Two wins in a row. I am in awe. With the win over the Kings, we have moved back into the playoff race. We still have a long way to go but these last two games have given us hope. The players are back to playing how they were before the ASG break.

The line of Carcillo-Jokinen-Goertzen has been fantabulous. It has made Jokinen wake up. He got a hat trick against the Kings. I think it’s because he is playing with the two toughest guys and that way he doesn’t need to challenge anyone.

David Hale started off the scoring. Yes you read that right…David Hale. He never had an NHL goal until joining the Coyotes and now he has three. If only he was a better defensemen because apparently we have sparked his offensive side. I mean, he tries really hard and we love him for it but he just doesn’t seem to quite have it.

Overall, it was a very solid effort by the Coyotes. The Kings did attempt some come backs but we were able to hold them off. The final score was 6-3. I can’t tell you how good that felt to get two wins in a row.

My goalie, Jon Quick, was in net for the Kings. I really do like him as a goalie. He has really good movement. He is still young and learning but I can see him going far in the NHL. I had a hard time not cheering for him when he made some amazing saves. He was by far the better goalie on the ice. Bryz just looked uninterested and didn’t challenge the Kings.
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In other news, the Sundogs wore black and Coyote red unis yesterday. They were designed to resemble the Coyotes third unis and they do. They look very sharp. They have the Sundogs “S” instead of the flying ferret on it. I like it. I think they should think of making that a permanent part of their team. Oh well, at least they are auctioning them off for charity.
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Last night I went to the RoadRunners game. Ashton Rome was back from the AHL and ready to reek some havoc on the Alaska Aces. The RoadRunners won 5-2. It was a great game.

Rome actually got popped by an Ace while celebrating a goal. Talk about a cheap shot! Goalie Kyle Jones really stepped up since Kowalski was loaned out to Norfolk Admirals of the AHL.

There must have been a lot of tension between these two teams as it was a very physical game and the Aces were always doing things after the whistle. We got a nice little line brawl going, sending 3 Aces and 2 RoadRunners to the sin bin. Sisca (I love this kid, he’s listed at 5’9 and is just so feisty!) got 2 min for roughing and Crowley (love him too!) got 5 for fighting. Everyone on the ice was involved. I even thought the goalie might get into it but unfortunately he didn’t.

The best part was the Aces’ jerseys. They had sponsors. On their butts. It was hilarious. We were joking about calling up and asking how much it would cost to get our names on their butts. Classic.
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I won’t see a home game until March 14. OMG. That is such a long time for me. I will miss the home game on 2/28 against the Blues. I will be living it up in Washington DC for the Panthers at Caps game.

Anyway, I digress. The next game is Tuesday night at St. Louis Blues. The boys need to keep working hard and not sit back. Every game is going to be a challenge from here on out. We need all the points we can get now, if we still want to make the playoffs. We can’t depend on the other teams in the race losing. We need to win. We need to play hard.

I will probably miss the first period. The game starts at 6:30, AZ time. I am going to go to the gym after work and won’t get home until about 7, unless I can get of work earlier but I doubt it.
Until then… Enjoy the rest of this beautiful Sunday!!

Happy New Year!!

The Coyotes rung in the new year with a win over Colorado.

For the team, I want them to resolve to become better on the power play this new year. We are still lacking on that. At least in the win last night, we kept the puck in Colorado’s zone for almost the whole power play.

Last night I got to sit in a suite. It was a pretty good view and the seats were really comfortable. The food wasn’t really worth the price though. I would definitely sit in a suite again if given the opportunity but I think I would say no food.

Tiki was back in the line-up and he definitely made a difference. The PK was so much better with him out there. He was making some good moves. Even if he doesn’t ever get a lot of goals, he is going to be in the league for a long time.

Telly was in goal tonight and he played amazing. He even got an assist on one of the goals. We love you Telly Monster!!!!

The boys started off slow but woke up after Colorado got on the board first.

Mueller seems to have woken up. He got two goals last night.

Scratches were Winnik, Carcillo and Yandle. Bryz is out with a sore back. Tordjman was here on an emergency call up.
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In other news, the ECHL has had two teams fold mid-season.
I found this link:
http://community.adn.com/node/135853 which talks mostly about the fold of the Fresno Falcons.

The ECHL's Pacific Division-leading Fresno Falcons ceased operations today, becoming the league's second team to fold this season -- the Augusta Lynx bagged it earlier.

Fresno officials cited the poor economy for a massive drop in attendance, fewer season tickets sold and reduced sponsorships. The Falcons (18-10-2) were averaging 3,284 fans per home game, down a staggering 1,751 per game from last season's average of 5,035.

According to the article the players have become UFA and will join other teams around the league.

I just wish the players that were dispersed find a team and can start to play again. I wish them the best of luck. Sometimes things happen for a reason. They may seem bad at that time but in the long run it could be the best thing that ever happens to them.

It's just sad that these two teams couldn’t even make it to the end of the season. I guess this is a very sore subject for me because of all the rumors swirling about the Coyotes moving and everything. I hate to see hockey disappear from anywhere in America. We love the sport here and we don’t want it to go anywhere.

In looking at the RoadRunners schedule, it looks like we were supposed to play Fresno six more times this year, including January 2nd and 3rd. I guess the boys won’t be making that trip. I didn’t see Augusta Lynx on the schedule.
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I also found this article on my new favorite goalie:
http://www.echl.com/cgi-bin/mpublic.cgi?action=show_news2&cat=1&id=17369

It appears Quick enjoys sleeping in. He also had some issues when sent to the ECHL, kind of ala Emery…no wonder I love the kid.

“He wasn't staying out all night. He was just a heavy sleeper and slept through his alarms.”

If you like goalies, I highly recommend that you read the full article. It’s really good and makes me love Quick even more. Such a goalie crush. Oi. With LaBarbera traded to Vancouver, look for Quick to stay up when Ersberg comes back.
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And I also found this on another one of my goalies:
http://www.echl.com/cgi-bin/mpublic.cgi?action=show_news&cat=1&id=17380
It’s just a little blurb from the ECHL website that talks about Tordjman’s call up and his stats from his RoadRunners days, nothing too exciting.
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Winter Classic is on today at 1 ET (11 my time) and I will be watching it. Last year I loved watching the Winter Classic and I could cheer for Buffalo but this year I cannot bring myself to cheer for either the Red Wings or the ‘Hawks. I want both of them to lose. Is that even possible? There is a 30% chance of snow in Chicago and it is a balmy high of 33 degrees. Currently it is 25 degrees and feels like 11. (weather info courtesy of weather.com)