so fuggedaboudit*

Jovo, DUDE! what were you thinkin? Hope you are okay, cuz just DAYAM! you got seriously rocked! Maaan, I hate to see you go out like that playa, but c’mon. Walker bashes your head into the glass from behind a couple of times, you take exception… (not enough exception in my opinion), you both take a couple of smacks at each other and off come Walker’s gloves. How are you not expecting that to turn into a fight? Yeah it was cheap but srsly, after the couple of ‘love taps’ you shoulda already dropped the stick and dropped that puke instead of expecting to skate away. (or maybe you just weren’t expecting him to be that fast? NEVER! expect an opponent to square up and do the gentleman’s appointment thing again big guy… didn’t watching the Wellerizing of the Jackets from last season teach you anything?) Don’t miss PB’s take on this

Ollie ‘the ghost’ Jokinen (the other boys all sacrifice the body to keep the puck out of the net) but watch Ollie the fraidy ghost jump over the puck (ala Marleau) leading to the Eager goal. No wonder you never got hurt in FLA Ollie, you don’t battle the corners, fight on the wall, go to the net and apparently you don’t block shots either. How’d you like not playin the rest of the game there big guy? That whopping 9:46 musta stung eh? Well since you apparently can’t grow eyebrows… how bout ya grow a pair and block a shot next time?

Mixed D pairings? Wha?? Screwin with the offense isn’t gettin yer rocks off any more Wayne? Now you gotta fix a blueline that wasn’t broken? Playing mix n match with the bottom 3 just wasn’t good enough was it? With Klee down you had the perfect opportunity to start playin musical D. And I suppose your motive was because we got spanked in the last game, so you thought, ‘let’s try something different, like splitting up Z and Kurt’. Yeah bud, that worked out real good didn’t it? Z on the wrong side of the ice for a good portion of the night is not a pretty thing to watch and neither was watchin the pairings struggle to figure out where their partners were covering. I could just vomit.

Those not mentioned with disdain and their performances not picked apart with alacrity are just as guilty as the rest and conspicuous in their absence (except Breezy who actually had his shit together for the most part).The whole team stunk the arena up, not just the few mentioned above. Dmo? Rhino? Hanzal? Mueller?

Coaching staff should be run over by the Jovo bus.After all the shite that was bandied about by coaches and players alike, the promises that we would be ready for this game etc…. I have never been so disappointed in all my Coyotes fandom days. You know, I really didn’t expect a win. The damn ChiTown boys are just on too hot of a roll to think like that no matter how big a homer I am. They’re damn good this year and as much as it pains me to say it, they’ll make an awesome showing in the post season. Kudos to them for coming back to life as an organization and playin like hell on wheels as a team.

But hey life often sucks and apparently the hockey gods don’t want us gettin too big for our britches so they gave us the Blackhawks. But then again perhaps they still have us in their good graces because they only gave them to us 4 times LOL and of course there’s that ever useful consolation prize that we haven’t fallen out of playoff contention.

We can’t afford a repeat of 07 though. This lil farrow in our work ethic and spirited play can’t be allowed to flourish. Whatever is wrong needs fixing. NOW! (can we start with the very much MIA power play and move up to our supremely indifferent road record?) Many are starting to lose faith in Wayne and his team. Even the most verbose of his supporters are beginning to have doubts. With so much talent and such good veteran presence how are we not the ‘new’ Penguins or following in the footsteps of other young teams? Well kiddies if you look at the big picture, thats exactly what we are doing. We’ve got the parts now (for the first time in a looong time) and we are sittin in a pretty good spot for the 1/2 way mark (better standings-wise than last season, when we were in and out of 8th, 9th every damn day) So before everyone starts giving up on the boys, there are still 41 games to be played. If we start with Tampa Bay and start kickin keisters again, there is still plenty of room at the post season table to accomodate a small band of Coyotes fans. We may not have the numbers but those of us that still believe are a force to be reckoned with.

Still Love You Guys !!!Go Coyotes!!!

OdinMercer
Official Viewpoint

The Diva on DC

The Big Picture Look

That’s right I’m sayin it right now… When I put up the Redwing recap/postmortem or whatev you want to call it…don’t bother to bash my boy. you will be met with an extremely hostile reaction…it will be graphically rude, mean and terminally Boneshequa.

Be back with that soon

Guess I won’t have to put Versteeg on my slap this bitch list. The NHL did it for me… slapped that lil bitch that is. Versteeg gets the fine and the suspension and the really laughable part is… he says KT challenged him to fight! What a joke this kid is… Own yer error dude…all buck20lbs of Kyle Turris couldn’t have hurt you, game was over, what was the point?

