Phoenix Coyotes Hockey on AZ Vibe

GLENDALE-The Phoenix Coyotes have announced that they will host their second Open House of the off-season for fans on August 12th at Jobing.com Arena from 6 to 8 PM. Fans will have the opportunity to purchase season tickets and ticket packages at lower rates than what the general public will pay. Fans will also have the opportunity to tour the Phoenix Coyotes locker room.

Fans who attend are asked to enter the arena through Gate 6 on the eastern side of the arena. The Location of the arena is in the map below.

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This is probably the only time we’re going to post something about the current situation with the Coyotes Ownership battle (until a deal gets done/not done) and throw a little fun in with it. So we’d like to ask Coyotes fans to tell us who they think is responsible for the holdup in getting new owners in place?

GLENDALE-The Phoenix Coyotes have announced that they will host their yearly Open House for fans on July 21st at Jobing.com Arena from 7 to 9 PM. There weren’t many details in the press release stating what would go on during the event other than locker room tours and purchasing season tickets for next season. If it’s anything like previous years it should be a great event for fans to come out to!

Wow there’s a TON of Coyotes and NHL news that’s been going on recently, let’s get to it!

Coyotes massage therapist passes

Our sincerest condolences to the family of Jukka Mieminen who was the long-time trainer of the Phoenix Coyotes. From what I have been reading in the news he was a valued and loved member of the Phoenix Coyotes family.

Coyotes at the 2010 NHL Entry Draft

We’re working on a Draft article which should be out in a few days. Until then here’s a reminder for you all….the Coyotes have the following picks in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft in Los Angeles – Two firsts, a second round pick, a fourth round pick and a fifth round pick.

The first round of the 2010 NHL Draft will be shown live on Versus/TSN/RDS on Friday June 25th from 4:00 PM to 7:30 PM. The Second through seventh round of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft will be shown live on the NHL Network on Saturday June 26th starting at 10 AM.

Coyotes to host NHL Draft Party

Speaking of the 2010 Entry Draft, once again the Coyotes will be hosting a NHL Draft Viewing party at Santisi Brothers Pizzeria and Sports Grill. (2710 West Bell Road – Phoenix) The fun will take place on June 25th from 3:30 PM to 5:30 PM.

Coyotes announce 2010-2011 Pre-Season Schedule

The Coyotes have released their 2010-2011 Pre-Season Schedule. As you can note below, there are only two pre-season games before the Coyotes head off to Europe to kick off the season.

September 21, 2010 Anaheim Ducks Honda Center 7:00 p.m.
September 23, 2010 *Los Angeles Kings Jobing.com Arena 7:00 p.m.
September 23, 2010 *Los Angeles Kings STAPLES Center 7:30 p.m.
September 25, 2010 *San Jose Sharks Jobing.com Arena 7:00 p.m.
September 25, 2010 *San Jose Sharks HP Pavilion 7:30 p.m.
September 28, 2010 Calgary Flames Pengrowth Saddledome 7:00 p.m.
September 29, 2010 Edmonton Oilers Rexall Place 7:00 p.m.
October, 6, 2010 Dinamo Riga (KHL) Arena Riga (Latvia) TBD

The Coyotes 2010-2011 regular season schedule will be released on June 22nd.

NHL Network to re-broadcast Stanley Cup Finals

The NHL Network will be dedicating a full day to re-broadcasting the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals on June 19th. All six games will be re-broadcast for fans to re-capture the magic of the Philadelphia Flyers and Chicago Blackhawks battle for Lord Stanley’s cup. The programming will include the Blackhawks Stanley Cup Parade at 7:00 PM Pacific Time.

Here’s the full programming schedule for June 19th (All times below Eastern):
9:00 a.m. 2010 Stanley Cup Final Game 1
11:00 a.m. 2010 Stanley Cup Final Game 2
1:00 p.m. 2010 Stanley Cup Final Game 3
3:00 p.m. 2010 Stanley Cup Final Game 4
5:00 p.m. 2010 Stanley Cup Final Game 5
7:00 p.m. 2010 Stanley Cup Final Game 6
9:00 p.m. NHL On The Fly Awards Preview
10:00 p.m. Blackhawks Stanley Cup Parade

2010 Hockey Hall of Fame Class to be announced Tuesday

The NHL and the Hockey Hall of Fame have called a press conference on June 22nd where they will announce the Hockey Hall of Fame Class of 2010 inductees. Keep an eye on our AZ Vibe Sports Twitter account that afternoon for the announcements as they happen.

