Catch Up

Ok, I know it’s been awhile since I’ve written anything. I am going to try and get better at that. No excuses, right?

Some quick updates:

Mueller has been activated from IR. He returned last night against the Flames. He wasn’t quite visible (as usually) but as The Diva and I discussed, the Coyotes plummeted after he was injured, so maybe, just maybe, he is the anti-cancer for the locker room and we need him in the lineup.
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Tiki has also returned to the lineup. He had a tremendous game last night! Welcome back Tiki! We missed you!!
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Turris has been sent to SA. I didn’t think he was doing to bad but this will really help his game, give him some confidence. I think it was a great move. Plus, if the Coyotes can’t make the playoffs he can help push the Rampage to the playoffs.
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Schlemko is back with us. He is getting some major FF miles this past few weeks.

Ok, the games:

Wednesday night we won. I know right? We beat Dallas 1-0. Bryz was amazing in net. Wait… did I just say that? I love playing Dallas because it is just too much fun to watch Turco and it turns into a battle of the goalies.
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Thursday night we played the Canucks. My friend and I went to Saddle Ranch before hand and got some of their monster drinks. It definitely made the game more fun and we really annoyed the old lady Canucks fan in front of us. If you don’t like it, go back to Canada. This is our arena. Well anyway, we lost. Not too surprised there.
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Last night we played the Flames. It was looking bad, really bad. But then we rallied late in the third to make it 7-5 but couldn’t quite get those last few goals. Tiki and Winnik both had two goals each with the fifth coming from the Captain, Shane Doan. Winnik really needed those goals. He hadn’t scored all season. Way to go Winnik!!!! Oh yes, the best part? When Phaneuf tried to punch Carcillo in the face. Not his best idea. Hahanaha

Soon after this, a fight broke out in the crowd. A Flames fan jumped like 4 rows to go after Coyotes fans. They were escorted out.

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Let’s see… I just have a random thought left.
-The Suns are getting ready to fire their coach. He hasn’t even been there a full season yet but the guys aren’t playing to their full potential. Coyotes… please take notes. The Suns know, when you have that much talent they should be producing. If they aren’t it probably means there is issues with the coaching staff. Time to shake things up.
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Ok, well Monday night we take on the Oilers at home. Yah, don’t even want to think about that yet.
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Tuesday night is our STH signing event. I have no idea what to get signed. Maybe I will get pics instead. Although it’s always awkward as they are behind those big, long tables.

Coyotes at Calgary

The pre-game info for tonight’s game was missed due to the Arizona basketball game running over time. I find it funny that I have seen hockey games on NBC that have run over time, yet they will just switch to whatever is next (golf or horse racing) but basketball trumps hockey. Boooooooo

The Flames were coming off a big win over the Sharks, so my boys needed to be ready and play their game for the full 60 minutes and play it they did.

Hale started it off with a goal and a fight. This was the second goal of his career (both done this season) and I believe his second fight of the season. And who did he choose to fight? Jerome Iginla. He got off a couple of good swings before Iginla took him down. You have to give him credit for fighting Iginla. Hale and Iginla both left their helmets on (neither has a visor), I am sure this was due to all the recent talks about keeping the helmets on during fights and recent OHL rule change.

On the Hale goal, Fridge did a great job of screening Kipper. This is what I have been talking about all year and it seems they are finally starting to get the importance of getting in front of the net.

Calgary had a good scoring chance on the PP early in the second; the puck hit the post then the crossbar and bounced out. As Mueller comes out of the box, he is fed the puck, tries to pass it but it comes right back to him, quick shot and it’s in the net.

The Flames finally answer with a shot from Cammallari and a screen by Iginla. Cammallari gets another goal later in the third. The Flames will score once more in the third but it wasn’t enough to beat my yotes.

Jokinen also got on the board with a sweet shot from the corner that somehow found a gap between the post and Kipper. Boedker had a nice breakaway on a pass from Klee (made possible from a block by Yandle) and was able to score on Kipper.

