head coach: Jim Schoenfeld

roster: C - Jeremy Roenick, Craig Janney, Cliff Ronning, Bob Corkum, Mike Stapleton, Juha Ylonen. LW - Keith Tkachuk, Darrin Shannon, Jim McKenzie. RW - Rick Tocchet, Dallas Drake, Mike Gartner, Brad Isbister, Jocelyn Lemieux. D - Teppo Numminen, Oleg Tverdovsky, John Slaney, Norm Maciver, Jim Johnson, Murray Baron, Deron Quint, Jason Doig, Jay More, Michel Petit, Sean Gagnon. G - Nikolai Khabibulin, Jimmy Waite, Scott Langkow.

injuries: Jim McKenzie, lw (stress fracture in right leg, four weeks); Sean Gagnon, d (broken left leg, 4-6 weeks); Jason Doig, d (sprained knee Nov. 20, 1-3 weeks (placed on injured reserve Nov. 20)); Murray Baron, d (torn triceps muscle Nov. 17, indefinite); Jim Johnson, d (concussion Nov. 11, day-to-day); Darcy Wakaluk, g (knee surgery Sept. 17, 2-3 months (placed on injured reserve Sept. 30)).

transactions: Recalled Scott Langkow, g, from Springfield (AHL); returned Chad Kilger, c, to Springfield; signed Oleg Tverdovsky, d, to a two-year contract; recalled Sean Gagnon, d, from Springfield.

standings:

Western Conference - Central Division
Team         GP   W   L   T   PTS   GF   GA   
Dallas       47  28  11   8    64  144   97  
Detroit      47  27  11   9    63  153  110  
St Louis     47  26  15   6    58  141  115  
Phoenix      46  20  18   8    48  128  123  
Chicago      44  16  19   9    41  102  102   
Toronto      43  14  22   7    35  103  129

game results:

12/14 Detroit         T 3-3
12/17 Vancouver       L 5-1
12/19 at Anaheim      W 6-2
12/20 Toronto         L 3-2
12/23 Calgary         T 2-2
12/26 at San Jose     W 4-0
12/27 at Los Angeles  W 4-2
12/29 at Calgary      W 5-3
01/01 Los Angeles     W 4-0
01/03 NY Islanders    W 2-1
01/06 at Detroit      L 2-0
01/08 at Boston       L 5-2
01/09 at Chicago      W 4-2
01/11 Ottawa          T 4-4

team news:

by Jim Iovino, Phoenix Correspondent

Tverdovsky signs

The biggest news out of Phoenix since the last time we spoke was the signing of defenseman Oleg Tverdovsky. The 21-year-old defenseman accepted a two-year deal with the club on Dec. 19 worth $1.4 million this season and $1.7 million next season. There are also some extra incentives worked into the contract that could bump up the total contract some $700,000 bucks.

It took a long time for the Coyotes to sign Tverdovsky. It almost took as long for Tverdovsky to score a goal. Tverdovsky's first tally didn't come until Jan. 9 in a 4-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks. The offense hasn't come easily for Tverdovsky during his return to the NHL. After dominating the AHL, Tverdovsky has just two points in 10 NHL games this season.

Wins, losses and confusion

If there was one word to describe the Phoenix Coyotes hockey club since they moved south from Winnipeg, it would be inconsistent. When you think the Dogs would win a game, they'd come out flat and lose. When they were supposed to beat a team, they'd fold. And occasionally Nikolai Khabibulin would steal a win from a tougher opponent. Occasionally is the key word, though.

But recently the Coyotes pulled off a smooth five-game winning streak against, of all things, teams that they really should have beaten. And it's no coincidence that most of those teams came from the bottom of the Pacific Division.

After tying Calgary on Dec. 23 (ok, it isn't a great start), Phoenix rattled off five straight wins against the Sharks, Kings, Flames, Kings again and the Islanders. The opponents weren't the greatest, but the good news was that the Coyotes didn't play down to their opponents.

Of course, the Dogs followed up the Islander win with a 2-0 shutout loss to Detroit. And then there was the 4-2 loss to the (ahem) Chicago Blackhawks and the 4-4 tie with the Senators. But we'll just forget about that stuff and concentrate on the positive. The Coyotes had a five-game win streak! Yee-haw!!

Other pertinent information...

Other news out of Phoenix has everyone pissed that Mike Gartner didn't make the top 50 list of all time by some crappy publication. Whatever. And then there was the snubbing of Teppo Numminen from the All Star Game (again). When is Teppo gonna get the respect? If it's any consolation Teppo, we here at LCS think you're a swell guy. Much respect and appreciation goes out to Teppo from the entire staff...

(EDITOR'S NOTE: If you read the rest of the issue you may have noticed that Teppo didn't make our All-Star team either, but that doesn't mean we don't love ourselves some Teppo. Because lord help us we love the Teppo. It's just that it's cooler to be left off an All-Star team than to make it. Being anti-social is where it's at. And Teppo is as cool as it gets. Hell, even the Fonz puts on a sweater when he hangs with Teppo.)

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