The Coyotes Win 5-2, Ending Their 28-Year Tenure In Arizona

(CTN News) – Dylan Guenther scored a goal and contributed an assist as the Arizona Coyotes closed out their 28-year tenure with a 5-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday.

It was a buzz early on for the Coyotes at Mullett Arena, and they closed strong in their final game before moving to Salt Lake City.

Liam O’Brien began the final with a goal less than three minutes in. Sean Durzi closed it out with a goal to send Coyotes fans home happy – for one night, at least. Connor Ingram made 25 saves for Arizona, and Matias Maccelli and Lawson Crouse also scored.

“This is the last one in Arizona for a few months, and we wanted to show the fans that by putting forth an effort,” said Coyotes forward Clayton Keller. The playoff-bound Oilers were led by Sam Carrick and Warren Foegele. As Edmonton closed out the regular season, Calvin Pickard made 16 saves in the first game of a back-to-back.

According to Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch, “we are getting ready for an emotional game. They will come out hard.”. “But we are also looking towards the playoffs.”. “I think we played OK, maybe you will win some games like that in the future.” Coyote fans spent years hoping relocation rumors would not happen.

This week, Alex Meruelo agreed to sell the franchise’s hockey operations to Utah Jazz owner Ryan Smith. Smith plans to move the team to Salt Lake City. In five years, Meruelo has the rights to an expansion team if he builds the arena.

There was no buzz about Wednesday night’s game, which was the Coyotes’ first home game since moving to Mullett Arena two years ago. Despite the roaring crowd, the Coyotes opened the game with a few big hits and a goal by O’Brien 2:18 into the game.

As coach André Tourigny said, “There were many emotions and a lot of sadness.” As coach André Tourigny said, “We’ve experienced adversity and the players have handled it well.”

With the Oilers turning up the pressure and scoring midway through the first period, they killed the buzz.

On Maccelli’s breakaway goal late in the second period, a roar followed by chants of “Salt Lake sucks!” erupted. During the third period, Crouse made it 3-1 with a backhander past Pickard. However, Foegele tied it with a shot from the slot that beat Ingram.

Having pulled Pickard for an additional attacker, Guenther extended the lead to two goals and Durzi capped the festive desert finale. We knew what to expect from them: being fired up, playing in front of their fans,” Pickard said. “It wasn’t an ideal start, but we bounced back.”

Mullett Arena was home to the Coyotes for only two years instead of three.

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