The end of the game became a little nerve wracking when the Flames pulled Kipper to have the extra attacker. The Coyotes just couldn’t clear the zone and the Flames were giving everything they had, which thankfully wasn’t enough.

The game ends and it is 4-3 Coyotes. The yotes have moved into 5th in the Conference and second in the division, ahead of Anaheim because they have played one more game than us. We are sitting at 14th in the league (right behind the Florida Panthers - hrmmmmm funny stuff).
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Tomorrow night the Coyotes go to Edmonton to take on the Oilers. I am not sure what time the game starts. The schedule says 6 but I got a text Friday saying the game was at 6 pm on 1510 am but then they sent out another one saying it started at 7 pm. The Coyotes website also says 7. I will probably be prepared and check at 6. I have nothing else to do, with the Cardinals/Eagles game in my backyard, I will be stuck at my apartment all day.

Edmonton is currently in 9th place (tied for 8th with Minnesota) and four points behind us. They will be looking to get two points this game. They could be a tough team to beat. The Coyotes will need to bring their A-game and not get too cocky/overconfident about these last two wins. I said before I wanted them to get six points this road trip and they can do it. They just need to stick to their game, limit the penalties, and play the full 60 minutes.

Will Gretzky ice the same team tomorrow? Will Gretz rest Klee? Will Bryz get a night off to prepare for Tuesday's game? If I recall, Bryz has a horrid record against Edmonton.

If they can get these three wins in a row, it could be good for Tuesday when we face the Red Wings at home. I am asking that all Coyotes fans come out to Glendale. We need you on Tuesday. We need your body in the seat, we need your support, we need your voice. I will be loud and proud and make the Red Wings fans not want to come back to our arena, yes our arena. It is not the Red Wings arena and the team and the fans should not get comfy there, like it’s theirs.
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David Schlemko has been called up from SA. I'm not sure if he will actually play, as Klee, Hale and Yandle have been playing well.

Also, G has been called up to SA; hopefully he will get to play this time. He has been called up numerous times this season but has yet to play in SA.
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Well, I think that is all I have for you kitties tonight. I am going to finish watching 30 Minute Meals. Peace out.

I decided to see how much Byrz’s holiday mask went for. I got on NHL.com and found the past auctions. His mask sold for 3,999. Wow. That is an awesome amount for charity!
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Thursday night the Coyotes beat Vancouver 4-1. The Diva is responsible for Bryz/Z giving up that one goal. She decided to talk about the last time we got a shutout. I tried to tell her it was Dallas (hehe) but she wouldn’t listen and kept talking about it.

I thought the boys played really well. Mr. Klee was a shot blocking machine, Lucky Lindy almost struck gold (2 goals in the first and almost had a natural hat trick), and Bryz actually looked awake and ready to play.

There was a scary moment when Carcillo hit his head on the ice during a fight, but he was in practice yesterday and will play tonight. This fight has also been used in quite a few articles involving fights and if the players should wear helmets during them. I am not sure which direction the NHL should take, but the definitely need to leave the fighting in the game. Read more about it here.

Since this game was on Thursday night and I didn’t take notes, this is all the recap you get. I was going to write yesterday but never got around to it. I just didn’t have the attention span to sit down and write. I need deadlines and stuff or I put things off. I am the biggest procrastinator ever!
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Tonight the Coyotes are in Calgary. I am trying to be optimistic about this one but given our track record, it is hard. The Diva is taking the opposite route as me and going for all out gloom and doom, check it out here.
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Ok, that is all for me. I have a ton of stuff to do today, so I must get going.
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Also, I have calmed down much since earlier this week. I am going to try to go the Zen-route about the whole Red Wings fans and Canadians* being jag-offs about my team.

*Please note, I do not think all Red Wings fans and/or Canadians are jog-offs but it is much easier to generalize as it seems to be the majority of what I have read recently.

