Wearing specialty firefighter jerseys, the Sundogs salute fans after their final game

The Arizona Sundogs wrapped up their season with three home games; one against the Allen Americans and two against the Rapid City Rush.

Arizona and Allen faced-off on Wednesday night and the Sundogs struck first with a goal from forward Kevin Petovello, assisted by Kyle Hood and Craig Macdonald, just 1:56 into the opening frame. As the period drew to a close, Arizona would go on the penalty kill, which would lead to a shorthanded goal by forward Craig Macdonald, assisted by Luke Erickson, and the Sundogs would take a two goal lead into the first break. Allen would get one goal in the second, and neither team would score in the third, to give Arizona the 2-1 victory on the night. Arizona totaled 27 shots and goalie Mike Spillane made 36 saves on 37 shots.

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Captain Tyler Butler was named a finalist for the 2012 CHL Man of the Year Award

The Arizona Sundogs played their final three road games of the season this week; a three-in-three against the Tulsa Oilers and the Wichita Thunder.

On Friday night the Sundogs took to the ice against Tulsa and it was Arizona getting on the board first with a goal early in the first period by forward Nathan O'Nabigon, assisted by Luke Erickson and Jean-Philipp Chabot. Arizona would extend their lead with a goal by forward Luke Erickson, assisted by Shawn Mortin-Boutin, at 16:07 of the first. Just 17 seconds later, forward Kyle Hood would score, assisted by Tyler Butler and Kevin Petovello, and the Sundogs would seem to have the game in hand. Tulsa would then pull its goalie and the change would spark a comeback as the Oilers would score four unanswered goals and take the 4-3 win on the night. The Sundogs totaled 34 shots in the game and goalie Scott Reid turned away 23 of the 27 shots he faced.

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Photo courtesy of MSP

Back on the road for the beginning of the last roadtrip of the season, the Arizona Sundogs played three games this week; two against the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees and one against the Laredo Bucks.

On Friday night the Sundogs faced-off against the Killer Bees and it was Arizona getting on the board first with a powerplay goal by forward Jean-Philipp Chabot early in the first period, assisted by Tyler Butler and Luke Erickson. The Sundogs would extend their lead with a goal by forward Luke Erickson later in the first, assisted by Jesse Perrin and Kevin Petovello. Rio Grande Valley would then find its scoring touch; scoring three in the first, two in the second and one in the third; to come away with the 6-2 victory. Arizona totaled 38 shots. Goalie Mike Spillane started the game and made 11 saves on 16 shots before being relieved by goalie Scott Reid who made 11 saves on 12 shots.

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Photo courtesy of MSP

Home from their nearly month-long road trip, the Arizona Sundogs played four home games this week; two against the Rapid City Rush and two against the Dayton Gems.

The Sundogs and Rush faced-off on Tuesday night and Rapid City got the only goal of the first period. Late in the second, Arizona forward Olivier Proulx got his team on the board with a powerplay goal, assisted by Samson Mahbod and Craig Macdonald. Sundogs' forward Kevin Petovello would give Arizona the lead with a goal before the second intermission, assisted by Nathan O'Nabigon and Samson Mahbod. Rapid City would tie the game late in the third and then score a heart-breaker of a winning goal with just 23 seconds left in regulation. The Sundogs totaled 33 shots in the game and goalie Scott Reid turned away 26 of the 29 shots he faced.

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Head coach Marco Pietroniro was relieved of duty today

The Arizona Sundogs have announced that effective immediately, head coach Marco Pietroniro and assistant coach Chris Bartolone have been relieved of their duties. The team has named David Lohrei as its new head coach.


Marco Pietroniro had been the only head coach in franchise history, won 164 games, and took the Sundogs to the playoffs three of five seasons; including the 2007-2008 seasons when Arizona won the Ray Miron President's Cup Championship. Pietroniro was the longest tenured member of the Sundogs organization and one of the key figures in the franchise's start-up in 2006.

"Marco Pietroniro has provided the Sundogs organization with a lot of wonderful memories, and those memories will never be forgotten," said General Manager Chris Presson. "The Sundogs would like to thank him for his effort and contributions in his six years here, and wish him nothing but the best in the future."


Chris Bartolone finished a 15-year pro career with the Sundogs from 2006-10, appearing in a franchise record 260 games, averaging nearly a point per game, and captained the team to their championship. Bartolone's #29 has been retired and he served as the team's assistant coach for the last two seasons.

