Playoff Swag

Here's a look at some of the swag we've brought home from the playoffs.   I thought this was neat.

Just Another Hockey Game?

My wife and I were discussing the Western Conference Finals Game One that we were fortunate enough to attend tonight.  We were discussing what the Coyotes could have done better to get the win, and other things we noticed at the game.  I took time to express how thrilled I was just to be in the building for the Western Conference Finals.   The discussion took an interesting turn at that point.  I see the opportunity to go to these games as as very special occasion, certainly a once in a great while opportunity.  My twitter followers have seen how excited I am to get to go to these games.  The wife sees it as "just a hockey game", "a really exciting game, but still just a hockey game."   I see her point, but I think she may not realized exactly what we have going on this year.  There are only four active hockey cities in North America, and Phoenix is one of them.  The NHL reserved several entire rows in section 210 for the home games during the Conference Finals for additional national media covering the games. Here's a little perspective, we've been Washington Capitals fans for almost 12 years, and had until we moved to the desert, never been to a playoff game outside of round one.  The conversation was fun, as I enjoy learning her perspective, and Lord knows, she keeps me grounded 99.9% of the time.    I've also referred to the Stanley Cup Finals as a "once in a lifetime" hockey experience, that I will not miss.  Again, she disagrees, and I get her point...but still "just a hockey game?"  Na, much much more.   

Battle of the Goal Horns

I tend to notice the little quirky things about the game of hockey. Today I'm noticing goal horns and celebration songs for Coyotes and Kings.  I prefer the Coyotes song, but the Kings horn.   I love trains, what can I say.  Train whistles are cool to me. LA could have been so much more creative with the song though.  "I love LA" really?   I'll "How for You" any day.   Check them out and enjoy.


Los Angeles Kings 10-11 1 Goal Horn

Phoenix Coyotes 10-11 1 Goal Horn new

Phoenix Coyotes Round 3 Schedule and Channels UPDATED

The NHL has released the the dates and times for the Western Conference Finals.  They are as follows:

Game 1- Sunday May 13th, 5pm MOUNTAIN STANDARD. NBCSports Network.  DirecTV channel: 603 Cox/Phoenix Channel 1069  Cox/Tuscon Channel 1070

Game 2- Tuesday May 15th, 6pm MOUNTAIN STANDARD. NBCSports Network.  DirecTV channel: 603 Cox/Phoenix Channel 1069  Cox/Tuscon Channel 1070

Game 3- Thursday May 17th, 6pm MOUNTAIN STANDARD. NBCSports Network.  DirecTV channel: 603 Cox/Phoenix Channel 1069  Cox/Tuscon Channel 1070

Game 4- Sunday May 20th, NOON MOUNTAIN STANDARD. NBCSports Network.  DirecTV channel: 603 Cox/Phoenix Channel 1069  Cox/Tuscon Channel 1070

Game 5- Tuesday May 22th, 6pm MOUNTAIN STANDARD. NBCSports Network.  DirecTV channel: 603 Cox/Phoenix Channel 1069  Cox/Tuscon Channel 1070

Game 6- Thursday May 24th, 6pm MOUNTAIN STANDARD. NBCSports Network.  DirecTV channel: 603 Cox/Phoenix Channel 1069  Cox/Tuscon Channel 1070

Game 7- Saturday May 26th, 5pm MOUNTAIN STANDARD. NBCSports Network.  DirecTV channel: 603 Cox/Phoenix Channel 1069  Cox/Tuscon Channel 1070

Let's Go Coyotes!!!

Coyotes Finish Off Predators

This was the view from my seats in section 209 as the Coyotes finished off Nashville on Monday night. Yes, that's me yelling. My wife made sure I knew that. The video you are about to watch is officially my second favorite moment at a hockey game. My favorite is still the day the Capitals clinched their first division title with the current generation of of players in 2008. Here's a link to that too. I was lucky enough to be there for that one too. Enjoy!

FILL THE BUILDING!!!

Happy playoff hockey Monday.   It is currently 11:01 and there are still seats(good one mind you) available for tonight's game against Nashville.  Come on folks...FILL THE BUILDING!  We have a chance to move into hallowed hockey ground tonight.  Come out and support your team! 

I also saw this posted this morning, below are the odds to win the cup for the remaining teams:

What Channel is the Game On??

I've been meaning to write about this since I was in Greensboro a couple weeks ago, and am just getting around to it, so accept my apologies for the delay.  NBC now owns what used to be the "Versus" network. I think they got that one as part of the Comcast deal.  The good news is, they are treating the NHL Playoffs like the Olympics and using all the channels at their disposal to show games, which is AWESOME! The impact of this was bigger in the first round, as all of the series were on some kind of broadcast or cable television.  It was the first time that a casual fan could find a lot first round playoff hockey without having to spend the money on the Center Ice package.  The advantage of this became apparent to me as I was stuck in a hotel room for three nights in Greensboro two weeks ago.  The hotel didn't have the NBC Sports Network(formerly Versus) or the NHL network, but they did have MSNBC and CNBC. I was so excited to see the Coyotes and Blackhawks from the "comfort" of my room. There was hockey available to me every night I was there, and that made my trip so much more bearable.  NBC really has lived up to their slogan "Every Game, Every Day, Because it's the Cup". Anything that can be done to grow the game is a positive in my book.

I am a Direct TV customer here in the valley, so here is the list of channels where you can see playoff hockey.  Cox  customers should check cox.com to find a channel listing.

NBC - Channel 12
NBC Sports Network -Channel 603
CNBC - Channel 355
MSNBC - Channel 356
NHL Network - Channel 215

Tonight's game is on the NBC Sports Channel at 4:30 local time.  I'm expecting a much more spirited effort from our boys tonight. It should be fun.  LET'S GO YOTES!!