They did it.
The Phoenix Coyotes sold out a hockey game for the first time this season, and despite the 'Yotes fan-friendly opponent, we have a feeling people are actually showing up to see the home-town team.
The Coyotes will host the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday night, and the Jobing.com Arena will be full, the team announced today.
The Coyotes have the worst attendance numbers in the league. In contrast, the Blackhawks have the second-highest attendance in the NHL, which says a thing or two about each team's fan base.
While we would normally chalk up the capacity crowd to the droves of sausage-eating Chicago transplants in the Phoenix area, we have a hunch that Coyotes fans might actually be taking notice of the team's Stanley Cup possibilities and showing the Howlers a little love.
We tracked down some attendance numbers from the last time the Blackhawks were in town -- expecting to see a similar spike in the Coyotes' attendance numbers. Turns out, the last time the Blackhawks were here was November 5, and the Coyotes won 3-1, and attendance was even lower than the Coyotes pathetic average of 11,420 fans. Only about 10,000 people showed up to that one.
Granted, that game was on a Thursday, as opposed to a Saturday like this weekend's game, but anyone who has been to Chase Field when the Cubbies are in town knows that mundane details like work seldom keeps Chi-town sports fans from seeing their beloved teams (no matter how long it's been since they've won a championship).
Now that Saturday's game is sold out, getting tickets may be tough, but you can catch it on TV on Fox Sports Arizona at 6 p.m. For more infornation, go to coyotes.nhl.com.