David Lohrei brings 12 years of head coaching experience to the Sundogs, including six at the professional level - three in the Central Hockey League. He was awarded the CHL's Commissioner's Trophy twice as the Coach of the Year in 1997-98 with the Nashville Ice Flyers and 1999-2000 with the Fayetteville Force. Lohrei brings a track record of winning at the pro level with career record of 201-143-40 between the CHL and ECHL. He also coached for six seasons in the USHL with the Sioux City Musketeers. Lohrei has been serving as the owner and operator of Maximum Sports Performance in Madison, Wisconsin - an operation dedicated to training and improving the performance of athletes.

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Continuing their near month-long road trip, the Arizona Sundogs were once again faced with three games in three days. This week the games were against three different teams; the Missouri Mavericks, the Quad City Mallards, and the Evansville Icemen.

Friday night the Sundogs faced the Mavericks and it was Arizona getting on the board first with a goal by captain and defenseman Tyler Butler, assisted by Samson Mahbod and Luke Erickson, at 6:50 of the first period. Missouri would get a goal before the end of the period and the teams would go into the first intermission tied. Arizona forward Nathan O'Nabigon would get the only goal of the second, assisted by Kyle Hood and Daymen Rycroft. The teams would trade scoring chances in the third, but the Sundogs' lead would remain at one until the Mavericks pulled their goalie in an effort to tie the game; leading to an emptynet goal by Daymen Rycroft, assisted by Kevin Petovello. The Sundogs totaled 40 shots in the game and goalie Mike Spillane turned away 28 of the 29 shots he faced.

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Craig Macdonald ended the week with five goals in three games

The Arizona Sundogs played three games this week; and in a situation that only happens in the minor leagues, the games were in three consecutive days in two different cities. The Sundogs would first meet the Bloomington Blaze before back-to-back games against the Quad City Mallards.

Arizona and Bloomington met on Friday night and the Blaze got on the board early with a goal at 2:24 of the first period. The Sundogs would answer back just four minutes later with a goal by forward Craig Macdonald, assisted by Luke Erickson and Jesse Perrin. After the early scoring, the teams would go into the first intermission tied at one and it would be near the midway point of the second before the lamp would light again with another Bloomington goal. As time was running out in the middle frame, Sundogs' forward Adam Smyth would score and pull his team even, assisted by Craig Macdonald and Tyler Matheson. The Blaze would score halfway through the third to take the lead again, but two minutes later Craig Macdonald would score on the powerplay, assisted by Samson Mahbod. The tie wouldn't last long though as Bloomington would score once more, just 33 seconds later. With time running out, the Blaze would take a high-sticking penalty and the Sundogs would pull their goalie for the two-man advantage, allowing Craig Macdonald to finish off his hat-trick, assisted by Olivier Proulx and Kyle Hood, and sending the game to overtime. Neither team would find the back of the net in the extra frame, and the game would go to a shootout. It would take six rounds, with Craig Macdonald and Kevin Petovello scoring for Arizona and securing the comeback victory. The Sundogs totaled 28 shots and goalie Mike Spillane made 32 saves on 36 shots for his first victory with Arizona.

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Captain Tyler Butler received Player of the Week Honors

The Arizona Sundogs began their near month-long road trip with two games against the Missouri Mavericks this week.

The teams met for the first game on Friday night and Missouri took control of the game early, scoring two powerplay goals in the first, an even-strength goal in the second, and then another powerplay goal early in the third. With the Mavericks on yet another powerplay, Sundogs' forward Jesse Perrin got his team on the board with a shorthanded goal, assisted by Craig Macdonald and Corey Toy. Arizona would cut further into Missouri's lead with a powerplay goal of its own, scored by forward Kevin Petovello, assisted by Daymen Rycroft and Olivier Proulx. With time running out, the Sundogs would pull their goalie, leading to a goal by captain and defenseman Tyler Butler, assisted by Olivier Proulx and Daymen Rycroft. Arizona would be unable to get the tying goal before the final buzzer however. The Sundogs totaled 32 shots and goalie Scott Reid made 22 saves on 26 shots.

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Photo courtesy of MSP

The Arizona Sundogs split their time this week with two games on the road and two at home. While on the road Arizona faced the Allen Americans and the Wichita Thunder before the team returned home for a back-to-back stint against the Fort Wayne Komets.