Coyotes at Calgary

Another lunch time post, brought to you by... Hipcheck. Read, enjoy, and please ignore any typing/spelling/grammatical errors. :)

The goalies facing off last night were of course Kippersoff and Bryzgalov. I have to admit I have a bigger goalie crush on the Kipper than I do on Bryz. Bryz made me far too nervous watching the game last night. There were a few times that I almost had to close my eyes (but more on that later).

My keys to the game were: take a hit to make a play, skate fast and don't be afraid to hit the people in Flames jerseys (fans, players it really doesn't matter).

First Period:
The game started off rough, only about 3 minutes in and Calgary scored it's first goal. I was having visions on an on-slaught, visions of Bryz falling apart but I tried to force those images out of my head and focus on the boys actually winning (it helped to have a chat room of friends also watching the game to commiserate with and then to laugh at stupid things).

At one point, Bryz looked like he was going to cover the puck, forcing the whistle (everyone I was talking to thought this too and it looked like the guys on the ice thought that too) but instead he throws it up the ice. It was almost stolen by a Flame. He also looked slow to get up at times, just slow to react period.

The coyotes went on the PK soon after the Flames goal and were able to get a short handed goal. Tiki blocked the pass/shot and DMo was able to grab it. He raced up the ice, shot and that puck sailed to the back of the net. After the goal, they were calling it an unassisted goal (and I don't know if it was ever changed) but Tiki deserves an assist on that one. If it wasn't for him, DMo may not have had that opportunity to take the puck and shoot.

We also got to see that Carcillo has not escaped persecution yet. He has been on his best behavior this year (maybe why he hasn't scored yet) but the refs can not leave well enough alone. He was trying to avoid a head on collision with a Flames player, so he tried to move out of the way. They still collided but it wasn't as bad as it could have been. He was called for tripping, yes tripping, because the other player went over Carcillo's leg when they tried to avoid the hit. WTF? Total crap. That should not have been a tripping call against Carcillo, it should have been no call on either player (although I did later joke when Carcillo ran into one our own players - they have been doing this a lot lately, poor communication? - that he should get called for tripping against his own guy. Yah, I made a couple people laugh with that one).

Doan did try to get another shorty with a nice breakaway but his shot seemed to be pretty easy for Kipper to stop.

Ugh, I got so sick of the announcers talking about Jovo. Jovo this, Jovo that. Jovo needs to get a point. They basically said that he needs to be partnered with Z to score and that others need to give him better passes, way to take responsibility Jovo. You are an all star/veteran and can only score with Z or amazing passes? What will you ever do if you or Z is traded? Or if Z leaves as a FA? You are a professional, act like one.

After a face off, Murray and Carcillo both went to throw down. Carcillo didn't end up going but Murray did (he even looked to see if Carcillo was fighting...planned much?). Murray was throwing some pretty hard punches at Nystrom. Some people may have called it a draw because they both hit the ice about the same time, but Murray clearly got in much better (and harder) punches and was about to get up and keep going before the linesmen seperated them.

After the fight, Doan scores. He just kept pushing at the puck and I swear it went in just be the sheer force of him willing it to go in. It got behind Kipper's skate and Doan just kept poking until it crossed the line.

Unfortunately, the lead did not last long. I was watching Bryz and I noticed how slowly he was moving and I knew they were going to score. Jovo turned the puck over on a pass out of their zone, the Flames grabbed it and went for it.

We end the first tied 2-2.

At the start of the second, Carcillo and Fridge collide (what? no penalty for Carcillo this time? oh yah, because that last one was bull crap). I really think our guys need to communicate better. They have been running into each other like crazy lately. There were a few more collisions last night amongst are guys but Carcillo and Fridge was probably the worse, as in hard.

We go on the PP and Jovo FINALLY scores. Mueller did a great job keeping the puck in, which they have been horrible about backing off too soon. Sometimes they could have kept the puck in or challeneged the player but they chose to back off too often.

