Coyotes win final game before move to Utah

TEMPE, Ariz. (ABC4 Sports) – After 27 seasons in Arizona, the Coyotes are on the move to Salt Lake City. But they wanted to give their devoted fans one last thrill.

The Coyotes closed out their Arizona tenure as winners, getting a goal and an assist from Dylan Guenther in a 5-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday night.

The Coyotes buzzed early at Mullett Arena and closed strong in their final game before moving to Salt Lake City.

The NHL Board of Governors is expected to vote at 1:00 p.m. MT Thursday to approve the sale of the team to Utah Jazz owner Ryan Smith for a reported $1.2 billion.

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The Coyotes will then move to Salt Lake City and play at the Delta Center while a new arena is constructed.

The mood before the game was somber, but turned into a bit of a party as the fans said goodbye to their team that they’ve cheered for since 1996.

“We don’t want to take anything away from Salt Lake City and the people there,” Arizona right wing Josh Doan said before the game. “Obviously they have done nothing wrong. They’re embracing us with open arms, and and it’s just it’s hard moving away from home. At the end of the day, that’s the the moral of the whole story kind of right now.”

Arizona finishes the season with a record of 36-41-5, failing to make the NHL playoffs for a fourth straight year.

The entire arena showed its frustration with the situation chanting, “Salt Lake sucks!” throughout the game.

“It’s sad, it’s upsetting,” said Ryan Travis, a Coyotes season-ticket holder since 2001. “I can’t believe it’s finally come to an end, I can’t believe this is how it’s going to end.”

Liam O’Brien got the finale started with a goal less than three minutes in and Sean Durzi capped it with a empty-net goal to send Coyotes fans home happy — at least for one last night. Matias Maccelli and Lawson Crouse also scored, and Connor Ingram had 25 saves for Arizona.

Sam Carrick and Warren Foegele scored for the playoff-bound Oilers. Calvin Pickard had 16 saves.

The Coyotes and their fans spent years hoping relocation rumors wouldn’t come through.

Rumor became reality this week when Alex Meruelo agreed to sell franchise’s hockey operations to Ryan Smith. An official announcement is expected Thursday.

The Coyotes franchise could be revived, as Meruelo will have the rights to an expansion team if he can build a new arena within five years.

That made Wednesday night’s game a finale one way or another and the fans treated it like one big party, creating a buzz unlike any during the Coyotes’ three years at Mullett Arena.

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The Coyotes felt the energy and fed off it, opening with some big hits and a goal by O’Brien 2:18 in, sending the roaring crowd to their feet.

The Oilers killed the buzz by turning up the pressure and tying it on Carrick’s redirected goal midway through the first period.

Ingram made some difficult saves and Maccelli got the party rolling again by scoring on a breakaway late in the second period, setting off a roar that was followed by a chant of “Salt Lake sucks!”

Crouse made it 3-1 by flipping a backhander past Pickard early in the third period, but Foegele tied it with a shot from the slot that beat Ingram to the glove side.

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Guenther pushed it back to a two-goal lead and Durzi capped the festive desert finale after Edmonton pulled Pickard for an extra attacker.

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