Coyotes Beat Avs in Prospect Showcase Game

SAN JOSE -NIck Merkley scored a breakaway goal at 1:54 of overtime to lift the Coyotes to a 4-3 win over the Colorado Avalanche in a Prospect Showcase game on Monday night at Solar4America Ice.
Merkley, who leads the team with two goals after two games, said 3-on-3 overtime hockey is fun for the fans and the players, too.
"It's real exciting to play in," Merkley said. "It's all skill at that point, so the most skill usually wins. It feels good."

Hunter Miska, who signed with the Coyotes in April after his freshman season at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, made 35 saves.
"It feels really good putting the jersey on for the first time in a game situation," Miska said. "Getting a win was pretty big. I felt strong. I wish I could have had a couple of those goals back, but bounces happen in the game of hockey."
Colorado took 16 shots in the first period and Miska stopped them all. He also made an impressive stop in the overtime, just before Merkley's goal.
"The guys were letting me see the puck and the 'D' were playing really well and opening the lanes for me to get a clear view," Miska said.

Arizona (1-1) led 2-0 after one period, and 3-0 less than seven minutes into the second, but Colorado (0-2) scored three times in a span of 9:38 to tie the score.
"That's kind of what you expect in these games," Fischer said of the momentum shift. "There's going to be breakdowns. Obviously you don't want to give up a 3-0 lead, but there's peaks and valleys in this game and we stuck with it. Miska made some unbelievable saves and kind of kept us in it, even in overtime, so credit goes to him, and then obviously 'Merks' got a little breakaway and made a great move."

The Coyotes will play their third and final game of this four-team, round-robin tournament vs. San Jose on Tuesday at 3 p.m. Fans can watch via a live stream at ArizonaCoyotes.com.