Coyotes Howl Despite Lack of Crowds
The Phoenix Coyotes hockey club is enjoying a considerable amount of success this season and they deserve it. Regardless of the off-ice troubles of the franchise and the ignorance of an ego-driven commissioner, the Coyotes have been howling their way through hockey in the desert and have been stacking up wins whether the fans have been supporting them or not.
Three months ago, optimism was something that few players on the Coyotes roster had. Their future was up in the air, the team ownership was in disarray and the franchise was (and is) losing money at an incredible rate.
With the NHL having taken over control of the team and a possible sale to Ice Edge on the horizon, it’s surprising that the Coyotes would be able to ice a decent team and put together a string of wins. But that’s just what this team is doing and they deserve all the credit for it.
Goalie Ilya Bryzgalov has been holding it down in goal, giving the team a chance to win each and every game. Sitting third in the league with a 1.98 GAA, he’s been a big part of why the Coyotes currently sit seventh and are off to their best start since the 2001-2001 season.
With a tonight’s 6-3 win over Toronto, the Coyotes continue to assert themselves as a viable on-ice product in the National Hockey League.
Still, they will have to work hard to hold on to their playoff spot with the rising tide of teams like Vancouver getting their game together in the West. And Bryzgalov will have to continue to be dominant in goal, too, in order to give the team a shot at making it in the post-season. It could turn out to be a banner year in Phoenix, at least on the ice, if those elements come into play.
In terms of attendance, the Coyotes boast the league’s third lowest. With an average of only 14,875 in attendance per game, only the Thrashers and Islanders have worse rates.
Whether this will prove that the product on the ice is of little consequence to Arizonans with little to no interest in hockey remains to be seen, of course, but it does honestly feel good to see the Coyotes playing this well in spite of it all.
Posted by Jordan Richardson.
Tags: attendance, ilya bryzgalov, NHL, phoenix coyotes