I really thought Gretzky was gonna blow a serious gasket… we’ve seen him pissed before but never like last night… and go to YotesTV and hear what Doaner has to say about it… Hey! Coach Q… better start thinkin about Verpiggy bein a healthy scratch next Yotes game…

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=258967&lid=headline&lpos=secStory_nhl

Well … in a rare appearance of our alter egos we go down like the famous and mythical bird that bears our name. Hopefully to rise again in 08 stronger, more resilient, faster and more experienced. Dropping games in ugly succession to the Oil, Nucks and now the Kings… ouch. Barring a miracle of Biblical proportions the boys are now playing for pride, learning and chemistry development.

We got swept by the Oily bohunks. It was ugly, the problem was they are just as fast as we are, they don’t have any BIG stars they too are rolling a lot of small threats every game, their goal tending can be just as streaky as ours. We got caught on days when their goalies were hot as hell(check out Rollie’s stats … some of his best games were against us) and although we tried, we just couldn’t establish OUR tempo and ended up playing to their tune and 1 step behind all 4 games. The last game we actually managed to score more than 2 goals! and managed to keep tying it up too. But as the 4 – 8 score indicates we totally lost our lil minds in the third and left the ice on the ends ot the Oiler’s series brooms.

We also got caught in the Linden backlash. The Canucks got the Gipper speech from Trevor Linden and totally morphed into the Power Puff Girls or something. Suddenly the wonder twins managed to get their rings together and become harder to intimidate and harder to catch, much less hit. Of course we happened to be in full out crapitude mode from our net to our forecheck which is NEVER a good thing.  The 2 goal shuffle we were mired in didn’t help either.

AP photo

So the last mathematical possibility is just about over and with all of our enemies too far to catch w/ out divine intervention… we faced the Kings to begin our battle back to the team from January (I hope). Booyah! We score 5 goals! The scoring committee was back! Even Rhino found a lil puck sense. (Poor Vrbie is still in the wickedest slump evah!… his agent could just cry right about now) Without Jovo and Hanzal and with Z playing in spite of the fact that he shoulda been nursin a bad wing, we didn’t do too bad. The new King’s goalie Ersberg is amazing. No wonder the Kings are playing with renewed vigor and confidence. If he had been in net at the season start those boys mighta had a real good shot at a run. So anyway… the Kings finally get by us 5 – 6 final after a shoot out… poor Telly he just seems to get caught in those long running shoot em ups.

But at least these 3 losses did not go for nought. With the playoffs out of reach maybe reality can set back in and we can get back to Plan A – the rebuild. I hope the plans for the off season include a little chat w/ the people responsible for the referees about some fairness and safety for Carci.

AP photo

I mean this is becoming ridiculous, foolish and is definitely buffoonish. Calling the kid for everything under the sun is one thing, calling the kid for majors no one has ever seen b4 is another,  but letting the kid get beat to death is a whole nother story.

AP photo

The refs are supposed to be fair and objective, the arbitrators of fair play. Instead they are turning into vindictive and petty dictators who skew the games due to a predjudice that has no place in their calls.

Who is looking forward to a delicious Duck dinner? I know I am… without all this white out talk getting in the way, maybe the boys can get their teeth into some good old fashioned hockey again. Coyotes style. Forechecking, (hip checking too please Bally), scoring committee, Breezalicious, Coyotes style hockey. Play hard, get deep and score like Hiller is made of cream cheese!

Go Coyotes!

~pics from BTinAZ~

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bleedintealinaz/sets/72157604153391788/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bleedintealinaz/sets/72157604189002148/

onyxstarr@coyoteshipcheck.com

Damn! this keepin the faith stuff is hard isn’t it?

The bad old days are long gone, you remember when you just showed up, ate ( in your seats… continuously… all game), talked to your friend (the only one who would go with you… cuz well, its the Yotes…eww), maybe catch 15 or 25 minutes of half way decent hockey, go home and bitch for 3 days… repeat ad nauseum. No muss, no fuss, no adrenaline or quite frankly no real investment required.

Now, is a whole nother animal.

You wait with barely contained anticipation, you discuss, hypothesize and agonize on lines, player’s health, goalie status for every day they aren’t on the ice. You grab your now beloved jersey (that you actually customized cuz you are that heavily invested), drive out to the Job with a sense of purpose in spite of traffic and the temptation of FSN. You meet your newly aquired group of fanatical friends to discuss further and eat early (cuz you don’t wanna miss anything on the ice while shoveling nachos in your face).

And then you watch 20 min or 40 minutes or that rare and elusive animal, the 60 minute hockey game. Occasionally with the 20 minute version we’d still win, more often we’d slide thru on the 40 minute one but the 60 minute one was worth every moment of agony.

