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Cogliano's natural hat trick leads Ducks over Coyotes

Feb 1, 2012 - 6:52 AM Glendale, AZ (Sports Network) - Andrew Cogliano netted a natural hat trick in the second period for the first three-goal game of his career, leading the Anaheim Ducks to a 4-1 victory over the Phoenix Coyotes on Tuesday.

Teemu Selanne also scored and Nick Bonino added a pair of assists. Jonas Hiller stopped 25-of-26 shots for the Ducks, who have won six of their last seven contests.

"The big thing is that I played big role in winning the game for the team," Cogliano said.

Ray Whitney scored and Mike Smith was tagged for three goals on 18 shots before being yanked in the second period. Jason LaBarbera stopped all 11 shots he saw for the Coyotes, who have lost four of their last five.

Phoenix struck first at 7:39 of the first period off of a defensive zone turnover by the Ducks.

Selanne held the puck along the right wing and looked to start the breakout, but he lost it to Martin Hanzal in the slot. Hanzal found Radim Vrbata at the right point and the gritty forward then found a cutting Whitney, who deflected Vrbata's pass in behind Hiller.

Cogliano took over in the second period for Anaheim.

His first goal came at 6:59 when Matt Beleskey out-hustled his checker behind the net and spotted Cogliano, who stuffed it home from in front.

Cogliano's second goal occurred at 10:07 when he collected a loose puck in the defensive zone and raced up the left wing on the rush. He gained the blue line with speed a fired a wrist shot on net from a sharp angle that somehow beat Smith to the short side.

The hat trick-clinching tally came at 13:50 when Bonino pushed the puck past the defense and ahead to Cogliano, who went in on net and slid a backhander through the legs of Smith to cap a dominant second period.

Coyotes coach Dave Tippett was frustrated by his team's seeming inability to carry over its good play into the second period.

"It was an interesting game," he said. "We came out well in the first period, jumping. But in the second period our execution was so poor we got locked in our own end and that led to some long shifts and they got momentum."

Ryan Getzlaf and Niklas Hagman were whistled for penalties late in the second period, giving the Coyotes a two-man advantage, but they were unable to score and Selanne added an empty netter with 1:06 left in regulation to cap the scoring.

Game Notes

Tuesday marked the 100th meeting all-time between the Pacific Division rivals...Smith dropped to 5-3-1 in his career against Anaheim...Phoenix failed to score on three power-play chances, while Anaheim was 1-for-3 with the man advantage...Anaheim will face the Dallas Stars on Wednesday, while the Coyotes will host the San Jose Sharks on Saturday...Phoenix dropped to 11-1-1 when Hanzal records an assist.