On Saturday night in a huge divisional matchup with first-place implications, the Edmonton Oilers hosted the Vegas Golden Knights. It was a boxing match dressed up as a hockey game. Every time the Knights would land a head shot, the Oilers would counter with their own powerful punch.
It was back and forth all night until the final blow was landed by Vegas and Edmonton didn't have a chance to respond. Match over and the visitors winning it on points 2-1 in overtime. The action unfolding in front of a sellout crowd of 18,437. It would be another sellout crowd to witness the Oilers on Monday. Only this game is on the road and the crowd to witness it totals 4,600 people.
It is considered a capacity crowd when that many people show up to watch a game at Mullett Arena in Tempe. The home of the Arizona Coyotes and Arizona State University hockey teams. The Coyotes lease on the ASU campus runs until 2024-25 with an option for 2025-26.
The name conjures up images of the most famous mullet in Oilers history -- Ryan Smyth. He carried it like a champion. His grit, determination, work ethic and hair style made Smytty one of the most popular ever to wear the Oil drop.
There have been other mullets that became famous outside of the game. Billy Ray Cyrus comes to mind. He sported the haircut during his greatest days while recording the smash hit Achy Breaky Heart. The mullet was hair today and gone tomorrow, but it's made a comeback over the years. Just when you think the style is gone, it pulls you back in. The arena isn't named for hair, but a pair of big supporters of hockey in Arizona named Donald and Barbara Mullett.
Nick Bjugstad certainly knows about a mullet or at least a Mullett Arena. Up until March 1, it was where he played his home games as a member of the Coyotes. For many years, the smallest building in the league was the New York Islanders' Nassau County Coliseum with attendance topping out at 13,900.
GENE'S BLOG: Embrace The Mullett
The Oilers will be the second-last NHL team to visit the temporary college campus home of the Coyotes when they face off in Arizona on Monday
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