Coyotes connected players invited to USA Hockey’s National Junior Evaluation Camp

Coyotes 2009 second round draft pick, Chris Brown has been invited to USA Hockey’s National Junior Evaluation Camp which will take place in Lake Placid, New York from July 30th to August 7th.

Also invited to the Evaluation Camp is the son of Coyotes Assistant Coach Ulf Sammuelsson, Philip who hails from Scottsdale.

The Evaluation Camp serves as a player audition for the US Junior National Team that will take part in the 2011 World Junior Championship in Buffalo, New York from December 26th 2010 to January 5th 2011.

http://www.usahockey.com/Template_Usahockey.aspx?NAV=TU_04_01_06&ID=288572

Coyotes hire new scout

The Coyotes have brought Jeff Twohey as an amateur scout. Twohey spent the last 30 years with the Peterborough Petes of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). Seventeen of those 30 years Twohey has served as the Petes General Manager.

Bissonnette on Twitter

For those of you Coyotes fans that use Twitter, Coyotes forward Paul Bissonnette has joined the Twitterverse!

Follow along at:

http://twitter.com/PaulBizNasty

Coyotes players re-up with new contracts

- The Coyotes have re-signed the following players:
D – David Schlemko – Terms not disclosed
LW – Ryan Hollweg – Terms not disclosed
LW – Scottie Upshall – One year Deal – Amount of contract not disclosed
D – Adrian Aucoin – Two Year Deal – Amount of contract not disclosed

Before last night’s home game with the Nashville Predators the Phoenix Coyotes announced the team award winners for the 2009-2010 season. Some of these awards were voted on by the fans.

Team MVP – Ilya Bryzgalov

Leading Scorer Award – Wojtek Wolski

Hardest Working Player Award – Vernon Fiddler

Man of the Year – Jim Vandermeer

Beth Champie Memorial Award – Keith Yandle

It’s contest time!  This is the first of our two Coyotes giveaways!

This weeks contest is for a signed Kyle Turris Photo which comes with a certificate of authenticity from the Phoenix Coyotes.

To enter this contest, all you have to do is answer a trivia question and submit your entry via e-mail.

Here’s the question…

As you may know, head coach Phoenix Coyotes Dave Tippett is the favorite right now to win the Jack Adams Trophy for Coach of the Year. Who is the only three time winner of the Jack Adams trophy?

Here’s how you send us your entry.

The answer to the question will become the first part of an azvibe.com email address without spaces.

(ex. <answertoquestionwithnospaces>@azvibe.com

We have an example of what we’re looking for in the article below:

http://coyotes.azvibe.com/2010/04/02/coyotes-news-including-our-first-coyotes-giveaways/

The Contest begins now and will end April 11th at 10:00PM Pacific Time. One entry per person please. Duplicate entries will be ignored.

The Prize will be drawn at random. We will send the photo free of charge within the US and Canada. Foreign addresses will have to pay their own shipping and handling.

If you have any questions, please post them as comments to this post.

If you follow us on Twitter you probably have already heard about this contest. If you don’t follow us on twitter, you really should.

Anyways, what we’re going to give away over the next couple of weeks are signed Coyotes memorabilia which include:

1) A signed Martin Hanzal hat
2) A signed Kyle Turris Photo

Both items come with certificates of authenticity directly from the Phoenix Coyotes.

So here’s how we’re going to do the contest….

The first giveaway will be the signed Kyle Turris Photo and will be given away on our Twitter account.

Within the next week I’m going to send a tweet that will have a link to the question.

This contest will be a little different than all the others. What you’re going to have to do is answer a question and that question will be the first part of an AZ Vibe domain e-mail address you will send your contest entry to.