On Tuesday, Arizona faced the Allen Americans and with a first period short-handed goal, a second goal midway through the third, and a stellar performance by the Allen goalie, the Sundogs were handed a shut-out loss. The Sundogs totaled 24 shots and goalie Scott Reid made 33 saves on 35 shots.

The Sundogs returned immediately to the road and traveled to play the Wichita Thunder on Wednesday night. The Thunder surged to an early lead with two goals before the midway point of the first period. Arizona got on the board with a shorthanded goal by forward Craig Macdonald, assisted by Daymen Rycroft and Tyler Butler, at 12:55 of the opening frame. Wichita got a powerplay goal soon after and took a two-goal lead into the first intermission. Sundogs' forward Kevin Petovello cut the lead to one early in the second, assisted by Zach Carriveau and Luke Erickson. The Thunder got another goal before Arizona forward Daymen Rycroft would answer with one of his own, assisted by Nathan O'Nabigon and Zach Carriveau. The teams would trade goals again with Wichita getting another before captain and defenseman Tyler Butler would answer on the powerplay, assisted by Zach Carriveau and Kevin Petovello. Unfortunately, the Thunder would get another goal in the second and two in the third to come away with the 8-4 win on the night. Arizona totaled 27 shots. Sundogs' goalie Mike Spillane started the game and turned away 20 of the 26 shots he faced before being replaced by Scott Reid, who made 5 saves on 7 shots.

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The Arizona Sundogs sought to continue their surge in the second half of the season with three games this week against the top two teams in their conference; one against the Wichita Thunder and two against the Allen Americans.

On Wednesday night Arizona met Wichita and neither team could find the back of the net until midway through the second period when the Thunder got on the board. Nine minutes into the third period, Sundogs' forward Daymen Rycroft would tie things up, assisted by Kyle Hood and Tyler Butler, and send the game to overtime. As in the first period, neither team would score in the extra frame and the game would go to a shootout. Arizona would be unable to convert on its first three attempts, while Wichita would score all three times and get the win. The Sundogs totaled 49 shots in the game and goalie Scott Reid turned away 38 of the 39 shots he faced.

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Arizona Sundogs' forward Kevin Petovello scored twice in the All-Star Game

In a week where more eyes than ever were turned towards Tim's Toyota Center, the Arizona Sundogs rose to the occasion.

On Wednesday night the 2012 CHL All-Star Game took place in front of over 4,700 fans with the Arizona Sundogs facing off against a team comprised of the best in the CHL. Arizona got on the board first with a goal from forward Kevin Petovello, assisted by Luke Erickson and Zach Carriveau, just 2:04 into the opening period. The All-Stars would net two goals before the end of the period, one by Matt Robinson and the second by Bruce Graham, to take the one-goal lead into the first intermission. The second period would begin the same as the first with the Sundogs getting on the board early, this time with a goal by defenseman Jesse Perrin, assisted by Craig Macdonald and Daymen Rycroft. The All-Stars would take the lead again with a second goal by Matt Robinson at 7:25, but Arizona's Kevin Petovello would tie things up once more with his second of the night two minutes later, assisted by Samson Mahbod and Jean-Philipp Chabot. The All-Stars would find their grove in the third period, with Brett Smith getting a goal just 35 seconds in. Just over halfway through the period, Sundogs' forward Samson Mahbod would cut the lead to one, assisted by Kyle Hood and Jesse Perrin, but the All-Stars would get two more before the final buzzer, one by Brad Marino and one by Jeff Teminesi, and take the victory. The Sundogs tied an All-Star Game record with a total of 75 shots. Arizona goalie Scott Reid played the first half of the game and made 24 saves on 27 shots before Mike Spillane would play the final half and make 21 saves on the 23 shots he faced. Brandon Marino was named the MVP for the All-Stars, while Kevin Petovello was named the MVP for the Sundogs.

The Sundogs and All-Stars in the post-game handshake

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Photo courtesy of MSP

In the last week before the CHL All-Star break, the Arizona Sundogs had three games at home, one against the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees and back-to-back matchups with the Texas Brahmas.