For a short period a number of Flame players (including Phaneuf were trying to get to Carcillo. They were pushing, shoving, talking smack but he just wouldn't go. Yah, but you know, he's still the same guy and he hasn't matured. Oh wait, why am I listening to the trolls? Oh because it's funny!
Finally we pull ahead with a goal by Rhino. He received a beautiful pass from Porter (we need to keep these two together!) and did a couple of forehand/backhands and then put it in the net. It was gorgeous, just a gorgeous goal set up by a beauty of a pass.

The goal couldn't have come at a better time. The Flames were trying to tire the Coyotes out, but they just kept persisting. I woudl say some credit needs to go to the line of Carcillo-Murray-Fridge, as they were out there for an extended period of time and the Flames wouldn't let them change. They finally get a chance to change and Rhino, Bods and Porter come out strong. Great teamwork boys!

At the end of the second, it was 4-2 Coyotes.

Calgary attempted a breakaway in the third but somehow Bryz was able to make the save. Our boys came out a little more recharged after the second (they may have got a couple of goals, but they looked tired, dead tired).

I don't have much else to say about the third. They stayed in the game and made the Flames work. Also, I didn't notice Jokinen was even in the game until about 10 minutes into the third. I need him to be more consistant. He plays some great games (2 goals agains MN) but then seems to disappear in others.

Also, I am glad Turris sat this game out. Murray was the center we needed. Turris is expected back for the Vancouver game and I hope to see a repeat of what happened with Mueller early last season. I am not sure which center they will sit to accommodate Vancouver but I am guessing Murray (Rhino is on fire but Murray is better at face offs then our other centers). Jokinen will never be a healthy scratch and Hanzal has been doing so well, so I don't see either of them sitting tomorrow.

I am not sure what to expect from Vancouver. I haven't been paying much attention to them. They key in this game should be to shut down the twins and keep throwing the pucks at Luango. Those are the three main guys to watch out for. Also, Pyatt can be a little bit sneaky.

Obama wins it!!! I have been here to see history in the making. And Palin can go back to Alaska and make them miserable and leave me alone! ok, /political talk

Just Beacause

I have been having some thoughts, so I thought I would do a random entry.



First off, why can the Coyotes not beat the Wild? What is it about them that makes it so difficult to win? Also, why do our players get so close to a hat trick and just can't get that third goal? Maybe Backstrom is a tease. Last season, Carcillo had two goals and him and the team tried so hard to get him the third goal but Backstrom was having none of that. Then on Saturday, Jokinen got two goals but Backstrom said no to his (and the teams) attempts to get a third. It is like Backstrom has a magical forcefield that will not let more than two goals per player in. This is when it would be helpful for others on the team to start scoring.



Secondly, I have been looking for Jovo's offense all season (we depended on it quite a bit last season) and it has been non-existent but he is still making all his little mistakes. He needs to balance out those mistakes by getting assists and goals or he is pretty much just worthless. He has been paired with DMo this season, so maybe that is the problem. He is being moved back to Z for tonights game. Although, I do feel sorry for Z. He finally gets a partner (Sauer) where he doesn't have to stay at the blueline and doesn't have to try and cover all the time and then Gretz's puts him back with Jovo (see my fifth point for more on this topic).



Third, We play the Flames tonight in Calgary (I will do a post after the game, it's so much easier to make notes during away games). We need to watch Iginla, Cam, and Dion. Those three were our down fall last time (ok and our lack of actually playing hockey). We need all our guys to show up tonight. We need Bryz to be the horse we know he can be. We need Jovo to get his offense going. Flames are always going to be a hard team for us to beat, but it can be done. We need to skate hard all three periods. We need to hit. We need to not let up (for one fraction of a second on Cam and Iginla). We need to fight. We need to score. It can (and will) be done. I have faith in my boys. Now, lets hope the line shuffling and D moves don't mess anyone up (again, see fifth point) as Gretzy debuts some new lines and pairings tonight. Turris will be sititng out tonight (a view from the pressbox might not be a bad idea, worked for Mueller) and Murray was called up. This was probably a good move for the Calgary game. We need more toughness out there and well, Turris is not our toughest player.