Here’s a sample question….

Q. Who is the Captain of the Phoenix Coyotes?

Now you would take the answer to the question (which is Shane Doan) and that will be the first part of the e-mail address you would send your contest entry to.

The email address would look like this:

shanedoan@azvibe.com

(don’t send e-mail addresses here as it’s not a real address)

Prizes will be drawn at random and we will send them free of charge within the US and Canada. Foreign addresses will have to pay their own shipping and handling.

If you have any questions, please post them as comments to this post.

Save the Coyotes Coalition Tailgating before the Coyotes/Oilers game

The Save the Coyotes Coalition will be tailgating before the Coyotes/Oilers game this Saturday. The Fun starts at 2 PM in Lot J. Rumors of street hockey and tons of fun cannot be confirmed at this time. Guess you’ll have to find out and see for yourselves!

Fan Appreciation night is April 7th

Coyotes fans will be happy to know that the yearly tradition that is Fan Appreciation night will take place on April 7th before the Coyotes/Predators game.  All fans in attendance will be treated to raffles as well as receiving a scratch card that will tell them if they have won a prize.

Prizes include:

- A trip for two to the Coyotes first road playoff game this season
- A trip for two to the NHL Awards in Las Vegas in June
- A pair of glass seats to the first Coyotes first home playoff game this postseason
- Furniture from the Furniture Ranch
- A two night stay at the Wigwam Golf Resort
- A Playstation 3 console

…and much, much more!

“Fan Appreciation Night is always a great evening for Coyotes fans,” said Coyotes President Doug Moss. “But what makes this year’s even more special is that our fans have been through a lot during the past year and never wavered in their dedication to the team.”

Coyotes sign Paul Bissonnette to a two year deal

The Coyotes have re-signed forward Paul Bissonnette to a two year deal.  Terms of the deal were not disclosed.  Even though he saw limited action this season, he did his job whenever asked and did it very well.

Bissonnette, who made $500,000 this season, was set to become an arbitration eligible restricted free agent at the end of the season.

Coyotes sign Chris Summers to entry level contract

The Phoenix Coyotes have signed former University of Michigan defenseman Chris Summers to an entry level contract.  Terms of the deal were not announced.

Summers was the Coyotes first round pick in the 2006 entry draft.  The 22 year old Summers will report to the San Antonio Rampage for the remainder of their season.

Arrowhead Grill offering Coyotes Fans free steak before every playoff game

Heather McWhorter of the ‘Save the Coyotes’ collation posted this via her twitter account the other day.  The Arrowhead Grill is offering it’s signature steak, the Delmonico, on every playoff game day.  All fans have to do is sign up for the Arrowhead Grill’s eClub at http://www.arrowheadgrill.com.  For fans who sign up, they can come in and get a free Delmonico steak for each Delmonico steak they buy ($26.95 value).

Power lunch with Doug Moss and Don Maloney

Here’s the info straight from the Save the Coyotes Coalition website:

The Glendale Chamber of Commerce is hosting a power lunch presention with Doug Moss and Don Maloney on April 6th from 11AM to 1PM at Fleming’s Steak House – 9712 W. Northern Ave. The cost is $30 per person or tables of six for $180. If you are interested in attending, call the Chamber at 623-937-4754.

The Globe and Mail gets punked by the Ice Edge Holdings group

Ice Edge Holdings COO Daryl Jones told the Globe and Mail yesterday that they were dropping their bid to purchase the Coyotes to purchase Manchester United.  The Globe and Mail fell for the prank hook, line, and sinker.

Kudos to the Ice Edge Holdings group.

Link to an article about the story.

Earlier today, the Phoenix Coyotes clinched their first playoff birth since the 2001-2002 season when the Boston Bruins defeated the Calgary Flames 5-0. Needless to say the Whiteout will be in full effect at the Jobing.com Arena when the playoffs go into full gear.

Now for those of you who are pretty new to the NHL and hockey, today’s news is just that the Coyotes have been guaranteed a spot in the playoffs. Who they will play in the playoffs has not been determined as it will probably come down to the last game of the season. 5 of the last 6 Coyotes games this season are against teams that will be in the post season. The outcome of all of the final six Coyotes games will have a direct effect on who they play.

