My First Coyotes Game

While in Arizona, I really wanted to go see a Phoenix Coyotes game. The nearest NHL city to me is Minneapolis, at 10 hours away, so a 45 minute drive down the interstate was much more appealing. A few people I talked to beforehand in Arizona thought driving 45 minutes was too far for a hockey game...I drive almost 2 hours just to go to a Moose game, let alone an NHL game, so the drive time didn't really phase me.

The Coyotes have been pretty shaky financially since, well, probably since the team moved to Phoenix. The organization offers a lot of perks to get people to games. For example, I did not have to pay for parking, and there was a pile of staff out directing traffic so parking was an absolute breeze.

When I approached the ticket booth for tickets (Sarah was worried they'd be sold out; I told her not to worry, it's a Coyotes game), I was promptly informed that there were no more $15 seats left. I said that was fine, I didn't want $15 seats. I think they just expect that people want the cheapest seats possible.

One promotion the team offers runs from Monday-Thursday, where a $30 ticket gets you an upper deck seat and all the pop, hot dogs, and popcorn you can consume. While tempting, I didn't want to sit in the nosebleeds, I wanted a good seat. So, I chose the $60 seats, which got us a seat on the corner near the top of the lower bowl. Honestly, the seats were amazing. We could see everything on the ice; if you're too close to the glass, or in the middle of the arena, you can't see into the close corners. From our seats, that wasn't a problem.

The arena is a very nice facility (it reminded me of the MTS Centre, actually). I really liked seeing the numbers of the only retired numbers in the franchises history, because they were all Winnipeg Jets, not Coyotes. The names and numbers were displayed in Jets colours too, which was a nice touch.

Speaking of Jets colours, I took my Jets jersey with me to wear to the game. I had a few people ask if I was from Winnipeg (to which I said yes, it's easier than explaining where Riverton is when you're out of the country) only to find out they were from Winnipeg too.

There was a pretty good size crowd at the game, which surprised me. However, when the national anthems began I was struck by how many people were singing O Canada. Turns out the game was packed with Canadians on vacation like us who chose to go to the game against the Vancouver Canucks. There were a LOT of Canucks jerseys in the crowd.

The Coyotes scored the first goal, and half of the crowd got up and cheered. A minute later the Canucks scored, and the OTHER half of the crowd got up and cheered! The game was very enjoyable because both teams had a strong presence in the crowd; "Go Coyotes Go" was often met with "Go Canucks Go". Sarah was cheering for the Canucks, but I couldn't bring myself to cheer against the Coyotes while wearing my Jets jersey.

I was talking with some guys in the crowd during the game, and they told me that this was the second largest crowd the Coyotes had had all season. The biggest crowd was the home opener, when all the seats were free. From what I understood, the best crowds throughout the year are the ones when western Canadian teams (and the Leafs) are playing the Coyotes, as those are the ones the snowbirds go to I guess.

The game was a tight one that went all the way to a shoot-out (which I was hoping for). I have to admit, the Coyotes have really turned things around this year. Come play-off time, they'll be the Western Conference team I'll be rooting for all the way, until/unless they meet the Penguins, then I have to go with my boys.

I have some pictures from the game, but they're not on this computer, so I'll include some later if I post some pictures on the blog (those of you who have me on Facebook can see the pictures I have up so far there).