Fourth, the Panthers come to town this Saturday. I am excited to see my boy Ballard. I have heard he is doing awesome in Florida, you know being the type of Dman he was meant to be, not being forced to be a shut down Dman (and yes, DMo and Telly messed up on the Nash goal too, you can't blame just Ballard). Ballard is leading the Panthers in points with 10, 2 goals and 8 assists. In 11 games, almost a point per game. He is also a +/- +2. Way to go Ballard!

I haven't heard much on Boynton but I am looking forward to seeing him. He always brings the toughness. Boynton has 5 points (2g, 3A) in 11 games.

It will also be interesting to see how Jokinen does against his former team.

I plan to get some pics of Ballard and Boynton during warmups. I miss my dmen.



Fifth, Gretzky has changed the lines yet again. I have no problem with rewarding hardwork (i.e. moving Fridge up to the first line for a couple of games) but seriously, let's try lines out for more than one game. You might be surprised by the results. It will give the boys some time to click. Or heres an idea, if one person on the line isn't working out, just change out that person.

The lines/pairings for Tuesday (stolen from Coyotes website):

Winnik-Hanzal-Tikhonov (I love this line. Unfortunately none of these guys have gotten a goal yet. All have worked hard and done great things for us though)

Doan-Jokinen-Mueller (I think Mueller is having a hard time his sophmore year. He seems to have regressed. He has stopped moving his feet again. Sophmore slump?)

Porter-Reinprecht-Boedker (Reinprecht to Porter was a great goal, maybe Wayne is hoping for more of that? Fast and defensively minded line)

Carcillo-Murray-Fedoruk (Pure toughness and with Carcillo, you got the goal scoring ability and Murray has the face off ability - could be lots of potential here)



Morris-Sauer (I loved this pairing in training camp, maybe it will make Morris use his cannon more)

Jovanovski-Michalek (Poor Z but if it gets Jovo some offense, I'm all for it)

Hale-Klee (hrmmmm, I did like what I saw of Klee the last two games. I like Hale and want him to do well but I feel he just shows us flashes of what he can do and isn't consistant. At least it's better than Yandle - apologies to all my readers that like Yandle, no offense meant to you, I just don't think Yandle is there yet)

I apologize for any spelling and/or grammatical errors. I did this post on my lunch hour and didn't really edit it. I may correct when I get home from work, but I may not. If you don't like that, too bad.

P.S. For all those Americans out there.. I hope you did your civic duty and voted. I did which gives me the right to complain for the next 4 years. If you did not vote, I don't want to hear any complaints from you! :)

Flames 4 - Coyotes 1

Tonight the Coyotes lost to the Calgary flames 4-1. It was not the coyotes best (although, hardly the worst that they have played). They were just flat. They seemed to have no energy and absolutely no offense tonight.

Telly stood on his head. Yah he let in 3 goals, but it could have been so much worse (the 4th was an empty netter). Congrats to Fridge for getting his first goal of the season!

I don’t have much else to say about this game. I am wondering if their play tonight is any reflection of their morning skate. The guys were having too much fun and not doing anything really productive. I don’t have a problem with having some fun, but maybe they were goofing around a little too much.

Apparently the Coyotes really liked the picture of me and Carcillo on my blog, as they took it and used it in their Rookie STH presentation.

Next up, Thursday Sidney Crosby and the rest of the Penguins come to town. It will be nice to see Ziggy and Billy T but I hope we can get the win. Also, Brooks Orpik should prove to be fun to watch.

Ok, well my brownies are almost done, so I am out!