Tuesday night saw the Sundogs facing off against the Killer Bees once more. The opening period began quietly with neither team scoring until past the midpoint, but then Rio Grande Valley would get two before the intermission. Halfway through the second period, Arizona rookie defenseman Tyler Matheson would net his third goal of the season, assisted by David Nimmo and Corey Toy. With just under six minutes left in regulation, Sundogs' defenseman and Captain Tyler Butler would exit the penalty box, pick up a pass from Corey Toy, and laser one past the Texas goalie to tie the game and force overtime. With the extra period nearing a close, the puck would take a bad bounce off the referee in the Sundogs' defensive zone and Texas would capitalize, scoring the winning goal. Arizona totaled 45 shots and goalie Mike Spillane made 31 saves on 34 shots.

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Goalie Mike Spillane made his debut as an Arizona Sundog this weekend

The Arizona Sundogs wrapped up the calendar year with back-to-back games against the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees.

On Friday night the Killer Bees got the scoring going early with a goal just 47 seconds into the first period. Sundogs' forward Adam Smyth answered back less than a minute later, assisted by Jeff Hazelwood and Jean-Philipp Chabot. The scoring would continue with Rio Grande Valley taking the lead again two minutes later. Arizona forward Jean-Phillip Chabot tied things up with a powerplay goal at 8:20 of the opening frame, assisted by Jeff Hazelwood and Kyle Hood. That would be all of the scoring in the first, but with a fight in the last minute, Jean-Phillip Chabot would complete his Gordie Howe hat-trick in a single period. After the explosion early in the game, neither team would find the back of the net in the middle frame. Sundogs' forward Luke Erickson gave his team the lead for the first time with a powerplay goal early in the third, assisted by Jeff Hazelwood and David Nimmo. The Killer Bees would then answer with two goals to retake the lead. Late in the third, Luke Erickson would get his second powerplay goal of the night, assisted by David Nimmo and Jean-Philipp Chabot, to even the score and send the game to overtime. With neither team able to score in OT, the teams would go to a shootout. It would take six rounds, with Arizona scoring twice and Rio Grande Valley three times, before a winner would be decided. The Sundogs totaled 46 shots on the night and goalie Scott Reid stopped 32 of the 36 shots he faced.

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Forward Kyle Hood continues to lead the Arizona Sundogs in scoring

The Arizona Sundogs took to the road again this week for games on Wednesday and Thursday, both against the Rapid City Rush.

Wednesday night's game started quietly with neither team able to score in the first period. The Rush opened up a lead quickly in the second though, scoring just twenty-six seconds into the period, then following it up with another goal seven minutes later. At the midway point of the game, Sundogs' forward Kyle Hood got his team on the board, assisted by Adam Smyth and Craig Macdonald, but Rapid City would regain the two-goal lead before the second intermission. Kyle Hood would find the back of the net again halfway through the third, assisted by Craig Macdonald and Tyler Butler, but the Rush would get an empty-netter as the game wound down and take the 4-2 win. The Sundogs totaled 27 shots in the game and goalie Scott Reid turned away 29 of the 32 shots he faced.

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Forward Kevin Petovello got his first professional goal in his debut as a Sundog

The Sundogs returned home from their two week road trip to play four games in five days; the first two against the Quad City Mallards and the next two against the Tulsa Oilers.

On Tuesday night, the Quad City Mallards made their first appearance at Tim's Toyota Center and it was the Mallards that got the first goal just over four minutes into the game. Arizona answered back a minute and a half later with a goal by forward David Nimmo, assisted by Jeff Hazelwood and Corey Toy. Sundogs' forward Jeff Martens gave his team the lead just 40 seconds later, assisted by Craig Macdonald and Jean-Philipp Chabot. Neither team would score in the second period, but Quad City would get two goals early in the third to take the lead. Newly signed Arizona forward Kevin Petovello would get his first goal as a professional midway through the third to tie the game, assisted by Shawn Mortin-Boutin and Samson Mahbod, and eventually send the game to overtime. The Mallards would score just 44 seconds into overtime and take the 4-3 win. The Sundogs totaled 40 shots in the game and goalie Levente Szuper made 39 saves on 43 shots.

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Fresh off IR, Craig Macdonald made an impact in Rapid City

Arizona wrapped up its two weeks on the road with games against the Rapid City Rush on Friday and Saturday.

