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December 4: Phoenix, AZ
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Hockey in the valley of the sun. Really?
Really. This was the best game we've seen so far. But more on that later. This trip was highlighted by one thing we didn't expect.... Really nice people. The hotel shuttle driver. The staff. Bill the cab driver who shuttled us out to Westgate City Center, and was dutifully waiting for us after the game. Everyone. I've been to Phoenix dozens of times and I don't remember the people here being so uniformly engaging, helpful, and just plain nice. Nice to feel 80 degrees in December too. | 
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Westgate City Center is a tremendous place to visit. This 223 acre multi-use civic center sits adjacent to University of Phoenix Stadium (Arizona Cardinals) and is anchored by Jobing.com Arena (Phoenix Coyotes). It has a kind of Downtown Disney feel with shops, bars, restaurants and hotels. Add music and crowds and warm desert air and you have a great place to go for dinner and a game.
Ben and I found a nice pizza place a stone’s throw from the arena, and the nice people there even found the Apple Cup for us on one of the big screens. This game wasn't well attended, wasn't loud and rowdy, but it was a great match because both goalies played so well. | 
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The Panthers goalie, Scott Clemmensen, was a brick wall. He stopped 40 of 41 shots, many against 2-on-1 breaks and point blank pressure. Coyotes goalie Ilya Bryzgalov also stopped 36 of 37 although he didn’t face the kind of pressure Clemmensen did. Scoreless after the first period, 1-1 at the end of regulation and OT, we were treated to our first shootout of the season.
Clemmensen got the job done in the shootout as well, and Florida won after round 5 of the shootout 3 goals to 2. Florida became the first team we’ve seen on this tour to win on road ice.
Clemmensen got the job done in the shootout as well, and Florida won after round 5 of the shootout 3 goals to 2. Florida became the first team we’ve seen on this tour to win on road ice.
After the game we found our new friend Bill who whisked us back to the Sheraton for our now traditional post-game movie (Secretariat). A leisurely morning in the pleasant desert sun and home to Seattle.
Strange thing we saw: The mouse running around under our feet in the arena.
Strange thing we saw: The mouse running around under our feet in the arena.
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