Now we have playoff dreams. And we are getting kicked in the teeth by the 20 and 40 minute showings by our beloved team. Damn it hurts. Other teams are kicking into high gear (chicago! cough, cough) and are basically going to overrun us even with injuries (colorado! cough, cough).

Its time for this team to man up and do more than talk the talk. Time for Verbie to earn that 3 year contract he wants (he’s aleady earned the raise in pay), time for Rhino to come out of the shadow of Doan and prove he’s a #2 center, the kids and the role players are doing their jobs pretty much every night. Doan and Jovo and Mules can’t do it alone. 5 of the 7 D have been adequate for most of the season, they need to help generate some offense while the chips are down though, (I know they’re mostly workin their asses off… but its playoffs, I’m sure if they dig they can find at least another 1 or 2 goals between the 6 of them). The goalies have been doing everything except score and if they could, they’d probably do that too.

Sorry … just a wee bit frustrated myself after the Canadiens  game….

Play off push: 

whoo boy… we have dug ourselves one incredibly deep hole… and its filled w/ caca…

Myrtle calls it pretty well when he displays the probable numbers needed to make the play offs by sayin we pretty much need to go 11-4-1. Just ouch! when measured against the March schedule.

http://mirtle.blogspot.com/2008/01/playoff-push-95-points-or-bust.html

PB has some pretty interesting things to say as well:
“The experience that these players are going through now is just invaluable – earn every point possible in regulation, play desperate whistle to whistle, be physical and force the opposition into making plays that they don’t want to, and find ways to score that ugly goal because if the ugly one goes in, that pretty one is not far behind.”

http://www.onefansperspective.com/2008/03/flames-dominate-coyotes.html

The deadline trade:

Maybe GMDM is looking a lot further down the road than most folks. We have Telly for only 1 more year and then he’d make excellent an excellent UFA trading chip and we bring Monty up to take 20 -25 games for Breezy to rest up. Or if Monty has proven GMDM correct and excelled in the A, Monty himself might become that chip. Win-win

Sjo has been a great guy for us. (hell I miss him so much I actually started following NYR games) but with he definitely needed a change of scenery. Hopefully NYR doesn’t expect him to score like a 2nd liner and just accepts him as is: scoring occasionally in bunches, playing soundly on the defensive end and making the 3rd or 4th line look brilliant in comparison to what they had b4 he came on board.As one of our 1st round picks, much more was expected of the Swedish Weeble and much as it hurts to say it, wasn’t delivered. Hossa ain’t too bad. Once he gets his feet under him and shakes off the rust of injury he may find a goal or 3 in his pocket. As long as he doesn’t hurt us defensively it’s pretty much a uni swap that got GMDM’s goalie into the fold.And that pick we might have to give up? The Coyotes will surrender their fifth pick in the 2009 draft only if the following conditions are met:    

- The Rangers do not sign goaltender David LeNeveu.  

- Goalie Al Montoya plays in 15 games for the Coyotes next season.

Not thinkin those things are BOTH gonna happen, so Montoya cost us bupkis… GMDM – all about gettin the free stuff.

http://www.azcentral.com/members/Blog/JimGintonio/18205

Consider all the possibilities.

Peter Mueller’s Fugue:

Even TGO has made mention of it recently. “Everybody’s human, and it wears on you because you want to do well,” he said. “The bottom line is, anything Peter does offensively, the goals he gets, that’s a bonus for us. He’s 19 years old, and he’s played pretty well this year. What I see in Peter right now, he’s standing around too much. He needs to keep his feet moving, and he needs to get into open ice, things he was doing when he was scoring.”

This is a very tired 19 year old who is carrying a load of expectations that would fell an elephant. He’s never played so long at such a high level before and has been exceeding beyond everyone’s imagination. Hopefully he’ll be able to find some kick to finish with. But I have been delighted and amazed by him most of the season.

http://www.azcentral.com/members/Blog/JimGintonio/18409

What we really need now:

We need the big guns to step up. Its been all about the secondary scoring lately. Kapi, Winnie, hell even Z have scored, but not a peep out of our big guys except Jovo. We really need Vbrat and Rhino to get their shite together and get back on the board. We need Donor to heal faster so he can start energizing the team again. We need Jovo to continue to be that blueline rocket launcher and Mules to stop thinkin and start trusting his instincts again. It would of course be best if the scoring committe just went on a serious tear w/ everybody contributing but I’d settle for some multipoint games from any of the major players right now.

And for a very good goalie tandem to step up into unheralded reaches of zen theft mode… we need every point we can scratch, eke, borrow and outright steal.