The seventh full-time hockey rink in the Phoenix area and ninth in the state opened for business Thursday morning in Mesa.
Coyotes forward Clayton Keller joined general manager Bill Armstrong, special advisor and Arizona Kachinas president Lyndsey Fry and rink owner Eddie Hill in a ceremonial ribbon-cutting to open the Coyotes Community Ice Center. Then all took the ice, grabbed sticks and shot the ceremonial first pucks into a net.
Leighton Accardo, the young girl whose battle with cancer inspired the Coyotes last season and who has remained close with the organization, was also present via remote video.