Friday night, Rapid City got the first two goals, the lone goal of the first period and a second early in the middle frame, before recently reactivated Sundogs' forward Craig Macdonald would score, assisted by David Nimmo. The Rush would get another goal late in the period to take a 3-1 lead into the second break. With a powerplay late in the third period, Arizona would pull the goalie and once again Craig Macdonald would find the back of the net, assisted by Kyle Hood. The Sundogs would keep the goalie on the bench to try and tie the game, but it would be Rapid City who would score and come away with the 4-2 victory. The Sundogs totaled 23 shots in the game and goalie Scott Reid turned away 37 of the 40 shots he faced.

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This week Arizona took to the road for three road games, all of them in Texas. The Sundogs matched up against the Laredo Bucks before traveling to Rio Grande Valley for two games against the Killer Bees.

Arizona played in a stand-alone game against the Laredo Bucks on the last day of November and it was the Sundogs who struck first with a powerplay goal by forward David Nimmo, assisted by Jeff Hazelwood and Kyle Hood, midway through the opening frame. Arizona's powerplay would strike again just four minutes later, this time forward Luke Erickson would find the back of the net, assisted by Kyle Hood and Tyler Butler. Neither team would score in the second, but Laredo got a goal early in the third to draw within a goal. With time running out, the Bucks would pull their goalie for the extra attacker, but it would be Sundogs' forward Adam Smyth who would find the back of the net, assisted by Jeff Hazelwood and Jason Goulet. The Sundogs totaled 32 shots on the night and goalie Scott Reid stopped 38 of the 39 shots he faced.

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Forward Jeff Hazelwood netted the Sundogs' first hat-trick of the season

The Arizona Sundogs celebrated Thanksgiving week with four games in five nights. The first two games were on the road, against Tulsa and Texas, before coming home for back-to-back games against Rio Grande Valley.

On Tuesday night, Arizona faced off against Tulsa and the Sundogs got on the board first with a goal by forward Kyle Hood, assisted by J.P. Chabot and Olivier Hotte, less than three minutes in. Arizona got their second of the night midway through the opening frame when forward David Nimmo found the back of the net, assisted by Jeff Hazelwood and Kyle Hood. The second period opened with Sundogs' forward Luke Erickson scoring at 1:21, assisted by David Nimmo and Jesse Perrin. Tulsa would get on the board with a powerplay goal eight minutes later, but Luke Erickson would strike again 26 seconds after that, assisted by Samson Mahbod and J.P. Chabot. Tulsa's powerplay would notch another goal a minute and a half after that, before Arizona's powerplay would score thirty seconds later; J.P. Chabot assisted by Kyle Hood and Adam Smyth. Tulsa would notch two more goals before the end of the period and the Sundogs would take a 5-4 lead into the second intermission.

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Arizona played a rare three games in three night homestand this week, all against the Texas Brahmas. The two teams faced-off for the first game on Thursday night and it was Texas that scored first, collecting the only goal of the first period. Sundogs' forward Luke Erickson evened the score with a powerplay goal at 1:40 of the second, assisted by J.P. Chabot and Tyler Butler. Midway through the second, Texas took the lead again with what would turn out to be the game-winning goal as neither team would find the back of the net again before the final horn. The Sundogs totaled 31 shots in the game and goalie Levente Szuper made 29 saves on 31 shots.

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Goalie Levente Szuper was a strong presence between the pipes for Arizona

The Arizona Sundogs continued their road trip with a game against the Laredo Bucks and then wrapped it up with two games against the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees.

Arizona and Laredo faced-off on Wednesday night and it was a penalty filled affair. By the final horn, the teams had amassed a total of 117 penalty minutes, including four game misconducts and a match penalty. Arizona scored first with a goal by forward Daymen Rycroft, assisted by Adam Smyth and Luke Erickson, less than three minutes into the opening frame. Laredo would even the score midway through the period before newly re-signed forward Patrick Schafer would put Arizona ahead once more; assisted by Luke Erickson and David Nimmo. The Bucks would score twice more before the end of the period to take the 3-2 lead into the first intermission.

Midway through the second, Sundogs' forward Craig Macdonald would tie the score with an unassisted goal, but Laredo would take the lead once more five minutes later. With just over a minute left in the period, a Laredo player would deliver a blindside elbow to Daymen Rycroft that would lead to two separate fights and the beginning of the penalty fest. Laredo would score the only two goals of the third period to get the 6-3 win. The Sundogs totaled 27 shots in the game and goalie Scott Reid turned away 33 of the 393 shots he faced.

