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)

Season Preview/Prediction Part 1

This season should prove to be a good one for the coyotes. We have some really great returning talent, a lot of young guys fighting for spots, and Maloney’s off-season acquisitions seem to be great additions.
I am working on my predictions/previews by positions. The easiest was goalie, so that will be my first installment below. I have started the forwards, so expect that one next, but it may not be until next week that it gets up. This may be a slow process, hang with me.
I believe we will make the playoffs this year. I think it will end up like last year, where we are competing for a spot with a few other teams. It will be a tight but exciting race and the Coyotes will slip into one of the 8 spots.

Goalies:
Mucha was sent back to his junior team. He has skill and drive but he isn’t quite NHL ready. With Tordjman and Montoya, he won’t have much of a chance making it in SA. Also, I am not sure he is to the AHL level yet. He looked pretty good in the rookie game, but I need to see more of him.
Obviously Bryz will be our starter. I think that Telly will start the year as back up and probably be traded by the deadline. Tordjman and Montoya will be in SA fighting for who gets the spot freed up by Telly’s trade. I don’t think it would be good for Tordjman to back up Bryz. He needs to keep playing because he has the talent to be a great NHL goalie but needs the playing time.
I haven’t seen enough of Montoya yet but I believe he is in the same place as Tordjman. He will make a great NHLer but needs a year playing, not sitting. Splitting time in the AHL will serve Montoya and Tordjman well. It will also be healthy competition. Eventually we will probably need to trade one of them but I am guessing that won’t happen until the 09-10 season. I am thinking Montoya will be traded at that time. If Telly isn’t traded this season, Montoya will be.
Gistedt is a little more difficult for me to determine what will happen with him. This is mostly because I don’t know where he would need to play if he doesn’t make the Coyotes. Can we assign him to the Sundogs or does he need to go back to Frolunda? Frolunda was not the best situation for him last season, so I am hoping he can be the starter for the Sundogs. That will give him plenty of playing time and time to adjust to the North American players.

My next entry should be the forwards, but I am going to practice on Friday and there is a home game Saturday so those entries might slip in here before I get the forwards done!