It's been far too long my lovelies. I have been struggling with the writers block but now I'm back! I know you are all just super-duper excited. :) This is going to be a look back post. I have a lot of ground to cover. I want to let you know my final thoughts on the Olympics, there's that trade deadline thing and of course the first two games for the Coyotes after the long Olympic break. Heck, maybe I will even give a little preview of tonight's game. You never know where I will take you on this wonderious journey that is my random thoughts so sit back, relax (maybe pour yourself a drink, if you are of age) and enjoy my ramblings!

In case you were wondering.... the title of this post is an Alkaline Trio song (titled "This Addiction") on their new Album (surprisingly called, This Addiction). If you haven't heard it yet, I recommend you check it out. The whole album is fantastic and I can't wait to see them on tour this month!

Well, let's take a look at tonight's game first. The Ducks. It seems like it has been awhile since we've faced the Ducks. Am I worried? I am always worried when we face another Pacific division team. You really never know what is going to happen. If our boys stick to what works for them, it will be a good game, regardless of the outcome. Of course I want them to win but I also want to see the effort is there. That they are each working hard. This will be my first time seeing the new guys and I hope they live up to their first game for us. Who will be the scratches? We now have too many guys so there will be nightly scratches. I did not see the last game nor have I been to practice so I am not a good judge of who hasn't been working hard. That means, I have no idea who will be scratched!

Aiight, so what happened this week? Oh so much stuff happened this week! I went to get my car fixed and the guy was a jerk. I took my finance final. I finally watched "The Hangover". Oh, you meant in hockey? For the Coyotes? Oh, there was a lot that happened there too..

Tuesday night: I was hoping to get through my final so that I could at least catch most of the game. I lucked out and finished just in time, 6:55. Oh man, I was cutting it close! So I practically ran out of class to my car and turned the game on. So on my drive home, Joel scores! Joel! Awesome. I love that lil French Canadian center. So this made me excited. We always do well when we score first. I finally get home and turn on the tv. Then something bad happens. The Blues score. And we don't respond. Really boys? Annnnnd it was all down hill from there. By the end of the second it was 5-1 St. Louis and my sinus headache was quickly becoming a migraine. I watched the second intermission story and went to bed.

The intermission story was very touching. If I had any extra money lying around, this is a cause I would want to donate to. The Jay Lively Ice Rink in Flagstaff suffered a devastating blow this winter. It's roof collapsed under the weight of all the snow. At first there was doubt that it would be rebuilt but once Jay's story started getting out, people wanted to help out. See, Jay was a rising hockey player who was taken from this world prematurely. He was driving home from playing hockey in Phoenix when he was killed by a drunk driver, who also happened to be a family friend. What a devastating story. And from the story Todd Walsh gave, Jay was an amazing person and a fabulous hockey player who could have went places with his skills. But he was taken too soon because someone thought it was a good idea to drink and drive.

That site just makes my heartache...
(found through google image search)

Donations can be made at: http://www.flagstaff.az.gov/index.aspx?NID=1875

If you are able, please help rebuild this rink. You will be giving the people of Flagstaff a new ice rink and honoring the memory of Jay Lively and others killed by drunk drivers.

The memorial for Jay Lively on I-17 between Phoenix & Flagstaff
(sorry, it is a screenshot, the best I could find...)

Again, thank you to Todd Walsh for bringing this story to us. Far too often we don't know the reason behind the name of a building. More often then not, it is a good story. They don't always just go naming buildings after anyone.

Ok, so moving on... Thursday was a home game against the Avs. We had all out new players in attendance from the trade deadline (I will expand on this topic next.) and we won. I didn't see the game but this is what I got from Twitter:
-Pyatt and Paul were scratches. Tippett wants more from Pyatt. Pyatt, give it to him! You are a great player. I know you can be amazing but you have to prove yourself to Tip game in and game out (practices too hun). Paul. I love you but we didn't really need an enforcer this game. Ducks. That will be your time to shine big boy!
-Stempniak got us started with his first goal as a Coyote. Way to present yourself (for all your worse critics to see - we are a tough crowd. You aren't a Coyote until you prove yourself to us fans. And trust me, us Coyote fans can be pretty critical of our own guys!) 
-Who else got involved in the scoring? WOLSKI! Hah, I knew that was a good move. And it wasn't just any goal, it was the tying goal with like 20 seconds left. Man, you just wanted to jump right in as a Coyote didn't you?
-Oh and Vrby? He rocked the last second empty netter. Wait... isn't that like two of those this year? Have we broken the empty net curse??
-Final score? Coyotes 3, Avs 1 Ahhhhhh, sweet victory.
-And the sweetest part? Jovo was a scratch. ahahahahahahahahahah (ok, I know he was "injured" just let me enjoy the moment ok?) ahahahahahahahahahaha