So keep an eye on the standings and they will determine who plays who.

Also, playoff tickets went on sale this morning to the general public. If you would like to purchase tickets, please refer to our article with all the info needed to purchase tickets:

http://coyotes.azvibe.com/2010/03/26/coyotes-playoff-tickets-go-on-sale-on-march-27th/

You read this correctly folks! For the first time since 2001 the Coyotes are heading for the playoffs and will challenge for the Stanley cup! All those losses you’ve had to put up with over the years has ended.

Starting Saturday morning March 27th at 10 AM, the General Public will have the chance to
purchase playoff tickets for individual games.

Keep in mind that the Coyotes first round opponents haven’t been set as of yet (they will be set in about a week or so). Don’t let that discourage you. The games will sell out so jump on this chance to see one of the best sports success stories of the modern era continue into the post season.

To purchase tickets you can call 480-563-PUCK (7825) or by clicking the link below (a direct link to Ticketmaster):

http://ticketsus.at/azvibe?CTY=85&DURL=http://www.ticketmaster.com/Phoenix-Coyotes-tickets/artist/806002

Here’s the ticket prices and a seating map:

As it stands today, the Phoenix Coyotes ‘Magic Numbers’ to get into the playoffs are as follows:

They need to win 4 games to be guaranteed a playoff spot.

They need to win 8 games to be guaranteed 4th place in the west AND home ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs. In addition, they will have a 42% chance of winning the west.

As of today, the Coyotes have an 11% chance of winning the west.

If the Coyotes win out (win the rest of the games in the season) they will have a 96% chance of winning the west.

Other than that, the Coyotes do not control their own destiny for playoff spots higher than 4th. It’s going to be up to what the other teams do for the rest of the season that will dictate where the Coyotes playoff spot will be.

The Coyotes schedule doesn’t get any easier from here on out. They have a BRUTAL schedule from now until the end of the month that sees them criss-crossing North America with little to no space for breathing.

The Phoenix Coyotes play tonight in Dallas (March 21st) then travel to play Chicago on March 23rd, and then they are off to Nashville for a game on March 25th. The Coyotes then fly back home for one game with the Avalanche on the 27th, fly off to play the Canucks on March 30th and then play the Flames the following night before they can stay at home for more than than one night (or so it seems).

On this site, I keep saying that every game will be a test. With these last few games, these tests are re-defined on a game by game basis. New challenges, pressures, and playoff scenarios are making each game valuable but for different reasons.

To the Coyotes benefit, the following Pacific Division teams are having issues:

The Kings have an uphill battle as they are 4-5 since coming back from the Olympic break and need to win 8 games to be guaranteed a playoff spot.

The Sharks have spotty goaltending – They have allowed 18 goals in their last 4 games. ’nuff said.

Dallas – Since their game last game with Phoenix 11 games ago, goaltender Marty Turco has 2 wins 5 losses and has been benched for 4 games. Dallas has not done much to help their playoff chances which they do not control at the moment.

Ducks – Since the Olympic Break they are 3-5 and do not control their destiny in regards to the playoffs.

The teams that currently control their own playoff destiny are the current top 8 seeds in the west.

To be guaranteed a playoff spot, these top eight teams have the following ‘Magic Numbers’:

#1 Seed – Chicago Blackhawks – Need to win Three games to be guaranteed a playoff spot

#2 Seed – San Jose Sharks – Need to win four games to be guaranteed a playoff spot

#3 Seed – Vancouver Canucks – Need to win six games to be guaranteed a playoff spot

#4 Seed – Phoenix Coyotes – Need to win four games to be guaranteed a playoff spot

#5 Seed – Los Angeles Kings – Need to win eight games to be guaranteed a playoff spot

#6 Seed – Nashville Predators – Need to win eight games to be guaranteed a playoff spot

#7 Seed – Colorado Avalanche – Need to win eight games to be guaranteed a playoff spot

#10 Seed – Detroit Red Wings – Need to win ten games to be guaranteed a playoff spot