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Forward Kyle Hood is Riding a Seven Game Point Streak

The Sundogs took to the road for their first away games of the season. The team traveled to Allen, Texas to play the Americans on Friday and Saturday. Allen got the scoring starting early with a goal less than three minutes into the first, but the Sundogs evened it up with a goal by forward Daymen Rycroft, assisted by Tyler Butler and Craig Macdonald, late in the opening frame. Arizona defenseman Jesse Perrin scored on the powerplay midway through the second period to give his team the lead; his goal was assisted by Daymen Rycroft and Craig MacDonald. Allen drew the teams even again with a goal in the last minute of the second period. The only goal in the final frame belonged to Arizona forward Kyle Hood, assisted by Daymen Rycroft and Craig MacDonald, giving his team the 3-2 victory. The Sundogs totaled 30 shots on the night and goalie Scott Reid stopped 33 of the 35 shots he faced.

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Captain Tyler Butler skated in his 500th game on Saturday

Arizona continued its season-opening homestand with three straight games against the Missouri Mavericks. The teams faced-off on Wednesday night and forward Jean-Phillip Chabot got the Sundogs on the board first with a goal midway through the opening frame; his goal was assisted by Kyle Hood and Jeff Martens. Five minutes later, forward Kyle Hood scored for Arizona on the powerplay; assisted by Jean-Phillip Chabot and Tyler Matheson. Arizona took a 2-0 lead into the first intermission, but unfortunately that would be the end of the scoring for the Sundogs as the Mavericks would go on to score seven unanswered goals over the next two periods. The Sundogs totaled 51 shots in the game and goalie Scott Reid turned away 26 of the 33 shots he faced.

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The Arizona Sundogs took to the ice on Friday October 21^st to open their 2011-2012 CHL Regular Season. The anticipation for this season has been at a high level with the team hosting this season's CHL All-Star Game. There are several familiar faces on the Sundogs this year, both returning players and players that Arizona has faced in previous seasons. The opening roster was announced as follows:

SKATERS:
#2 Adam Smyth, F, #4 Jesse Perrin, D, #7 Olivier Hotte, D, #8 Kyle Hood, F, #9 Corey Toy, D, #10 Jeff Martens, F, #11 J.P. Chabot, F, #14 Daymen Rycroft, F, #15 Chris Capraro, F, #16 Craig Macdonald, F, #18 David Nimmo, F, #19 Jeff Hazelwood, F, #21 Luke Erickson, F, #22 BJ Crum, D, #23 Tyler Butler, D, #24 Tyler Matheson, F, #26 Jason Goulet, D, #61 Shawn Mortin-Boutin, D

GOALIES:

#31 Levente Szuper, #33 Scott Reid

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Thursday, Arizona unveiled the 2010 All-Star logo

In past years, the offseason has tended to be quite early on for the Arizona Sundogs; this year the team has wasted no time getting ready for next season. Already the team has resigned three key players, hired a new radio voice, as well as unveiling the logo and jerseys for the 2012 All-Star game.

Player Resignings

The first player the Sundogs returned to the roster was defenseman and Captain Tyler Butler. Last season Butler totaled 10 goals, matched a career-high with 36 assists and set a career mark in penalty minutes (126). Butler finished fifth on the team in scoring and ranked seventh among CHL defenseman with 46 points while his 23 power-play assists were second-most among league blue-liners. The 31-year-old has amassed 232 points (65g/167a) and 442 penalty minutes (PIM) in 374 CHL regular season contests.

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The Arizona Sundogs finished the 2010-2011 regular season with a 25-31-10 record. The 60 points was the third most in franchise history and put them in 7^th place in the Berry Conference. The team returned to the playoffs for the third time in their five year history and the first time since the 2007-2008 championship season.

The Sundogs finished with a 19-14-5 record against fellow Berry Conference opponents but just a 6-17-5 mark against teams from the Turner Conference. Arizona was 13-2-5 when leading after one period, 16-2-4 when leading after two periods, 8-9-2 when tied after 20 minutes, 5-3-3 when tied after two periods, 4-20-3 when trailing after the first period and 4-26-3 when trailing after 40 minutes of play during the regular season. The Sundogs were 8-16-4 when outshooting its opponent this season but 17-14-6 when being outshot in a game during the regular season. Arizona dressed 39 total skaters during the 2010-11 regular season, including five netminders, for a total of 109 player transactions.