Wednesday was Trade deadline day and what a fun day it was! I was running back and forth at work giving a co-worker the updates. First I went back and went "WE GOT D-MO BACK!" She was fairly excited about this too and when she asked what we had to give up I was like JUST A PICK! OMG, DMO FOR A PICK (a 4th rounder at that)! Needless to say we were quite excited to get DMo back. Too bad we didn't get Ballard back too. Next year. :P

Then comes the "big"news of the day. Mueller and Porter to Colorado for Wojtek Wolski. I was not too surprised by this. I figured if Maloney could get a good deal out of Mueller, he'd take it. I liked Mueller's potential but I don't think he was ever going to realize it here in Phoenix. The kid needed a change and he got it. I hope it works out for him. As for Porter, eh, never really liked the kid as a Coyote. He was excellent in college but didn't seem to have "it" here. And am I excited about Wolski! I have watched him in Colorado the last few years. He could be a great fit here. Plus, how can you not love saying his name? Co-worker? Not as excited about this trade. Apparently she liked Peter. Eh, it happens. I am just glad one of my favorites didn't get traded this time!

Then came Mathieu Schneider for Sean Zimmerman and a conditional pick. I will miss Zimmerman. I always liked him. Oh wells. We gots plenty of dmen in the pipes for me to fawn over... :P I'm not sure about Schneider. Maloney did bring him up from the AHL (he had to clear waivers) but this could go either way. This is a stay tuned kids! type of trade.

Then came Lee Stempniak for Matt Jones and a 4th & 7th round pick. This could turn out to be a very good trade for us. Can someone remind me who Matt Jones is? Anyone? No? All right then. Stempniak is one of those good, flies under the radar players. DM is famous for finding these guys, getting them cheap and then having them play really well. Welcome to the desert Lee! We are always glad to welcome boys that score!

Then we lost Chad Kolarik for Alexandre Picard. Um, not so sure about this one. I really liked Kolarik and know absolutely nothing about Picard. Eh, I'll get over it... I guess this means we will never recreate the Michigan chemistry that Kolarik and Porter had. That might have been fun to see in the NHL.

And it wouldn't be a trade day if the Rangers weren't involved. We sent deadweight, I mean new guy, I mean Anders Eriksson to New York for goalie Miika Wiikman. Omg, a goalie? I love goalies. Yes, yes I do. And I love this ones name! Miika Wiikman. So much fun to type! I will need to learn more about him. He played his first Rampage game last night and lost. Poor guy.

And finally there was Petteri Nokelainen acquired from the Ducks for a 6th round pick. I don't know too much about him but am excited to see what he can do. Um, he is definitely going to need a nickname. I'm not going to be able to 1) Pronounce that or 2) Type it out with out looking it up every time.

So, those are the Coyotes trade deadline deals. I didn't expect Maloney to do too much or go crazy. I figured he wouldn't make a move unless he got something good out of it. Mostly we gave up picks and a few prospects. Our only real loss to the NHL team was Mueller but he wasn't fitting in well anyway. Apparently he had also asked Maloney for a trade earlier this season. I hope he does well in the NHL. The kid has talent, he just needs to figure out how to use it right.

Ok and some final thoughts on the Olympics:

Sami is the only Coyote to bring home a medal. Even though it's the bronze I am still immensely proud of my boy!

As for the rest of the men's Olympic tourney, it was an awesome journey. All the guys deserve a pat on the back. The final game between Canada and the US? Amazing. Record number viewers both in the US and in Phoenix. Not a hockey town? BS. We just want GOOD, EXCITING hockey here. That game was a tearjerker. But, congrats are owed to both Canadians and Americans. I am so proud of my American boys. The weren't even expected to medal coming into the Olympics and they got the silver? That is awesome. And Ryan Miller? He has cemented his place in American hockey. I swear to god, everyone in America now knows who he is. I had people at work coming up to me and saying stuff about him. These are people who never watch hockey. Wow. Talk about amazing. I have loved this man for years and I will continue to support him, even if he does play for Buffalo.

As for four years? The NHL better let the players go to the Olympics. Why? 1) It's in Russia and the Russians were *kind of* embarrassed this year. I thought coming in it would be maybe Russia and Canada in the gold medal game and Russia didn't even place. Ovenchicken et al will be looking to show the world how great they are on their own soil. 2) The Americans will want the gold so much more. If you took the same team in four years, I bet they could pull off the win. Of course the roster will change slightly in four years but we have a good base and guys who are hungry to show the world that it may be Canada's game but we are ready to dominate it! and 3) It's very exciting to watch these guys play for their Country. It's a different sort of game/pride then when it's for their NHL game. That makes it enjoyable for the fans. It is tough on the guys with the compressed schedules (which do kinda suck) but it is only once every four years. We can risk it. I for one can not wait for four years! (I have always been a huge Winter Olympics fan although NBC's coverage kind of sucked and I hope it improves in four years).

*Unless otherwise noted, the pictures were taken from the Coyotes website.

Comments (3)

Rawr
written by Arial, March 13, 2010

Rawr fo sho. Who Dat?

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written by Arial, March 13, 2010

i want.

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written by Arial, March 13, 2010

RAWRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

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