Thursday-Coyotes, Friday-Roadrunners

Thursday night the Washington Capitals were in town to take on the Coyotes. I was seeing a lot of #8 jerseys, looking brand-spanking new. I have decided the Caps have a bunch of bandwagon fans here in the Valley. Washington has a lot of great players, not just Ovechkin (I know, he is amazing though) but I doubt those people notice the rest of the team. I have a soft spot for Mike Green, Brooks Laich, David Steckl and Jeff Schultz. Last season, I actually thought we should trade our 55 for their 55. :)

We went down to watch the Coyotes warm-up and everyone seemed to be in good spirits. Yandle was rocking out to his rap song. Carcillo was doing his guitar impression to one song. At one point, McGrattan and Sauer collided and Sauer hit the ice but they were both laughing. All in all, our guys were looking good and having fun.

Telly was given the start. I (and a few other people) was happy to hear this. He was spot on, even earned himself the first star of the game. There were times, if it had been Bryz in the net that I would have been scared to death of that puck going in. I think Gretzky needs to do more of a 1A and 1B tandem with Bryz. It just doesn’t seem he is quite up to the starter job yet or maybe now that he has his big contract, he doesn’t have to work as hard? I’m not sure but I think he needs to be challenged. Telly can’t be a starter, but he could sure give Bryz a run for his money. The coyotes need to use that and make it more of a competition for Bryz, make him EARN the starting role.

McGrattan earned his first start on Thursday also. On his first shift, he had his first shot on goal. I was surprised that Jose “the open door” Theodore was able to stop it (and all the other shots we made), must have been a good night for him. McGrattan seemed to be having words with Brashear. McGrattan looked like he was ready to go but Brashear didn’t seem willing (even though he was pissing off all our guys).

The boys fell apart a bit in the second period. Tiki was injured in the first and of course Gretzky couldn’t just make a small adjustment, he had to change ALL the lines. The boys were running into each other, passing to the Caps and just seemed to lack communication skills. Fortunately, they were able to hold the Caps (and Ovechkin) off and come back much stronger in the third.
Caps got on the board first and thankfully, we held them there. Boedker scored to tie the game (his third goal of the season) and Mueller got the game winner. They were a couple of sweet goals.

Carcillo seems to back to his old self (for the most part). He started laying out some bigger, harder hits. He was shooting like a mad man. I believe his leash has been loosened a little bit but he’s still not playing his game at 100%.

Dmo was awesome Thursday. He was on Ovechkin all night. He slammed him into the boards so hard at one point. It was amazing. We also saw angry Dmo. He was about ready to kill one of the caps. He was yapping at him all the way to the bench. He tried to go after him again, but the refs stopped him. He was ready to throw down, but the refs were letting that happen.

Also, it was great. Ovechkin totally fanned on a shot from the point (and he was going to smack it hard too) and totally fell on his ass. It totally cracked me up. Also, Doan split a puck in two. I have never seen a puck split.

Tonight the Flames are in town. This should be a good game. Iginla is a great player and we can always count on Dion to try to start something. Based on what I saw in morning skate, I am thinking Lisin and Rhino will be the scratches tonight, as the skating coach was putting them through some drills and really working them. Also, Tiki should be back. He was on the ice for morning skate and looking good.

Friday night I went to the RoadRunners game. They played the Idaho Steelheads (Dallas affiliate) and won 2-1. My goalie was in net again and just keeps showing me why he deserves to be on my goalie list. He is just so much fun to watch and he can stop the puck pretty damn well.

My favorite dman, Andrew Andricopoulos, was having words with one of the Steelheads and it looked like they were going to throw down. Then at the last second, the steelhead just turns and skates to the bench. Who does that? The refs weren’t even anywhere near by to stop it.

My other favorite dman, Rory Rawlyk, did not play as he was injured pretty badly in Wednesday’s game. He was missed because he is not afraid to jump in and help the goalie out. Plus he isn’t afraid to check and push and talk smack. He is one tough player.

Brett Thurston did get into a fight (and won) with one of the Steelheads. Ashton Rome didn’t seem like his normal self, no fights and not a lot of big hits. We were thinking he might be a little bit hurt.

We will be attending the next home game on Friday. They will be playing the Ontario Reign (Kings affiliate). Apparently I also need to learn how to skate by January, which means I also need to buy skates. We will see how that goes.