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Head Coach and GM Marco Pietroniro (front) and Assistant Coach Chris Bartolone (rear)

After a two season absence, the Arizona Sundogs returned to the Central Hockey League playoffs for the third time in their five-year history. Arizona entered the playoffs as the number seven team in the Berry Conference and faced the number two Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs in a best-of-five series. The teams played the first two games in Bossier City, Louisiana before traveling to Prescott Valley, Arizona for games three and four.

The teams faced off on Friday night and it was Arizona that struck first with a goal by forward Joey Sides midway through the opening period. Bossier-Shreveport would get on the board with a powerplay goal at 14:40 of the first, but the Sundogs would answer back with a goal by forward Craig McDonald just 17 seconds later and take the lead into the first intermission. The Mudbugs would get another powerplay goal early in the second and an even-strength goal later to take a lead into the second break. Neither team would score in the final period and the Mudbugs would get the 3-2 win in the opening game of the series. The Sundogs totaled 29 shots in the game and goalie Scott Reid turned away 29 of the 32 shots he faced.

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Captain Tyler Butler in the Sundogs' "Hockey for Hope" jersey

Arizona finished the regular season with games Friday and Saturday against the Rapid City Rush, defending Ray Miron Cup champions.

On Friday night, the Sundogs got the only goal of the first period, a powerplay tally by defenseman Brett Blatchford. Arizona would strike again on the man-advantage in the second period, this time by defenseman Jamie VanderVeeken. Sundogs' forward Luke Erickson collected his 35^th goal of the season halfway through the middle frame. Rapid City got on the scoreboard with a shorthanded goal late in the second and then would score twice in the third to send the game to overtime. Neither team would find the back of the net in the extra frame and the game would go to a shootout. The Rush would score twice in the shootout and get the 4-3 victory. Forward Joey Sides would be the only Sundog to score in the shootout, but the goal was high-light reel worthy as Sides faked left and got Rapid City's goalie to commit before he stopped, did a 360 and then shot the puck to the right top-shelf. The Sundogs totaled 52 shots in the game and goalie Scott Reid turned away 35 of the 38 shots he faced.

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Forward Jason Visser sparked a Sundogs rally Saturday night

Home once more, the Sundogs faced off against the Colorado Eagles for games on Friday and Saturday.

Friday night belonged to Colorado as the team handed Arizona its first home shutout this season. The Eagles scored early in the first period and then again early in the second, giving Colorado a two nothing lead. Sundogs' forward Joey Sides had a penalty shot attempt midway through the second period, but he was denied by Colorado goaltender Kyle Jones. Arizona totaled 36 shots in the game and goalie Levente Szuper made 35 saves on 37 shots.

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Forward Craig McDonald is riding a four game point streak and

has been a major factor in the Sundogs' recent success

Continuing the last roadtrip of the regular season, Arizona played games against the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees, the Laredo Bucks, and the Odessa Jackalopes.

On Friday night the Sundogs faced off against the Killer Bees and it was Arizona who struck first with a goal by forward Adam Smyth midway through the opening period. Arizona would score again with a powerplay goal by forward Jason Visser late in the first and take the two-goal lead into the break. The Sundogs would find the back of the net twice more in the second period with a goal by forward Kyle Hood and then a shorthanded strike by defenseman Corey Laurysen. Rio Grande would begin a comeback in the third period with two goals before the midway point. Jason Visser would get his second of the night soon after, and while the Killer Bees would collect two more goals, the Sundogs would hold on for the 5-4 victory. Arizona totaled 27 shots in the game and goalie Levente Szuper made 31 saves on 35 shots.

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The addition of players such as defenseman Matt Frick has given Arizona

a much needed boost as the team makes its playoff run

The Sundogs continued their homestand against the Mississippi RiverKings before taking to the road to begin the last roadtrip of the regular season with games against the Laredo Bucks and the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees.

Arizona and Mississippi met for the second time in history on Friday night. Sundogs' forward Luke Erickson scored his 34^th goal of the season midway through the opening frame. The rest of game would belong to the RiverKings however as they would score twice in the first, once in the second and once in the third to earn the 4-1 win. The Sundogs totaled 28 shots in the game and goalie Levente Szuper turned away 39 of the 43 shots he faced.

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